Using PayPal for a vacation rental...

[Candykid20]

We are ready to book a vacation rental we found through www.homeaway.com in South Beach.  I am somewhat skeptical because the unit is much cheaper than any others in the area, although just as beautiful.  The owner's listing appears legitimate (don't they always though?) and I have even spoken to her on the phone.  She has reviews and I know HomeAway is a reputable website.  I am just not sure how thoroughly they screen their renters...

My question is this: if for some reason this rental is a scam, does PayPal protect my money? We won't be staying at (and seeing) the unit until March 2011 so I won't know for months if something is wrong.  Would PayPal honor something like this if, for example, we got there and the unit didn't actually belong to the renter or something along those lines?

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated!

Lisa

[BigKahuna97]

The reality of the situation is regardless of if you use PayPal or a credit card to fund the deposit you will have ZERO coverage against fraud beyond 45 days with PayPal and 90-120 days with any major credit card.  And that would be considering the payment processor felt compelled to believe your non-receipt of services complaint.

Since it seems like fraud is a big fear in your mind have you considered using an escrow to fund this deposit?  I doubt the seller would agree to pay the escrow charges, as even you have stated the prices are already much lower than comparable stays in the area, but you could easily see the benefit of paying $100 for an escrow fund to ensure you get what you pay for.  I would do a google search along with a review search to ensure you find the escrow company that works for you.

(you always have the option of civil court to recover funds but the cost involved in that are much higher than most escrow services)

[Candykid20]

I think I am going to purchase the insurance on the HomeAway.com website.  This seems like the most logical thing to me and is only $39! Can't beat that.  I was hoping PayPal would be the way to protect myself but thought there was a time constraint that would put us outside the allowable time.

Thanks for your feedback!