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

Kathy535

Marmaduke123 wrote: »

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

Thank you, I've found the telephone number on their website and will call tomorrow - excellent idea.

isplumm

Hi,

Well now that I realise it is in Greece I can see why he wants direct bank transfer.

You have checked out trip advisor and that seems legit, so for me I would go for it.

But if you have a phone number then do call him.

Mark

Keep_pedalling

Booking directly with an owner usually does involve payment directly to the owners bank account. I have only ever done this in France where the owner has always issued a contract, but I guess in Greece they are a bit more relaxed about this.

The French always want the full payment in advance and a hefty damage deposit in cash on arrival as well, which is a bit scary when booking something costing several thousand euros a week.

crazycamper

There were a few cases shown recently on Rip Off Britain on BBC1. People who had paid for villas with bank transfer & then had problems. Both lost their money. No protection at all if doing bank transfer. Also by paying the rest on arrival, you are at the mercy of the exchange rate . You may end up paying a lot more than you expected to.

EssexExile

crazycamper wrote: »

Also by paying the rest on arrival, you are at the mercy of the exchange rate . You may end up paying a lot more than you expected to.

Or, of course, you may end up paying a lot less. Also paying on arrival means you are only risking the deposit before you find out whether the villa is really there or not.

[Deleted User]

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

I wouldn't worry too much.
The fact they're asking for the bulk of the money on arrival is fairly typical in Greece at the moment where people prefer currency to bank payments.
Even going through Booking.Com many places in Greece ask for a low deposit and the rest in cash.
From the other details you've given it sounds legit.

Kathy535

Thanks everyone. I found the telephone number and gave them a call - spoke to his mum (!) and then to the owner, he was lovely and I'm reassured so have paid the deposit.