Beach Rentals Still Within Reach
Fear Not, Last-Minute Planners: Assorted Summer Options Await
By Rebecca R. Kahlenberg
Special to The Washington Post
Newly divorced, Donna Welsh decided in April that she wanted to spend the whole summer at the beach "to find out what I want to do when I grow up," she said.
In late April, her lawyer referred her to Jo-Ann Bacher, the rental manager at Jack Lingo Realty in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Welsh, who lives in Dover, Del., described her top priorities -- a house, not a condo, within walking distance of the boardwalk in Rehoboth. Bacher found it for her within 30 minutes.
That result, so close to the start of the summer season, surprised Welsh. "I didn't expect to get it, especially not right at the beach," she said.
As Welsh found out, it's still possible to find an assortment of summer rental options at most beach areas. "It used to be that if you didn't have a rental property by March, you were out of luck," said Sharon Palmer, manager of the rental division at Coldwell Banker Resort Realty, which rents properties in Delaware's Rehoboth Beach, Lewes and Dewey Beach. "In the past three years, there has been more available last minute . . . Some people have walked in in July and said, 'Hey, is there a place I can rent today?' and we usually can find one for them."
Diana Corbett, the broker in charge of the rental division for Intracoastal Realty Corp. of Wilmington, N.C., said the same is true along the southeastern North Carolina beaches where her company rents properties. In recent years, "I have rented as late as July for August," she said.
What's driving the availability of properties so late in the summer rental game? In large part, a growing national trend among vacationers to arrange trips at the last minute. A 2002 poll conducted by the District-based Travel Industry Association of America, a trade group, found that 64 percent of past-year leisure travelers planned at least one of their trips within two weeks of taking it. Twenty six percent of those surveyed planned all of their past-year leisure trips within a two-week time frame.
Michael Sarka, executive director of Vacation Rental Managers Association of Santa Cruz, Calif., a trade organization, said many of his group's 500-plus members have noticed this trend. "There used to be a four- to six-month booking time," from the time the rental is reserved to the time the trip is taken. "Now what we are seeing nationally is people booking closer in, whether they are booking in California or Virginia Beach."
Another factor leading to greater availability in recent years is the increasing number of investment properties bought in vacation areas by people who want to rent them out, Sarka said. According to data from the rental managers association, the inventory of rental homes among the group's members rose 7.5 percent in 2004 and will increase 8.7 percent this year.
Before beginning to explore summer rental options, keep in mind that certain times, namely Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day weekends, may be particularly hard to book. Also, don't count on getting a better price with last-minute booking. Owners occasionally negotiate or offer a discount at the last minute, meaning on a Wednesday before a Friday or Saturday weekly rental, but rarely before that, Corbett said.
Still, Liz Applebaum, a real estate agent who lives in Bethesda and owns a condo in Dewey Beach, said summer renters can sometimes get a better deal by renting midweek, particularly when renting from an owner or a group of people who mostly use the property on weekends, or by making an offer that is below market rate.
"The worst thing that can happen is they say no. If the say yes, you have more money for candy, food and rides on the beach," she said.
Know your priorities, recommended Sarka. How important is an oceanfront location? Can you travel only during a particular July week? Do you absolutely need a certain number of bedrooms? Is price the big issue?
Once your priorities are set, there are several ways to shop for a last-minute house or condo rental. You can start by looking at classified ads in newspapers and magazines in the Washington area or at your destination.
The Internet is another good place to turn, including the Web pages of vacation areas or of realty companies at your destination.
Many realty companies offer blueprints or virtual tours of specific properties "so you can look at them in the privacy of your own home at 3 a.m.," Corbett said. The sites show the rooms of a home and allow you to plug in criteria to narrow the search, including dates of travel, number of people in your group, how many bedrooms you need, location and amenities you prefer and other specifics.
Real estate agents agree that seeing interior pictures of a home can be helpful in deciding whether a property is to your liking. "You might see a living room with a white leather couch, which could be a disaster with rambunctious kids," Corbett said.
But some agents caution that no technology can replace seeing a summer rental in person in advance. "Absolutely come see it if you can," Coldwell Banker's Palmer said.
She said local real estate agents can be a help for people who "don't know where they should stay or how much they should spend." Also, an agent may know which houses are about to come up for rental or learn of them before they are advertised.
And they often know more about a property than is revealed online. For example, a house may appear to have a beautiful interior but be next to the town's dump. You can call the realty company to find an agent or contact the local Chamber of Commerce or tourism office for a referral.
Of course, asking around among friends, family and colleagues is a time-tested strategy for finding summer rentals. That is how Chevy Chase resident Ellen McElroy found the Rehoboth house she is renting with two friends for 14 non-consecutive weeks between Memorial Day and October. "Someone knew someone who knew someone who recently bought a house," said McElroy, a tax lawyer in the District. She went to look at it in April and found that while it had little curb appeal, it was "perfect inside and in pristine condition," she said.
Because many of the most desirable properties, especially the larger single-family and oceanfront homes, were scooped up last fall or winter, experts advise late renters to be flexible about their travel plans and preferences.
Bethesda resident Judy Karger followed that strategy in her recent search for a summer rental in Emerald Isle, N.C. She had three possible summer weeks during which her family could travel there. Also, she didn't care if the weekly rental ran from Saturday to Saturday or Sunday to Sunday or whether it was oceanfront or oceanview. And she settled for a two-bedroom condo though she would have preferred a larger condo that might have been available had she booked earlier.
"I wanted my kids to be able to walk to the beach, to mini golf and to the water slide, so I made a tradeoff for a property that isn't as big and may not be as pretty as some others," she said.
Nevertheless, she is excited about her family's trip. "I was worried about booking last minute, so I'm happy with the outcome," she said. | 