In decades of renting vaction homes, we have never had a bad experience until October 2006 when we rented a vacation home for 2 weeks on Sandridge Beach. The location of the house was perfect (right on the beautiful beach) but the rental agency, Siebert Realty, could not have been less helpful in resolving issues.
The house had not been adequately cleaned or prepared before our arrival. Cleaning did not take place when scheduled during our stay. The heating did not work. Basic supplies on our arrival were inadequate. Sand blocked the driveway.
In response to all calls, the staff at Siebert Realty were rude and unprofessional, and did their best not to deal with any problems. Of the few situations that they did remedy, repeated phone calls were necessary before any result occurred.
In reply to my first letter listing all the issues, their reply included some apologies (too late) and some excuses (irrelevant), but my second and third letters and request for compensation have all been ignored.
If you want to avoid aggravation during what would otherwise be a perfect vacation, I recommend you do NOT use Siebert Realty.
Sandbridge recommended but not Siebert Realty
I find these comments very hard to believe. I%26#39;ve been renting a beach house for my family from Siebert Realty for YEARS (a family tradition) and every single employee is well trained on customer service. No one would ever, ever, be rude to a guests. I heard from one agent that they even hold their own company seminars (they close the office for days) and focus on nothing but customer service and how to improve their company and themselves. BRAVO!!
I just love the folks at Siebert Realty. They are so caring and so warm to their guests, and I would never consider renting from any other company at Sandbridge. I%26#39;m always so suspicious whenever I see a harsh comment like this. Makes me wonder if their competitors might be making posts to get an edge. I could be wrong.
Anyway - for a worryfree vacation at a grogeous, unspoiled beach... my suggestion would be to go through a reputable company like Siebert Realty. Go to www.siebert-realty.com or call 877-422-2200.
Sandbridge recommended but not Siebert Realty
I have to agree w/ xyz54. We had a horrible experience from Siebert Realty also. They must be going downhill because we rented from them before and didnt have problems, but last September, it was so bad, we decided not to return to Sandbrige at all.
We paid $4,000 for an oceanfront house w/ a pool and hot tub. My father had finished chemo so this was supposed to be a special vacation and the only vacation w/ grandkids.
The fridge was broken and I had baby formula to keep cold. They took 2 days before someone looked at it and 3 days to bring a new one. Our carpets were sopping wet. the kitchen was filthy. I had to clean it. The pool filter broke and no one fixed it so we only used the pool the first day. By the end of the week, the water was GREEN.
We were trying so hard to remain optimistic since this was a special vacation. It was so disappointing. No one from Seibert would respond to us.
When we left, we talked to someone about all the problems %26amp; submitted in writing all of the problems. They admitted that they were having problems with this house/owner. The owner used his own housecleaner and Seibert said they were not good. But they also said they had no control over how bad the house looked. They were supposed to get back to us. They didnt do anything.
The reason we are not returning to Sandbridge is that we cannot check out a house before we come. We live 6 hours away. So we have to go by what the realtor tells us. We did not get true information when we booked it.
I dont trust Siebert anymore, and that is why I am sad to say we didnt go back this year. We started going in 2004 and this was going to be our spot. But we cant spend $4,000 and get this poor quality. We cant afford to waste that kind of money and ruin the only vacation we have for a summer.
I would strongly advice against renting from Seibert. If you can check out a house in advance, no matter who you are renting from, that is your best bet. If not, no matter who you rent from, ask them detailed questions about the house. Ask them if they have control over the housecleaning, or if the owner does it. Because I will only rent a house if the realtor who rents it has some jurisdiction over the state of the house. If the realtor is going to say they are not responsible and you dont know who the owner is... well then you are stuck. Like we were.
It is so sad because I really liked it there at first, and Seibert ruined our vacation. it still makes me so sad when I look at the pictures. I remember all the time spent on the phone with Seibert, back and forth to try to get things fixed with no response. All this with toddler twins and a newborn baby, it was just awful.
If you insist on renting from Seibert, MAKE SURE YOU GET ALL THE DETAILS. and if something is wrong when you get there, go to their office and demand they fix it, dont try to call on the phone and think anyone will call you back.
Good luck.
Also about the comment that I am a competitor making a comment. I am not a competitor. I am a stay at home mom in Pennsylvania. I have never been in the real estate or hotel or travel or vacation business.
I kept a record of the dates we were there, who I spoke with or left messages with,what was wrong with the house and there were many things.
I am only chiming in here because I would hate to have someone have the experience I did. It may be different for you..
if you have been going there for years, well, then you probably know the houses, have your favorite house, and then you call them and they rent them to you and everyone is happy.
But if you go in cold and just want to rent a house, I can tell you for sure that they will try to pawn off one that is sub-par, because when I booked the house Sun Haven last year, they did not reveal the problems. But upon checkout, they admitted they had complaints all summer but the owner was not being responsive to them.
Well that would be understandable if they did something about it, but i see here on this forum that someone rented this same house after we did and it was still not repaired. So the owner must not care and neither does Seibert.
I%26#39;m thinking of going to Sandridge but wonder how crowded the beaches are in the summer, how the waves are. Also, who else rents at Sandridge if you don%26#39;t use Siebert?
There is another company, sandbridge realty. I think there is another one too.....Wendy will know.
We go every summer and the beaches are not crowded at all. We do not go to the public beach access area, we stay by our rented house. The public area is more crowded, but still nothing like Virginia Beach.
It is a great place for a vacation.
Thanks for the response. I contacted Sandridge and have a tentative rental. It looks beautiful, ocean front. We don%26#39;t need high activity; just a place to relax, swim, do a puzzle, regroup before the hectic school year with four kids! Any recommendations for things to do or places to eat, or even things to avoid?
In June 2005 we rented the Sun Haven beach house. There were 21 in our party, my wife%26#39;s side of the family. The house was neat and clean but when my wife and I went to our bedroom to unpack our things we noticed that the closet shelf was not hanging and just laying in the closet. Shortly thereafter a phone call was made to Siebert Realty and soon a guy came and rehung the shelf. He was very nice.
The Sun Haven was the perfect house for all of us. We didn%26#39;t have any big issues, although we did find mouse feces in the kitchen but never saw any mice. I think that the deck on the front of the house needed to be replaced, or at the very least some of the boards needed replacing.
The biggest disappointment we had was that the ocean water was so cold. We expected it to be warm, like when we went to Gulf Shores 2 years before, but that wasn%26#39;t the case. So most of our swimming took place in the pool. It was a great time and one we%26#39;ll always have fond memories of.
So I guess what I%26#39;m saying is is that we had a positive experience at the Sun Haven, Siebert Realty, and Sandbridge Beach.
We have just booked Hidden Treasure on Sandbridge Beach from Siebert Realty. Has anyone ever stayed there?
In regards to rental property in Virginia Beach, VA; particularly the Sandbridge area....
Siebert Realty as well as Sandbridge Realty are responsible for the management of property. They do not ';own'; the homes that are being rented. When guests arrive to a rental property, Siebert (and Sandbridge) hope that the guest will identify any/all problems associated with the house (leaking faucets, broken knobs, A/C not fully fuctioning, etc., etc.). Think of a hotel.... guest check-out, housekeeping comes in and cleans up and ';might'; notice problems that need fixing, new guest checks in....
Housekeeping for Siebert (and Sandbridge) have only a few hours to clean the rental home--in time for the next guest to check-in. Additionally, Siebert (and Sandbridge) may have home owners that REFUSE to make repairs to homes. Siebert and Sandbridge Realty, may identify problems---to the HOME OWNER---however, they cannot MAKE the homeowner fix the problem. In many cases, the homeowner contracts with Siebert/Sandbridge to make necessary repairs. When this is the case, you can expect the home to always be in good condition; however, there is no way for housekeeping to know a toilet is broken, window is cracked, deck boards are buckling, etc. in the short time period they may be ';cleaning'; a home in between guests.
Also, keep in mind, that Realtors are NOT allowed to provide certain information about properties. They can lose their license if they do. For this reason, you may find that Realtor/Property Managers only provide the information the ';OWNER'; states on the rental website (for Siebert or Sandbridge) to avoid potential lawsuits.
With this said, don%26#39;t blame Siebert Realty or for that matter Sandbridge Realty for problems related to a rental property where the owner has indicated ';I, the OWNER, am the ONLY one responsible for making any/all repairs to the rental property.'; If this is what the owner wishes, Siebert/Sandbridge can only agree to the Owner%26#39;s wishes and can only ';hope'; that the owner makes repairs that are identified so that all rental guests have a ';happy stay'; at the rental property.
...don%26#39;t get a bad taste in your mouth for Sieber (or Sandbridge)... keep in mind that some home OWNERS are CHEAP and don%26#39;t want to make repairs to their Sandbridge rental property...but they want to reap all the money they can every summer (and throughout the year in most cases)....
In the future, when you review a website that contains rental property....really look at the property. You will find that there may only be 12 models/styles of ';standard'; homes. You can look at the pictures on the Siebert website and see the exteriors are the same for many. Once you identify the duplicates...ask YOURSELF...why is this 5 bedroom/4 bath home $6000 week and this same home 4 homes down the street is only $3000?????
When you consider this...it may help you to understand why one home is in BEAUTIFUL condition (exterior and interior) and the other is ';QUESTIONABLE'; Also, Siebert (and Sandbridge) will relinquish their property management status with home owners who fail to keep their homes up to standard. This is most likely the situation this woman (fridgerator out for 4 days....) is in.
...give Siebert (and/or Sandbridge) Realty another try... They have been in business for over 30 years. They have 400+ properties that they manage (mostly homes). Sandbridge just reached the 400 mark; but their properties are mostly condominiums. Also remember, the rental property has an OWNER. The OWNER of the property is NOT Siebert Realty (or Sandbridge Realty). If the owner does not want to fix something that is broken, Siebert WILL go in and make the repairs (especially if guests have paid money to reserve the rental property); and they WILL eventually get their money from the OWNER...
Interestly... the OWNERS of the properties that REFUSE to allow Siebert maintenance crew to make repairs are DOCTORS, LAWYERS, JUDGES, ENGINEERS...with 6-figure salaries...who are just plain CHEAP....
There are many issues that are being overlooked when it comes to these properties so KNOW WHAT YOU ARE RENTING ...
The REALLY sad part about those homeowners not wanting to make repairs ...
Recently the Dr. Phil Show aired a story of a wedding couple that rented a house in Sandbridge for their wedding and the deck collapsed with their guests on it.
Experts say it wasn%26#39;t maintained and the homeowner acknowledged he knew it needed maintenance. To add the property was underinsured with a rider on it which exclusively states its a 2nd family home not to be rented. This property was titled to a husband and wife and managed by an LLC owned by the couple and rented on a regular basis.
It%26#39;s a very sad story with these guests paying $500k in combined medical bills. Each was only entitled to $1k each on the med pay regardless of the amount of their bills. Clearly there%26#39;s not enough liability insurance to even cover the bills never mind pay any of these people pain and suffering or compensate them for permanent injuries.
Know what your renting ...
know when you put 20+ people on a deck of a house that sleeps 21 people that it is safe ...
Know that in the unlikely event that there is an accident at the house you%26#39;ve rented, that there is adequate insurance!
