Owners! What goes in that closet?

I think anyone who sees or has a hunch that this is happening in a rental property should contact the rental agency if possible (usually the name of the agency is posted). That happened a few times in our community and people were asked to leave the rental and I believe they lost their money (since they lied about their ages and chaperone being there -- too young, no chaperone).

So, let's all look out for each other's properties. It's pretty easy to spot excessive partiers and under-agers.

Someone took a bag of clothes that I had clearly labeled as my clothes and put high up on the shelf. Don't know if it was cleaning people or guests, but now I lock a few things up and won't miss them too much if they're gone.

The worst damage I ever did to anyone's condo was to walk into the closed sliding glass door. :floor:

That was just a LITTLE embarassing.

The only thing broken was my dignity.

Was that after the fifth of Tequila? :floor:

Katie,
That is awful what you had to go through. I hope the kids had to pay for the damage!!!!

Katie,
That is awful what you had to go through. I hope the kids had to pay for the damage!!!!

Well, the mom got the bill. I can only hope she's making them flip one heckuva lot of burgers this summer paying her back. Let's hope it was a lesson to all of them, mom included.

Was that after the fifth of Tequila? :floor:

No, this was in the morning. After the first round of screwdrivers.

Sigh...sadly, it happens. Happened to us this spring. Some woman rented our house (illegally) for about a dozen 17-year olds, who proceeded to trash the house with a food fight, (resulting in a dozen holes in the wall, mustard stains everywhere, spaghetti stuck to the ceiling, just for starters.) They jimmied into our owner's lockout, drinking all the liquor, and smashing our bikes to smithereens. They took our rubbermaid storage units and filled them to the brim with leftover burgers and brats, which we found in the backyard, left out in the sun and rain for 2 weeks...mhmm, good times. :roll:

Luckily all was fixed, and we got new bikes out of it. And I'm certain there's one woman who will never sign over her credit card for her son's friends again! So moral of the story--yes, it can happen. I just wouldn't leave anything in there that's irreplaceable.

I'm not sure our rental company would have noticed it. We are the only ones who have ever discovered damage. We have to pay for it all out of our own pockets, so damage deposits mean nothing. I recently sent them an email on this very topic. Scares me. The rental company never knows which guest did the damage because their excuse is that they can't check everything in-between rentals in the busy summer season.

Well, the mom got the bill. I can only hope she's making them flip one heckuva lot of burgers this summer paying her back. Let's hope it was a lesson to all of them, mom included.

Really stinks they had to choose your piece of paradise to ransack. Maybe next time they'll go to Daytona

You know, it would be nice to have somewhere on this site a designated thread that owners can use to warn other owners of certain guests, somewhat like a black list. We had some college students who tried to rent our home this past Spring Break that rented my friends home in the same neighborhood the previous year. They destroyed her home. Luckly I was familiar with the name because of everything that happend and I emailed him and told him I did not think it was a very good idea for him to try and rent in our neighborhood because the owners have been warned.

I'm not sure our rental company would have noticed it. We are the only ones who have ever discovered damage.

Us too. In fact, our neighbor said the maids spent all day cleaning up (even though it was still filthy when we arrived, our new berber rug soaked, stained and ruined...) Adn the maids never alerted the company to the mess. The holes in the walls were all "disguised" by someone (maids or guests?) who had renailed all our paintings and mirrors over the holes. The rental company never would have mentioned this to us had we not caught it ourselves. Thank goodness we did. It's scary to think.

Wow. I used to be innocent before I discovered this forum! It's been a real eye-opener to see life on the "other" side. We've always been so respectful of the places we've stayed at and it honestly never occurred to me that other people would not be the same. It's a pity that 98% of the guests who visit 30-A are the kind you love...and the others...arrggg!

We have friends who have a condo in Sanibel and they said they keep a bottle of good scotch in their closet because after an 18-hour drive from Indianapolis, they need it! We have other friends who are retired and they snowbird it in the Carribbean and their closet has all their kitchen utensils, like the good knives and all the KitchenAid stuff. I'm thinking that's what we'll probably keep in ours--I enjoy cooking and am very particular about my kitchen gadgets. They'll probably stay private. And good towels, too, are nice and my knit sheets. Anything else, I don't think I'm bothered about. Although keeping the extra sunscreen and miscellaneous toiletries is a super idea!

I sure am thankful I haven't had such problems yet, but I'm sure my day will come. We're ready for just about anything, except serious damage to floors, walls, and furniture. Most of our stuff is washable and replaceable. We leave all of our kitchen stuff out for guests to use (including good appliances). But we don't have $200 appliances at home either (except for our fantastic blender we keep at home).

We advertise our places and our community as family-friendly which means we do tend to get families and people who want to party don't really want to party with a lot of toddlers /families around. I should make sure to say "Barney videos" in the advertisement to make the point even more powerful!

Frankly, our cottages and community work very well for adults travelling together as well, but our advertisement clearly says they must be 25 or older to rent. I think I'll add that their rental money will be forfeited if they are asked to leave because they are under 25. It just won't be worth the risk.

I did have a group of young men stay at the cottages about 2 years ago and they were wonderful. The young man who contacted me convinced me that he was a good guy, gave me references (including his youth pastor), and told me he and his friends would assure me that the cottages would be in even better shape when they left than when they arrived. I was impressed with him and gave him a reference for the following year when he wanted one for another place he was staying.

And I tell our children that when they're old enough to stay at the cottages (or anywhere) without adult supervision, I fully expect that they'll "uphold the family reputation" and that the other owners will be watching them and won't hesitate to call us. They'll learn to be good citizens for sure (and I expect nothing less)!

You know, it would be nice to have somewhere on this site a designated thread that owners can use to warn other owners of certain guests, somewhat like a black list. We had some college students who tried to rent our home this past Spring Break that rented my friends home in the same neighborhood the previous year. They destroyed her home. Luckly I was familiar with the name because of everything that happend and I emailed him and told him I did not think it was a very good idea for him to try and rent in our neighborhood because the owners have been warned.

But the thing is, we typically have several guests between when we are last at our home and when we discover the damage. So which guest do you blame? There's no accountability!!!!!

But the thing is, we typically have several guests between when we are last at our home and when we discover the damage. So which guest do you blame? There's no accountability!!!!!

It would really be good for those owners who do most of their own renting. My housekeeper keeps a log of the condition of the home when she inspects before the cleaning crew comes in so I have and idea of what the condition is and I keep a log of who is in there.

We are very lucky to have 3 owners closets and one garage, in which we have a small refrigerator. We have a rule that you never leave without making sure there's at least 3 beers, one bottle of wine, and a mornings worth of coffee in the frige. When we've traveled for 8 hours and get in at midnight it's great to know we can have a drink, go to bed, and have coffee in the morning.

You know, it would be nice to have somewhere on this site a designated thread that owners can use to warn other owners of certain guests, somewhat like a black list.

I like that idea A LOT. It will require agreement from all (or most) of the management companies in order to work, though.

Are there any attorneys on board who can comment on the legal issues of such a blacklist?

The house we rent in Dune Allen is usually overgrown with grass and weeds whenever we show up. I'm not sure about the guy they have hired to keep the place up, but he's not very punctual with his groundskeeping.

This year, I actually brought my weedeater and trimmed around the walkways so we could maybe catch a glimpse of the snakes before they bit us.

The lawn guy showed up the third day we were there and stood there looking out at the yard while scratching his head.

The lawn guy showed up the third day we were there and stood there looking out at the yard while scratching his head.

And picking his bum :laughing1

And picking his bum :laughing1

This guy was a real work of art. Nice fella, but strange. He showed up in a beat up van full of god knows what.

He had what appeared to be an entire can of brill cream in his hair, and he smoked a big cigar the whole time he worked, in the 95 degree heat, no less.