We are looking to book a vacation home in FL. The website we found the home on is Homeaway.com which I know to be a legit source if finding homes. However, you contact each homeowner individually, so the site is not actually responsible for anything.
We found a home and the price is listed in EUROS. When I emailed, the owners called back from an international number and said to pay, I'd have to put the money directly in their accounts because they will be in the UK for the next month.
Usually they accept checks.
Ok----I have never paid anyone except by credit card, so this turns me off.
How will I secure anything by depositing into a bank account?
My husband is suspicious and is checking google earth because he's questioning if this home exists and if this is fraud.
Then again---this may be very normal. We've never booked anything but a hotel & a cruise so, we don't know how this stuff works.
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That seems really weird to me. I would be cautious and probably wouldn't do it!
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Sounds fishy.
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Seems sketchy - I'd look for another place.
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A lot of foreigners bought houses in FL during the housing crash - so the price in Euros and the international number wouldn't bother me - BUT the putting money directly into an account would.
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Hmmm it does sound a bit like some fraudulent ads I've seen on CL where people post an apartment/house for rent and then give the spiel you got. It's possible it's not a fraud, but I'd err on the side of caution and find another place...
Have you tried airbnb or vrbo?
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@stine_ciro: the euros don't bother me. What I meant was: the story lines up. They are living in the UK, to prove it: they list the home in euros and even called from an international number.
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That is very normal for Europeans, in fact, in some countries, there is no such thing as a personal check. If I want to pay someone back, they give me what they call their public bank account number. It is linked to their private bank account number, and I just wire the money from my public bank account number (linked to my private bank account number).
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@looch: This. Yes. This is common in Mexico too. I actually don't get why we don't do this in the U.S. as I think it's an easy option to pay people and receive payment! Who needs PayPal?
Not to say it's NOT a fraud, but it doesn't seem that weird to me.
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@IRunForFun: I'll try airbnb. It's just that we're looking for something VERY specific location wise and needs to have a private pool because of the conservative way I dress in public: I'll need privacy when in my swimsuit:)
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@CupQuakeWalk: Gotcha. Well, you can check off different options in airbnb to filter your needs! Give it a try! VRBO is also really good.
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@looch: @mamimami: ok, great to hear! But what type of things would I look for to make me more confident? The site does have reviews on the home. Also DH will look it up on google earth for us. But is there any way to get money back once it's in an international account?
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I wonder if you gave the acct info to your bank if they could verify it? Worth a try....
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@IRunForFun: will do
thank you:)
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@CupQuakeWalk: That I don't know. That is the major shortcoming of the transfer thing here... once you send it, it's their money. BUT have you asked if they have a PayPal account or can set one up? That might have more protections?
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Are they asking for the full amount up front? That would be a turn off for me.
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@Mamaof2: I think it's a clean account, I just don't think they'll give us what we paid for after our payment is made
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We used home away for a last minute wknd getaway to Grand Haven, MI. We paid by check. But it was in person and we received a receipt from the homeowner. And paperwork.
We most definitely would not pay via online/post/etc. by check on those websites, even though I think they are reputable sites.
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@CupQuakeWalk: You'd have to wire money via your bank, so your bank could tell you if the wire instructions are legit, but I don't know what more they could do...I'd check if they have a fraud protection clause, like what happens if you pay and you don't recieve the good or service?
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@T.H.O.U.: deposit now at booking...full 8w in advance.
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@CupQuakeWalk: Can you pay to their account via like pay pal? I think they can set it up for it to go through paypal but straight from your bank to their bank.
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They could be completely legit, but it doesn't matter because I wouldn't trust it lol.
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Sounds fishy to me! Google the address and find out who the owners are. You can use the GIS in the county to find out the info.
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@T.H.O.U.: I was just concerned with the extra fees involved. I talked to the guy about that. He said they don't do that because of the fees that'd accumulate. The house is 1,000/w so....I'd rather not pay fees. I'd almost rather find an entirely new house (if possible!)
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@Dandelion: it doesn't give you the exact address for any of the homes on that site but I will email right now and ask him!
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Where in FL are you looking? I might be able to help?
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@Arden: either directly in Tampa or within about 30 miles. This home is in Sarasota. Nothing in Orlando.
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I rented a vacation home w/ homeaway before... Usually owners use their payment systems so you can receipts/confirmations, etc. I definitely would look for another home instead tho, with an owner that you feel comfortable with!
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I'd look for another house, I wouldn't be comfortable transferring money into someone I didn't know bank account even if they were in the US so definitely not international. We used vrbo.com when we went to SLC last year and found a great house; the owner used both paypal and personal check for payment.
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I wouldn't rent any vacation home without seeing reviews. This helps make sure it is legit, and that people have had a good experience staying there.
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@CupQuakeWalk: try doing a reverse lookup on their phone number they called from. I'd ask if they can do it via Paypal or I'd look for another place.
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I rented with HomeAway last summer to avoid the fees from AirBNB. I didn't encounter a situation like yours though... I would pay with a method that offers some sort of protection (PayPal or something else?) if you go through with it.
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@LindsayInNY: @purrpletulips: So, I just got off the phone with Homeaway and apparently they say bank transfer are EXTREMELY common? and nothing to be afraid of because for $19 I can buy up to $1,500 insurance (from homeaway for purchases made bank to bank) for situations like fraudulence . So, I am warming up to the idea...also...
The owners sent us the address and it is there on google earth. So, the place does exist at least?
@purrpletulips: there actually are 29 reviews but none of them mention the bank transfer
I am warming up to the idea but i'll need to sleep on it some in order to make a final decision.
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@CupQuakeWalk: have you talked directly to the owner and asked him specific questions about the house? i was talking over email to what i thought was an owner of a homeaway.com rental home, but it turned out the true owner's' email got hacked. Someone was responding thru the true owners email and asked for a full deposit up front by wire transfer. when i called the # listed on the website (the true owner), they had no idea what i was talking about.
my advice would be to call and ask specifics about it...how many bedrooms, what sized beds, where are the bathrooms, how many cars fit in the driveway, where is the nearest grocery store, tell me about the closest town...a fake will not be able to easily answer these questions and will stumble through them.
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@CupQuakeWalk: you should be able to look the property up in the county property appraiser website. I would check to see who the real property owner is. If you know the county you can look it up by address.
Just because the place exists on google earth doesn't mean much. I've heard of people "renting" houses before that really are for sale or rent (aka a real vacant property) but they aren't the real owners.
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That sounds risky, even if it is legit!
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I would just find another house, unless your heart was really set on the one in Sarasota! Not worth the trouble and the worries!
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I've rented before and paid a deposit by check when I had good confidence it was legit. One thign you can do is ask if they can give you contact info for previous renters that you can talk to.
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@SleepyMonkey: I did speak with him and he answered all of my questions. My problem is not the home being his (because I check on that), it is just that I will receive a key and get to use it for the price I paid because I am not going through an agency.
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@CupQuakeWalk: i think if you are comfortable with him being the owner of the home and it gets good reviews, then it should be ok. if you want to be safe, ask to speak to a couple of the previous renters so you can make sure.
thank you:)
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