Q: Who can use the site ?
 A: All property owners can use the site.
The main purpose of Home-Owners-Direct is to give owners of any kind of rental property access to the Internet,  where they can advertise and reach a worldwide audiance.

• Maybe you have a rental but no website ?
• Maybe you have a website but want to increase your Internet presence ?
• Maybe you only have a small advertising budget  ?
• Then this is where to advertise & promote your rental

Even if you have a Motorhome, Boat or Caravan you would like to rent - this is the place to advertise it.

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 Q: Why advertise with Home-Owners-Direct ?
 A: As a rental accommodation owner it can be expensive and cumbersome to promote and market your own property effectively. Many property owners have individual websites but getting traffic to these sites can be a difficult task. Home-Owners-Direct provide one website for people who are looking for privately owned rental accommodation of all types and it is our aim to increase your rental property income through effective online and offline advertising giving you greater presence in the property market.
Most of the advertisers on our site are private owners who let out their property for either some or all of the year. They receive booking enquiries from our site either directly to themselves or to their representative/agent who is managing their property.

 

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 Q: What do you get when you advertise with Home-Owners-Direct ?
 A: Each advertiser gets a full colour page advertisement, including placement of up to 12 photographs allowing them to showcase their property. The site has an availability calender, which can be updated to show live availability. There is a contact form on the site so that booking enquiries can be forwarded directly by email. Any enquiries can be changed into a confirmed booking and the system will automatically update your availability calendar.

 

Statistics are also provided from within the Owners Control Panel providing essential information about Listing Views,  Availability views, Review clicks, Listing print outs, Adds to wish list etc.

Owners are provided with log in details specific to their rental property and they can make changes to their page whenever they want and as often as they want.
 

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 Q: How much is it to advertise on the Home-Owners-Direct website ?
 A:

We provide basic listing packages for advertising on Home-Owners-Direct but can also provide a tailored package to suit the individual (details upon request).
Our prices are;

12month 1 Rental Package (£39.99)
12month up to 10 Rentals Package (£49.99) 

100% Response Guarantee All new 12month listing packages now include a 100% response guarantee If you have no response to your active rental listing within 12months we will give you an additional 12months advertising absolutely FREE!

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 Q: How do I add my Property Rental ?
 A: To add your property rental, simply click on ‘Sign up’ from the websites home page and complete the Sign up form. When this form is complete you will be sent a verification email containing further instructions and confirmation link.
You can then log into the system, and follow further instructions on how to place your first listing.
Not everyone is a "computer genius" right? So we also offer any owner a FREE listing service, just email us all your details (inc. photos) and we will place it for you. You can then log in at any time after and make any necessary changes.

There are a couple of stages to adding your property.
Stage 1. 

• Add Property Details: This will bring you into a detailed form where you can put in the information about your rental property, where it is located, details on rental, features etc.
• Upload Images: Initially upload up to 3 photo images of your rental.

Stage 2. 

• Availability: Bring your built in availablity calender up to date.
• Add Extra Photos: Add any extra photo's, up to your package limit.
• Configure Google Maps: Essential, make sure you locate your property using the configuration help and enter your co-ordinates.  
• Complete Rates Table: Enter in the appropriate pricing information including multiple tariffs which can be set for various times of the year.

It should take you about 30 - 40 minutes to add your rental property. The ads will become live instantly and reviewed by admin normally within one working day, to make sure they are in compliance with our standards. If you need any assistance during the listing placement process use the "contact us" page on the website.
You can deactivate and activate your property rental listing at any time from within your owners control pannel.
Once your property is activated, we strongly recommend that you review it to ensure that all the details are as accurate as possible.

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 Q: How do Owners and Clients communicate ?
 A:

All transactions and dealings regarding listings found on this site are carried out directly between the "owners" and "clients".
H.O.D. do not own any of the properties listed, nor have any connection, relationship or business interest whatsoever in any of the parties or properties concerned or listed on this site.
As a result, the quality, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any property or guestbook review), the ability of members to rent property or the ability of renter's to pay for any type of rental property are solely the responsibility of the users. 
All mails sent using our internal system are sent direct to the recipient.

 

Owners = person or company who is legallay entitled to display their property for rent.
Client = person or company who choose to rent the listed property advertised for rent.

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 Q: Using this site - Brief Guidelines
 A: New to the site ? New to renting properties directly from owners ?
For those that have not used our site before or are new to renting holiday properties directly from the owners, the following guidelines should help you.

 

Finding a Property:
Search our property listings either by usuing 'Search Rentals' or 'Map Search' from the home page. Both options offer various search criteria ie. search by location, number of bedrooms, type, available dates etc. Please remember that often you will find extra sleeping accommodation in the form of sofa beds, so a 1 bedroom apartment may sleep up to 4. It is also worth looking at accommodation with a larger number of bedrooms, these are not always more expensive.

Shortlisting the Properties (add to 'wishlist'):
Whilst browsing through the properties, you will see the option to add them to your 'wishlist' at the bottom of the Details page. Appropriately add as many as you wish, you can then later do a direct comparison by selecting the properties of your choice.

Contacting the Owner:
You will find the contact information (telephone, fax, e-mail link) of the owner at the top of each full listing information page. If e-mailing, please give your name, e-mail address, telephone number and state the number of people plus the dates that you are interested in. If you have any particular requirements or questions to ask, there is room on the form for this 'Your Message'. Remember that these are private owners and that they may possibly be away from their e-mail for a few days. Most will respond immediately but if you do not get a response within a couple of days, we would recommend that you telephone them.

Making a Booking:
Each property owner will have their own way of processing a booking but, if appropriate, you may use our included standard booking form which offers both renters and owners a way of exchanging essential information. As a guideline, you should expect to pay a deposit to secure the booking of between 10% - 50% of the total rental. This is normally paid either by cheque or by bank transfer and the owner should confirm the booking and receipt of your payment by letter or by e-mail. The balance is normally paid around 8 weeks before the start of the holiday. Often a breakage deposit is required with the balance, and this is refundable at the end of the holiday less the cost of any breakages and metered charges for gas/electricity/telephone if they are not included in the rental rate. Please check the cancellation terms with the owner at the time of booking - deposits are often non-refundable and they may have a sliding scale of charges for last minute cancellations after the balance has been paid. We recommend that you ask for any terms and conditions in writing.

Arriving at the Property:
Make sure that you have the address and directions to the property. These are normally sent to you on payment of the balance. Some owners will send you a key in advance, some may live on site and be there to welcome you, whilst others may have a local representative or neighbour who will meet you (in this case please make sure that you have the telephone number of the owner or their representative so that you can call to let them know if your arrival time is delayed).

Any Problems:
All owners should leave instructions at the property for contacting either themselves or their local representative. If you find that you have a problem or an item of equipment breaks down, please call them straight away. Either they or their representative will have the local knowledge to put things right. It is essential to air any difficulties on the spot as this gives the owner the chance to ensure your holiday or rental is not spoilt. Please do not save up complaints until after you return home.
Please also remember that H.O.D. do not own and are not responsible for any of the properties or accuracy of any information given on the site. As a result, the quality, safety or legality of the properties advertised, the truth or accuracy of the listings (including the content thereof or any property or guestbook review), the ability of members to rent property or the ability of renter's to pay for any type of rental property are solely the responsibility of the users.

Enjoy your Holiday or Stay!

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 Q: Help !
 A: Owners can find help either by looking at the help section from within the owners control panel or by sending an email with your query from the "contact us" menu option.
Users and Renters can find help by clicking here or by sending an email with your query from the "contact us" menu option.

 

 

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