Florida Villa

[MuddlingThru]

I have a villa in Florida and have 2 questions.

1. those of you who have rented a villa in Florida - what websites did you use to find the villa that you rented?

2. I am a bit disappointed by the service I have been getting from the management company recently and am therefore looking to change. If anyone has a Florida villa I would be interested to know who your management company is and how you rate them.

Hi, I have a villa in Florida which I've owned for 12 years now.
To be honest, I'm seriously considering selling it now as it is starting to cost far too much money for the upkeep of it. Am very disappointed with my management company who are really letting me down now. What doesn't help is that they approached me 10 years ago to go to them as they'd just started up their own company so I left my previous management company to go with them and the past few years they just don't seem to give a damm anymore. Very disappointing. DH and I have decided to stick with them for the next year as we are not able to get out to Florida until next year and will change then.

Have you subscribed to Florida Homes and Travel? Its fabulous, run by a british lady called Elle. She does monthly newsletters covering all sorts of useful information and once a year does a full survey on the various management companies people use and publishes the results. It is from £25 pa depending on whether you pay by DD and get it emailed, up to £32 pa if you get it posted.
Their website is www.floridahomesandtravel.com

By the way, which management company are you with?

I don't subscribe to Florida Homes and Travel but it does sound very interesting. £25 sounds very reasonable.

I have been using IPG - but recently guests have contacted me saying that it has taken several phone calls to them to get anything fixed.

You didn't mention which managment company you are currently using. Could you let me know please so that I can try and avoid them.

I've not heard of IPG, are they in Kissimmee?
I'd not mentioned who I was with as I'm aware the owner is sometimes on here and as I'm stuck with her for the time being I don't want to openly criticise her. She was really good at first and have been with her for years but at the start of this year we got an email basically saying she was dumping half of the homes she manages and gave us very little information about the new management company. As you can appreciate, choosing a management company is a big thing and I was shocked that she could 'dump' us just like that. I was hugely pregnant at the time and had real health problems and was not in a position to fly out to Florida to check out new companies.
She agreed to keep us on for the time being but I feel so let down with her bearing in mind that SHE approached me and asked for my business and then 10 years down the line decides to get rid of me after the thousands of $ I've paid her over the years.

Her company have gone downhill and I was very disappointed to find out from friends out there now that a door was broken on arrival and that a food pack I'd ordered for them wasn't there. This is not the first time I've had friends report damage to me and it makes my blood boil when I think what I pay her.
All I can say is her company specialises in houses within 4 miles of Disney and begins with L. Don't get me wrong, she was really good to start with but I feel very let down by her.

My old management company is called Premier Homes which is near Lake Buena Vista

Where is your villa?

I think I know the company that you mean. If it is who I am thinking of their spiel says 'We were voted second best Property Management Company In Orlando in the Florida Homes and Travel 2008 Survey.'

Our villa is on Windsor Hills.

Hugely pregnant at the beginning of the year... I guess that means that your little one has arrived - hope all went well.

Hi Muddling Thru. Yes, you are right in your guess ref management company. I think they will find they won't be voted 2nd best this year as I think there have been quite a few complaints about them. Am fuming as just received an email from them saying that something they were authorised to replace in April has still not been replaced Feel very embarrassed as friends have just returned and had to point out to us damage and things missing.
My villa is just down the road from yours. Turn right out of WH and its just down the road.

We've just got back from Disneyland in Paris and to be honest, it was so bloody expensive it would have been cheaper to go to Florida and I could have sourced out a new management company.
Let me know if you find a good one. I'm normally to be found on this topic.

BTW, had a little boy in February and he is lovely