Renting a Vacation Apartment

Planning a vacation? Why not forgo the hotel room and rent a vacation apartment instead? Vacation apartments offer the comforts of home and plenty of space to stretch out. Furthermore, they often provide more for your dollars than most hotels can offer.

Apartments, condos, and villas can be rented by the night, week, and even by the month. Ranging in size from small and suitable for just one or two guests to large and capable of accommodating more than one family at a time, vacation rentals are available worldwide. Finding an apartment to rent is actually very easy; it’s getting the most out of your rental that takes some planning.

To get the best vacation apartment, carefully consider your needs before you look for a rental. Think about the amenities you desire. Do you want a full kitchen with all appliances or will just a stove and refrigerator suit your needs? Do you need access to a washer and dryer? If you have children, do you need anything special for them, such as a crib or an apartment that has been baby-proofed? Also, think about your entertainment needs. If you can’t live without cable television and high-speed Internet access, be sure to add such extras to your list of required amenities.

Carefully consider the preferred location of your rental. You may wish to be as close as possible to your vacation activities. For example, if you are visiting the beach, you may prefer to rent an oceanfront or oceanblock apartment, eliminating the need to drive to the beach. Keep in mind, however, that rental apartments positioned close to the beach are likely to be more expensive than those located just a short walk or drive away. Searching for an apartment located just a little further away from your vacation hotspot could save you a significant amount of money.

Finding an apartment to rent is extremely easy. You can search in your local newspaper (if you are traveling to a nearby town) or contact a travel agent for help. However, the easiest and most informative way to find a rental is to look online. Enter “vacation apartment,” along with the city and state you plan to visit, into your favorite search engine and prepare for a multitude of results.

The results of your search will likely include listings posted by real estate agencies, individual apartment and condominium owners, travel agents, and organizations that provide multiple apartment postings. Click on those that seem interesting and meet your requirements in order to start your search. Usually, each site posts easy to follow instructions to guide you as you browse for available apartments.

• Owner Direct Vacation Rentals is an excellent site for finding vacation rentals. Owner Direct's site connects vacationers with the owners of apartments, condos, villas, chalets, and cabins located worldwide.
• Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) is another good rental resource. This website features a free, state-by-state rental directory, connecting travelers with property management companies. The VRMA rental directory boasts more than 135,000 vacation rental listings.

Be sure to read the descriptions carefully, before you make a choice. When making your selection, don’t rely on pictures alone. Remember that seeing a pool in an apartment listing doesn’t necessarily mean the pool still exists or that you will be granted access to it. Read the listings thoroughly to ensure the rental you are considering fully meets your expectations.

Don’t make a reservation without actually speaking to a representative or owner of the vacation property. A contact number should be provided in the related advertisement. Call to ask any questions you have about the property, your potential stay there, making a reservation, and payment. The representative should be friendly and willing to answer your questions. If this is not the case, move on to a different apartment, managed or owned by a different company or individual. Unfortunately, if you experience a problem during such a call, it is often predictive of problems you may experience during your stay.

Once you’ve chosen an apartment to rent, you will usually receive a rental contract in the mail. Look this contract over carefully before you sign and return it. Know what to expect as a temporary tenant and learn the rules and regulations for use of the rental. Also, carefully review what will be supplied to you during your stay. For example, many vacation rentals provide bedspreads and pillows, but do not provide sheets, pillowcases, towels, bathroom tissue, soap, or other essentials. Likewise, if your rental has a sleeper sofa, pillows, blankets, and sheets may not be provided for you. Create a checklist to help you remember to pack these items.

Typically, vacation properties must be returned to the condition in which they were rented. This means doing a basic cleaning before you leave. Though most rentals contract with a maid service to clean apartments between rental periods, they are not always responsible for emptying trash, washing dishes, or removing sand from the rugs or furniture, so it is important to know what is expected of you with regard to these chores. You may be charged a cleaning fee if you do not adhere to posted or contractual cleaning requirements. To avoid such charges, be sure to carefully read and follow your contract, as well as any checklists provided by the owner/ manager.

Last but not least, carefully review the payment schedule for the apartment you plan to rent. Most importantly, make sure the amount due is correct. After all, even professional real estate and travel agents make mistakes. Also, take note of due dates and deposits required. You don’t want to miss a due date and inadvertently forfeit your rental period. If anything on the contract is incorrect or fails to meet your approval, call the manager, agent, or owner to discuss the problem. Otherwise, sign and return the contract and get ready to have fun!

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