here_today_gone2Maui

Actually, the only time I have ever had a vacation rental near catastrophe was when I booked a cottage through a rental agency here on Maui. Three weeks before my departure date I contacted the agent because I did not yet have the directions to the cottage, at which time I found out that the rental "was no longer available." They claimed they tried to call me, but I never returned their calls. To gice them the benefit of the doubt, I will assume they had the wrong tlelphgine number and left messages on someone else's voice mail.

There was no clear explanation, and I was left to scramble on my own as the agent told me she has nothing else in that area for those dates. She did refund my money, but it still did not solve the problem at hand. Luckily we were able to find an even nicer waterfont cottage through a referral from associates.

The moral of the story is that there are no guarrantees and sometimes life will throw you a curve. As a result of my experience I could sit here and malign all rental transactions via renbtal agencies, but that would be just silly. Private owner, rental agent or tarvel agent--you just never know what it is going to turn out.

Personally, I think there are probably many more horror stories out there about renters than rentors. T_G and LYB, while you are striving to remain profitable and protect your interest, I have seen the way some people behave while on vacation and I am sure that this carries over to their vacation unit.

lyb

here_today_gone2Maui,

>> I have seen the way some people behave while on vacation and I am sure that this carries over to their vacation <<

yes, and sometimes it makes us wonder what their homes are like or if they are always to scam people. Though, overall I must say that we have had few major troubles. We've had the properties and also manage properties for others for the past 6 years, and luckily the positive stories outweigh the negative stories. But it's always a gamble, both on the renter and the owners' side.
I've also rented from owners, and have been very lucky each time, everything was as presented on the websites.
But at the same time, I've had a really bad experience with a major hotel group in Charleston, most of my vacation I had stayed at a B&B that I got from the web, and was very happy with it. We had gone to Savannah for 4 days and since we were leaving from the Charleston airport early, when we returned to Charleston from Savannah, we stayed at a Ramada Inn near the hotel. It was such a dump! And to make it even funnier, at check out, they charged us 50 cents for having a phone in our room, not for using it, but simply for the pleasure of having the phone in the room. I didn't expect luxury, I expected basic Ramada Inn type of room, but this one was dirty and the AC didn't work, and this was in July in Charleston!!

Unfortunately, there's no safe way, except if you have a friend who's been some place and they recommend it.

lyb

>>we stayed at a Ramada Inn near the hotel.<<

Meant "near the Airport"!

here_today_gone2Maui

>>My thoughts have been, if I get to my condo and there's a mess, WHO'S gonna make 'em correct the situation?<<

Well, in most cases it would the management company, and even though the unit is rented by the owner, many of the condotels have a property owners' association that requires that the owner have a management company for their rentals, and many have the costs for such management built into their association fees. As far as I know, this is the norm, not the exception, at least here.

bonniebroad

Whatever........... it's a huge pain to walk into a condo, a LONG way from home, and it not be right. Whatever time you spend getting it corrected is too much of my vacation, whether it be a lot or a little. I'll spend a little more, and go with the system I trust, that has served me well. But I always enjoy hearing your opinion, Here_Today, of course. Thank you........

Maggi

Having rented three different homes in Hawaii in the past and two more this coming August I'll add my two cents to this thread. Our three previous rentals were 100% what we expected. The houses looked better in person than on the website, were clean and fully furnished. These experiences totally sold us on rentals vs. resorts.

For this upcoming trip we found out by accident from a fellow Fodorite that one of our rentals was not answering the phone or e-mails. The owner had died and the wife moved. This was one instance where we would have arrived and had no place to stay. After a lot of detective work I was able to track her down and she did return our deposit (she claimed she had tried to return it but "it came back".) Luckily we were able to secure another rental (through an agency) and it looks as good if not better as the other did.

The cost of renting a home right on the beach is no more than getting a small garden room in a hotel when you split it with another couple. (We are paying about $220 a night per couple including taxes and cleaning.) There is a security deposit which we will get back within 30 days of our departure. There is risk involved because they often want half or all the payment up front. That may deter many people. For us the pleasure of having our own house outweighs the possible risks. I do copious research before signing a contract. If there are any red flags or doubts in my mind I look elsewhere. Hope this helps!

lcuy

maggi- In Hawaii, any security deposit must be postmarked within 14 days of your departure. If not, state law says the owner, must refund the entire amount.

bonniebroad

From The Horses' Mouth: HereToday, friends who own condos in three areas of the country tell me that if you have TRULY rented from an owner, not a property management company, then the OWNER is responsible for sorting out problems. If they don't, you're S.O.L. (unless you seek legal recourse.) And that member's associations do not get involved in individual rental agreements between two parties, that they had nothing to do with, and have no obligations or responsibilities in that regard........i.e., if you get to some condo, and it's filthy and flea-infested, or the beds are hard as rocks, or it's a 1-bedroom, not 2-bedrooms.

Of course, you have all kinds of condos, cabins, homes being rented by owners in this country..... I'm talking about cases where your contract is WITH THE OWNER. Obviously, if you've rented from a property management company (which is what I prefer to do), that's NOT what I'm talking about.

Dick

I'm someone who prefers renting through an agency, even if I do have to pay a little more. It gives me peace of mind.

I've renting directly from owners twice. The first time was a place in the Laurentians (north of Montreal). whe we got to our hose we found it already occupied. The person said he was a friend of the owners and that was enough room in the house for all of us. I politely told him that would not work. I told him he had to leave oe I wanted him to give me my money back. He ruluctantly left.

Another time, I found a beach house to be "uninhabitable"...absolute filth, bare electrical wires, etc.
I was able to stop payment on ther balance due and find another place elswhere.

As for references, I'm a skeptic. I think it islike when a company asks an individual for personal(not business) references....people give family or friends.

I've never had a problem in places I've booked through an rental agency in Hawaii as well as elsewhere outside the U.S.

Tandoori_Girl

Here's the other side, from the owners POV. I just talked to a friend who had her condo in Indian Rocks (St. Pete area) listed with an agent/renting company. She was to be notified when she had renters. She went to her place and found inflatable rafts left in the living room. The rental company claimed not to know anything about it. They hadn't found her any renters but they were the only ones with keys.

So don't think that it's a glorious thing for an owner to list with a company.

here_today_gone2Maui

BB, I am not talking about other areas in the country, I am talking about condotels here in Kihei. Many of them have written right into their association rules that you must have a property management company here on the island, whether you list it through as realtor or list it on a wbsite site and rent it out directly. This is not third party info, buy first-hand knowledge as we looked into purchasing a unit last year. Written right into the property owners' association rules it stated that anyone who intends to rent out ther unit must register a property manager with the association. Others we looked at handled all management duties for the owner but the cost for this was built into the association fees. The resident manager handles all of the unit cleaning, checking in and monitoring of guests, maintenance issues, etc, but they are do not handle the actual booking of guests. The owner is on their own and can list if themselves or through an agent.

I would assume that this is in place to secure the integrity of the complex name, as many of the condotels here on Maui have worked hard to establish themselves as reputable accomodations and they compete directly with hotels here on the island. If they have no checks and balances in place then one bad owner could potentially ruin their reputation

GoTravel

We've got vacation rentals and do not use VRBO.com but a rental agency. Why? Because I don't want to have to get out of bed in the middle of the night if something breaks.

I pay a lot to use a rental agency but then I don't have any marketing fees. They also cover the utilites.

I think this "friends of mine" or "I heard horror stories" probably isn't the most productive way to find out information on renting from owners.

Like TG and Lyb, I've had some horror story renters. A foam party cost me about $1200 out of pocket.

bonniebroad

Here_Today, I am sure that you are the expert on "many of the condotels in Kihei" and I do not claim to be. I do not doubt that certain areas and condotels have their own rules and regulations, and ways of doing things. I'm talking in general terms here about renting properties directly from the owners VS. management companies, about what I've seen and experienced, and what my friends who own and sometimes rent condos in the Carolinas, Maryland and Florida tell me. It's interesting to hear other opinions on the subject; however, I will always rent from a management company until I've actually seen and/or stayed in a condo. If someone else is comfortable going another route, more power to them!

bonniebroad

To those of you who own rentals, I sympathize with you over the problem you have with renters, but surely you knew when you chose to rent property that this would be part of the picture? A frequent comment from friends who own condos on the coast is that they'd love to make money by renting their condos when they're not there.......... but they don't want the headaches that go with renting, and they don't want their "other homes" ruined by slobs! Any money-making venture always has it's risks......

I'm always wishing I could find more rentals that allow pets, but when I see what some people allow their pets to do to a place, I know why they're so rare! Do any of you allow pets? I can imagine you'd have some real nightmarish tales to tell.

GoTravel

Bonnie, no one I know, my family included, that has a rental property has it to make money.

I can't speak for anyone else on this board but ours are rented out to have the mortgage paid (if there is one), to pay for insurance, to pay for upkeep, and to pay for taxes.

In the long run, it is the worth of the condo not the money from renters that gets you ahead.

bonniebroad

And if you didn't rent out the condo, you would have to find the money somewhere else to pay those expenses, right? So, to me, that is making money..........

here_today_gone2Maui

Let's see, the original post was inquiring about condo rentals in Hawaii. You asked "if I get to my condo and there's a mess, WHO'S gonna make 'em correct the situation?, " to which I repsonded with info pertinent to the original post, and I even offerd the caveat that requiring a mangement company is standard at many properties HERE, as in Hawaii, snad even mroe specifically, on Maui.

You then responded with yet another third-party andectdote contradicting me, interjecting information about renting cabins and whatnot in other places of the country, which has nothing to with my reply. Now you want to change my specific reply to a general discussion of renting from your friends on Florida.

How is any of this helpful to the OP, who asked for tips in renting directly from an owner? Perhaps you could ask some of your friends with horror stories to come here and post them for us, as I am always interested in reading first-hand experiences on this forum.

lcuy

In Hawaii, you are required to have a manager on the same island as the rental unit, BUT the law does nor say this manager has to be anything other than a person to accept calls and/or legal service.

Buildings that are run as hotels may require owners to list a manager, plus as said, they have a reputation to uphold and have other units that may be available. These are the safest bets if you want to rent from an owner, although I'd rather rent from the agency that manages the building.

I think many problems with renting from individuals come more from units that are not part of condotels - houses, rooms in houses, etc. Often the units are not legal rentals. Many, many of the units in Kailua and Lanikai on Oahu are not legal, and this includes many of the listings on VRBO.com. The units are not legal, the owners are far away, and why would they bother with a manager if the unit isn't even legal? It makes it really hard to go after them them even if you do have a legitimate claim.


Anyway, back to the original question...Here are the questions I would ask before renting:

Can you give me the names of satisfied guests?
Names of a local company with whom at you do business? (handiman, plumber, or even a neighbor of the home)

Is there parking on site? If not, is there street parking? If on street, will the neighbors be calling the police if we take "their spot"?

What is your General Excise tax number?

For Beach properties: Are you ON the beach or off the beach but with a path to the beach? Is it a beach safe for swimming? Is there sand? rocks? cliffs? Is it an ocean beach or a bay? Are there waves?

when you say the house sleeps 6 or 10 or 12, are there that many beds, or are you figuring 3 people per bed? Is the 36 inch padded window seat a bed or a chair?

Who is your cleaning person? Can I have their number in case we get there and the house is not satisfactory?

Will someone meet us at the home? If not, how will you know if the last tenant left it damaged or dirty?

When was the last time you saw the unit yourself?

Do you have an inventory of the furnishings and kitchen supplies?

What is your back up plan for us if there are major damages and we can't stay in the unit? Immediated refund, network of other units avail, etc?

I have rented some beach houses (thru VRBO too), but I'm able to physically check them out before putting money down. Some are fabulous deals, others are not nearly as nice as pictured on the web.

The bottom line.. check all the references VERY carefully before sending money...especially if they won't accept credit cards.

Dan

I do realize the original poster inquired about Hawaii, but I would like to note that short-term "condo rentals" are illegal in places like New Orleans and Key West. It's against the law in those places (and others) to rent for less than 30 days. You have far less consumer protection in those places as the cities won't go to bat for you in the rare case of a dispute.

GoTravel

here_today, you are correct and this is my last post on this thread.

Bonnie, you absolutely cannot go into buying a vacation home with the expectation that you will be able to rent it out to cover any of the expenses.

You must figure worst case scenario that you ALONE will be responsible for all expenses and you cannot figure rental fees into this equation.

Remember the events of 2 1/2 years ago and how the travel industry collapsed.