Protect Yourself

How To Protect Yourself When Renting Vacation Properties:

At the Last Minute Family Vacation Rental Network our focus is on you our customer. We want every traveler that rents a vacation property from us to have the best possible experience. We do our very best to ensure that every property that joins our network is maintained to a high standard of excellence and we instruct our audit group to be very particular when there is any question of weather our standards are being met. Despite our best attempts, changing market conditions and a tight economy can adversely affect the quality of a vacation rental so we always recommend you follow a few simple steps so as to minimizing your exposure to risk.

It is very rare that an owner or property manager will reserve a property for you without a deposit, and typically they will expect full payment at least 30 days before you arrive. Receiving a deposit indicates to the owner that you do intend to occupy the property during the time interval you are reserving. We recommend you satisfy yourself with the legitimacy of the ownership before you submit your deposit:

• Do a bit of homework and ask the owners for referrals from previous renters. Of course they are going to refer you to happy clients but at least you will get to hear about the property and some of its features.
• If the property has a guestbook see what comments are written there. Once again, they may be moderated so you can only see the good stuff but it will still give you an idea of what to expect.
• Make sure you have received a completed rental agreement so that you know the conditions that you are agreeing to during your rental period. If you have any questions about the agreement then ask up front for clarification. Do not wait and be surprised later. If an owner prefers not to use a contract or written agreement, find one that will. On the LMFVR network all rentals are offered with a proper contract as our system does it automatically.
• Your best protection will come by working with property owners that accept credit cards. Just having a merchant account with the banks indicates that the owner has gone through a qualification process. Even more important then that is the fact that using your credit card provides you with certain remedies that are unavailable via other forms of payment. Avoid listings that demand quick payment via a wire service like Western Union or bank transfer.
• Purchase travel insurance that will cover you against unforeseen problems. It is not very expensive and it is available HERE.

By protecting yourself, you can be confident that you and your family will indeed enjoy a truly unique and affordable vacation experience.