For record, here is a recap of our complaint/condition of the house. We arrived around 5:30pm & did not feel as if the house was a safe or sanitary environment. We immediately reached out to HomeAway with our concerns. Safety and sanitary issues include: multiple windows that don't close, lights that don't work, first floor bedrooms have no direct accessibility to the upper floor (not safe for kids), a ladder installed in a closet connecting the two floors had no lighting and was locked with furniture on top of it, the heat on the first floor was not heating the lower rooms (windows won't close), multiple broken furniture, broken window treatments, broken blind fallen & laying on the floor, trash in the kitchen, fridge was dirty, kitchen cabinets broken, food splattered on appliances, rotten bathroom floor, torn flooring/rugs, couches and blankets are soiled/stained, the TV was fuzzy/snowy and the Dish network wouldn't work (it finally came on about an hour & a half while we were working with HomeAway to find alternate lodging), torn window screens, ceiling fan broken, barely any lighting in the bedrooms except for small side tabletop lamps, and beds were sunken in, linens were tattered and stained not suitable for use, and exposed electrical outlets.The conditions were unsafe and unsanitary and based on all these issue approached the owner asking for a refund. I logged nearly 4 hours talking with HomeAway Travel Care Advisors trying to find a place to stay. We spoke to the owner the same evening and he said he understood our issues and would refund our money. He even called us back That night to say he could refund us through HomeAway or mail us a check. However, he did not start the process and after repeated outreach from HomeAway's Escalation Team he finally took their call and agreed to process a partial refund. He went back on his word and decided to keep one-third of our fee, calling it a Cancellation fee for the inconvenience. There is Nothing in his ad nor his emails about a cancellation fee, neither did he mention anything when we spoke to him. It took us 7 hours to find another place.The Owner lied to us and now keeping our monies he promised to refund. Renters beware. Imagine an 8yo having to sleep in a dingy, dirty bedroom with almost no heat and broken windows that do not close. It is not what is advertised (& I was a successful VRBO homeowner that valued honesty to renters). We are seeking legal protection for the monies he promised.