Renting a Villa question

We are looking at renting a Villa next Summer the owner lives in the UK and has requested a 20% deposit and could be posted or put into a US bank account. Not sure what he means and want to make sure my transactions are safe and covered any advice would be appreciated.

Renting a Villa question

The owner has a USD$ account either in the UK or US. Many of the UK villa owners do. It makes financial transactions easier. They don%26#39;t want %26#39;foreign%26#39;checks in USD$, like a Canadian checks. The are are fees, often high ones, that banks charge for %26#39;foreign%26#39; transactions. In my consulting business, I require all customers to wire transfer USD$ into my business account to keep fees down. Businesses are setup to do that. Individuals are not, thus, villa owners have USD$ accounts for these transactions.

A 20-50% deposit is the norm. Ask if the money will be held in an escrow account. Be certain you understand the cancellation policy. In many cases, the deposit is non-refundable regardless of when or why you cancel. Others have penalities, but within 90 days of the start of the reservation, the deposit is forfit and after a certaon time (30 to 90 days) the TOTAL amount due is required even if you fail to occupy the property.

Read your contract and understand the deposit, refund, and cancellation policy that governs the specific transaction. They vary quite a bit and make sure you will not have to sign a blanket property liability %26#39;hold harmless%26#39;.

I have rented from UK owners without any problem. House rentals are a great buy, but lack the flexibility that you have with hotels and cancellations are difficult in many cases. READ your rental Terms and Conditions.

Renting a Villa question

You might consider renting from a rental agency to avoid some of the pitfalls of renting directly. I%26#39;ve heard all the stories of how much cheaper renting direct is but my own research and experience over the past few years has not proved that to be true. I and many others have had great experiences with rental agencies and it brings with it a little peace of mind that there is someone local to handle any problems. I have had good experiences with All Star Vacation Homes but there are many others.

As I have often said here renting direct is as safe as renting from an agency and you at least know rhe owner who has the bills to pay is receiving all the money you pay over.The owners have to have someone on call 24/7 as part of their licensing regs so if there is a problem it will get sorted just as quickly as if you rented through an agency and you can get to know everything about the house you wish to know