Owners Direct apartment.....

[martinchip10]

We are due to fly out next Sunday for 12 days and had booked an apartment through OD. We paid 30% upfront and agreed the residue on arrival.
I emailed the owner last week to advise of our estimated arrival in PP and to confirm the amount owed and he has now requested that the residue be transferred to his account before arrival.
I am a little concrned about this as I have again requested that I pay on arrival as previously agreed but have no response.
I will call him on Monday to discuss but just wondered if anyone has come across this before.

 

[martinchip10]

Forgot to mention, the apartment is directly above Los Faroles restaurant.

 

[eleanor]

I do not think you need be alarmed by the request to transfer money before your actual arrival date as this is quite the norm. We ask for final payment 6 weeks prior to arrival as per holidayrentals.com terms of rental. Many ask for final payment 8 weeeks before arrival. Personally I would not be happy as a property owner to rent my property and give details of address etc until final payment has been received. You might find that some Mallorcan owners request final payment on arrival. This may be classed as normal for them for various reasons including tax but for the majority payment upfront is what is expected.

 

[cumberland8]

Having rented numerous properties in the Port over 20 years we have always paid a deposit to secure a property then always hard cash upon arrival,my reasoning being you know exactly what you are getting for your money ,any problems can be ironed out & also that it actually exists.
I personally would never pay in full beforehand ,look what has happened to Villa Parade.also thousands of people pay for their villas in full just before going out only to find the villa does not exist.
This is one of the fastest growing crimes in Europe.

 

[eleanor]

I think this is being looked at with a one sided view. From a property owners point there are just as many problems which can be encounted with potential renters. I have lost count as an example, how many times I have sent information never to even receive the common courtesy of a thank you. I have put the property on hold for people who have promised to pay the deposit within a few days or arrange their flights only never to hear from them again. I would not take the chance of someone just not turning up and paying or trying to then negotiate once they did arrive over simple things (or maybe for the sheer hell of it) There has to be a certain amount of faith with any rental both sides. The usual common sense steps should be taken. i.e. full details of the renter, telephone number, etc etc. Being scammed might be growing but in the big scheme of things after taking precautions and using good sites they are far and few between thankfully! I am sure that most sites and certainly this one, have a record of property and how long it has been advertised on the site. Holiday lettings and spain-holiday will not accept any advertisment now without a copy of the deeds plus they also take up references. As for using a rental company - perhaps the chances of losing money is far greater with them walking away from financial trouble than it is by being scammed by an owner. As an aside also for the first time last year after renting out for about 16 years we had to introduce a breakage/damage deposit. Another story but believe me not just one family but many made this essential. Please take a step back and look at both sides of the argument.

 

[Sparky]

The accommodation was not booked through this website so i think this issue should be discussed with Owners Direct.

 

[pollensa]

Obviously it was booked through another website and if you want to check the authenticity of the property then do please contact them.

However amongst our rentals, many of them request an initial deposit with the balance payable a few weeks in advance while others (mainly local owners) request an initial deposit by bank transfer and cash in EUR on arrival.

 

[Baron de Lay]

I'm fully in agreement with Eleanor on this one. I'm always more than happy to supply photos / maps / video and references from previous guests to a potential renter - but in return I expect 50% to confirm the booking and the balance 8 weeks prior to occupation.

I've suffered all the problems Eleanor has described in the past, particularly with the "Will you hold it for me for a day or so while I sort out my flights" brigade, who you never hear from again.

The idea of giving someone an opportunity to 're-negotiate' the deal when they arrive is just a non starter in my books!

That said - If the original agreement was for you to pay the balance on arrival and now the owner is asking for something different, I think you are well advised to be suspicious.

 

[martinchip10]

Everything ended up fine. The owner was getting the bookings mixed up. My only concern was that I did not want to pay all the cost upfront after agreeing to pay on arrival only to find the property was not available and my hard earned cash was lost. All ended up well in the end though.