First, I would like to congratulate the photographer for doing a smashing job! The pictures are the highlight of the listing.
Let's talk about the pest control problem. The upstairs bathroom had shoddy caulking around the tub that seemed to be a haven for a bed of ants. Nothing kills a vacation like a pest problem. The tub was infested with ants upon arrival, but we were assured that the owner hired a company to take care of that issue: they did not. The ants came back day after day to bother all those who dared to impede upon their domain: the rental. Downstairs; I awoke one morning to find ants crawling on my shoulder and back - we have video.
The hot-tub did not work on the first of our two day vacation. The house manager assured us that the owner would be contacted to remedy the issue because no one should have to deal with these issues.
Thirdly, the smoke alarm was chirping upon arrival. After an hour-long exploratory deep-dive, we found out that someone had glued the top of the detector to the body to keep it from falling off: we removed the battery and informed the house manager.
Fourth, there are ancillary (additional) fees for early check-in, late check-out, and boat rental ($50 ea.). The rental instructions noted that all of these services were available upon request, but did not mention that fees were associated. We recommended that the VRBO listing should be updated to clearly outline ALL fees associated with this rental. We feel as if ALL fees should be handled (as add-ons) through VRBO. Cash after the sale (rental) are monies often not reported as income to the IRS.
The home is quite dated. There is a dank smell throughout. There are several signs of "attempted" renovations that did not pan out. There are several signs of leakage throughout, in fact, the caulking around the shower in the basement leaked so badly that we had to keep a mop handy.
This was the most unenjoyable VRBO experience thus far.
In our opinion, this property should NOT be on the market. This listing needs a major overhaul.