Any other options than airbnb or vrbo? (Hilo: sales, real estate)

[mijax]

Hello everyone,


My family (wife, son and me) will be relocating to BI fairly soon. After some vacationing on the Kona side we plan to be heading over to the Hilo side on August 1st. I'm looking at my options for a short term rental while I view other rental options - longer term 3-6 months. Plan is to rent for a while as we look for a home to purchase. We've been to BI / Hilo side many times in the past so I have a pretty good idea where I want to live, but I don't want to just commit to a rental sight unseen. Does anyone have any suggestions on a short term rental - couple weeks to a month, other than doing a VRBO or Airbnb?


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!


Thanks!

[whtviper1]

Craigslist under sublet

[leilaniguy]

Not a good idea.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I suggest looking through the calendars of the VRBOs that look good to you. If they have gaps that work with your timing, you could contact them and see if they would give you a discount for a one-month rental.

[mijax]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Craigslist under sublet

Thanks.. hadn't thought of that.

[mijax]

Originally Posted by leilaniguy

Not a good idea.

Good morning Leilaniguy,


Can you elaborate on why "Not a good idea"?

[hotzcatz]

Scammers, mostly as well as you want to see places in person no matter who lists them before you rent. Craig's List has no controls on it where as the AirBnB and VBRO have feedback and such.

Perhaps you could start your 6 month rental search at the beginning of your vacation time in Kona? It's not like you couldn't still do vacation things while looking for a rental.

Some Realtors also handle rentals, perhaps if you find one who handles sales as well as rentals, they can dovetail the rental/buy situation for you.

[mijax]

Originally Posted by hotzcatz

Some Realtors also handle rentals, perhaps if you find one who handles sales as well as rentals, they can dovetail the rental/buy situation for you.

Thanks hotzcatz. Good advice.


I have reached out to a couple Realtors asking for assistance with short term rentals & also letting them know I'll need a buyers agent for when we purchase. But surprisingly I have not received responses from them. I guess I picked the two least hungry agents on the island. I'll reach out to a couple more - Maybe I'll start a new thread asking for referrals.


Thanks again! Advice is much appreciated!!

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by mijax

I have reached out to a couple Realtors asking for assistance with short term rentals & also letting them know I'll need a buyers agent for when we purchase. But surprisingly I have not received responses from them.

I'm not surprised, on any island, the vast majority, not all - aren't going to want to deal with you until you physically get on island (or in the immediate future).

Practically none deal with rentals. Not all, but most.

And in my experience, you'll find getting calls back in general often don't happen or only after several tries, especially landlords

[mijax]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

I'm not surprised, on any island, the vast majority, not all - aren't going to want to deal with you until you physically get on island (or in the immediate future).

Yeah, I get that... But at the same time if I were an agent I'd be willing to spend a few minutes giving a list of possible rentals so somebody who might turn out to be a buyer I could represent in a real estate purchase. Maybe they've been burned by people in the past who don't actually show up to the island... but if it were me I'd still do it. Guess I'm just "hungry" by nature & willing to take a chance.


I'm talking to my agent who just sold my house and he's checking into setting me up with an agent on BI. We'll see how it goes.


As always thanks for the insight...