Won't be staying again
Won't be staying again
Submitted: October 4, 2012
Stayed: August 2012
Despite really enjoying the accommodations, I cannot recommend anyone rent this house. I want to leave a very honest review, so I will go through the GOOD, the BAD and the WORST regarding our stay at this house at Holden Beach.
The GOOD: the house really is lovely, much larger than expected and everything was very nice. We were able to bring our dog, my husband’s police K-9 partner, which was very important to us. This house is also close to the beach, a short walk. All in all, we had a nice stay. The owners also contacted us to let us know we could get in early, which was appreciated.
The BAD: We did have to play musical beds to find a mattress that was actually comfortable to sleep on. The other amenity this house lacks is basic cable. I have to say, this is the first house we have rented (of many) that did not have basic cable. I don’t expect HBO, but basic cable would be nice. You have about 5 channels to choose from, some of which are fuzzy and the only DVD player is on the TV downstairs.
The WORST: Getting our sizeable refundable deposit back was near impossible. I emailed the owner about our deposit three days after our departure, no response. I wait, and email him again, 5 days later. Finally a response, they will check out the house and cut the check by the end of the week. Okay, no problem. A week and a half later, no response and no check, so I email the owner again. No response. Two days later, the owner finally emails me (we are now at almost three weeks from our departure). According to the owner there was damage to one of the bicycles, and the repair of which is being deducted from our refundable deposit. This would be fine, IF WE HAD ACTUALLY USED THE BICYCLES. Not only did we NOT use the bicycles, we never even went in the garage. We didn’t even use beach chairs. Needless to say I was a bit flabbergasted about this bicycle accusation and emailed the owner as much, but to no avail. The actual bike repair is not that expensive, but to be accused of damaging something that my husband and I never even laid eyes on, let alone used, is unacceptable to me. My husband and I rent down here a lot, this was our third trip this year alone and this is the first time we have ever had any issue getting our full deposit back. If you decide to rent this house, go around and take photos of anything that has damage to it upon your arrival to insure you do not experience a similar situation getting your deposit back.
Owner's Response: Unfortunately, our renters refused to pay the balance of their rent due until a few days before the rental period, with an excuse that they did not realize that it was due, although I emailed them 5 times, after the rent was one week past due. Our contract clearly states that rental payments are due 30 days before posession of the home and deposits will be returned within 30 days, but our renter demanded their deposit back immediately. Upon inspection of the home (they were our last renters of the year), a new rim on one of our bicylces was bent and destroyed. Since we were at the home the weeks before our renters and rode the bicylces ourselves, we knew that everything was in good condition. Unfortunately, one of our renters did not want to own up to their actions and now are disgruntled. I must admit that I had trouble believing that our renters did not use the bicylces or step foot through the garage, since the laundry room is through the garage, coolers, toys and beach chairs are kept in the garage, for our renters, who noticed the chairs.
We normally expect some missing items and do not withhold damage deposits for minor items, in this case, the damage was hard to believe, other than complete negligence by one of the many house guests in this party.
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