Page 24 - WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE DISCOVERING ENGLAND

SCAMS
How to Avoid Vacation Rental

By Tom Gilmore efforts to plan an enjoyable fam-
ily vacation result in a scam --
The height and their hard-earned vacation
of summer dollars go down the drain. I
vacation plan- don't think websites are do-
ning is here, ing enough to prevent this
and families are from happening, and trav-
on the hunt for elers need to be cautious
affordable travel of the properties they're
options to destina- looking at. If the prop-
tions where they can erty seems "too good
relax and enjoy a re- to be true" -- make
prieve with their kids, sure to do some
perhaps their parents, extra research be-
and other friends and fore sending any
family members. With money.
over 47 percent of travel-
ers interested in staying in In addition to
a vacation home rental, it using trust-
has become a popular alterna- w o r t h y
tive to staying at a hotel. And w e b s i t e s
while websites like Craigslist or for book-
Backpage.com can offer fantastic ing your rentals,
bargains -- they've also made the which is perhaps the
headlines for scams in recent years. best way to avoid a scam, I also
want to share some additional precau-
s t re s s tions you should take to help avoid the
Travelers need to be as they tried stress of a rental scam when planning
“

cautious of the proper- to search for a hotel during your vacation this year. I'd suggest the
to find answers and
following:
ties they’re looking at. If a busy weekend. As these fraudulent
the property seems too listings have become more and more
popular, scammers have also mastered
good to be true... “ new levels of sophistication like hacking 1. Use Search Engines - If you're
into legitimate real estate databases and worried about a property, simply check
During Easter weekend last month, for even putting together a real lease agree- it out yourself. With tools like Google
example, Fox 4 in Fort Myers, FL re- ment. Luckily, PayPal refunded the fam- Maps, it's easy to find photos of a prop-
ported yet another vacation home rental ily in Ft. Myers all of their money, but erty and check out the neighborhood.
scam. A family traveled all the way from does Craigslist do enough to flag these You can also try to locate the registry
New York to Fort Myers and thought they scams? of deeds for the county where the prop-
had rented the ideal place, but ended up erty is located and look up the address
being victims of a scam. Their vacation The last thing any family wants to hap- to double check that the person does in-
quickly turned from relaxing to high- pen is to have their rental property and deed own the home they are advertising.

24 Wine Dine & Travel Winter 2014