Rent Property Direct

Welcome to all first time visitors. The aim of Rent Property Direct is to help you find your perfect holiday home as quickly and easily as possible.

The following information is a guide of how to use this site and gain the most out of it.

1. How do I search for a property?
2. Are all properties managed by their owners?
3. How do I contact the owner/representative?
4. How can I make a booking and pay?
5. What happens when I arrive?
6. What if there is a problem at the property?
7. What happens on departure?

There are 5 ways of searching for a holiday home:

1. Geographically by using the maps or drop down menu on the home page.
2. By selecting an interest such as golf or skiing and then selecting the geographical location.
3. By stating the reference number of the property, if you know it already.
4. By using the advance search, where you can enter specific search criteria such as number of rooms, availability dates etc.
5. Clicking on "Specials" you will find discounted prices and last minute offers.

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In order to give you the widest choice of holiday rentals, private owners, property managers and agents may advertise on this site. Advertisements are clearly marked either private or professional.

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Once you have found your special holiday home, you will find the contact details of the owners, managers or representatives at the bottom of the advertisements. You can telephone, fax or email them. If you are telephoning internationally, please check the time in their particular country before calling to avoid contacting them in the early hours of the morning at their home.If you get an answer machine, please leave a clear message, remembering to leave your contact details and appropriate time to call you back.We urge our advertisers to respond as quickly as possible, but always bear in mind, they could be away which could account for lack of an immediate response. If you started your enquiry with an email and you have had no reply within 2 -4 days, try calling them if they have given a telephone number. Most owners will respond quickly whether they have availability or not. If you are having no luck with one property, we suggest you try an alternative holiday home whose owner is more responsive.

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You deal directly with the advertisers. Most managers will have a standard rental agreement and payment schedule. If you are booking directly with the owner there are no standardised forms or procedures. They will normally ask for a booking deposit of between 10 – 50% of the total rent at the time of confirming a booking, with the remainder to be paid approximately 8 weeks before your arrival date. Some will have a contract to be signed. Payment is normally by cheque or bank transfer. Make sure you get written confirmation of the booking, payments and any terms and conditions (such as cancellation policy or metered electricity). Most owners will ask for a security deposit in case of any breakages. This deposit should be refunded, minus any costs for damages, to you on departure or shortly afterwards. Make sure you get clear directions with the property’s address or a map, with advice of the closest airport or motorway junction from the property several weeks before you depart on your holidays.

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It is always a good idea to call them a few weeks in advance of your arrival to confirm any arrangements you have made. Depending on your agreement with the owner or manager, you may have the house keys and directions sent to you, or maybe they will meet and greet you. If they have a local representative (neighbour or friend) looking after their property, make sure you get their telephone number before you depart. If you are delayed it would be courteous to inform them. Also it is a good idea to check that they have left some instruction in case you encounter any problems before they drive off!

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Sometimes there may be problems which could happen in any of our homes. If this happens contact the owners/managers as soon as possible. There should be some instructions at the property, which will give detail emergency numbers, and numbers for contacting them in case of a problem. The owners/managers should have electricians, plumbers etc locally who can resolve the problems on the spot. It is much better to contact the owners/managers if there is a problem and give them a chance to rectify it, than to suffer throughout the holiday and complain at the end. Also please remember that you are staying at someone’s home and to treat it with respect.

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This will depend on your agreement with the owner/manager. Some will check you out of the property and if there is no damage return the security deposit at this point or a few weeks later.

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