Snagging an apartment, bungalow, villa, or pretty much any space of your own definitely has its advantages -- financial and otherwise. And sometimes you don't even have to give up maid service!
Cover photo: NeedMoreRentals.com
A wonderful vacation rental in Inverness, Scotland
UnTours Ask most anyone what comes to mind when they think of Scotland and you’ll probably hear bagpipes, kilts, tartans – maybe the brogue and haggis (about which more later). If the year were 1746, you would probably have heard the same thing. But it was in that year, after the Battle of Culloden when the English decimated the Scots, after which they set about to systematically rid the country and its people of their identity and traditions. It didn’t work, which makes it all the more…
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Saludos, John
PS, Randy - I hope I can get down to Nicaragua and see Casa del Sol sometime soon.
New York Passes Ban on Short-term Apartment Rentals
By Laura Bly, USA Today
For thrifty tourists, the days of "living like a New Yawker" - and bypassing steep Manhattan hotel rates - could be coming to an end. The New York Assembly passed a bill Thursday that, by banning rentals of less than 30 days, makes operating a residential apartment as a transient hotel illegal in New York City. The legislation, already approved by the state Senate, now goes to Gov. David Paterson for signature.
According to co-sponsor and State Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, the bill is aimed at apartment owners who put up temporary walls and make other illegal improvements to draw short-term, budget-minded visitors, driving out permanent residents during a city housing shortage.
But it would also apply to individual tenants who rent out their own digs through sites like Craigslist for extra income, as well as to owners who live elsewhere but market their apartments specifically to tourists. And it comes at a time when, as my colleague Barbara DeLollis of Hotel Check-In points out, the average New York City hotel room cost $232 a night the week of June 20-26 - the highest in the nation."
"Real estate and identity theft experts say scam vacation rentals advertised over the Internet are popping up all across the country."
First a scam artist copies a photo of a property up for sale and portrays it as a vacation rental property on sites such as Craigslist. Then an unwitting victim contacts the scammer and secures the rental with a deposit or even the full amount requested without verifying that legitimacy of the property. And the scammer is never heard from again."
Some tips:
"• Contact a real estate agent before you rent the property. You can minimize the likelihood you will become a victim of a rental scam by verifying the legitimacy of the property with a professional.
• Search property records for the actual owner. Many property records, in particular in Florida, are online and searchable. Find the owner and contact the person to ensure the home is a vacation rental.
• Consider using a nationally recognized vacation rental agency. This might be a more expensive way to secure a vacation rental, but in the end, you won't lose all your money."
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