Snowbird Lease

[cisaak]

Originally Posted by MauiPartTimer

One other thought to tack on to Viper's point; if you adjust your two months to Mid-January through Mid-March (or February through March), you might have much better luck.

Thanks. That is great practical advice. We can certainly adjust our time period to start in mid-January. I know you own in Kihei but what is your sense of the Maui condo rental market? Are most owners open to longer rentals? Do most owners want to personally use their units for some part of that time? Is vrbo my best starting point?

[hothulamaui]

there are literally thousands and thousands of people who own condos. with that being said your time frame is the high season for sure. don't give up on this year, just get to looking and booking now. yes many owners come in the winter to avoid the cold at home. however some stay home because this is when their condos are booked and they like the income. try VRBO you will have even better luck if you come after feb.

[MauiPartTimer]

Originally Posted by cisaak

Thanks. That is great practical advice. We can certainly adjust our time period to start in mid-January. I know you own in Kihei but what is your sense of the Maui condo rental market? Are most owners open to longer rentals? Do most owners want to personally use their units for some part of that time? Is vrbo my best starting point?

As others have said, including myself , that's the "high season" (highest prices) for condo rentals because there are a lot of snowbirds looking for places during that same time. It's pretty remarkable how the vrbo inquiries for Dec-Mar stays are dominated by email addresses with ".ca" extensions, meaning Canadians, eh.

With the economy improving, so has consumer confidence, so we've been progressively busier the last couple of years.

Most owners are going to be open to longer stays, but the question is whether they

• Have uninterupted availability for those two months (doubtful for this coming winter)
• Will offer discounts because your stay is longer (I think most would be like me and what I stated before; maybe a little but not a huge discount.

As far as whether condo owners use their places personally, it varies a lot. We use our place a lot, but the people we bought it from used it as a pure investment and I'm told they never set foot in it the entire time they owned it.

VRBO is your best starting point. My guess is you'll probably have to piece together a stay at various condos (two weeks here, a week there, two weeks there, etc.) to make a 2 month stay this winter. Kind of drag to pack and move each time, but it would allow you to get a feel for various places.

Hope this helps!

[cisaak]

Originally Posted by MauiPartTimer

As others have said, including myself , that's the "high season" (highest prices) for condo rentals because there are a lot of snowbirds looking for places during that same time. It's pretty remarkable how the vrbo inquiries for Dec-Mar stays are dominated by email addresses with ".ca" extensions, meaning Canadians, eh.

With the economy improving, so has consumer confidence, so we've been progressively busier the last couple of years.

Most owners are going to be open to longer stays, but the question is whether they

• Have uninterupted availability for those two months (doubtful for this coming winter)
• Will offer discounts because your stay is longer (I think most would be like me and what I stated before; maybe a little but not a huge discount.

As far as whether condo owners use their places personally, it varies a lot. We use our place a lot, but the people we bought it from used it as a pure investment and I'm told they never set foot in it the entire time they owned it.

VRBO is your best starting point. My guess is you'll probably have to piece together a stay at various condos (two weeks here, a week there, two weeks there, etc.) to make a 2 month stay this winter. Kind of drag to pack and move each time, but it would allow you to get a feel for various places.

Hope this helps!

Thanks again for your detailed response. For Jan-Feb 2014, I will try to piece together separate shorter stays. For Jan-Feb 2015, I will start searching in March 2014 for one or two extended stays.

[MitchTempo]

Originally Posted by cisaak

Thanks again for your detailed response. For Jan-Feb 2014, I will try to piece together separate shorter stays. For Jan-Feb 2015, I will start searching in March 2014 for one or two extended stays.

FYI its not uncommon for people who come over once a year, to the same unit, reserve their unit for the next year when they leave. So don't be surprised if some places are already booked by then.