I'm looking at an apartment rental for Christmas on VRBO. Seems to good to be true and reviews are all one week after another. I received an email from the person who rents it, just getting a weird vibe. Could it be a fake? How can I tell? Is there any recourse with VRBO?
http://www.vrbo.com/340715

I replied to your other similar thread.

Since I did not see the other thread, I'll reply to this one. The price does seem to be unusually low for what is offered. On the other hand, We stayed in the Russian Hill area on our last SF trip and liked it for its vibe and convenience to the tourist areas if you don't mind using public transportation or some long walks. Being near the cable car is a plus. Russian Hill in general tends to have lower prices than the more central/touristy areas of the city. We would stay there again.

The reviews do seem a little questionable, I see that his other rental only has reviews all posted in April. Just because he posts fake reviews doesn't mean that the place is bad, but why would you rent from someone that you are getting a "weird vibe" from? Move on....

The guy just bought the place this year and renovated it - evidently for rentals. I think that may be the reason for only recent reviews.

San Francisco passed a city code back in the early 80's that residences cannot legally be rented for less then 30 days. The city didn't bother enforcing that law. But recently there has been much discussions from what I have read that they, meaning the city, will start enforcing the law. Comments were made that less then 30 day tenants that rent from private property owners are cheating SF out of the 15% (think it is 15%) hotel tax and that also many places are not up to code regarding safety and health issues.

I find it hard to believe that any SF property owner that rents out their property for less then 30 days is ignorant of the fact that they are breaking the law. So, imo, they are untrusty at least in that regard.

I actually disagree that most people in SF know the law regarding short-term rentals. I didn't know it until I recently read an article in the paper, and I've lived and worked in the Bay Area for nearly 40 years.

you are the poster who had SO many problems traveling with your infant..if you don't understand h ins and outs of VRBO you should spend the $$ for a hotel. VRBO means exactly what it says...vacation rentals by owner.

and i agree w/ SF7307 - I've been in SF for 30 years and follow ALL these laws pretty closely and never heard of a crackdown.

The rate seems awfully low to be legitimate.

And no, VRBO doesn;t give guarantees. If you get there and it's not real - or not what you need - there's nothing they can do to help you. (If you buy their insurance plan you may recoup money later - but that doesn;t help you at the time.)

Mztery, I didn't have "SO" many problems traveling with my infant, I had normal challenges that someone may have traveling with a 4 month old (at the time) and things actually went quite well.

The holiday rate for this flat is $213 a night. I didn't know anything about the 30 day rental deal, I did see he mentions in his ad in the rate section that the "max stay is 290 days". Most of the one bedrooms in Russian hill are about $200 so yes it does seem low. This is why I prefer renting from an agency, so hard to tell these days who is legit. Thanks for all the tips.

And sorry I posted the question from my phone and it locked up, something went wrong and it posted twice.

except you disregarded the advice to bring a cheap stroller and had to deal with your broken one the whole trip.

Mztery, it was a cheap stroller and my husband fixed it after we got into Paris. A very nice man was renovating a building near our flat and was kind enough to let him use his tools. It was a little wobbly but it worked. I considered all kinds of advice and from all kinds of sources and I took the advice I felt was most appropriate for our situation. I would imagine if it were a cheaper stroller than the one we bought we wouldn't have been able to fix it!

There are a couple of 1 bedroom units for $200 a night in a less desirable but still nice location so it does seem odd. We've been staying in a hotel in Chinatown for the last 12 years, however, now that we have a baby we need a separate bedroom. I'm very sad not to stay in "our" hotel but life has changed and now so must we!

Sorry I meant max stay is 29 days not 290 days. I'm not typing well tonight!

We are staying in the apt in October and have someone actually meet the owner and see the apt. It is available during Christmas at $150. See what you think:

http://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23636

Love that kitchen Deb! Wow!

correction:
"and have ALREADY HAD someone actually meet the owner and see the apt."

Wow that's some gorgeous apartment! The Castro is a little far from where we want to be though, but that's quite a steal!

It's a pretty easy ride on the F street car to Union Sq, the Ferry Bldg etc. And the place you are looking at on Russian Hill is in a pretty steep area which might be pretty tough with a stroller. Just saying

Those reviews do seem to be worded a little strange. Noticed that not one of them had any little negative to say. Usually, someone will say something that they feel could improve the place.