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My family has always vacationed in Duck, but on our most recent trip we decided to explore Hatteras Island. We fell in love with how beautiful it is.
We were planning on renting a house from Midgett Realty, however the house we wanted to rent is no longer one of Midgett’s properties. We were about to secure a reservation with Surf or Sound Realty, but at the last second my wife Googled their name and found a large number of negative reviews.
Does this rental agency have a bad reputation in your area or is this a matter of a few very vocal unhappy customers? We were a bit suspicious because an oceanfront house with a pool was significantly less expensive than similar properties at different agencies.
We have rented on Hatteras Island many times but I can't recall if we have used Surf or Sound. We have used Midgett, Sun and Outer Beaches and have never had a problem. I'm sure the economy has affected them all. Maybe Surf or Sound really dropped their prices. We are not going to OBX this year so I am very jealous. Have a great vacation.
We have been renting through Surf or Sound for years and have never once had a problem with them, their homes, or their service. They've been exceptional in my dealings with them.
Glad to hear that you loved Hatteras Island. After years vacationing in various locations, once we stepped foot on Hatteras we knew we found a place that we'd want to return to year after year after year.
As far as pricing goes, their rentals do seem to be down (as are everyone else) and I've found that if you have the flexibility to book last minute, there are amazing deals to be had. Homeowners/investors don't like to see their houses sit empty, so they're slashing prices to guarantee rentals.
We rented from Surf or Sound in July, 2009. It was the second time. Two years ago we rented and everything was fine. However, this time it was horrible. The location of the house was not what was pictured on the website. The staff was rude and uncooperative. The pool was never cleaned and they never showed up for a mid-week cleaning that was requested. I guess if you never need anything you will never know how really bad their service is...until...
We rented a house in Salvo for the week of 18 Jul 09 from Surf or Sound and will not likely do business with them again. We telephoned the main office at ~3:00 PM to check on the status of the house and were told that we had to go in person to the Salvo office - no phone calls. When we arrived at the Salvo office we were told to leave ONE phone number on which staff would contact us when the house was ready. This after standing in line for ~15 mins.
Upon arriving at the house we found that several of the light fixtures didn't work (not even the first time) due to failed lamps. These included 3 of the 4 lamps in one bathroom, both lamps in one microwave, 3 of the 4 lamps on the pool deck, and the underwater light in the pool proper. Surf or Sound's solution was to have ME replace the lamps in the house - in a house that rents for ~$5,000 per week! When I told them that I was the one on vacation and that I didn't feel like doing their work for them they said that they would send a maintenance guy out. He showed up the next day and had to make a trip to the hardware store to get a lamp for the microwave because "it is a special bulb that costs too much to stock". The pool deck lights were still inoperative when we left on 25 Jul 09. And the underwater pool light will not be repaired until the end of the season because "the pool has to be drained to replace the lamp." What a load of hooey!! Surf or Sound staff had no comment on the safety issues surrounding the pool area lighting.
Then we made the silly mistake of opening one of the kitchen cabinet doors and had the door nearly fall off. Seems that a screw was missing from one of the hinges and Surf or Sound's inspectors didn't notice. Another visit from the maintenance guy and another trip to the hardware store because he didn't have the proper replacement screw.
Then there was the ant infestation in and around the tiki bar near the pool. When the exterminator guy showed up he commented that the house was overdue for its routine spray service. No word on how/why that happened.
On top of all of this, 2 of the 3 entertainment systems in the house didn't function correctly. This in spite of the multiple warnings on the equipment about how an "inspector" checks each of them between rentals. I don't think so.
We have rented from numerous other agencies over the years and have never been subjected to the poor customer service exhibited by Surf or Sound last week. They should carefully and honestly review their desk and service operations and make the changes necessary to keep customers returning. We will certainly return to the Outer Banks, maybe as early as this fall. Absent a proper response from Surf and Sound we will not rent (or buy) from them again.
NCinmymind, google "tripadvisor outer banks forum" and then search the forum for Surf or Sound. There's a long running thread just loaded with horror stories, along with many other threads with tales of bad experiences. I've never used them myself so I can't comment, but the many negative posts tell me it's not just a few whiners.
What was the name of the house? We have a reservation for 2010 booked for a home in Salvo with a Tiki Bar. I'm sure there's more than one house in Salvo with a Tiki Bar, but if it is the same one, I want to make sure to tweak SOS about their inspection before we check in.
My family recently stayed at the Dream Come True II and were unhappy to find that it was infested with cockroaches. I immediately contacted the office and they told me that they would have someone come out. The next day a man did come out and told us that he really needed to see one to know exactly what kind they were. So the next day I stopped in to the office and dropped one off in a bag.....I could have dropped off a dozen or more because that is what we either saw or killed. Vicki told me that she would try and take care of this for me and that she had emailed someone about this situation. The next day we saw and killed even more and we were seeing them all day long, not just at night like the man who sprayed had said the day prior. The next day another man came out and he said that these roaches had not been there long.....are you kidding me!!! We saw them in every room and at all times of the day and night!!! He also made us feel as thou we brought them!!! We came to your company for a first family vacation ever and your company who represents this home as a clean family vacation forgot to tell us about the roach infestation. We paid you and expected to have a enjoyable week, instead we had to throw away 100's of dollars of food and paper products because the roaches crawled over and in it. Not to mention that we found dead roaches on the coffee maker and in the toaster along with in the pull out couch!! Do you think that my family will be back?
My family has always vacationed in Duck, but on our most recent trip we decided to explore Hatteras Island. We fell in love with how beautiful it is.
We were planning on renting a house from Midgett Realty, however the house we wanted to rent is no longer one of Midgett’s properties. We were about to secure a reservation with Surf or Sound Realty, but at the last second my wife Googled their name and found a large number of negative reviews.
Does this rental agency have a bad reputation in your area or is this a matter of a few very vocal unhappy customers? We were a bit suspicious because an oceanfront house with a pool was significantly less expensive than similar properties at different agencies.
Thanks for your input.
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Surf or Sound service was horrible
**** roaches!!!
