Safest way to pay for a villa abroad

taly_70uk

hi

I was hoping someone could advise what the best way to pay for a holiday apartment rental is.

I found the apartment through a legitimate site, however i have been asked to send the deposit straight into the owners account.

I am sure i would have no protection if they then disappeared. Please can anyone suggest another method.
I was thinking paypal but they charge at the other end.

Thanks in advance

Alicemann

I've just come on here to search the same topic. Does anyone know if there is any insurance you can take out on these transactions? I am using a legitimate site too, Ownersdirect. They give little advice about safeguarding yourself etc.

xxshazxx

same problem here, thats why im not using owners direct i would prefer to deal with a management company. i contacted a few owners on owners direct and they where a bit dodgy for me as i have already posted. we are going to lanzarote and are using lanzarote lates, they have a good reputation, great prices and they are in lanzarote incase of problems.

cclarke12

I have advertised on Owners Direct and Holiday Rentals in the past and booked via them. I have probably done 20 or so rentals with no problem and always via cheque or direct bank transfer (with the latter you have proof of where the money was sent). If someone has been advertising for a long time (and the site does tell you this) and they have some reviews I think you are ok. I also prefer owners that use a contract that clearly states their contact details and terms and conditions for the rental and when the money is payable etc. and that are based in the UK (because at least I can go down the small claims route if a problem). I also google people to see if I can find more detail to confirm they are legit. Remember owners are generally more worried about the transaction than the renters - you might be scammed for a few hundred pounds, whereas owners might find their lovely property trashed at the end of a rental. Another reason that sensible property owners insist on a rental contract.

The reason I started using these sites in the first place was after some terrible experiences of booking via rental agencies in Spain.

At the end of the day an owner has to pay to advertise on these sites and they are only likely to be able to manage a 'scam' once before someone got wind of it and they were removed from the site.

Alicemann

Thank you for a really helpful response. The owners certainly look legitimate and I am just about to book. They have more than one villa and seem to have been on the site for some years.

The property is in Greece and I am not sure whether to be worried or not about rumours of their return to the drachma!

lagoslife

There is little financial protection when sending a bank transfer. Paypal offers some protection. Does the owner have account? ask to splt the Paypal fees as they can be quite high.

Some websites (holiday-rentals) offer a 'rental guarantee' to protect against villa fraud. Some also offer extra insurance to protect against rental fraud, but there is a charge.

You could also do some background checks on villa owners, see my reply on this post
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2500269

Conrad

We usualy use owners direct and similar and have never had an issue but especially this year I was fretting we could arrive at the property only to find a Bank repossession notice and the place locked.

As said above we tend to look for properties that have been on a website for a couple of years or more and check reviews. We tend to just get a feel for the owners from thier emails and so on. Ask questions for example about where is the local hospital. Thier answers can give an indication as to the type of people they are.

superpp

I'm an apartment owner in Turkey and have started renting this year.
I only advertise on my own website (not through owners direct etc..), and bookings I guess are taken on trust.
People phone and speak to me, which I guess gives reassurance.

If the website you are choosing from has no direct contact details available, maybe choose elsewhere?