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OP Just google over 55 communities in the area of Florida you might be interested in. Look at the community's web page to see if it's something you might be interested in. Then go to VRBO, Homeway, etc. and search for rentals in that community.
OP, are you trying to save money by using VRBO? Do make sure you check the hidden fees if looking at VRBO rentals. They can be substantial, quite a bit more than hotel rates. Some people are taking their entire family so it works out for them but for us as a couple, it's too much.
In fact, I find VRBO properties to be so expensive because of hidden fees that I just book a mid-priced business hotel that has free breakfast, like Hampton Inn. It probably helps that my van has a fully-equipped galley where I can prepare other meals, so no need to eat out. But many hotel rooms these days have refrigerators and microwaves.
I used VRBO for years to get snowbird rentals. Saved a lot of money over published rates, but then I was going for months. Look for listings with good reviews.
We never dealt with any hidden fees, we would just ask them for an all-in-one price and let the owner sort out the taxes, cleaning, etc.
The one time we went to FL to look into retirement communities, we found most of them would not even let you on the property unless you were with a RE agent. You may find some do not allow short-term, or ANY rentals.
We use it constantly, along with Homeaway and Airbnb and several European house rental sites. We vacation pretty often and prefer to rent houses (or apartments in European cities) than a hotel or even a B&B.
We used it in our househunt in FL. We rented 3 different homes in 3 different towns to see which suited us best. A month at each place. All in the exact neighborhoods we were interested in. Did the same thing when we moved to Arizona and again in Mexico.
It is far better to rent a home in the neighborhood you are interested in versus staying in a nearby hotel.
I've used VRBO (bought out by HomeAway, so you will see both logos) for everything from high rise apartments in Chicago to a row house in Dupont Square in DC to a small beach house (locally and in Hawaii) to a mountain cabin to a small flat in Kensington (London). All the experiences have been pretty good. As someone else said, look for very recent reviews, accept that the photos have been taken to make the place look as nice as possible.
VRBO is not particularly cheap (particularly after fees and taxes have been added, that $100 a night becomes $150 very quickly), but the spouse likes to make his own breakfast (hotel breakfasts are absolutely awful and a restaurant breakfast is more than we can eat). What we generally do while traveling, to save money AND our waistlines, is to eat out no more than once a day, often a late lunch, and then just have a sandwich or other light meal at night.
Oh yes, we plan more then one trip....going in the summer, to see if we can handle to heat.
Good. Overall your plan is solid as a rock. Get right into the middle of things to see if an area really suits
and take some time there to be sure. Some will try to do this from an RV parked 15 miles away.
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Don`t know if there are any VRBO in over 55, but...
That was my first assumption. Or furnished sublets for that matter.
Bylaws and all that aside property owners will run into strict FL hotel tax laws and rules
when they attempt to operate as a hotel. Hope you find something good though.
I used to advertise my townhouse at the beach on VRBO, as well as a couple other sites, for vacation rentals in the summer. It helped defray some of the cost of ownership of my home for the six years until I retired. It is only a forum for owners to advertise, the condition, fees and terms depend on the individual owners. But it does include feedback from previous renters and shows how long they've been in operation, so that does work to weed out scammers. As an owner, I found it to be preferable to listing with a realtor or rental management firm. You avoid their management fees and you can do a better job of screening renters yourself. I also found a big decrease in stealing by the renters. The summer I let it through the agency, I was amazed at what disappeared - pillows, blankets, a flower arrangement and china teapots and serving pieces. Nothing went when I rented it myself. People know they are dealing with real people - that nice old lady next door - and not some impersonal company.
Another advantage to VRBO and to home swapping sites is, you're away from the big hotels in tourist areas into actual neighborhoods where people live. You get a better feel for the people and culture.
Going to Florida soon to check out if it is the right place for us to retire to. We have never done a VRBO before. We are going to try to stay in a over 55, or at least a gated community.
We know it is a legit company.....but we are still leery. I guess hearing some good feedback will make us feel better about it Thanks! Any tips that would be helpful would also be appreciated
You should be aware that a lot of over 55 and gated HOA communities Don't allow VRBO and yet the owners still try to rent the home out short term. Just letting you know.
Don't know if you are interested in The Villages, but someone on another forum I frequent used this site Villagershomes4rent.com to find rentals in the Villages. I don't personally know anything about the site, but thought I would pass it along.
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