Avoiding a Bad Family Vacation Rental

You-ve been looking forward to your family vacation for months. You-ve planned, packed and traveled. As you look for the address of the property you-ve rented, you search and search. Eventually, you find the address. The 8-bedroom luxury home you-ve reserved is not at the address you-ve been given. Instead you find a 2-bedroom shack or you find the address does not even exist! Your deposit and rental fee are gone forever and you-re stranded.

Vacation rental fraud is an unfortunate reality. When researching rentals be aware and take steps to protect your investment in relaxation.

Look for properties that are rented through established property management companies. Property management companies are likely to have websites, which a scammer most often does not take the time to establish. Look for companies who screen listings. Another benefit of renting through a management company is they are likely to have a large inventory of homes under their supervision, which means they will have the resources to accommodate you if something should fall through with your rental.

Search the address of the property with an online map service. If the address does not exist online, it most likely does not exist at all. Online map services are not foolproof, but you should be able to find something about an address that exists by typing the address into an Internet search engine.

Beware of too-good-to-be-true deals; they are probably fraudulent. Use a credit card for payment, which will offer you fraud protection through the issuer. When renting through a local ad ask to see the property before paying a deposit. The person renting to you need not know you are nowhere close and unable to visit the property; this tactic allows you an opportunity to detect hesitation when you ask.