Vacation Rentals By Owner v Property Manager
Vacation Rentals By Owner v Property Manager
By Nigel G. Worrall 
Renting a vacation home is rapidly becoming the favorite method for more and more families traveling on vacation or taking a short mini break. There’s often confusion about who to rent a home from; do you rent directly from the owner (VRBO) or do you rent via a property manager?
While the internet has ample information available on the subject of renting a vacation home, not all the facts presented are to be trusted so you do need to be very careful to weigh up all the options.
1. Property Management Firms Provide Professional Help
One of the main advantages of renting a vacation home from a property manager rather than from a home owner directly is that a property management firm is a professional organization and it is well versed with the procedures that are involved in renting a holiday home. As a property manager is a thorough professional, he possesses the required expertise to complete all the legal formalities with utmost ease and this means that you get a level of protection not experienced when you rent direct with an owner.
2. Easier To Find The Perfect Getaway
The second distinct advantage of making a reservation through a property manager is the simple fact that they have more choice open to you. A property manager usually manages many homes and this means you can find the perfect getaway home much easier simply by scanning their web site.
3. You Save Precious Time
Renting a vacation home from a property manager rather than from a homeowner directly has another distinct advantage and that is, if something goes wrong with the home you have rented, it is easy for the property manager to move you into another similar home. With a vacation rental by owner, you only have one choice…the house you rented from them and it may take hours or days to fix major problems.
4. Foreclosure & Fraud
Unfortunately more and more vacation rental owners are finding it hard to make ends meet and more and more vacation homes are going into foreclosure. Imagine how you would feel if you arrived at the vacation home you had rented from an owner and found out that the house was now owned by the bank instead?
Further, renting a home directly from a homeowner also increases the chances of being ripped off. While most homeowners are great, there are some criminals out there who are taking money off unsuspecting people by posing as a homeowner when in fact they are not. The scam works fairly easily as the criminal advertises a property they don’t own, the guest then makes a reservation and pays over their hard earned money. They then arrive to find the person they rented from wasn’t the owner…or worse, there is no property!
You can protect yourself from all this and from losing your vacation by renting from a professional property management company instead. Property managers have many homes and in the unlikely event that a home they manage goes into foreclosure, they can provide you another vacation rental home instead.
5. They Arrange For Diverse Services
Renting a vacation home from a property manager rather than from a homeowner directly offers other extremely beneficial advantages. A property manager usually has a large range of diverse services available that can suit your needs. Property manager’s can arrange for car hire and transportation needs, some have a concierge to help plan your vacation and of course, all have an intimate knowledge of their local area for finding those special places and things to do that only local’s know about.
There’s a lot to consider when renting a vacation rental home and hopefully this article will have helped you in planning your next break. You now know why it is in your best interest to rent a vacation rental home from a property manager rather than a home owner directly. Enjoy your next vacation secure in the knowledge you have made the wisest decision.
