I own many of the vacation rental by owner properties you will find here (along with my "silent" partner, my husband). We rent by owner so that you will get the best available home for you and your needs. We rent only vacation rental properties that we would want to live or vacation in ourselves! You will find exceptional locations and attention to detail to be the uniting factors in these vacation condos, homes, cottages. We got into this business because these homes are where we want to retire, but we aren't quite ready for that yet...so enjoy them while we can't!!! Recently (November 2006) I've finally started marketing other people's vacation homes for them. Why? Because I have a passion for placing people in a great place for their vacations and my friends and colleagues understand this. I've been referring guests to others for years now. So I've decided to make it a little easier on the guest by just booking them when I can.
My husband and I grew up just outside of Boston, MA and over the border in Salem, NH and now live in Orange County, CA. We love to travel, but have school age children. When our children were babies, we found we had to give up staying in B&B's because no one wanted us. After too many nights in hotels either sitting in the tub waiting for the baby to sleep or falling asleep before the kids while we laid quietly on the bed, we started to stay in vacation rentals. Being from New England, we never even thought to call an agency, we just consulted our favorite "magazine of Maine": Down East. We found the vacation rental by owner option to be more affordable than hotel suites and far more comfortable for our family. We had often stayed along the coast of Maine so our first vacation rental by owner experience was in Maine. Eventually we bought our own cottage in Maine (now called "Mussel Cove") and turned it into a vacation rental when we couldn't be there - to help us pay the mortgage. We started renting the place in 1999, just 5 weeks after purchasing the former fishing camp. Our specialty seems to be taking places with great locations and turning them into great places to vacation.
Now we don't have as much time to use the first place we bought as the kids have grown and so has their attachment to "home". We have grown to like sharing our favorite vacation spots with others so much that we have added two more vacation rental properties here in CA: Oceanside and Palm Desert, where we can manage them more closely and later use all three places for retirement. In the fall of 2006 other owners started contacting me and asking me to manage their vacation rentals. I'm now marketing and managing several Palm Desert Vacation Rentals. I'm waiting for the State of CA to issue my real estate license, and completing my final course for my RE Broker's license. Look for the launch of "Better Vacation Rentals" in fall of 2007. I will be opening a boutique property management firm representing owners at Palm Valley Country Club in Palm Desert and at North Coast Village in Oceanside, CA. I plan to offer a better vacation rental experience to both owner and guest by working closely with both for a perfect match.
I am a stay at home mom first and foremost, with a marketing background and consulting business, so I do the vacation rentals in my "spare" time. I enjoy learning new things, so the management and web design aspects of vacation rentals gives me the opportunity to exercise my mind. I hope you enjoy my efforts!
Melinda
Footnotes About "the Others"
So you know a little about me, but what about the owners of the other condos I'm showing on my web site? Here you go:
Classic Chrysanthemum is owned by Mark and Alyssa. They, like me live in coastal Orange County and speak wistfully about their place in the desert. It's just something about it out there that helps them relax and take a break from their busy lives working and raising a family. Like my family, they can't use it as often as they would like, so they hope others can enjoy their home away from home in Palm Desert. they love how their vacation condo just feels so perfect and is full of everything they need when they arrive.
Dramatic Dahlia and Suite Honeysuckle are owned by Karen. Karen lives in the Los Angeles area who loved her vacation home (Dramatic Dahlia) so much that she couldn't resist a second one. She has rented out Suite Honeysuckle out herself and used Dahlia for her own vacation home for some time. This year she needs a little more time for other things, so she's asked me to help her market these condos. You will find "pride" of ownership in both of her places, and if you are lucky enough to rent her 3 bedroom (Dahlia) you might just have to pinch yourself to believe you were that lucky. I'll take you through the reservation process, and Karen takes over getting you settled in the condo and your stay. Karen's favorite thing about staying in Palm Valley is waking to see the golf course. Her favorite restaurant in the Palm Desert area is Sullivans Steakhouse.
Notable Nasturtium - is owned by Kim and Bob. This is another couple who lives in coastal Orange County. They closed on this unit with spectacular views right around September 11, 2001 and after that rough time have enjoyed using their vacation home from May through September since then. They like to use all of the club amenities, so they maintain the coveted Platinum membership.