I go for closing the thread...we have no proof that this person isn't in this for their personal benefit...maybe they are thinking of opening a property management company and getting a head start by saying something negative about probably the most popular management company in the villages. I think that this company does not deserve this negativity because of one disgruntle person. As I read it...everyones post that has dealt with this particular company (not villagers 4 rent which is not affiliated as I see it) have not had anything dealings with this company and those that have has nothing negative to say so therefore I think that this company has been beaten enough by ONE disgruntle person.

Just FYI since we rented from HPM prior to closing on our new home... We were credited our total Deposit just a few days ago...So pleased to know we got all our money back.
Good luck to those that use the service. We can't complain. We honored their rental agreement and in turn they did the same for us.
Ebsmom

MinnieMouse...the OP is sharing his/her experience. Many on this website have rented several times before buying and many more will be renting in the near future. The open discussion is what this site is all about. If you have never rented, then possibly you can't relate to how upsetting this experience was.
Others shared their experiences, both with The Villages Proerty Management and with individual owners. Some had good experiences, some not good. It the sharing of experiences that is important. Everyone is encouraged to voice their experience and opinion ON THE SUBJECT OF THE THREAD.
Have a Disney Day!

85 posts later, it's not just one disgruntled person who has posted about this company.

I know we're supposed to make posts about the topic and not the posters. But in this case Disneychix has disparaged Shcisamax who is a regular poster and a valued member of this website. Disneychix even suggested that Shcisamax "Move on .. maybe TV isn't for you". This is not cool.

When comments are directed at another user those issues are addressed by Admin and Moderators privately. If anyone see's a post of concern you can report it to us by clicking the red triangle.

This post is closed as comments have been directed at other users and the tone of this has degraded.

I have used thevillages4rent.com for 3 rentals dealing with 3 different homeowners -- excellent experience all 3 times; all 3 homeowners were a pleasure to deal with.

I have rented 3 times -- each rental was for one week. None of the owners gave me an inventory. I was super careful with the houses and golf carts and always got my full security deposit back. In fact I barely used the dishes and glassware as I ate most of my meals out.

We rented out our home through villages4rent.com before we moved here permanently, and employed Redwitch as a home watcher.
We had no problems with either renters, and refunded their security deposit. We were overseeing the arrangement with the help of Redwitch, though, and we have never used the Villages Hometown Property Management group. They seem to be the business that has very poorly run business practices, and they employ extremely questionable home cleaners. I don't think deposit $$ should be kept to clean the bedding because there was a pet, when you have already paid an extra$150.00 for the pet service. I assume as a renter that bedding is cleaned between renters. The OP's husband arrived to dirty sheets in the first rental they had for the first 2 weeks here. There is a definite lack of customer service and shady legal practices going on here. I would never recommend anyone do business with this agency, and I cannot believe The Villages is connected in any way with them!

I am glad this thread was reinstated. The admin has been very clear that if anyone becomes belligerent again, the thread will be dismissed. Or it has been suggested the person causing the nastiness be restricted from posting. So in the interest of sharing good information that will help others in their choices, let's be civil and stay on topic instead of insulting other posters.

When you come to my home I email you a list of everything in the home and where it is located.... When you arrive two copies are there with a highlighter i ask you to go thru everything with the list so you know what you have and where you can find it and when you leave the second copy you use when you leave and do not highlight the things that got broken or lost... (takes about 10 to 15 minutes) My homewatch person has the same list and photos of every cabinet and every thing in the home.. that way they know what it looks like all in all i know with in 24 hours i have an email of whats what. if you break a glass or lost a knife well no one is perfect....their deposit is in their hand before the week is done.. thats just me and yep you could call me anal but have never had a problem with renters since i have used thevillages4rent.com It all comes down to who your homewatch person it, after all they are the ones who watches you home with loving care

Gee, I wish we rented from YOU. This is what I am talking about. When The Villages Hometown Property Management rents, when you walk out, you have no proof of what was there to begin with. They could say anything, like there were all those linens missing. Asianthree is more professional and ethical than the pretend Villages HPM. I guess everyone knows who they should be renting from.

I have read every post under this tread with great interest. We bought a house in TV three years ago, and have use "The Village Management Company" since the begining to take care of our house while we are not in TV. We DO NOT rent the house out, and we use the Empty Nest side of the Management Company. I have no reason to doubt the OP and agree with the picture taking and inventory suggestions. We take pictures of every room, every closet, garage and outside area each visit right before we leave. We have dealt with Joe many times, and have always had a good experience. The home caraetakers have always been very good to excellent, and I will continue using their service. YES, I knew they were owned and operated by folks other then the villages when I started using them. I can't remember how I found that out. I think our real estate agent from the villages told us when he recommended them. I WILL however, after reading this thread keep a close eye out on this service. Not that that's a bad thing, it's always good to be causious of any service. We should all learn something from the OP's experience, when renting anything, from anybody, take pictures, read the fine print, ask tons of questions, and document any problems you have.

Good advice. I'm sure that the villages 4rent and TVHTPM are not ALL good and not ALL bad. It's good to keep on your toes no matter who you rent through.

I thought this thread was closed?

I used the Villages Hometown Property Management last year and had a great experience with them. The rental agent worked with me to find a place that met my requirements. We had easy check in and check out, and got our deposit back promptly. I would use them again anytime. Well, except I won't have to since we bought a house. But I would if I needed to. :)

At this point, it appears some people have a good experience with them and some a bad one or, in our case, after the initial great experience with the bookers, it was a disaster. What seems to be the smart thing to do, as others have stated, is take photos when you arrive, ask for the inventory...definitely ask for the inventory. And if at all possible,do a walkthrough at the end so they can't say something was missing. If they want to hold you accountable, you need to hold them accountable. In all honesty, we have rented homes in many places and even in other countries and have never had a problem so this was a eye opener.

I just had another thought about this. I'd say you have two kinds of landlords, the ones that know EXACTLY what is in the house, and the ones that have a general idea. I'm a general idea kinda gal. People have stayed at our house, and they will say they broke a cup or something and that they replaced it. And here I'm thinking, gosh I probably never would have missed it. Any Management company would/should KNOW before they rent a place what kind of Owner they are dealing with. In this case, they had to know what was in the house (inventory) before hand, to be able to say something was missing. I do think it was wrong for the management company knowing beforehand, they will be doing an inventory, NOT to DISCLOSE the inventory sheet to the renter. I would hope that after reading this thread, they consider doing so in the future.

I can assure you either they did not have an accurate inventory OR the maid decided to cause issues after she was in trouble over her behavior. I don't know what happened there but after spending a nice chunk of cash on a home, there would be no reason for us to take 3 washcloths, 2 pillowcases and a towel. At least you would think we would take a matching set :) Besides, if we were the type to snatch things, it makes no sense we would be going back to the house to return a cable we had inadvertently mixed with our own things. just sayin.

I would still like to hear the other side of the story.

Call them.

I don't believe it was the management owners who decided that things were taken. I believe they indicated to the OP that the maid reported that these things were missing after the unfortunate confrontation. In my opinion, if a management is going to hold renters accountable then they should be there to go over this with the renters before they leave. I don't think this should be left up to the cleaning people, since VHPM told the OP they don't want people there while it is being cleaned. It becomes the cleaning people's word against the renter and there is no accountability cross check! This is just a very unfortunate situation, and could have been avoided if simple professional practices would have been followed.

I did.

And?

I really hope they didn't discuss someone's personal business with a telephone caller! That would be yet another strike against them!

Me too...

To follow up on our stay in a TV Hometown Management rental, we received our full deposit back as advertised. No problems at all using their service. I would recommend them without reservation.

batman, thanks for the update. Glad to hear you had a good experience. We're considering using them for a short term rental this fall.

Did you rent a cart? If so, who did you use?

We reserved a cart through the village cart store but cancelled after we realized we would not need it that visit. Since we spent all our time with our sales agent looking at homes and lots, and after selecting our lot, meetings and signing documents, etc. we had little time left to use a golf cart.

Glad it worked out without detriment.

Oh they are crooks! I rent a house in TV and if I contracted with TV Rentals I would owe them money forget making any!

I'm not sure how this thread surfaced again. But, you know up front what their policy is to manage your house. Each company provides management information. You don't have to use them if you feel their rules don't match your expectations.

Personally, we prefer not using them for our property. It's a personal choice that we made after exploring all our options.

Who should I list my house with? I am buying a house and need to rent it out unfurnished. I want an agent that will take care of it since I live out of state.

rental advice
 

I am a new owner that needs to rent out my house (unfurnished) in Liberty Park. Who would you suggest?

rental advice
 

I need advice on what real estate agent to use. I am not in Florida, so I need someone that can help the renters if something comes up. Do you have any suggestions?

rental advice
 

Who do you use to rent your house out? I need to hire someone.
Sharon

rental
 

This is why you rent from the person who owns the house and not TV. Best place is Villages4rent.com

Even going back a few years ago there were unhappy renters.
https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...28/index2.html

That is exactly what my response was going to be.

Hometown Property Management is no longer owned by the Morses. It was sold off to someone to run some time ago.

This is amazing...has been going on since we got whacked by them after putting our new home in their rental program in 2004. College kids were "caretakers". They stuffed 13 people in my 1326 sf house. I had a no pet/no smoking policy. Dog urine stains on several rugs, oil stains from RV parked in drive, told me it was not rented for March, but got a call that "some wall hangings had fallen off wall and dining chair was broken". I knew those don't happen in an empty home. Made a surprise trip down, found they had three couples in there, had a meeting, pulled the records from across the table.....$3,400 rent charged I wasn't being told about. Called the sheriff's office, and they made them give the money but wouldn't prosecute. Scare letters came from McLin & Burnsed. I made 5 trips down from NC to repair the damages at our cost....smoking in the home, carpets, etc. I contacted lawyers all over Florida, who wouldn't touch the villages, no one was interested in interstate fraud (they don't fraud one home) and they got away with it. Looks like working both sides of the fence is very productive.