Vacation rental - questions to ask?
 

Hello everyone,

I found a great condo in Miami that I would like to rent for a weekend. I'm getting ready to call the owner and trying to come up with a list of questions to ask. I've never done this before, so if there is anything I've missed, please feel free to add to the list!! Thanks so much for your guidance.

- security deposit?
- parking available?
- Check in/out times?
- payment arrangements?
- cleaning fee?

Ask for a list of emergency contacts. Who do you call if the AC goes out in the middle of the night?

Ask if you have access to all condo amenities.

There is a good post by Marvin Floyd, the General Manager of VRBO, on this forum where he gives good advice for renting a vacation property, and at the end of his posts he lists things to ask about. Go to the "Other Topics" forum, and put VRBO in the search box. His post is included in the first of two posts that will come up.

I would also ask if you need to bring your own sheets and towels and what utensils/pots/dishes are in the kitchen. Garbage bags, toilet paper?

You might also ask if there are any rules around guests visiting you or using facilities in the building such as the pool.

Is there an internet connection and a land line? What are the fees for using these?

cancellation policy - i find that with condos they are much stricter than with hotels, especially if during a high season.

lizzie - those are really good ones. I ran across the "sheets/linen" thing for the first time just recently, along with providing all paper products (trash bags, papertowels, etc).

Also, definitely the parking situation. We are two families traveling from two different locations. Turns out, even though it's a two bedroom condo, we only get one space (unlike another condo where we've stayed). Had to get info about permit parking for the area where we are vacationing.

Also, is this a legal rental? Many condos in Florida do not allow rentals for less than three months, but that does not stop owners from trying to rent them for less than that. If it is not legal,you may very well not have access to facilities/amenities if this is the case since they require picture ID cards that you won't have!

Oh, I so agree with the above post on asking about the cancellation policy.
When asking this question, we have recieved the reply of "no cancellations allowed of any kind" to 72 hour, etc.
We always ask this question.

This might relate more to a house rental than a condo, but you might want to ask about trash removal and recycling?