There are huge amounts of vacation homes for sale in the USA. Demand appears to be significantly less than supply. Many such vacation homes are now in some stage of foreclosure and/or bank owned, so before reserving a home you may want to ask some questions and do a little research:

1. Ask how close you can book the vacation home to your travel date, don’t book a year plus out unless you have to. The market is changing rapidly in the area.

2. Ask if the vacation home you are reserving is behind on its mortgage, this could be the first sign it is about to be foreclosed on.

3. Ask how many homes in the vacation rental subdivision have been abandoned. You don’t want to be staying on a wasteland type subdivision and these now abound in the area.

4. Ask what percentage of the rental development you are staying in is vacant lots. Unfinished developments look like building sites. Stay in a finished complex that is well maintained.

5. Ask if the vacation rental community facilities have been completed. Yes – some communities do not have completed community facilities as many developers ran out of money so be careful.

6. Ask what percentage of homes in the rental community have overgrown lawns. You don’t want to be spending your dream vacation in a substandard community. Many vacation home developments now suffer from overgrown yards as a result of all the foreclosed homes.

7. Ask to pay by credit card. If there is a problem you can get your money back

8. Ask if the persons renting are a management company and are based locally. Ask how many homes they manage in the area, how long they have been in business, how many staff they have, if they are licensed and insured etc…

9. If booking direct from an owner you must be able to verify the home will not be reposed by the bank at the time your stay comes around. Most vacation homes in the area are owned by people outside the state.

10. If in doubt keep asking questions. There are hundreds of management companies in Orlando so pick a good one.

For more tips on how to rent a vacation home visit our blog at http://www.orlando-vacationhomerental.com/