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Owners direct for rental

Owners direct for rental

Old Feb 1st 2015, 1:02 pm
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Default Owners direct for rental

Looking ahead to the end of 2015 with the idea of booking a rental property for around 16 weeks in the south of Spain [wintering away] I have been browsing the internet and note a few websites where the deposit is paid for a property in advance and nearer the time full payment up front.

Read of a few horror stories where people were ripped off as the "so called' owner conned people- whereby they arrived at the property to find that the booking was a scam.

Is there any way of securing the booking without being ripped off? Thought of just driving down to an area and book a hotel then seek out a rental property that way less opportunity of a scam.

Any thoughts from the forum
Two bedrooms for non smokers and a wee terrier dog.
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 1:19 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

The only problem with owners direct is that they don't take the money, and don't assume responsibility for payments, as virtually all of the competition does.

It's important to have legal recourse, and if you wire money to some unknown "owner" listing a holiday let, and it turns out to be a scam, then your money is gone.

But if the "agent" (e.g., Owners Direct) accepts the money, then they are legally responsible for whether you receive the product satisfactorily.

AirBnb, HouseTrip, and all their (far more popular) competition accept the money directly, put it in escrow, and the owner doesn't receive it until after you have arrived and haven't filed any complaints. And if it's not right, you get the money back in full, and the offending listing is banned from their site. So, there's no motivation to put up scam ads or incorrect descriptions, because if it's a lie, they can't get the money anyway.

I've heard that Owners Direct, having resisted for a long time, has now (or is soon to) adopt the same payment model as their competition. So it may be worth asking about it.
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 1:33 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

if you look at "owners profile" you can see how long someone has been listing with them. A scam would be exposed very quickly and the "owner" would lose the listing. A few reviews would give me more peace of mind too.
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 1:34 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

I think you'll find that Owners Direct (HomeAway) do now follow the same model. They certainly take all the main methods of payment including Visa, MasterCard and PayPal.

They offer a £700 money back guarantee.


When I signed up with them, they needed to see a copy of the property deeds - so they do make extensive checks that the owner is not a scam artist.
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 3:40 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

'tell you one thing Tartanbird, if I was sure the people who rent our place every January/February/March were definitely not going in 2016, I would be on to you pretty fast. I have no doubt others will be contacting you offering terms so I will give you price guidelines:- The going rate for a centrally located apartment with 2 bedrooms in a decent resort is €550 per month + electricity.
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 4:16 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

".....tell you one thing Tartanbird, if I was sure the people who rent our place every January/February/March were definitely not going in 2016, I would be on to you pretty fast. I have no doubt others will be contacting you offering terms so I will give you price guidelines:- The going rate for a centrally located apartment with 2 bedrooms in a decent resort is €550 per month + electricity....."

Many thanks for the reply and of course the details. Just to let you know our circumstances:
Retired 68/67 living in Highlands of Scotland. Non smokers. Cairn terrier. Looking to winter away in south Spain from November to March. Require two bedrooms. Not too many stairs to climb- dodgy old knees. Somewhere to park car
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 4:25 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

Originally Posted by tartantbird
".....tell you one thing Tartanbird, if I was sure the people who rent our place every January/February/March were definitely not going in 2016, I would be on to you pretty fast. I have no doubt others will be contacting you offering terms so I will give you price guidelines:- The going rate for a centrally located apartment with 2 bedrooms in a decent resort is €550 per month + electricity....."

Many thanks for the reply and of course the details. Just to let you know our circumstances:
Retired 68/67 living in Highlands of Scotland. Non smokers. Cairn terrier. Looking to winter away in south Spain from November to March. Require two bedrooms. Not too many stairs to climb- dodgy old knees. Somewhere to park car
What sort of place are you looking for and where?
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 4:49 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

Property doesn't really matter to be honest. Apartment/house- More concerned of quality of furnishings and fittings. Two bedrooms.Not too many stairs. Where- anywhere south of Spain. Once identified a place will then look at location and surroundings. Rent- a fair price and comparable with others.
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Old Feb 1st 2015, 5:49 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

Originally Posted by tartantbird
Property doesn't really matter to be honest. Apartment/house- More concerned of quality of furnishings and fittings. Two bedrooms.Not too many stairs. Where- anywhere south of Spain. Once identified a place will then look at location and surroundings. Rent- a fair price and comparable with others.
Surely to narrow down your search you need to decide on location eg coast or inland, town or out of town,expat or non expat etc. before deciding on a property.
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Old Feb 2nd 2015, 7:01 am
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

Hi tartantbird, We advertise on Owners Direct and have done for the last ten years, if you look at the bottom of the ad. you can see how long someone has been on there for. If there was a problem with the advertiser they would be removed. We know a lot of the owners/managers for our area so know that most of them are genuine people. As for the other sites that you pay direct to the website e.g. Homeaway the problem for the owners is that they receive no money at all until the renters move in. This is a problem if you rely on the rental income to pay your mortgage and to maintain the property which a lot of owners do.
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Old Feb 2nd 2015, 8:41 am
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

I have to agree , we stopped using Holiday lettings as not only do they hold payment after the guests arrive but also do not pass on the deposit.
We were more than happy when asked to send anyone enquiring details of past guests or copies of utilities bills.
The risks of renting is a two way street not only for the prospective guest but also for the owners who also have no real idea of who the guests are.
The old saying if it looks too good to be true then it usually is.
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Old Feb 2nd 2015, 10:49 am
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Smile Re: Owners direct for rental

Originally Posted by EMR
I have to agree , we stopped using Holiday lettings as not only do they hold payment after the guests arrive but also do not pass on the deposit.
We were more than happy when asked to send anyone enquiring details of past guests or copies of utilities bills.
The risks of renting is a two way street not only for the prospective guest but also for the owners who also have no real idea of who the guests are.
The old saying if it looks too good to be true then it usually is.

EMR, I have to agree with you we do rent our properties out and don´t really know who is going to turn up and how they are going to treat your property. We have had some lovely people stay but then we have had some real scum bags. There should be somewhere on these rental sites for owners so that we can add comments about any problem guests to warn others, as you say it is a two way street. We once had four young girls who were worried sick about handing over a damage deposit to me it just didn´t register with them that I was handing over the keys to my house to them.
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Old Feb 2nd 2015, 11:39 am
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

It's true - you never know who you're renting to, and conversely, you never know who you're renting from. First-hand experience is the only way to know. But in the absence of any basis for trust, first experiences can be often render quite disappointing or even disastrous results.

I suppose if you need the money long before the customer receives the product, then the options that favour buyer safety would be less desirable. I reckon it's not unlike payday loans or anything else. The money is where the burden is. If you expect the middle man to assume all the risks, then naturally, they will profit from that in terms of higher commissions or other means.

But I find the sheer simplicity of those who simply hold the money until the product is agreeably delivered to be rather brilliant. Inherently mitigates risk for all parties, whilst providing both parties with security from fraud or frivolous last-minute cancellation, which ultimately makes the entire process less expensive for everyone. I reckon that explains a lot about AirBnb's success. It's a doddle for all involved, safe and cheap, too. We use AirBnb often, and have never been disappointed.

Now I'm certainly not criticising anyone who lives hand-to-mouth, as that's increasingly becoming a necessity, particularly in Europe. It just occurs to me that you really shouldn't have to.
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Old Feb 2nd 2015, 11:50 am
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

I have no real problem in payment being held until guests arrive but deposits should be paid to the property owner.
But this is not the case with Holiday Lettings.
We have refused bookings from this company for that reason.

The issue with companies like them is that owners are denied contact with guests until HL receive the deposit so you do not find out until the booking is made that the party could consist of a half a dozen heavy drinking rugby players or the nightmare hen party.
Only those with experience in the holiday rental market can really know the ups and downs .
We know of a family who rented a villa and arrived to find that the power and water had been disconnected.
The owners fault or the management company who had taken the money for bills and done a runner.

AM I think that you should join the real world, a world where the majority live hand to mouth as you call it.
It has got bugger all to do with Europe, the US , Asia or even Mars for that matter.
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Old Feb 2nd 2015, 12:52 pm
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Default Re: Owners direct for rental

Originally Posted by EMR

AM I think that you should join the real world, a world where the majority live hand to mouth as you call it.
It has got bugger all to do with Europe, the US , Asia or even Mars for that matter.
Well, OK, you're entitled to your opinion. And as you so often exemplify, the "real world" does indeed seem to be a matter of opinion, so I can't really argue with your version.

And as you've recently illustrated in your version of the "real world", surely the necessity of living hand to mouth all comes down to Gibraltar, responsible for the near-extinction of tuna. And besides, we're all better off if we're poor, aren't we?

Anyway, here's another "fantasy world" opinion for you:

Decline of European prosperity
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