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Thread: Where do I start to rent a Villa

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  1. #1
    Florida Newbie
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
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    1

    Where do I start to rent a Villa

    Help........

    My family wants to go to Florida for one week in February only, do a little Disney. We would like to rent a Villa.We've never been to Florida.
    When I went on-line I was amazed by the volume.

    Where do I start?
    Home owners or resort companies

    Confused

    Brian


  2. #2
    Super Moderator caroline's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2002
    Location
    Calabay Parc, Florida & Purley, Surrey
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    8,243
    Hi Brian
    Definitely with Home owners

    Best thing is either to browse the list of villas and then enquire about the ones that appeal to you or if it's a little overwhelming send out a general enquiry from the home page - I'm sure you'll enjoy looking through all the replies and then selecting the home that suits your family's requirements....

    Hope you find a villa you like
    Caroline & Dave



  3. #3
    Gold 5 Star Member fiona's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Maidenhead, Berkshire
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    6,983
    Dear Brian

    Why don't you just have a look at the villas here on Orlando Villas.com?

    Do a general enquiry and see what villas are available for you to choose from. I think you'll find we villa owners are very friendly and helpful, and have the time to answer loads of questions.

    You can always have a look at a resort company and then see what you like the best, and who you thought was the nicest to deal with!

    We all love our villas, spends as much time as we can in Florida and are only to happy to offer advice. After all, we can all remember our first time here - how magical it can be, and if you are coming for a week you want to be sure that you get the best out of every day. So take the worry about the accommodation away and decided how many bedrooms you want, and go from there.
    Fiona


  4. #4
    Gold 5 Star Member
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    Feb 2002
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    7,007
    Stick to this site as most owners on here are verified and all are private homeowners so you will not be besieged by management companies. Decide on a budget and pick some houses out within this budget and send availability enquiries. Or you can send out a general enquiry which will go out to everyone but expect a lot of replies to wade through. Some of us accept credit card payments which helps alleviate the currency difficulties ( dont know of any Canadian owners).
    Julie


  5. #5
    Gold 5 Star Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
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    23,905
    There's also a link to a lot of useful info on renting a vacation home for the first time on the front page of this site (www.orlandovillas.com) but if you want to ask anything not covered, just let us know and we'll do our best to answer.

    If you know how many of you are staying, then that will give you a guide as to the number of bedrooms you will need. If you have a tight budget, then each home on here has their prices on their page. If you rent from a private owner, the prices are likely to be less expensive than renting the same home via a resort company. There's a map (also on the front page - see above) which will give you an idea where the communities are located and also some descriptions of what they're like.

    Florida's a great place for a vacation and a vacation home is much more relaxing than staying in a hotel as it's just like home!
    blott


  6. #6
    Florida Newbie
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Posts
    28
    I started in October looking for a villa for the first part of July 2003. There is such a variety in homes that I first had to make up my mind what was an absolute necessity for my and my family. So I made a list that included number of bedrooms, distance from the airport and WDW, if it had a pool, was the pool private, etc. I found that I could actually pick out exactly what I wanted by renting from a private owner rather than take what they would give me had I rented from a rental company or such. Although, I'm sure the accomodations probably would have been nice, I wanted everything to be just so. I had more control of what I was getting by going through a private owner. I then went through and listed about 12 of them that I was interested in. If a listing has an online availability calander that's a plus. I then narrowed it down even further based on decor. Was the decorating sparse or did it have a homey feel? I ended up with about 5 in the finals that were available. I then did the research on the remaining ones. I could verify 3 through the State of Florida public records, mortgage deeds and land owners (also on line). 2 of them I could not. Well, during the process of all of this, one of the 3 that I could verify rented. I based my final decision out of the two, which were the identical price and amentities, on how nice the owner was to me and how trustworthy and honest I perceived the person to be.
    I am totally comfortable with my decision. But, the nice people here at Orlando Villas has already done alot of this work for you. And, from what I've read, this site has a great reputation. It's up to you I guess and how much work you're willing to put in and how important your accomodations are.


  7. #7
    Florida Newbie
    Join Date
    Dec 2002
    Posts
    16
    hi everybody
    im hoping to go to orlando in easter 2003
    i have 2 children aged 14 and 12, myself and good lady wife
    never been before so its a minefield for me
    hoping somebody can give me some tips etc about the best thing to do regarding villas the best way to take and exchange money etc
    we are looking for a 3 bed villa not to far from main attractions or some nightlife restuarants shops etc
    thanks in anticipation
    kevin
    kkevingo


  8. #8
    Site Owner and Admin floridadreamvilla.co.uk's Avatar
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    Jan 2002
    Location
    Bolas Heath, Shropshire, UK and Crescent Lakes, Kissimmee, USA.
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    21,327
    Hi Kevin

    You've found the best place to ask about your trip - welcome!

    First thing I'd say is to make some enquiries and decide on a villa as soon as possible as Easter is the busiest time of year for villa owners and a lot of villas will already be booked for Easter 2003 already (we sold Easter 2003 in our own 3 bed villa about a year ago!).

    The best thing to do is use the form at the foot of any 3 bed villa on www.orlandovillas.com or www.vacation-rental-villas.com and tick the 'Send to all 3 bed owners' box. This means that your enquiry will get sent to all the 3 bed owners we have, ensuring the ones with availability get back to you. You should expect to get replies (assuming anyone has availability) almost immediately.

    I'd also be thinking about booking flights very soon if you have not done already as they are likely to be very busy.



  9. #9
    Gold 5 Star Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
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    7,007
    Kevin, you also ask about taking money. I take American Express Dollar Travellers cheques which are very convenient because you can spend them in shops and restaurants like money and they give you change in dollars. This means you dont really have to change money at a bank when you are in America. Most UK banks now do dollar travellers cheques. Dont take sterling ones as the mighty greenback is the only ballgame in town in the US.
    Julie


  10. #10
    Gold 5 Star Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Posts
    6,949
    When we go to the USA we take some American Express Travellers cheques like Julie, however they take credit cards no problem and we tend to use ours a lot while we are there
    Ruth


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