Has anyone rented a vacation condo?

[squibber]

I read that Anna Maria Island in Florida is a quaint Old Florida island.  We are thinking about going there in October because it's off season.

I looked on VRBO, Airbnb and a few other sites and I didn't like the fact that they charge a lot for fees and taxes.  Is there a way to find a condo rental directly from an owner while feeling confident that we are not getting ripped off?

[LennG]

On this, I can not help you.

What I can do is suggest something different.

As I have said many times, we travel all the time using something from a vacation place called Resort Vacation Certificates. You buy these certificates from them, and you have one year to book something and another year to travel. The places you can book are usually time-share resorts but you do not have to do a tour, they are just the resorts looking to fill up unfilled units. So that makes traveling to beach resorts in the summer basically impossible, traveling to ski resorts in the winter the same. BUT, like us, who can and love to travel to these places off-season, you can stay at some really nice places for minimal cost (the cost of the certificate). It is like people who own timeshares and want to go to a different place, they exchange their time for something else. Well here, you have a certificate which you can exchange for a week at resorts that are available. You cannot stay at a place of your liking, only what is available on their website. So if you have a particular place or area, as you already mentioned, it will probably not be part of the program. Places like Kissemmi, and Vegas are always available, but only certain resorts in that area.
There are several outfits that do similar things like Armed Forces Vacation something or other and a couple of others.
We have stayed at many 4-5star resorts, and we have stayed at 3-3 star resorts. All are like apartments, have kitchens and bedrooms according to what is available. It is no gimmick and again there is no timeshare presentation, tour, or anything like that. We have been using them for about 10 years now and love them.
If you want more info PM me and I'll try and fill you in.

[squibber]

Thanks, Lenn! I will definitely keep this in mind for the future. My wife and I have our heart set on Anna Maria Island this year after watching YouTube travel videos on it. There are no chain hotels and restaurants. Just family owned businesses. There are also 7 beaches.

[Moose135]

Sorry, I'm coming a little late to this. Have you looked to see if there are any rental agencies that serve the area? We go to the NC Outer Banks frequently, and several times have rented a house on the beach. There are several realty agencies in the OBX that handle rentals like that, you can look up properties on their web site, book dates and pay online. They handle housekeeping between guests, maintenance, and the like. Yes, you may pay more than if you rented directly from the owner, but as you said, you need to be sure you aren't being scammed, and going through a reputable agency, they have vetted the property and deal with any issues that may arise.

[squibber]

Moose, Thanks. I did find some of those realty websites. I didn

[LennG]

Moose, Thanks. I did find some of those realty websites. I didn

[squibber]

Thanks, Lenn.

I forgot to add that Anna Maria Island has no buildings higher than two stories and has a lot of restaurants. Like I said, Old Florida vibe. Parking is a problem though but there is a trolley.