Where to start?

[Curious]

Hi,

I've had my travel agent look into Villa's for me and he has not come up with anything comparable to what I have found online (quality wise).

I am very apprehensive about paying for something and then hoping when I get to Florida that it all works out.

Is there a star rating on houses like on hotels? As when I have gone into some of the links there is quite a range of pricing.

Is there any protection for the rentor when dealing online with a stranger?

I'm sorry to sound unsure after reading all the feedback on this site everyone seems great but....

I am looking for a 3 bedroom villa close to Walmart and Disney with accomodation for a baby. Does anyone have any recommendations as to the area I should be looking at?

Thanks for any help you can give me.

[Paula D-S]

Hello and welcome to these forums.

The villas on this site are are verified which means we have to send prove that we are the owners of our villas and I'm sure many renters will be along shortly to put your mind at rest.

If you do choose a villa from these sites you will be dealing direct with the owner so any advice or help you need you will be getting a personal service at all times.

All the communities on this site are only a short drive away from the parks and supermarket so you will never find yourself without a local Walmart.

Many homes do offer baby equipment, if you place an enquiry on any of these sites and put in the notes what your requirements are I'm sure you will be spoilt for choice.

http://www.orlandovillas.com/
http://www.villasflorida.com/
http://www.onlinefloridavillas.com/
http://www.orlandovillarental.com/

Have fun planning your vacation and any other advice you need please ask, we are only too happy to help.

[shenon]

Big welcome to the forum and as Paula has said all the villas advertised on here are verified so you have come to the right place I know it must be a bit daunting when booking up this way for the first time but you have the benefit of choosing exactly which home you stay in,the prices do vary but then all homes offer different things so this is often reflected in the price.I have in the past had guests who have been a little unsure but once i have spoken to them and given them our management companies details so they can also speak to them for some extra reassurance everything has gone smoothly.Good luck with your planning and have a great trip[msnsmile2]

[Fourdents]

Renting for the first time and via the internet can be very daunting

All villa owners on this website are checked out before being able to advertise.

As these villas are our homes we have an interest in making sure as far as is possible all business is conducted in a proper manner.

As owners we rent out our homes, do not know the people who rent and rely on people to respect our homes, pay on time etc. so we like as far as is possible to have good renters too.

I hope that you will feel confident to be in touch with some of the owners, ask plenty of questions.
Visit this forum regularly and see how you get on.

[Genie]

The good thing about booking from the site here is that all the villas are verified. You get to know the owner that you book with and can chat to them on the phone if you want to , ask any questions, we all love talking about Florida and are passionate about our villas, they can also put you in touch with other people that have stayed there if it makes you feel happier. Most owners go to stay in them themselves too usually at least once or twice ( and some of us more ! )a year so they are always maintained to the highest standards. This has to be better than booking with an agent and not knowing where you will end up. Give it a go , I'm sure you will be pleasantly surpised.

[LiesaAnna]

Hi Curious
welcome to the OV forum, you wont go wrong if you rent from any of the villa owners here, theyre a great friendly bunch who will all do whatever they can to ensure you'll have a great stay!

[Rhosyn]

As Paula has said the owners of this site run a very tight ship all owners are verified making sure they own the villas, May I add that we work very hard to keep our villas to a high standard as many are a second home to us. Baby equipment, most villa owners provide this as part of the rental and do not charge extra. Send out your enquire to the sites above asking for your requirements in the coment box. If you choose a villa from this site you are sure to have a great holiday.

[steph_goodrum]

Hi welcome to the forum and I hope you are looking forward to your trip to Florida.

Ultimately you have already discovered the main difference between the homes you can book through a travel agent and direct with the owners is the quality. Most of the programmes that offer the homes to travel agents (or any third parties) pay such a poor rate to the homeowner (even though some may actually charge more to the guest than a direct owner booking) that the owner is not usually in a position to be able to afford to maintain it to the same standard as those who deal direct with guests.

Often those owners will be the ones who buy a property and leave it entirely to others to maintain, whereas the more hands on ones will be visiting a couple of times a year and inspect and maintain those details that might be overlooked by someone else.

In life there are no absolute guarantees but the site owners have done their utmost to ensure that only genuine homeowners are able to advertise on these sites and by dealing with owners direct you can have more confidence that you are going to get what you have asked for. An agent can tell you "yes theres baby equipment" but as the homes often arent allocated till you arrive you may not get one with a home that has what you need and then you have to start chasing around to get it.

Another thing we do ask the guests to consider is that, whilst we appreciate how unnerving it is to be handing money over to strangers for their rental homes and hoping you get what you want, on the other side it is also the smae on our side of the fence when every couple of weeks you are handing your property (generally worth in the region of at least a couple of hundred thousand dollars) over to strangers and hoping that they will take care of it, and believe me we havd heard a few horror stories that you wouldnt believe.

All in all, if you do your research for what sort of home you want, ask for a phone number and speak to the owner direct, and specific request make sure you confirm in email etc and I'm sure you'll soon feel a lot more confident that all will be well. Have fun choosing.

[Curious]

Thanks for the feedback. I never realized that its a risk for both parties.

I have got a couple of e-mails but not yet what I am looking for. The one that I really liked is not available.

I did notice that when I go onto every Florida one it seems to bring up the same availablity e-mail request. Did I send 4 to the same place? Are all 4 sights managed by the same company?

Thanks

[blott]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Curious
Thanks for the feedback. I never realized that its a risk for both parties.

I have got a couple of e-mails but not yet what I am looking for. The one that I really liked is not available.

I did notice that when I go onto every Florida one it seems to bring up the same availablity e-mail request. Did I send 4 to the same place? Are all 4 sights managed by the same company?

Thanks[/quote]The listing sites themselves (links at the top of each forum page) are owned by the same owners as the forum but all the homes are owned by individual owners so you get to ask them any questions you want about their homes as they are experts on their own home. You'll get responses from individual home owners.

Each of the four sites have different homes on them so you won't find the same home advertised on another of the four websites. If you want a really wide choice to choose from, you need to make an enquiry to each website and you can put a 'wish list' into the comments box if you want to do so for a particular feature of the homes that you'd like - then only owners with those features who have availability for your dates will reply to you.

Have fun choosing.