Problems with my villa booking?

Bubba31 · 26 Jun 19, 07:02 AM

Got an email from the villa management company yesterday saying the owner of the villa I'm hiring has sold it.
I found that odd as I'd have expected the owner to contact me directly to discuss this.
I've checked the Polk county records and it still shows the same person as the owner, also when I do a search for the property it was last sold in 2014, nothing more recent.
I have tried contacting the owner yesterday via email but they have not responded either.
The management company have said the new owner will honour booking but I'm a little nervous now as my contract is with the now previous owner it seems.
Any help appreciated. Thanks

**Pixiebelle** · 26 Jun 19, 07:45 AM

Originally Posted by Bubba31

Got an email from the villa management company yesterday saying the owner of the villa I'm hiring has sold it.
I found that odd as I'd have expected the owner to contact me directly to discuss this.
I've checked the Polk county records and it still shows the same person as the owner, also when I do a search for the property it was last sold in 2014, nothing more recent.
I have tried contacting the owner yesterday via email but they have not responded either.
The management company have said the new owner will honour booking but I'm a little nervous now as my contract is with the now previous owner it seems.
Any help appreciated. Thanks

I think I would have found it odd to that the management company contacted you and not the owner. I am assuming that you booked directly with the owner? The only reason I can think is that the owner has maybe passed all the guests details across and they are acting as an intermediary. When are you due to stay as hopefully if it was a while then you can get things sorted. Good luck!

ManCity · 26 Jun 19, 11:06 AM

The problem here is the lack of information. By 'sold' do you mean 'he found a buyer' or 'the sale was closed'? There is a difference - possibly of several weeks. The ownership only transfers on the closure date, which is when all the legal documents are finally signed off. In my experience of the Polk Property Appraiser, it can take 2 months after the closure date for the change of owner to filter through the official system and be recorded.

What an MC does depends on what the owner contracted them to do on their behalf. It is not unusual for MCs to take bookings instead of, or as well as, the owner. If the latter, the MC would hold the central reservations register and owners would put their own bookings in it. How did you find and book the villa - was it through sites such HomeAway, AirBnb, TripAdvisor, Debbie's Villas etc - if so they are involved in the booking transfer too, so contact them. MCs use these sites too - are you sure you were dealing with the owner previously, rather than their MC or agent? Have you confirmed that the new owner will be using the same MC? Have you got the new owner's details so you can contact them and discuss their plans for the property? It will be their property you are renting. Are you even sure this MC is actually the MC and not a scammer.

Did you look up the property on a site like Zillow. If you delve in the details it gives the history of a property being listed/taken off the market (assuming it was done through a realtor, not privately).

Bubba31 · 26 Jun 19, 12:27 PM

Thanks guys, I've decided to cancel and rebook another villa.

bighal · 26 Jun 19, 01:16 PM

Originally Posted by Bubba31

Thanks guys, I've decided to cancel and rebook another villa.

Did you check the cancellation policy of the old villa before cancelling as most villa bookings have some sort of clause where you still have to pay more money on top of any deposit the closer to arrival date you book as well as losing any deposits paid.

Bubba31 · 26 Jun 19, 03:27 PM

Originally Posted by bighal

Did you check the cancellation policy of the old villa before cancelling as most villa bookings have some sort of clause where you still have to pay more money on top of any deposit the closer to arrival date you book as well as losing any deposits paid.

Yes, 100% refund within 5 - 7 days. Got the email confirmation, thanks.

gspringe · 12 Jul 19, 10:43 PM

We stayed in a villa that was sold. The new owner honoured our booking and there were ni changes in price or anything. All went well.

**EssexSue** · 12 Jul 19, 11:14 PM

We bought our Villa with bookings in place and we honoured them all, in fact one still returns to us now.
We did contact all our guests tho as did the previous owner

26 Jun 19, 11:06 AM	#3
	26 Jun 19, 11:06 AM ManCity Helping Minnie
ManCity Helping Minnie Join Date: Jun 19	The problem here is the lack of information. By 'sold' do you mean 'he found a buyer' or 'the sale was closed'? There is a difference - possibly of several weeks. The ownership only transfers on the closure date, which is when all the legal documents are finally signed off. In my experience of the Polk Property Appraiser, it can take 2 months after the closure date for the change of owner to filter through the official system and be recorded. What an MC does depends on what the owner contracted them to do on their behalf. It is not unusual for MCs to take bookings instead of, or as well as, the owner. If the latter, the MC would hold the central reservations register and owners would put their own bookings in it. How did you find and book the villa - was it through sites such HomeAway, AirBnb, TripAdvisor, Debbie's Villas etc - if so they are involved in the booking transfer too, so contact them. MCs use these sites too - are you sure you were dealing with the owner previously, rather than their MC or agent? Have you confirmed that the new owner will be using the same MC? Have you got the new owner's details so you can contact them and discuss their plans for the property? It will be their property you are renting. Are you even sure this MC is actually the MC and not a scammer. Did you look up the property on a site like Zillow. If you delve in the details it gives the history of a property being listed/taken off the market (assuming it was done through a realtor, not privately).