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goin' coastal

Beach Lover
Jul 11, 2005
106
8
Beachlover2 said:
OK - Seems every time I get down there I have to clean the bottom of the dishwasher - ALWAYS have broken glass blocking the drain. Sounds like yours was abuse - but make sure you clean out your drains or someday it could be a major flood in your kitchen.

We just had a $300.00 repair to a 2 year old stove in our one unit. Not sure what happened.

Also does anyone know how to get pen off of leather. Some little person decided to scribble on our one chair. At least it is on the side and not too noticeable - but still would like to get rid of it.

I have had some luck with cream leather cleaner to remove ink off of a purse.
Thanks for the tip about the dishwasher. I forgot we had a stove repair too--almost new. You just hemorrhage so much money you forget.
 

JB

Beach Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
1,446
40
Tuscaloosa
Getting in on this thread a little late. But....just some thoughts from someone who has been renting properties on 30-A for almost 20 years.

Most times, we have rented through agencies. If I rent through an agency, and the owner of the house calls up to check on things, I would likely be a little ticked off. In this situation, my relationship is with the agency, not the owner. I couldn't care less who owns the home.

We stayed in a house one year that was for sale. During the middle of our stay, a real estate agent had the unmitigated gall to try and show the house during our stay. To say I was angry was an understatement. I asked them to leave, then called the rental agency and ripped them a new one. There are certain "lines" you just don't cross.

Now, if I did rent directly from an owner, and said owner called the house not long after we arrived to make sure we got there OK and to make sure everything was in order, I would be appreciative of this gesture. Any further contact initiated by the owner (short of some kind of emergency) would not be appreciated.

For all you owners who don't utilize an agency, and have had problems with people trashing your houses, would it not be possible to check references on a potential guest?

I don't know what the standard rate is for having an agency handle your rentals (10-20%?), but it seems to me it sure would eliminate alot of headaches.
 

Rather B Paddlin

Beach Lover
Feb 15, 2005
178
14
JB,

Rental agencies charge 25% and more plus all the other fees. Some agencies cause more problems than help. Sorry that is a sad fact of life.

1-2 families a year cause 95% of all damage. As an owner it wears you down. You feel bad for the next guest who has to deal with the problems left by the previous guest. Owners do not usually cause the stains, burns, breaks, and other various damage that you see in a unit.

Please remember as guest you are renting the use of the property, you do not own it for the week you are there. I rent (as a tenant) quite a bit of industrial space and every standard lease gives the landlord the right to enter the property at will with notice. I do not own the property, I am paying for the right to use it.

If I have rental for sale and it needs to be shown, I will buy dinner the guests one night. Most guests do not have a problem with that.
 

JB

Beach Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
1,446
40
Tuscaloosa
Rather B. Paddlin said:
JB,

Rental agencies charge 25% and more plus all the other fees. Some agencies cause more problems than help. Sorry that is a sad fact of life.

1-2 families a year cause 95% of all damage. As an owner it wears you down. You feel bad for the next guest who has to deal with the problems left by the previous guest. Owners do not usually cause the stains, burns, breaks, and other various damage that you see in a unit.

Please remember as guest you are renting the use of the property, you do not own it for the week you are there. I rent (as a tenant) quite a bit of industrial space and every standard lease gives the landlord the right to enter the property at will with notice. I do not own the property, I am paying for the right to use it.

If I have rental for sale and it needs to be shown, I will buy dinner the guests one night. Most guests do not have a problem with that.

Well, I really wasn't expecting a lecture. I am the most responsible renter I've ever known.

I understand both sides. My family and I are ideal renters. I treat the place as if it were my own, even going the extra mile to make sure everything is in order during our stay and especially as we prepare to leave.

Unfortunately, there are many renters out there who simply have no respect for anything. They feel like if they fork out $2500 to stay somewhere for a week, then they can treat the place as they see fit. Discerning between deadbeats like that and responsible renters is a pretty tough thing to do.

Bottom line is, no house is perfect. As long as the power stays on, the appliances work (especially the A/C), and the house is secure when we're not there, then you'll get no complaints from me. You will also find your place in apple-pie order when I check out.

My one request is to be left alone to enjoy the privacy with my family. I don't like the thought of someone entering the premises without my knowledge. It makes me feel violated and I think it is crossing an "unwritten" line (unless, like I said, it's some kind of emergency).
 

goin' coastal

Beach Lover
Jul 11, 2005
106
8
I have an agency and as do most of the owners with damage problems. I advertise(vrbo,seaside times,mooncreek tour etc) since I refer 90% of my guests to the agency to handle I receive a 5% discount off the 25% the agency charges me.

I am unaware of any agency that does a reference or background check. It is a good idea but I have never done one either as an owner.The purpose of holding a deposit is to cover damages. When the house is cleaned hopefully the damage is reported to the office. Even when I had damage I was billed for the things repaired until I found the huge mess last spring. After months and persistance I am grateful to have received some restitution.
I am grateful also for an agency if they do the job. I have no idea how to get keys to folks 500 miles away and never take money. If they do a good job, it is well worth the 25% ,but that has not been the experience of many. I am now looking into yet a 3rd party inventory the house each week??? More expense for something that has already been paid once.
I have many wonderful guests . It is just the ones that do not care that ruin it for everyone else.
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
803
Rather B. Paddlin said:
JB,

Please remember as guest you are renting the use of the property, you do not own it for the week you are there. I rent (as a tenant) quite a bit of industrial space and every standard lease gives the landlord the right to enter the property at will with notice. I do not own the property, I am paying for the right to use it.

If I have rental for sale and it needs to be shown, I will buy dinner the guests one night. Most guests do not have a problem with that.

I'm going to side with JB on the "realtor walk-thru" issue. Having the realtor burst in on your family's vacation is a total crock!

The renter has the right to "quiet enjoyment" of the property they're paying for--if the owner has "just cause" to show up unannounced during the renter's stay (i.e., house on fire, call by police, violation of HOA rules) so be it.

If the owner plans on showing the house during a vacationer's stay, the renter should be told about this situation when they inquire about the rental and before they sign the contract--and then the agreement (and compensation, if negotiated) should be spelled out in the rental contract.

Other than that "Suzanne from Century 21" and her client should be given the boot. Case Closed!
 

toofargone

Beach Lover
May 9, 2005
110
16
I am sorry to hear of the problems many on this board have experienced with inconsiderate renters. I believe the welcome phone call is a good idea; once to touch base and see if anything is needed, answer questions, etc.
After that, I think the renter should be left alone unless the renter contacts the owner.

The owner of the property we rented will miss out on future rentals with us and the good word of mouth we have spread on previous properties. :sosad:
 

Mango

SoWal Insider
Apr 7, 2006
9,709
1,360
New York/ Santa Rosa Beach
toofargone said:
I am sorry to hear of the problems many on this board have experienced with inconsiderate renters. I believe the welcome phone call is a good idea; once to touch base and see if anything is needed, answer questions, etc.
After that, I think the renter should be left alone unless the renter contacts the owner.

The owner of the property we rented will miss out on future rentals with us and the good word of mouth we have spread on previous properties. :sosad:

That's been our philosophy. The only other contact I have after the welcome call is after they arrive home if they send an e-mail or call to tell us thanks. Sometimes they e-mail a nice note, but then ask when I sending back security desposit as soon as they arrive home, even though my lease specifically says within 3 weeks of departure. Then I get nervous why they are asking so quickly. Makes me wonder what they did and if they are nosying to see if we are on to it yet.
The bells go off.
 

TooFarTampa

SoWal Insider
This has been a very interesting thread, toofargone. Thanks for starting it. Sorry however that it was because you were so creeped out by the owner's behavior. I agree that it was way over the line.

It just seems to me that common sense would apply in all of these situations. I don't think there are hard rules. I agree that a Realtor showing up to show a rented property is uncalled for and ridiculous; but some renters may not mind it given plenty of notice. It really just depends, and a courtesy call from the rental agency well in advance to ask permission (while groveling) is probably OK. Trying to guilt them into it would not be.

When we purchased our house, we had a walk through scheduled right before closing and it happened that the house was rented at the time -- but we pretty much had to get in when we did as the sellers were very firm on the closing date. The rental agent arranged a time with the renters for us to come by for 15 minutes. Well, we forgot to change our watches and showed up an hour early! We were mortified but they let us in anyway; later that evening we dropped by with a basketful of yummy goodies from Cocoons Two as a thank-you. Nobody was unhappy, as far as I could tell.

We signed with a management company this year that offers a program where the owner can collect the money, mail out confirmations and policy info, pay taxes and generally deal with the renters in exchange for a sharply reduced commission rate. The management company handles the cleaning and deals with any issues that come up. It has worked very well for us so far as we have historically brought in our own renters anyway. Because of this I don't hesitate to call the renters on the Sunday or Monday after their arrival, and they have generally seemed appreciative. However, if I rented through an agency and received a call from an owner that I had had no previous contact with, I might consider it a bit jarring.

This year I'm stealing an idea from Donna and plan to get some Christmas cards printed up for the families who have stayed with us. We really want people to a) feel comfortable and welcomed yet b) know it is someone's home and not just a place to abuse while having fun. It's a delicate balance. And as referenced above, a small percentage of renters are not reasonable so you just hope that they don't spoil it for the people after them.
 

JB

Beach Fanatic
Nov 17, 2004
1,446
40
Tuscaloosa
TooFarTampa said:
This year I'm stealing an idea from Donna and plan to get some Christmas cards printed up for the families who have stayed with us. We really want people to a) feel comfortable and welcomed yet b) know it is someone's home and not just a place to abuse while having fun. It's a delicate balance. And as referenced above, a small percentage of renters are not reasonable so you just hope that they don't spoil it for the people after them.

That's a really nice gesture. If an owner did that for me, I would be very impressed and very much inclined to rent from them again. My rental history is probably 80 percent agency, 20 percent owner. Can't say I've ever had an owner show much appreciation for my business before. Certainly, agencies don't care if you rent from them or not. They know someone else will if I don't.

I would have a coronary if I received a Christmas card from say, Dune-Allen Realty. Heck, they always act like they are doing me a favor by allowing me to rent one of their units. :dunno:
 
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