Renting a house for your holiday is an expensive business and if you do not take enough care before confirming a booking it is possible that you will end up with a less than satisfactory holiday. Never forget that, providing you are booking early enough, you are in a buyers market, so take your time and ask the right questions to ensure that you are going to be happy with your holiday home.
Always try to speak to the property owner: you are much more likely to establish the true picture of the property than if you are speaking to an agent. Property owners tend to take pride in their property and are likely to be open and honest when discussing the details of a let.
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE CONFIRMING A RENTAL
1) what is the exterior furniture made of? If it is plastic then take care as it is an indication that the property has been furnished to a budget
2) Are there plenty of loungers and similar. You don't want your party fighting for the only comfortable chair on the property.
3) Is there enough shade? Ok you are mainly interested in sunshine but children in particular need shade. An ideal summer property will have plenty of shaded areas near the pool area so that sun and shade lovers can still feel part of the party.
4) Are there dining tables inside and outside?
5) How many people can sit at the tables? There need to be enough chairs for everyone to sit comfortably
6) Does every bedroom have bedside tables and bedside lights?
7) Are there shutters or thick curtains on the bedroom windows? If not your party will be woken with the sunrise
8) Are the beds comfortable? This is a very subjective question since everyone's opinion of a comfortable bed is likely to be different. But one very good clue is to ask about the mattresses. If they are sprung then they are likely to be comfortable. If they are foam, then take care: after a night or two you and your family might be longing for their home comforts
9) It can get cold anywhere. Are there plenty of blankets/duvets for each bed
10) Check on the hot water; remember that even in the summer everyone will want to have a hot shower/ bath. Also ask about the water pressure for the showers. In particular stand alone electric showers sometimes provide a trickle of water rather than constant hot water at a reasonable pressure.
11) How far away are the local shops? The early morning bread run may sound great fun, but if in practice it means a 30 minute drive then the pleasure will rapidly wane
10) Communication: ok if you want to get away from it all ignore this but if you need to keep in touch then check this out. Is there good mobile connectivity in the property? Some rentals provide for tenants to use the land line at cost. If so this can be a great benefit and will provide much cheaper communication than mobiles. And don't forget to check about WI-FI . Is it provided and how good is it.
11) is there an English speaking agent who will welcome you? A really helpful greeter at the property will save you hours of time getting settled in and should be willing and able to give you lots of useful local information
12) in the event of any problems who do you get in touch with? Lots of things can go wrong in a rental property, most of them none of the owners fault: blocked drains, electrical failure and similar can occur no matter how well maintained the property is. You need to be sure that should you encounter such a problem there is an English speaking person available to sort it out for you.
13) Kitchen equipment: ask if there is a knife sharpener. If there is a knife sharpener then the owners are likely to have equipped their kitchen properly.
14) Bed Linen. Are there spare sheets? If children have accidents you need to be able to remake a bed in a hurry.
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Always try to speak to the property owner: you are much more likely to establish the true picture of the property than if you are speaking to an agent. Property owners tend to take pride in their property and are likely to be open and honest when discussing the details of a let.
QUESTIONS TO ASK BEFORE CONFIRMING A RENTAL
1) what is the exterior furniture made of? If it is plastic then take care as it is an indication that the property has been furnished to a budget
2) Are there plenty of loungers and similar. You don't want your party fighting for the only comfortable chair on the property.
3) Is there enough shade? Ok you are mainly interested in sunshine but children in particular need shade. An ideal summer property will have plenty of shaded areas near the pool area so that sun and shade lovers can still feel part of the party.
4) Are there dining tables inside and outside?
5) How many people can sit at the tables? There need to be enough chairs for everyone to sit comfortably
6) Does every bedroom have bedside tables and bedside lights?
7) Are there shutters or thick curtains on the bedroom windows? If not your party will be woken with the sunrise
8) Are the beds comfortable? This is a very subjective question since everyone's opinion of a comfortable bed is likely to be different. But one very good clue is to ask about the mattresses. If they are sprung then they are likely to be comfortable. If they are foam, then take care: after a night or two you and your family might be longing for their home comforts
9) It can get cold anywhere. Are there plenty of blankets/duvets for each bed
10) Check on the hot water; remember that even in the summer everyone will want to have a hot shower/ bath. Also ask about the water pressure for the showers. In particular stand alone electric showers sometimes provide a trickle of water rather than constant hot water at a reasonable pressure.
11) How far away are the local shops? The early morning bread run may sound great fun, but if in practice it means a 30 minute drive then the pleasure will rapidly wane
10) Communication: ok if you want to get away from it all ignore this but if you need to keep in touch then check this out. Is there good mobile connectivity in the property? Some rentals provide for tenants to use the land line at cost. If so this can be a great benefit and will provide much cheaper communication than mobiles. And don't forget to check about WI-FI . Is it provided and how good is it.
11) is there an English speaking agent who will welcome you? A really helpful greeter at the property will save you hours of time getting settled in and should be willing and able to give you lots of useful local information
12) in the event of any problems who do you get in touch with? Lots of things can go wrong in a rental property, most of them none of the owners fault: blocked drains, electrical failure and similar can occur no matter how well maintained the property is. You need to be sure that should you encounter such a problem there is an English speaking person available to sort it out for you.
13) Kitchen equipment: ask if there is a knife sharpener. If there is a knife sharpener then the owners are likely to have equipped their kitchen properly.
14) Bed Linen. Are there spare sheets? If children have accidents you need to be able to remake a bed in a hurry.
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