I rented a vacation home for a week. I paid half the amount when I made the reservation. When I went to pay the balance I was a little shocked to see some additional charges tacked on. There was 1 charge for an additional $175 for extra guests. The house sleeps 12 and we only have 11 staying there so there isn't additional guests. There was a $500 charge for groups under 25 which I assume is an additional charge for anyone under age 25 since the owner doesn't want the house wrecked by parties. The adults on our trip are 27 and over and the children are 12 and under so no wild parties.
I had to pay the invoice as billed and the owner refunded the $675. But now I'm uneasy about the entire thing because there's also a $500 deposit for damage. I almost feel like I should take pictures of every single room on arrival to document conditions when I arrive and pictures again when I leave. Do you think its a good idea?
Unfortunately its too late to get another summer rental so we're locked into this but like I said I'm just trying to avoid getting stuck with paying things I shouldn't have to pay since I've already caught 2 things that could have cost me our entire food budget for the week we're staying.
I did read through the contract before agreeing to the rental. The 1 he sent listed the leased amount plus an additional $200 cleaning fee and a $500 deposit for damages to the place. Both I feel are reasonable charges that were disclosed up front. There was no mention of the other two fees in the contract and they didn't show up until the second invoice. The owner said that it was a problem with the home away website and he wasn't able to remove them from the invoice. I paid as billed and he agreed to refund for those 2 charges. Its showing a credit on the booking site but it hasn't filtered down to my credit card yet.
Eh--the owner is just covering their butt.
All charges should have been listed on the initial rental agreement/contract.
We've rented vacation home all up and down the east coast once or twice per year from New England to Florida and have never had unexpected, additional charges.
Before & After photos are an excellent idea. Renters should do this when they are moving into a new long-term place too.
It sounds like you are very observant, which is definitely a good thing! A $500 deposit (refundable) sounds reasonable, but you should verify whether the home-owner will be there to do a walk-through with you when you arrive & leave, how the condition of the home will be documented, what will be applied towards the deposit, & what the expectations are of you upon leaving (do you need to take out the trash, remake the beds, wash the laundry, etc.)
Definitely, for your own documentation, take pictures, & email them to yourself & owners showing the condition @ start, & end of your stay. I would specifically take detail pictures of any damage that exists when you arrive (holes in wall, scratches in woodwork, etc.) & point that out in the email. "Status of home when arrived was in good condition, existing crack in cabinet door (see photo)" for example.
Best bet is to get things in writing, signed by yourself & owners, upon arrival & check-out. I hope the owners are reasonable to work with, & you have a wonderful, stress-free vacation! T. :)
Sounds like this owner has been burned before.
Taking pictures before/after is a great idea.
HomeAway did that to me as well. Discussed it with the owner and refunds were given. It REALLY is a HomeAway issue. Now that I know, I'll make sure I talk these things thought with the owner before I book....
M.
Yes, take pictures.
They refunded you the $675, so I wouldn't worry too much.
I recently rented a cottage that slept 8, but the rates were based on double occupancy.
Since the owner refunded the extra charges, and it sounds like he did it without a fight, I wouldn't worry yourself about it. I do think taking pictures when you arrive won't hurt, but I wouldn't try to get out of the rental or find a new one or anything like that. Don't let it spoil your vacation. It sounds like the owner is a reasonable person.
Also, since you're not having any parties, you shouldn't have to worry about them finding any major damage or anything to charge you for.
Better safe than sorry. I think your idea of taking pictures when you arrive and again before you leave is a good one. If possible on your camera, turn on the option that allows a date stamp to show up on the corner of the picture.
A surcharge for underage renters is customary - most rental agencies and owners don't even rent to these folks. But you should not have been charged ahead of time for this. And you should not have been charged for extra guests who weren't there. I never heard of having to pay up front and then have it refunded. Usually you just have to sign that you are meeting the conditions for # of guests and having supervision by adults over 25.
Obviously you're learned the hard way that you have to read the fine print. Some agreements put in a cleaning fee, others don't, and some put in a fee in case the tenants don't clean sufficiently for the next tenants. Sort of like a security fee that you get back.
Yes I would absolutely take photos which will be time stamped, and you can/should email them to the owner. I think you should ask the owner if he himself will inspect the premises or if there is a property manager who does that. How was this property listed for rental? If it was through Home Away or VRBO or any of those, find out what protections are in place for the renters and how they oversee disputed charges. By all means check out prior reviews and, if possible, write to a few of those renters if you can to see if there were issues. I'd be especially cautious if this rental is new, vs. someone who has been renting the property for several years on this rental website.
If there are ANY problems when you arrive, document them and send them to the owner immediately. Don't wait for the end of the rental period.
It's a shame you're getting into this stress before a vacation!
Yes, take pictures of everything when you arrive and when you leave. Pay particular attention to any carpet stains, chips, tears, etc. If there is anything obviously damaged/broken when you arrive, take a photo and send an email to the owner right away, so you have proof. It may be overkill, but you will have peace of mind knowing you C'ed your A!
Definitely take pictures -you may throw them out down the line, but at least you have yourself covered in the event of an emergency
Do not hesitate to call the BBB -Better Business Bureau for your state. They were very helpful to me in a huge overcharge from a vacation plan I made a couple of years ago.
And I had an apartment sometime back where I didn't get pictures and was forced to give up part of a deposit and clean out a lot more than most tenants would have to. Always remember cover your self.
I rent my short term through VRBO.com and they are affiliated with HomeAway.com.
On the site I use I have control over what is charged and I can respond without the charges (if I need to adjust them) or people can book it right away. I try to keep mine simple and include everything (pool heat, cable, phone, cleaning, etc.) in the daily/weekly price, the taxes come up separate and the deposit.
I'm glad they refunded you, but at least now you know what to ask before renting. Also, make sure all these charges are listed in their advertisement on the website, they should be.
Added::
Under 25 is the age, I no longer rent to anyone under 25. The last young group did quite a bit of damage to the house and the pool that exceeded the deposit. They also had more then 14 people in there and I only allow up to 10 (no room for more). There are fire codes, etc. that owners must follow.
Is this through like VRBO or one of those places? If so, you can contact past renters (if they left a review and usually there is a link "contact this reviewer") and ask them if they had any issues. Plus, if there has been a ton of "extra charges" on other folks in the past, usually people will put that right in their reviews.
I don't blame you for being nervous - that is a lot of money to worry about losing (or even being billed for more if the owner decides that the deposit doesn't cover it). Plus, even if you can fight it, what a hassle!
Like the other posters suggested, if you can do a walk through first and possibly upon departure, that would be good. You can video with your phone the walk through with the owner - maybe have one person record while you and the owner are walking through.
Good luck and happy vacation!
It never hurts to document any issues upon arrival (photos). I have seen sites that list rates based on quad occupancy, even though the unit may sleep 6 or 8 or 12 or whatever. And I've seen rates that are $25/night per additional guest above that stated occupancy (regardless of how many "it sleeps"). That doesn't seem strange to me at all.
I have not seen the "under age 25" clause myself, although, I wouldn't be surprised if this is in an area known for spring break or college groups to party. Sounds like your owner is being reasonable about it all. Just photo anything that is amiss upon arrival and send it to him as an FYI. Retain your copy of what you sent.
I've not seen charges for groups under a certain age before. That's new to me. I always thought that's what the damage deposit was for?
I would read through the material - maybe this is all there in fine print? Seems like a lot of charges and maybe miscommunication on their part. I'd be uneasy too. Good thing you checked it over. Hard to miss an extra amount like that!
I've been charged extra for places even though it could sleep (with pull out couches, etc.) more. So that part may make sense ... but again, that should have been specified.
When we've rented summer homes from the actual owners, we did a walk through before and after. I pretty much insisted on it and I think they were grateful. It just made sense - no surprises.
Perhaps you could do that - or if needs be, take photos. Doesn't hurt to protect yourself.
Enjoy your trip!! :)
You have some good advice bellow, but i have one comment that is different than the others. When I read the "for groups under 25:, I took that to mean that to mean the size of the group, not age. For example, if your group had 24 people or less, you would be charged that fee, not if you had people attending that were under the age of 25. Does that make sense?
Hope that helps. good luck.
Eeek. That is really terrible to have surprise charges pop up when it's too late to back out. He should FIX that "glitch". Then again, he has an excuse and he refunded it...so if it does clear you card, I guess no harm done.
Absolutely document your stay. IMO $500 is a HUGE damage deposit on a weekly rental. I'm not very experienced in these arrangements so I could be wrong, but I have done "Homeaway" rentals in big cities and the security deposits were not nearly that high. Actually I think they only had cleaning fees, not damage deposits. One had no cleaning fee or any other deposit. They also allowed a grace period to cancel your reservation after paying. I had to cancel one and got a full refund. So this guy is really pushing things imo.
You do NOT want to lose $500. Cover your butt from all sides with before and after photos. If he slaps on any extra charges be ready to fight. As a bonus, these people fortunately thrive on reviews, so he shouldn't want a negative one and maybe you'll have no trouble.
Once we rented an apartment for a month in Paris, and we cleaned the place bottom to top before leaving (of course!! Left it like we found it!!! Even with no deposit at stake) and the owner positively gushed with gratitude. She said most renters left it quite a mess and the cleaning fee was simply part of the cost of owning a rental...
Does the owner live in the area of his rental house? If so, I would push for him to meet me for a walk-through of the house when you arrive, so you and he both see what is nicked, chipped, stained etc. before you take possession of the house -- kind of like walking around a rental car with a rental agent before you drive it off the lot, so an existing issue is noted as already present and they can't say later that you caused it.
If he doesn't live close enough to do that, absolutely take plenty of photos, write down any issues you find (including whether appliances work) and contact him the same day you arrive to let him know of existing issues so they are not chalked up to you. I'd send him any images of damage immediately, that first day, and note that you are putting him on alert that this was existing damage before you arrived.
From a post below it seems that this really is a problem with this vacation rental web site, and it's good that the owner refunded money without a fuss (though I would be antsy until it turned up as credited back to my card, frankly). But I would be very leery about using that site again. Later, If you like the house and find the owner is cooperative, you might do him a favor by letting him know that he would do well to find another way to rent out his property that is easier for the renter, tells people ALL fees up front and doesn't create issues of collecting, then refunding money.
I hate hidden costs. He is blaming the site and it does sound like the site is an issue, but the end result for you as the consumer is that there were hidden costs and hassles. Leaves a bad taste.
I think it works best to contact the owners (or property management) directly. Many are willing to work with you and your concerns. Often these deposits are because other renters have ruined things and have left the home owner in the lurch.
Some house say sleep 12, yet charge a rate per person over 4 ppl (or some number).
I have never seen the charge for groups under age 25 if the group is a family (30 year old parents with 5 year old children for example). I would ask about this. I can understand the logic if it is a group of college kids who are there to party hard. Is this $500 a deposit or a charge?
Many of the rentals say there is an extra person charge for every person over a minimal amount. That way you don't pile in 50 people and get a completely cheap rental.
There was on that I was considering, it had a huge party of people on the deck and slept 12. It was $350 per night, for 8. I almost didn't see that on the VRBO page. If we'd have rented this place it would have fit everyone in our group in one place with everyone having enough bathrooms and beds. But if I'd have paid their fee for the "additional" people I'd have been paying nearly $500 per night. There's no way I'd rent that place now even though it is perfect.
There are often hidden meaning in the words they use and they can mean different things. So I have especially told each owner exactly how many people I was planning on having and their ages since most of us are over 55 and the kids are all 12 and older.
We're going rock hounding so it's not like we're a party group looking for a safe party place. We're older people who are going to go dig up some stones to sell to jewelers.
If I hadn't caught that wording and got it from the owner themselves then I might have cost the group much money that none of us were planning on spending.
You said you got the $675 back because it doesn't apply to you. Will the $500 be returned at the end of the stay? If so, do take pictures and report any issues IMMEDIATELY upon arrival. If it's documented, then you should not be charged. I would be very very clear on how the deposit is handled/refunded (in writing) so you know what you need to do. Refunds on your card can take up to a week, so hang tight.
