Just got an inquiry about my To Rent post. NOW WHAT?

[DeniseM]

so denise, if i am a renter and u ask i pay 100% upfront what protection do i get that the rentor is not scamming?

For the renter to make a Paypal payment they have to open a Paypal Acct., and provide a valid credit card and/or a valid bank Acct. A scammer is not going to be willing to provide that info. to Paypal. Scammers all want to send you a bogus check. I don't accept checks, so that eliminates most scams. Note that I also require the renter's Paypal Acct., reservation, and picture ID to be in the same name.

would it not be preferable to use a title company as redweek suggests and split the cost? Is cost the only issue then?

Not just the cost, but you won't get your money until after the rental, and if they dispute the payment for some reason, you might not get it at all. If someone wants to use escrow (not a title company) I just politely decline and move on. I am not willing to wait months to get my payment and then take the chance of not getting it at all.

The most secure rental method for an owner is to have a firm no-cancellation, no-refund policy, and get all the money upfront. If you do it any other way, you are just giving the renter a chance to back out and leave you in a bad position.

 

[korndoc]

The last I checked it was $60 per week - that's more than I want to pay, and it will be a deal killer if you ask the renter to pay it.

Have you ever heard of anyone being sued due to an injury while renting? That would make the $60 look pretty good. I agree that the margin is not so great as to incur extra, unnecessary expenses...just concerned as this would be my rental.
Jeff

 

[davhu1]

I accepted USPS money order and personal check before. I require a copy of the driver license and the address on the check must match that on the driver licence, payment at least 60 days before check-in, and only the renter is allow to check-in. After 60 days, USPS money order only. I also allow the option for paypal with renter paying the 3% fee.

I also inform the resort, copy to renter, that Mr/Ms ______ and their guests are using my unit and the renter and their guests are responsible of all cost and damaged causes/inccurred by the renter during their stay, and the renter has agreed to follow the rule and regulation of the resort (terms included in the rental agreement).

 

[DeniseM]

Have you ever heard of anyone being sued due to an injury while renting? That would make the $60 look pretty good. I agree that the margin is not so great as to incur extra, unnecessary expenses...just concerned as this would be my rental.
Jeff

I have never heard of anyone being sued for this, and while you can of course be sued for anything, the odds seem too low to justify paying $60 for insurance. Which, by the way probably won't cover you in a lawsuit - I think it covers damages by the renter to the unit You should check and see if your homeowners insurance would cover you if you are concerned about this.

 

[korndoc]

OK, I have my 1st renter (whoo hoo!) and we spoke on the phone as well as emailed each other. He paid by credit card (since my wife has a business, we did not need to go through Pay Pal in order to accept his card), and I then contacted Marriott.

Marriott issued a confirmation with the new renter's name along with mine, and emailed it to me. I forwarded this to the renter.

However, I read on another thread that advised having the resort send the new confirmation directly to the renter. I guess this would make the renter feel more secure (my renter did not question it). Should I have asked Marriott to do this?

Also, was Marriott correct in including my name along with the new renter on the new contract?

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[DeniseM]

I always have the resort send the confirmation to me first. I wouldn't change that, unless the renter requests it. Then I forward it with all the graphics activated, to the renter, with detailed instructions about how they can confirm it.

On the Marriott rental reservations I've seen, they list the guest's and the owner's name.

 

[MuranoJo]

Grupo also issues guest confirmations with the guest name(s) and the owner's name. They are willing to send directly to the guest, but I usually have them send to me so I can supplement the certificate with other tips and suggestions for the guests' stay.

 

[MOXJO7282]

I always have the resort send the confirmation to me first. I wouldn't change that, unless the renter requests it. Then I forward it with all the graphics activated, to the renter, with detailed instructions about how they can confirm it.

On the Marriott rental reservations I've seen, they list the guest's and the owner's name.

As the owner of the week I dictate the terms I want and because Marriotts are high demands its easy to find a willing buying under your terms.

I always make it clear in my ads full payment is due upon agreement of rental. If someone still asks for a deposit and final paymnet model I'll offer a deferred $500 fina payment until 90 days from check in but that is it.

Most renters I find don't ask and pay full upfront after I give them valid info about me and my ownership that they can easily confirm with Marriott.

If someone asks me "even though you own how do I know you won't rent this to multiple people?" I tell them they won't and they just have to trust that I won't because that is the honest answer. I send them my family web page and I think that helps see I'm a family guy, but again that can be all staged as well so there is always a leap of faith they need to take to trust me.

As for using Paypal, I specifically notate in my ad that use of it will be an additional fee because I don't want to agree on a price and then if the renter requests Paypal I have to say sure, but it will cost you, so I tell them upfront.

After I receive payment then the official electronic confirmation that I have Marriott change is sent to me, which I then forward to the renter. I do this mainly to see the reservation before it is sent to make sure spelling and such is right.

When I first started renting my units I'd have Marriott send but they butchered a few names and that just didn't look professional so I now review before its sent to make sure everything is right.

Also if you get the reservation first you can usually edit in forward mode so you can take off your name. Technically the owner's name never leaves the reservation but I like to remove because some renters will question "Am I sharing the room with you?".

 

[korndoc]

Thanks for the replies.
When I received the Marriott confirmation, I edited some of the owner information that would not pertain to the renter before forwarding it to him. I then realized that if I could do that, I could be doctoring my original confirmation to look official and could be scamming my renter. That would not be giving him much security, so I wondered if Marriott should be sending the new confirmation directly for his benefit.

I guess either way is OK, but if I was the renter, perhaps I would want to insist the owner have the t/s send me the confirmation directly.
Jeff