Vacation Home Rentals Blog

How are you doing on those New Year’s resolutions? If you’re like me, you’ve already broken the top three, which in my world are to save more, eat less and use the Internet in moderation.

Which brings me back to two resolutions suggested in this blog earlier this year:

Spend more time by the water.
Disappear into nowhere.

You can do that in this Jackson Hole vacation rental, a place to live out your ranch-hand fantasies. Situated on the banks of the Hoback River and next to Grand Teton National Park, you’ll be a real-life cowgirl, riding horses, fly fishing for trout and hearing that hiss of steaks to grill. The property on tree-studded acres with stunning mountain views is massive–large enough to host 31 of your dearest friends.

Now that would be one heckuva cookout.

Obviously sunshine is on the brain, but for you snowbirds, it’s no secret that in winter, Jackson Hole hosts America’s most skilled snowboarders and skiers thanks to its steep, challenging slopes. There’s still plenty of time to enjoy the runs, so find your perfect vacation home here.

While you’re doing that, the rest of us are going to wish for the prompt arrival of tulips and daffodils.

In the vacation home world, one group often gets lost in media coverage: Those who fly solo.

Whether you’re on business or getting ready to “backpack” around Europe, vacation apartments provide an economical alternative in these troubled times. All the little extras in a hotel room are great, but seriously, how much sense does it make it to spend $6.50 on a bottle of Evian just because it was left out for you? And those little soaps and shampoos are cute, too, but unless they’re high-end products, do they really get much use beyond your vacation?

Contemplate these points when you’re engaging in your suspicious single behavior, which could include any one of the following: A)Warming up last-night’s burritos for breakfast B)Waxing your facial hair C)Checking your Twitter, Gmail, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts obsessively–as many as five times within the hour.

1. Amsterdam vacation home
Any landlord who leaves flowers on the table AND Heineken in the fridge is someone who deserves respect. This is Amsterdam, after all, so what’s a vacation without a little booze? Just be careful when climbing up that ladder to go to bed. Don’t drink and climb.

2. San Francisco vacation home
When traveling solo, you begin to appreciate all those buddies who schlepped you all over town, putting miles on their odometers and never once asking for gas money. When without, count on the next best things: Buses and trains. This Castro apartment is close to Castro and Market streets near public transit, giving you easy access to other neighborhoods like Haight-Ashbury, Noe Valley, Cole Valley and downtown. While the kitchenette is definitely built for one, that shower looks big enough for a group. Don’t get any ideas.

3. Brooklyn vacation home
This Fort Greene apartment is your answer to anonymity, if that’s what you seek. The home–in a beautiful brownstone near the The Brooklyn Academy of Music–isn’t the sardine box you’d pay triple for on the Upper East Side. There’s an actual bedroom, full-sized stove, couch, patio and yard. The train is just one block away, leading to the sea of strangers that is Manhattan. See. It isn’t so bad to travel solo. You’re never really alone.

Made you look, didn’t I?

This Miami Beach vacation home has attitude, style and the accolades to boot. It won he Florida Builders Platinum Award for architecture in 2005, according to the property owner.

And more than that, it earned three New Yorkers’ stamps of approval for its proximity to clubs, restaurants and overall effortless SoBe appeal. “The minute you see the townhouse your jaw drops in amazement.” wrote one reviewer. “You just never want to leave.”

The tri-level townhome marries slick upgrades–European-style cabinets, travertine floors, granite counter tops and Kohler fixtures–with bachelor pad amenities, including a 42-inch plasma flat screen, Bose Wave Radio/CD player and DVD player. While the rest of your friends are dropping thousands for a room at the Delano, you’ll have your own hotel-like amenities such as a whole roof deck to yourself, outdoor kitchen, five-person jacuzzi and incredible views of Sofi, or the hot neighborhood called South of Fifth.

And what a neighborhood it is.

In walking distance, find restaurants that sizzle with “scene,” including Shoji Sushi, Prime One Twelve, for example, then finish (or start, depending on your tolerance) the night with the pretty people at Pearl. If you can’t get in, well you know there’s one exclusive address where you won’t be denied entry: Your very own Miami Beach vacation rental.

Take that, Sean Combs.

Vacation home owners, listen up: The mortgage relief plan unveiled this week may be able to help you, too.

The Washington Post reported that rules under the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac program dubbed “Making Home Affordable” also apply to vacation homes and one-to-four unit rental properties. So if you’re finding it tough to keep up with the payments on your existing home and getaway–whether that’s a Florida vacation home or South Carolina vacation rental–it would a no-brainer to call your lender to see if you qualify.

Unfortunately, those who recently lost their jobs or whose existing loans exceed current Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac requirements ($417,000 in most states and $729,750 in more expensive states such as California or New York) may not be eligible, but for those who have not been late on their mortgage payments more than 30 days in the last year, the potential to refinance is there. With rates hovering between the high 4s and 5.25 percent, the time to dial in a lower payment is now.

So what’s stopping you? Ask your lender about loan modification requirements. It could be one bright light in this bad economy: A potential savings of hundreds a month.

This is no early April Fool’s joke: JetBlue advertised $29 airfares today for March 10 to April 1 (excluding taxes and fees). The $29, though, is for one-way flights and to cities like Raleigh, N.C., Richmond, Va., Washington, D.C. and New York City.

So if you were expecting to blow off mid-term exam steam in some poolside retreat, your closest escape would be Sin City in a Las Vegas vacation home. (Yes, I’m talking to you Burbank, Calif. Who knew the discount carrier flew out of there?)

But hey, for a fun-filled weekend, Manhattan ain’t a bad way to go. To fake like a real New Yorker, stay in the gay-friendly, art-focused enclave of Chelsea, where you’ll find this vacation rental. Walk the townhouse-lined streets, explore the boutiques and galleries or indulge your inner foodie at a tony restaurant.

No one will know that you’re six crazy, cash-strapped college kids squeezed in a studio apartment because $200 a night (or $30+ for each of you) was easier to swing than The Maritime Hotel.

Here’s hoping you get one of the queen beds and not the sofa mattress.

It’s so secret, in fact, that would-be renters will have to leave it up to their imagination to picture this Yosemite vacation home–this is the only photo attached to the listing.

One could see that as a handicap for the property owner, but I see it as a carrot dangling in front of a hungry rabbit. If a person wants to know more, all s/he has to do is ask. And this particular home just happens to be located inside Yosemite National Park.

“Here you will see Yosemite Falls, Half Dome and El Capitan. Glacier Point is east. Here you can look down on Yosemite Valley and Vernal and Nevada Falls. Going south, see the giant redwoods in the Mariposa Grove.”

What else is there to know? The home is on a hill elevated at 6,000 feet. Your neighbors are ravens, deer, coyotes and bears. A great room spills light through the windows. One of the rooms is handicapped accessible.

Can you picture it? You’re so cruel property owner, teasing us with the vacation home’s glory.

Tell us: Has this tactic worked for anyone else?

“Our home is perfect for couples and children,” write the owners of this Marco Island vacation home, a spotless splendor at the inlet’s edge.

As our friends across the Atlantic would say, “Fair play.” The landlords know their target demographic, and back up the claim with 52 photos on an external website that illustrate a space well kept, from the nautical-themed bathroom to the handsome leather couch in the family room. Nice job.

Now this is the type of vacation home where families can really spread out. Practice your stroke in the pool, retire to the waterfall and jacuzzi, then enjoy dad’s famous ribs by the patio table near the lanai. Sliding glass doors open from the master bedroom so you can repeat the routine the next day.

For fun outside the house, hit the beach, schedule a tee time or stock up on a new spring wardrobe at the Prime Outlets at Naples, about a 30-minute drive away.

And don’t forget to mention the special for Easter week, when the whole three-bedroom house goes for just $279 a night. You don’t have to look too far to find the deals. They’re definitely out there.