Reading how the locals resent the renters

[jennyrae]

I have been reading here for a while now. I don't know why I am surprised at how you 'locals' feel about the renters, which includes me, but truly I am. I have stayed in Seagrove every March for the last 5 years. I have never felt anything but welcome in your wonderful community. My husband is unable to work and has gone done there for the last 2 summers as a volunteer to help rebulid after all the hurricanes. He is one of the many that gave their time to rebulid boardwalks. He does this becausee we love the area, and the people have always been wonderful.

Hopefully the posters that complain about us are not locals, that they are ones fortunate enough to have vacation homes in this paradise. If not, I am rethinking my idea of paradise. I won't go where I am not wanted.

I am glad the area dodged a hit but I know the damage will be immense. I do appreciate this board, but I am very disappointed in some of the sentiments here.

Stay safe.

[Travel2Much]

I wonder if that is an entirely fair criticism. Maybe it is, dunno. I have never read the things that are said as pejorative of all or even a substantial number of renters.

I am neither a local nor renter, nor do I rent out. I am continually amazed by some of the astonishing behavior of some short-term visitors, and I think if you spend an extended period of time on the beach you would see that too.

There's no sin in renting. Right now I am thinking you have the better end of the stick.

[jennyrae]

I am only speaking for myself, not a substantial numbers of renters.I thought that was clear. And if my view isn't fair, then there are lots of others that are equally unfair. It's MY view, no, more, no less.

[Camp Creek Kid]

Many property owners have to rent in order to afford their homes/condos. I think the main problem might be that sometimes it is hard to share! Nine months out of the year, its pretty quiet around here and its hard to adjust to the crowds. Without people on vacation, this area would have no source of income for those who live here full-time. Full-time homeowners can choose to live in a non-rental neighborhood. Tourists come with the territory--just like hurricanes :lol: . There just needs to be a means of better educating tourists on how to treat the beaches. As for damage to one's rental property? That is what a damage deposit is for!

[Travel2Much]

... It's MY view, no, more, no less.

Well, thanks, then! My response was mine. Views have been shared.

[phdphay]

Damage deposits are a joke. I have never gotten a dime from a damage deposit, even though many items in my house have disappeared or been damaged. The problem is that the rental management companies have so little time on a check-out/check-in day, they don't have time to inventory every item or check every item to see if it has been damaged. Renters have apparently learned that if they throw something away that they damage, the rental company won't see a damaged item and won't recognize that it's missing. Then when the missing item is detected later on, the rental company doesn't know which guest to blame. So they (and thus the owner) can't collect the damage deposit.

Our first set of renters damaged an expensive lounge chair in the living room. They adamantly denied it - blamed it on the cleaning crew. But even if they had admitted it, how much should they have paid? Bought us a new chair? Or paid based on the cost of the chair divided by the expected life of the chair in weeks? Even in that scenario, we're faced with a damaged chair for the remainder of the life of the chair, which makes it an eyesore.

What I don't understand is that I have, for example, a set of nice flatware that I've used at my primary residence for 35 years. We've only lost one piece. How can a renter come in and in one week lose more pieces of flatware than I've lost in 35 years? This sort of loss is never detected by the rental company - they don't have time to count the flatware every time a new renter comes in.

One renter obviously let their children play with the pool equipment. The damaged pieces were apparently thrown away by the renter. So we had to buy new equipment since, again, the rental company didn't see the broken pieces and didn't know whom to blame.

I don't resent renters. We've had some good ones. I just resent renters who damage my property and remove it from my house to avoid paying a damage deposit.

[Sea Turtle]

I applaud everyone's right to express their opinion and this is a fabulous forum to do just that. There is good and bad in everything and perhaps generalizations should be avoided. :idontno:

We rent out several homes in Seagrove and like having guests! I think this is probably true for MOST homeowners. We realize they have worked hard all year for a vacation and try to make their visit relaxing and enjoyable. My goal is to make our guests so happy that they return year after year. The rental income is very helpful and is put toward (but does not begin to cover) the mortgage, taxes, utility bills, insurance, various fees, furnishings and damage.

I am happy to say MOST guests have been very respectful of our homes. (we, too, have worked very hard for years and are blessed to have these homes, but make no mistake, "Luck" had nothing to do with it) Over the years, we have had a small percentage of guests who have had total disregard for our property. (what was with the hot pink Playdoh smeared all over our walls, anyway?) The degree of their destruction has been so bizarre that it sticks out in my mind. But again, I remind myself, in general our guests have been great !

PLEASE continue to come to our area and enjoy the fabulous Emerald Coast!

PS. I have also seen homeowner's that disregard other homeowner's property as well as the beach. This is even more frustrating... :bang:

[Miss Kitty]

I bet that most of the people renting their homes are like us in that we VACATIONED in the area for years before being able to buy. I remember (OH NO...that word again!) when we first came to Seaside in the '80's and read the guest books that people were thanking the homeowners for SHARING their homes with them!

We would not have bought our place if we relied on rental income. I understand that some do...I couldn't stand the worry! We chose to buy in WaterColor and WE chose to join the rental program. So far, other than a missing GUEST BOOK (?) we have fared well. The income does help to offset some of the costs, but we would pull out if the damage was more than wear and tear and was not rectified by damage deposits.

I agree with CCK....most of the complaints from homeowners in the area is what has been happening on the beaches....trash and beach equipment left behind. Maybe education is the key, but how anyone could not know to pick up after themselves is probably a problem that a list of suggestions will not cure! Bottom line...to all VACATIONERS...PLEASE come down and enjoy the beauty of 30-A...and remember to leave only your footprints in the sand at the end of the day!!!!

[Miss Kitty]

Hey Sea Turtle...you beat me to the punch! I do believe you are right that most homeowners are happy to share their homes with vacationers (that sounds better than TOURISTS to me!). I am thankful that there were places for our family to rent and always treated their homes BETTER than my own!!!!

[Paula]

As I've said in one of my other posts, we have not had significant problems with guests staying at our cottages. We've had some normal wear and tear (our house at home is in worse shape because we don't have a rental company managing it -- just busy us).

I really can't say enough that our guests have given us as least as much as we've given them -- they leave kind appreciative notes in the guest book, follow-up with us by email to give support during hurricanes, sometimes leave a few things behind for us or other guests to use (really, we received two kinds gifts -- a small wall rack and a decorated wine glass), let us know when things need to be fixed, and help pay for the cottages by paying rent. And we're happy to know that we help families build memories and perhaps tempt them to want to buy in SoWal as well.

Two caveats. First, our cottages are relatively one-story, not huge, 3 bedroom in a family-friendly community, so we're unlikely to get large groups of misbehaving teenagers or young adults (though a few have rented in our community and were quickly caught for misbehaving and I think they had to leave both times). Second, we had some small things stolen twice and that was too bad, but we've been renting to guests for 2.5 years now so, as the saying goes, "one or two bad apples don't spoil the whole bunch". Perhaps our day will come when a guest really does something disappointing (as I mentioned, we've had a few neighbors who had some bad experiences), but that will be one guest out of hundreds. Not bad. Perhaps there's a lot that goes on in our cottages that I don't know (and probably don't want to know), but right now I'm not worried. (Mostly, I believe people are building happy memories together which is a very good uses of the cottages). And I hope my neighbors would let me know if anyone misbehaves at our places (so far, so good)!

I'm am far from alone with these feelings toward our guests in SoWal and am sure others join me in saying "thank you" to the guests who visit and love the area. As I said in another post, all of us are guests here, whether we own property or not, or whether we're locals or not. Mother nature keeps teaching us that lesson (I wish she'd just let us read about it in a textbook, though, or maybe we could just have a free lecture or two on hurricanes at an outdoor theatre on a nice summer evening at Seaside or Rosemary Beach rather than get first-hand experience).

[Travel2Much]

My only peeve with short-term vacationers (apart from the beach environmental issues, where I think some tough love is warranted rather than education) that might be working its way up to being a full-fledged bias is bringing more cars than allowed for their house, when the number of parking spaces is clearly indicated. Yet, we have renters who arrive in virtual SUV caravans--with license plates all from the same state--and simply park their cars on the street, a violation of community rules, a safety hazard, and an eyesore. Or, they simply park their excess cars in other's driveways or block other's cars in. Don't get that logic either--I don't tell my friends to park in my neighbor's driveway if mine is used up.

[Sea Turtle]

Perhaps we can have a new thread for "Most Bizzare Rental Experience"

It might give the homeowner's an opportunity to blow off a little steam without offending the majority of guests who are GREAT! (We really do love guests and hope they continue to come here, but some crazy things HAVE happened! ) Let's keep it light and funny ONLY . I don't want to start a grievence thread, just share some bizarre stories.

My contributions:
1. Hot Pink Playdoh smeared ALL over my living room walls.
2. Men's size 11 black drag queen pump shoes I found under my bed. (I don't want to think about it.)
3. When the renters checked out of my neighbor's home, they took the sofa ! :floor: (I'm only laughing because it wasn't MY sofa)

[RiverOtter]

2. Men's size 11 black drag queen pump shoes I found under my bed. (I don't want to think about it.)


:lolabove: Too stinkin funny! :floor:

[Beachlover2]

I have had the comforter - pillow shams w/pillows and accent pillows all taken from our place - obviously they liked my decorating. Also have had a vacationer iron on the carpet - even though I provide an ironing board and left a nice burn spot on my carpet. Have also had a 2 month old couch ruined by children jumping on it - the frame was bent so bad they had to take the mattress out to close it - thankfully our furniture company was nice enough to fix it under warranty - which they certainly didn't have to -THANK YOU FAR EAST INTERIORS!!!!!!

[GVM]

To our 'guests' (sometimes referred to as renters). You are our customers...and you are appreciated. You could spend your vacation anywhere, yet you choose to spend it with us. Thank you, and keep coming back.

[dusty]

Speaking as a renter who has been coming to the area for many, many years, I think having a bizarre renter experience thread would be a good idea. I agree with jennyrae--some posters here have posted as though they dislike all renters. I am looking at it as storm stress and venting.

And if your management company is not taking good enough inventory and damage assessment after each renter, what about changing companies? And if no company does it properly, sounds like a business opportunity for someone! Question is, would you pay for the manpower to assess your place more thoroughly each time--counting the kitchen items, inventorying the knicknacks, etc.?

And a comment from a renter about knicknacks--when we first enter the unit we are renting, we take a lot of the knicknacks and cluster then in one safe place because we do not want to accidentally knock anything over as we bring in our bags and suitcases. Before we leave we put things back as they were when we first arrive. We wish the places would not have so many breakable pieces out as decor.

The last place we stayed had a table in one room that looked like a nice decorating piece by a bed but it was merely a large (decorated) tray on an unsteady base. We were concerned we would knock over the lamp and were afraid to put much more than eyeglasses on the table. We estimated that the lamp on the table would not make it to the end of the year--someone would eventually knock it to the floor because that table was never made to be in a rental unit but more on a home tour.

[Paula]

Dusty:

What a great idea. We should start a thread on "renters advice for great rentals" so we can learn more about what our guests want (e.g., best practices). We don't keep any knick knacks around and most of our stuff is kid-friendly (e.g. quilts that can be washed in the washing machine, plastic dishes for kids as well as better dishes for adults, slip covers on some furniture). But any advice from renters is useful. We use our own experience travelling with children to guide us -- mostly, we go for convenience, room set up that give us a good night sleep and comfortable seating arrangements for conversation since we often travel with people we haven't seen in a long time and want to catch up so we talk and talk and talk, cleanliness (that matters a lot to us), storage, peace and quiet, a pool in the summer, good cooking equipment so we're not trying to cook a meal with two pots and 2 serving dishes, and proximity to stores and other conveniences. Our guests have given us lots of useful advice as well because we ask them to give us ideas in the guestbook (there was a debate over whether all bedrooms should have mirrors -- some guests wanted them and others said, "Heck, we're on vacation and we don't want to worry about what we look like." But we put the mirrors in anyway.

[RiverOtter]

We estimated that the lamp on the table would not make it to the end of the year--someone would eventually knock it to the floor because that table was never made to be in a rental unit but more on a home tour.

Our lamps take a beating. More so than anything else in the units. I dunno if it's people putting them on their heads:biggrin: , kids using them as weapons:biggrin: or just the general flemsy construction of a lamp:idontno: . Come to think of it we have a lamp in our den at home that's in pretty bad shape from people rounding the corner :laughing1

As someone posted above. Most people do take care of the space they are renting. There are a few that do not. I think most of the damage comes from kids just being kids. I don't know what causes it but when a kid gets to a hotel room, condo, restaurant or where ever there is a strange couch or bed that want to jump on it. :biggrin:

[phdphay]

As you've seen from my earlier posts, I've had many items disappear. Last summer I walked into my house and immediately noticed that one of the two throw pillows that match my sofa had disappeared. Thankfully I had some fabric left over, so I had a new throw pillow made (which took the upholsterer months to do - dunno why - that's another story). Anyhow, when we walked into our house a few weeks ago, there were THREE throw pillows on the sofa. I thought I was seeing double (or triple). My guess is that a guest from last summer accidentally took it, made a return visit this summer, and returned it. :)

[Beach Girl]

I applaud everyone's right to express their opinion and this is a fabulous forum to do just that. There is good and bad in everything and perhaps generalizations should be avoided. :idontno:

We rent out several homes in Seagrove and like having guests! I think this is probably true for MOST homeowners. We realize they have worked hard all year for a vacation and try to make their visit relaxing and enjoyable. My goal is to make our guests so happy that they return year after year. The rental income is very helpful and is put toward (but does not begin to cover) the mortgage, taxes, utility bills, insurance, various fees, furnishings and damage.

I am happy to say MOST guests have been very respectful of our homes. (we, too, have worked very hard for years and are blessed to have these homes, but make no mistake, "Luck" had nothing to do with it) Over the years, we have had a small percentage of guests who have had total disregard for our property. (what was with the hot pink Playdoh smeared all over our walls, anyway?) The degree of their destruction has been so bizarre that it sticks out in my mind. But again, I remind myself, in general our guests have been great !

PLEASE continue to come to our area and enjoy the fabulous Emerald Coast!

PS. I have also seen homeowner's that disregard other homeowner's property as well as the beach. This is even more frustrating... :bang:


Well said. I am a renter who comes down several times a year and has NEVER damaged a thing. I also take pride in the beaches and cringe when people are doing something to destroy our beaches. I like how you have a logical sense about renters. I'm sure the people who have a bad attitude about tourists are those who have had bad experiences with them. Thanks so much for your positive attitude!!!! It is encouraging.

[physes]

Dusty:

What a great idea. We should start a thread on "renters advice for great rentals" so we can learn more about what our guests want (e.g., best practices). We don't keep any knick knacks around and most of our stuff is kid-friendly (e.g. quilts that can be washed in the washing machine, plastic dishes for kids as well as better dishes for adults, slip covers on some furniture). But any advice from renters is useful. We use our own experience travelling with children to guide us -- mostly, we go for convenience, room set up that give us a good night sleep and comfortable seating arrangements for conversation since we often travel with people we haven't seen in a long time and want to catch up so we talk and talk and talk, cleanliness (that matters a lot to us), storage, peace and quiet, a pool in the summer, good cooking equipment so we're not trying to cook a meal with two pots and 2 serving dishes, and proximity to stores and other conveniences. Our guests have given us lots of useful advice as well because we ask them to give us ideas in the guestbook (there was a debate over whether all bedrooms should have mirrors -- some guests wanted them and others said, "Heck, we're on vacation and we don't want to worry about what we look like." But we put the mirrors in anyway.
Paul and Dusty,

I agree with starting a thread for "renters". As crazy as it may seem as a renter who invests about $6000. for a week in paradise it would be great to know some of the best places to stay. I have rented from several agencies in the area and have had varying experiences. You never really know what you are getting until you get there. I have rented houses that were advertised as "gulf front" that you had to walk about 200 hundred yards to get to the beach access. I have rented some that had mabe 2 forks and a couple of pans. Or how about beds that are made with sheets that don't fit. (I hate that). Whenever we go on vacation there is always a really large group of us so I have to find a large house that will accomodate us. We love the beach and we have tried very hard to educate our children about conserving the dunes and to be careful of the homeowners properties. That is not always easy with my 6 grandchildren. Last year I just told them that they would have to pay the damage deposit.

[dusty]

Sounds like suggestions for two threads:

a) bizzare rental experiences --for owners to vent about bad renter behavior

b) renters' thread--for renters to offer suggestions about what they did and did not like in properties they rented; and to share info on good rentals. :)

[Sea Turtle]

Perhaps we can have a new thread for "Most Bizzare Rental Experience"

It might give the homeowner's an opportunity to blow off a little steam without offending the majority of guests who are GREAT! (We really do love guests and hope they continue to come here, but some crazy things HAVE happened! ) Let's keep it light and funny ONLY . I don't want to start a grievence thread, just share some bizarre stories.

My contributions:
1. Hot Pink Playdoh smeared ALL over my living room walls.
2. Men's size 11 black drag queen pump shoes I found under my bed. (I don't want to think about it.)
3. When the renters checked out of my neighbor's home, they took the sofa ! :floor: (I'm only laughing because it wasn't MY sofa)


Dusty-Two new threads would be great! How about this ??? :

1. Bizarre Rental Experiences- Crazy or funny stories for homeowner's to share. (a seperate greivance thread could be started by someone else if they wanted.... too many negative vibes for me)
2.Renter's Thread- advise and recommendations from renters. I'm with you, Paula. I try to make our homes kid friendly but I always can learn more!

[JustBeachy]

This is nothing new..if you really want to go visit a place where the locals resent the renters/tourists, try Hawai'i..

[Rather B. Paddlin]

Paul and Dusty,

I agree with starting a thread for "renters". As crazy as it may seem as a renter who invests about $6000. for a week in paradise it would be great to know some of the best places to stay. I have rented from several agencies in the area and have had varying experiences. You never really know what you are getting until you get there. I have rented houses that were advertised as "gulf front" that you had to walk about 200 hundred yards to get to the beach access. I have rented some that had mabe 2 forks and a couple of pans. Or how about beds that are made with sheets that don't fit. (I hate that). Whenever we go on vacation there is always a really large group of us so I have to find a large house that will accomodate us. We love the beach and we have tried very hard to educate our children about conserving the dunes and to be careful of the homeowners properties. That is not always easy with my 6 grandchildren. Last year I just told them that they would have to pay the damage deposit.


A little piece of advice - rent directly from an owner and read their online guest book. Certain agencies in the area are known for not using large pocket sheets to save money .

99% our guest have been incredible. They have replaced broken items on there own and have fixed minor things on their own. In addition, some have now become friends. They are generally the nicest people.

One funny story now - Our former rental agency left our locked garage unlocked. The door had a large sign on that stated " private do not enter owners storage". The renter entered the garage anyway. They used all of our private stuff - kayaks, fishing rods, bikes, and beach chairs. But they fixed 2 bikes and reorganized / cleaned up the garage so everything was arranged better.

I guess you just have to go with the flow.


RBP

[Paula]

This is nothing new..if you really want to go visit a place where the locals resent the renters/tourists, try Hawai'i..

Hmmm. We're going to Hawaii in early August. So far, the owner seems to like us. We'll know more after our stay in Hawaii. But we'll be VERY good guests!

[Just_In_Thyme]

We have found that the people who rent from us directly almost always treat the house better than those who rent through our rental company. They seem to want to treat it as there own place. Also, I believe since they deal with us directly there is somewhat of a connection.

[Kim Smith]

I totally agree. I am a homeowner who does most of my own renting because I want to know the guests staying in my home. This is a business, per say, but it is also my families second home and you can feel it as soon as you walk in the door. I have had wonderful guests stay with me and I truely agree that when you actually talk with your guests and get to know them and they you, you develope a respect for each other. I have never had any problems and I have truely made wonderful friendships with previous renters and future guests. It has been an overall fantastic experience and I have met some of the neatest people from all over.

[BeachDreamer]

We have found that the people who rent from us directly almost always treat the house better than those who rent through our rental company. They seem to want to treat it as there own place. Also, I believe since they deal with us directly there is somewhat of a connection.

I would imagine this to be the case in most situations. When you rent directly from an owner, you form a relationship with that person, and accountability as well. There is the knowledge there that an actual person is sharing their home with you, rather than that it is a sort of hotel where a nameless, faceless person collects your money and considers you to be nameless and faceless too.

[Rather B. Paddlin]

I have the greatest guest coming to our house today. That is right today. They do not care if the house is clean, if the windows are still boarded up, if the pool is a mess, or they can not get to the beach. They love the area. The still want to come to help clean up and help repair any minor damage. Unbelievable!!!!! They still wanted to pay for the week - guess what its free.
At our other house, our guests bugged out so fast to go somewhere else, which is understandable.

You get more in life by paying ahead instead of paying back..............

RBP

[beachmouse]

98% of the guests down here are great people. It's the last, lowest 2% that'll drive you stark raving bonkers and/or incite fierce rage at times. And live down here long enough, and you will end up with your share of 2%'er stories.

And there's something about the week of 4th of July that gets to the locals down here. It's like you're halfway through the worst of the crowds, and mid-August when they start to thin out seems so long away. You're sick of having that many people around who are all doing their best to love the place to death. You start long discussions about assumptions you make based on license plates (Georgia drivers- generally good; Alabama- good natured, but not used to dealing with traffic laws as laws rather than suggestions; Texas- high number of 2%'ers; Tennessee- generally inoffensive) You start dreaming about October when the weather is good, but the crowds are smaller.

Add in the usual hurricane stress to the usual 4th of July grumbling, and it makes for a bunch of tense and occasionally snippy locals.

[Camp Creek Kid]

You are exactly right.

[jennyrae]

Hey thanks all you nice 'rentees' for posting! I was worried there for a bit, thinking all felt the same towards us but I am so glad to see I was wrong.

My 3 sisters and I meet every year in Nashville and drive down from there ffor a week of no work, kids, or husbands! It's my job to find the perfect place to stay and I think every year, each place is even better than the prevoius year. I use Garrett Realty but after reading here, I am thinking of renting directly from home owners. Do most of you list on VRBO? I already have a few bookmarked from there for next year. I would love to have a landlord as nice as some of you seem to be.

We are all in our 50's and always leave the houses in perfect condition. And beaches are sacred! Would never dream of so much as littering on a blessed beach. It's always such a relief when I get there in March and see that precious beach.

On another note, my husband is going to come for clean up this year. I know it will get done without him but it always made me proud that he gave up his time to help. I hope all of you come out of this OK and have minimal damage.

Thanks again all. Hope to rent from you someday!

[jennyrae]

Sorry typo! My husband IS NOT able to come help this year. I should have previewed.

[bhilyer]

I have just "discovered" your wonderful area this summer. I have spent the last 12 summers in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach area, but after Ivan the area wasn't ready. Some friends invited us for a weekend in Seacrest. Fell in love with the area immediately! So I began looking for a place in your area and I came upon VRBO. I have now rented two homes this summer using this web sight-one in Santa Rosa near TopSail and the other in three weeks in Seagrove. I like being able to speak directly to the owner. And the two owners have been nothing but kind; going out of their way to make our visit a great one. It makes it more personal. You feel a responsibilty to take extra good care of things.

I am amazed at the stories I have read today from the owners. I'm sorry people don't have more respect for your things. I was taught you always take care of other peoples belongings better than your own. And if you break something, you replace it. We've had to do this, with an umbrella the wind got a hold of and a glass was broke and we replaced it with a new set.
It's just what you do. And this can be stressful when you're bringing a lot of small children, but they have to learn respect for property, too.

[bhilyer]

Okay - why am I a "BEACH CRAB" and not a "beach tourist" or "beach lover"?

[BeachDreamer]

Okay - why am I a "BEACH CRAB" and not a "beach tourist" or "beach lover"?

Your "status" changes as you post more. Everyone started out as a little sand crab, no worries!

[wetwilly]

I was a "renter" orignally in the Destin area (Cabana Club Condos) for 8 years and then rented in the Santa Rosa/Seagrove area for 10 more years and just became a home owner this past April. As a renter, we always treated everyone's homes/condos with great respect because we know how hard people worked to make the places special and the area and people were/are great. We just bought a house this past March after owning and selling a lot in Santa Rosa Beach and we now are "rentees".

We now rent our house "Lemondrop" (20 Brown Street at the corner of Eastern Lake Road in Seagrove) using VRBO and 2 other sites. Additonally, Beach Rentals of South Walton manages our place locally too. But this topic is for another forum on this site...

The point I would like to make is that with the rental company swamped and dealing with other priorities (didn't hear from them until noon today via email), it was the local "friends", service providers, and neighbors that we have made in the Eastern Lake and surrounding area that gave us the scoop on our house and the area. My landscape maintenance guy, Rivard realtor, the pool folks (Coastal Pools--Amy you rock) my neighbor behind us Ed and Sharon, a friend down from Atlanta checking on his houses, and others have helped us deal with the uncertainty that set in as we drove away last Saturday morning.

So, big kudos to the folks that live fulltime and run businesses in SoWal, Kurt, Smilin JOe, everyone else contributing to this forum and this board for all of the info. Because of this and all of the past memories, 30-A and SoWal will always be my favorite place in the world. Keep up the spirit and good vibe and if you are a renter and you use the last bit of laundry detergent, the last bit of dish soap, or think about taking something with you when you leave, just remember that we need your support and we are watching you and we have 100x more renters that will replace stuff too. :biggrin: :clap_1:

[andrus]

99% our guest have been incredible. They have replaced broken items on there own and have fixed minor things on their own.
RBP

I would like to think that most homeowners would just as soon have the renter who loses or breaks something replace or fix it on their own than leave it to the homeowner to do, as long as replacements are comparable if not exact and repairs are safely made. I have replaced broken glassware, for instance, with close copies but left wondering if the homeowner was irritated by the fact that it was not reported to the management company as "damage." What is the homeowner's preference?

[Paula]

If it's one glass or dish, I assume that's normal wear and tear and the guest doesn't have to replace it unless it leaves too few glasses, dishes, etc. for the next guest (and, in that case, it's very kind of you and other guests to be thinking about the next guests). But I put plenty of glasses, dishes, etc., in the rentals so that a few broken glasses or dishes won't affect the next guest. When I get to the cottages (about every other month), I check to see if we need anything new.

It would be important for the rental management company to know if anything useful is missing or broken. For example, if there's no can opener, cork screw, broken coffee pot, shortage of dishes/glasses/utensils, etc., that would affect the next guests. Management companies keep extras of these kinds of things so that guests are never left short.

[SlowMovin]

What is the homeowner's preference?

I would report it to either the homeowner or management company, depending on which you rent through. I can't speak for other mgt. companies, but ours is pretty forgiving of accidents as long as they are, in fact, accidents and not something done either intentionally or due to extreme negligence. By reporting it to the company, they can be sure it gets replaced/repaired and doesn't become a "surprise" a few days later.

[Kimmifunn]

In my humble opinion, and as the child of home owning parents, I know that my parents are thrilled when the house is booked up all summer (Grayton Sunset). Unfortunately we (or they) don't get to stay there often and honestly it is cheaper for them to stay elsewhere considering the owner's fee that they have to pay. They turn over the profits from the renters and once a year spruce the house up for the next round of renters. My parents love that house as much as they love my brother and I, don't get me wrong, but they don't put fancy dishes, glasses, ect in the house for that reason. Though yes it is a matter of respect as a renter, that renter is in turn making the payments on the house (I know money isn't everything, but get what I'm saying). I may have an ignorant view on it because it is not MY house, but I have rarely...if ever heard my parents complain about renters. Shoot, if they are in town they drop by and take the renters flowers and a bottle of wine. Just my opinon...I like renters and don't mind the tourists! Even though I'm now only going to make it down probably 3 times a year! :(