What Happens If Your OBX Vacation Rental Is Sold/Foreclosed Upon? (for sale, real estate)

[NCInMyMind]

I recently returned from a lovely vacation in Duck. However, we were quite surprised to see a "For Sale" sign on the house when we arrived.

We are in the process of planning our next vacation -- hopefully in the southern portion of OBX. This time, however, we are double checking the rental houses that we are considering against Remax.com. A large number of the homes that we are interested in renting are currently for sale.

What happens if one makes a reservation, pays the deposit, buys trip insurance, etc...and then the house is sold? Who honors the rental contract, or are you left high-and-dry? If I were personally buying a rental property, I would want to choose the rental agency and not have to honor prior contracts.

Upon reviewing our recent contract, it vaguely states that if that particular property is for sale, a real estate agent may call to schedule a showing. There is no mention of an obligation to offer you a comparable property or a refund.

Given the number of homes for sale, I imagine that a lot of potential renters might be wondering the same thing.

Has anybody been in a situation where just before they leave for vacation they find out that the property is sold or foreclosed upon?

Thanks!

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by NCInMyMind

I recently returned from a lovely vacation in Duck. However, we were quite surprised to see a "For Sale" sign on the house when we arrived.

We are in the process of planning our next vacation -- hopefully in the southern portion of OBX. This time, however, we are double checking the rental houses that we are considering against Remax.com. A large number of the homes that we are interested in renting are currently for sale.

What happens if one makes a reservation, pays the deposit, buys trip insurance, etc...and then the house is sold? Who honors the rental contract, or are you left high-and-dry? If I were personally buying a rental property, I would want to chose the rental agency and not have to honor prior contracts.

Upon reviewing our recent contract, it vaguely states that if that particular property is for sale, a real estate agent may call to schedule a showing. There is no mention of an obligation to offer you a comperable property or a refund.

Given the number of homes for sale, I imagine that a lot of potential renters might be wondering the same thing.

Has anybody been in a situation where just before they leave for vacation they find out that the property is sold or foreclosed upon?

Thanks!

I would think your vacation rental contract would protect you, and sale would be subject to all leases.
Foreclosure would be a different animal, but I would hope the property manager would hold rent in trust until after your stay was over.
Now.... suppose that property manager goes bankrupt... ouch.

And, posting this on the Eastern NC forum might get you an answer from someone who specializes in vacation rental properties.

[ljd1010]

Originally Posted by NCInMyMind

I recently returned from a lovely vacation in Duck. However, we were quite surprised to see a "For Sale" sign on the house when we arrived.

We are in the process of planning our next vacation -- hopefully in the southern portion of OBX. This time, however, we are double checking the rental houses that we are considering against Remax.com. A large number of the homes that we are interested in renting are currently for sale.

What happens if one makes a reservation, pays the deposit, buys trip insurance, etc...and then the house is sold? Who honors the rental contract, or are you left high-and-dry? If I were personally buying a rental property, I would want to chose the rental agency and not have to honor prior contracts.

Upon reviewing our recent contract, it vaguely states that if that particular property is for sale, a real estate agent may call to schedule a showing. There is no mention of an obligation to offer you a comperable property or a refund.

Given the number of homes for sale, I imagine that a lot of potential renters might be wondering the same thing.

Has anybody been in a situation where just before they leave for vacation they find out that the property is sold or foreclosed upon?

Thanks!

Wow! We're headed to Duck 2 weeks from today for a family vacation. My daughter/grandchildren will be visiting from China and my son and his wife will be joining us as well. Hope nothing like this happens to ruin our week!

[MikeJaquish]

Originally Posted by ljd1010

Wow! We're headed to Duck 2 weeks from today for a family vacation. My daughter/grandchildren will be visiting from China and my son and his wife will be joining us as well. Hope nothing like this happens to ruin our week!

The homes are sold as investments, for rental purposes.
Total rents are part of the listing advertisements.

"Rental Machine"
"$49,000 rent total last year."
So a buyer is not going to buy to terminate your week.

And the listing and rental agreements probably offer protection to the tenants, like showings only during turnover cleanup period, or otherwise allowing you peace of mind regarding your vacation.

Vacation tenants are a HUGE part of the economy at OBX. You won't have to worry about agents with lookie-loos in tow bothering you.

[Flowerchild08]

This happened to my daughter and her husband, they had paid for the week and were notified that ithe house was no longer available. The rental agency found them a comparable house - it was actually an upgrade. They were worried about this situation but it all worked out just fine for them. Hopefully all rental agencies would do the same. I would call and ask the question if I were concerned.

[NCInMyMind]

Thanks Mike. Your posts are always a valuable source of information.

Looks like we don't need to be so concerned, unless of course the agency goes under...

We always purchase independent trip insurance, so we will ask the insurance company about that scenario.

Thanks!

[FVmommy]

We had reservations in North Myrtle Beach for this summer, and the house was foreclosed on. They moved us (we were notified weeks before our vacation) to a similar property that was ocean front (our original choice was not). The rent on the new place was significantly higher, but we did NOT have to pay the difference.

[cry884]

We go to Duck twice a year and rent through Stan White Realty. There was a problem with a house once (maintenance problem) and they gave us another similar house for the week (actually, a bit of an upgrade).