So you have checked out both Airbnb and hotels. You are running out of patience and time, so you turn to another popular option for a vacation rentals, craigslist. Craigslist has been around for many years and usually has a lot of vacation rental options available. The first thing you want to do is change your craigslist location to that of the destination of your bachelor or bachelorette party. Navigate to the Craigslist website www. Most of the time the destination of the page you are displayed will correspond with your IP address, which means if you are viewing the website in New York, you will be sent to the New York Craigslist site.
Change the location of Craigslist to show only listings in Miami Beach, Florida. The option is located on the right hand of the webpage for desktop and on mobile it would be located at the bottom of the page. Now you will see all the listings for vacation rentals in Miami Beach for your bachelorette party. Sort through the search results and even break down the results better by typing in specific terms in the top search bar such as 4 bedrooms, pool, jacuzzi, etc. Once you find some options that suite your requirements, contact the listing agent or seller.
The two most popular options on Craigslist would be email or phone. There is just no way this makes sense. Since you most likely searched the same type of properties on Airbnb and Homeaway , you should have a rough estimate for what properties are going in that area with the same criteria. Obtain the information of the owner and run a background check on them. We recommend using Beenverified. If you see criminal results for the owner that involve fraud, theft, or drugs, it could be a sign that you are about to be scammed.
Now to be fair, there is always a possibility that these infractions happened a while ago and they are now in a much better place and renting homes for a living, all we are saying is that you should take this into consideration. If the owner is legit they should have no problem providing this information, especially if they are trying to rent their house on craigslist which should match the address on the license. Also obtain a phone number where you can call them. Never send a money transfer, money order, or western union for a house rental.
The best way to pay for a rental house you found on craigslist would be to use a credit card as you have buyers protection and can chargeback the fee if you get scammed. If none of those options work, ask if the owner would allow the funds to be put into escrow and you will split the fees with them.
