Booking a villa directly with the owner - should I be worried?

Kathy535

Hello. I was wanting to book a villa directly with the owner for 2016. I knew where I wanted to book and found the email address on a holiday forum online and got a response fairly quickly. The response is asking for £300 deposit paid directly into his bank account, the remainder to be paid on arrival. I asked for a rental agreement but he says they don't have one. I'm getting a little worried now - it all seems legit (in that he has the right names and has offered the expected pick up from the airport) but what else should I be asking for to protect myself? I've not done this before.

Thank you

isplumm

Kathy535 wrote: »

Hello. I was wanting to book a villa directly with the owner for 2016. I knew where I wanted to book and found the email address on a holiday forum online and got a response fairly quickly. The response is asking for £300 deposit paid directly into his bank account, the remainder to be paid on arrival. I asked for a rental agreement but he says they don't have one. I'm getting a little worried now - it all seems legit (in that he has the right names and has offered the expected pick up from the airport) but what else should I be asking for to protect myself? I've not done this before.

Thank you

Hi,

I have a gite in France and do rent it out - I also ask for a deposit - but want the rest 8 weeks beforehand. I will accept direct money transfer as well.

I would ask about whether there are any trip advisor reviews, whether he advertises elsewhere, whether he has his own website?

Maybe call him - see what you think - maybe look at paying via Paypal - that might give you some protection? Or find a website where you pay the website who then pay them - for example holidaylettings.co.uk is one - BUT you will pay more - eg. I charge £725 for a week peak season - HL will charge u £810.

Mark

steve1500

Is the person you are renting from a UK national & do they live in this country?


If so, you should be able to do quite a few checks to assure your self that the person is genuine.

Marmaduke123

The advice from the likes of Owners Direct is to always speak to the person on the phone.

This might be difficult if they are not fluent English speakers. I would search online for the same property - most seem to be with at least one agency as well as renting direct - read the reviews. Try to identify the property on Street View, that will give you some assurance that it does exist!

There's always a slight risk in renting privately, but we've done it many times without ever having a real problem

EssexExile

What Marmaduke says. Plus you can often find out a lot about people on the internet. Last time I rented a house I found the building company they owned, where it was, lots of details online with a bit of searching.

HotPotato

Kathy535 wrote: »

Hello. I was wanting to book a villa directly with the owner for 2016. I knew where I wanted to book and found the email address on a holiday forum online and got a response fairly quickly. The response is asking for £300 deposit paid directly into his bank account, the remainder to be paid on arrival. I asked for a rental agreement but he says they don't have one. I'm getting a little worried now - it all seems legit (in that he has the right names and has offered the expected pick up from the airport) but what else should I be asking for to protect myself? I've not done this before.

Thank you

It sounds ok, what is the total cost of the rental?

Asking for the remainder to be paid on arrival seems reasonable, I would never agree to that as the property owner. You initiated this method of booking, what exactly were your expectations? Did you hope to reserve it without deposit then just pay when you arrived?

Andypandyboy

You can pay for an insurance policy to cover you in the event the rental does not materialise. I have rented quite a few villas abd twice been in your position, both times it turned out fine.

steve1500

HotPotato wrote: »

. You initiated this method of booking, what exactly were your expectations? Did you hope to reserve it without deposit then just pay when you arrived?

I don't think that is what the OP is asking, more like what precautions can they take to avoid being scammed.


Which is why people are saying carry out some checks. Facebook, trip advisor, 192.com, copy & paste pictures into Google & see what comes up, is the person possibly a member of a professional body and so on


We rented a property from a Doctor a few years ago. Went to the GMC's website & found the person

Kathy535

HotPotato wrote: »

It sounds ok, what is the total cost of the rental?

Asking for the remainder to be paid on arrival seems reasonable, I would never agree to that as the property owner. You initiated this method of booking, what exactly were your expectations? Did you hope to reserve it without deposit then just pay when you arrived?

Total cost is €1600. I did indeed initiate contact with the owner but I expected to have some form of contract to sign which set out the Ts and Cs - it's not paying a depositi I'm worried about, that's standard practice. It's the lack of any formal agreement to protect both him and me I find disconcerting.

Kathy535

steve1500 wrote: »

Is the person you are renting from a UK national & do they live in this country?


If so, you should be able to do quite a few checks to assure your self that the person is genuine.

They are greek and based in Greece. I know the villa exists, have messaged previous clients who were happy with their stay (but who never got back to me with the contact details, although, to be fair, I didn't ask a second time). The name checks out and he's offering stuff that trip advisor reviews say is included (eg transfers) and which I hadn't asked about. So, I'm pretty convinced it's ok but he's asking for the deposit by bank transfer and I'm just concious of the potential for it to be a scam (ie if I emailed the wrong person). I don't want to turn up in Greece and find I have no booking!

Kathy535

Andypandyboy wrote: »

You can pay for an insurance policy to cover you in the event the rental does not materialise. I have rented quite a few villas abd twice been in your position, both times it turned out fine.

That's good to know, thank you. I don't suppose you can remember the name of the insurance?