Before booking a villa - please read

[steve@mac155.f]

Originally Posted by lastminute.tom

Just a reminder of the value of this sticky.

I was going to book a villa over the weekend and I just about remembered to check the property tax website for the home before confirming with the rental company.

It shows that the property taxes for both 2012 and 2013 are outstanding. After re-reading this thread I also checked the public records website for Lake County and found a recently issued Lien on the propery for three years worth of HOA costs.

Needless to say we have now passed on this one.

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Always pays to do the checks and save yourself some possible trouble later on.

Steve

[ELLENUT]

Originally Posted by lastminute.tom

Just a reminder of the value of this sticky.

I was going to book a villa over the weekend and I just about remembered to check the property tax website for the home before confirming with the rental company.

It shows that the property taxes for both 2012 and 2013 are outstanding. After re-reading this thread I also checked the public records website for Lake County and found a recently issued Lien on the propery for three years worth of HOA costs.

Needless to say we have now passed on this one.

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That was a lucky escape. Its bad though, that they are still advertising it

[MrsMouse93]

[QUOTE=Queen of Herts;3670308]
I have been told about this site today, it is not completely foolproof but you can check if a homeowner you are booking with has any unpaid debts or is heading towards foreclosure if they have a US mortgage. You will need their first and last names. Take a look at osceolaclerk and on the left side pick 'Civil Division' and then you can do your search.

To check that a person actually owns the home they are renting to you go to osceola.county-taxes do a 'Tax Search'.

QUOTE]

I know this part is an older post and I did use this a couple of years ago, but I can't seem to find where to click 'civil division' on the first link. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

[Guest]

HI,
Thanks to everyone for this very informative thread.

I am just about to pay a deposit on a villa in Hampton Lakes but having used the links in the pinned post at the top of the thread no records are showing for either name i have for the owners. Should i be looking on a different location for tax records or should i be concerned... I have the name of the owners and their home address along with the name of their agents (Orlandsavers.com) and they have responded to other queries, i have now asked for the full address of the villa.

Eeek!

[Tetrarch]

Originally Posted by Tarot

HI,
Thanks to everyone for this very informative thread.

I am just about to pay a deposit on a villa in Hampton Lakes but having used the links in the pinned post at the top of the thread no records are showing for either name i have for the owners. Should i be looking on a different location for tax records or should i be concerned... I have the name of the owners and their home address along with the name of their agents (Orlandsavers.com) and they have responded to other queries, i have now asked for the full address of the villa.

Eeek!

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Hi,

This looks very strange - orlandosavers looks like just a ticket agency, nothing to do with accommodation at all.

This is the sort of link that an owner might put on their website so that can earn commission if a visitor clicks through.

Have the owners actually given you the name of their Managing Agents ?

Given your level of disquiet it would be a reasonable question for you to ask the Villa Owners to provide a link to their Tax records. All owners' tax records are in the public domain. At the very least it will let the owner know that you not going to be messed about - if they try to duck the issue then I would be looking for a new villa sharpish !

Regards

Gary

[owens5558]

Just wanted to check you are looking at the correct county records. Hampton Lakes is in Polk County so these are the sites you need.


fl-polk-taxcollector.governma...CC8622A345D7E1

polkcountyclerk/home/
polkpa/camadisplay.aspx

Penny

[steve@mac155.f]

Agree with Gary the website is a Ticket re-seller with no mention of rental homes, make sure you get the details Gary has mentioned so you can make sure the owners are registered and paying taxes you could also ask them for their Hotel Licence number so you can check that they are registered and licenced as a rental home in Florida.

Steve

[billbarbara229]

Originally Posted by steve@mac155.f

Agree with Gary the website is a Ticket re-seller with no mention of rental homes, make sure you get the details Gary has mentioned so you can make sure the owners are registered and paying taxes you could also ask them for their Hotel Licence number so you can check that they are registered and licenced as a rental home in Florida.

Steve

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Also if its cheap beware as it could be another one on the slide

[Guest]

I am looking to rent a villa on Oak Island and I have owners name and address of villa, can anyone help in giving me some links as to where I can check to see if all taxes are up to date. May be paranoid but I have heard some alarming stories.

Thanks
Dave

[steve@mac155.f]

Originally Posted by ptkdave

I am looking to rent a villa on Oak Island and I have owners name and address of villa, can anyone help in giving me some links as to where I can check to see if all taxes are up to date. May be paranoid but I have heard some alarming stories.

Thanks
Dave

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You will need to look on the Osceola County tax collectors website.

osceola.county-taxes/public

Steve