I just returned from the Outer Banks from the worst vacation I have ever had. For one year I have planned my first family vacation in ten years.
Decided to rent a home for the week in the town of Rondanthe (Hatteras Island Estates) in the Outer Banks of North Carolina thru Surf or Sound Realty. After a very crueling drive to the Outer Banks, we were exhausted but excited to start our vacation. The house was gorgeous but not very clean. Master bath on the fourth floor had hair covering the floor, the shower, and curtain. And I mean ALL types of hair. Then I proceeded to the kitchen, clumps of food were in every corner. Okay, It's not perfect. I go to the living room area and notice something under the couch. Pieces of dried up playdough left by previous tenants and the house was "cleaned" before we got there. Now I'm annoyed. Rental Companies advertise that homes in the Outer Banks are cleaner than your own. Because I had a two year old in the home and the rental agency was closed I cleaned up the food on the kitchen floor and the playdough. I cleaned my bathroom because it was very nasty and I could not use it with all the hair all over the floor and shower.
Sunday morning I get a call from the realtor stating to me that the house is up for sale and they were bringing prospective buyers thru between 11 and 2. They gave me really no choice they pretty much just said We are coming and that's it. So the owner of the home Dara construction shows up around 12:30 to show his home to these buyers. My day now is pretty much screwed. We planned to go to the lighthouses in the area but I was very hestitant to leave with my personal items in the house knowing that strangers would be walking through every room. Now I have paid close to $5,000.00 to rent this house for the week. Surf or Sound Realty gave me the impression that I didn't have a say about any of this.
I was just stunned by the way I was being treated by these people. I was at a lose on what to say or do at this point. So I rearranged my vacation to accommodate them. This happened twice during my stay.
Monday morning we were awakened around 8 am by this intense construction noise. Nail guns, construction cranes, pile drivers, generators, pumps, trucks pulling in and out of my driveway... Trailers hauling pieces of these houses... And where is all this going on... Not 10 feet from my house. Not only are they building 1 house they are building 3, right next to me and all are on a deadline to be finished by July 1st. And because the builder who was also the owner of our home had no temporary electic service for his construction site, They tapped into our electric. They were constantly blowing our breakers and had to come in the the gameroom to where the breaker box was located. Or he had generators running. So to be able to go out and RELAX by the pool was impossible, the noise from the generators was so loud you had to scream to person sitting next to you to be heard. The entire house at times vibrated from all the machinery being run outside. My daughter and I both cleaned the gameroom before we left and saw no damage to anything: and believe me with the way I was treated by the parties involved I paid very close attention and making sure that the gameroom and the rest of the house was perfect so they could not come back and say we did something. But they did anyway. I'm am being charged for damage done to a pole in the gameroom for the amount of $200.00. Even though numerous people not in MY party were in and out continuously: As we were packing to leave the workers were waiting with baded breath for us to get out so they could come into the home. So, who really did the damage to the gameroom? If it had been my party I would have been honest and upfront with them just like I was with the rail outside.
My driveway was blocked by all the construction vehicles we could not freely come and go, and when we did we had to go through the grass next to the driveway which was next to these houses being built to get out and needless to say 2 of our vehicles had to have tires repaired due to nails being in them. Can I definately say this is where the nails came from, NO, but any intelligent person can draw their own conclusion. Not only were they blocking our access to the house they were also blocking emergency vehicles from reaching us if we needed them because the whole street was blocked by vehicles numerous times and for long periods of time.
My family and I tried very hard to make the best out of this very bad situation that we were put into by no fault of our own.in my opinion, the parties involved should have had more respect for me and my family and told us that construction was going on and give us the choice of staying at this house after all the facts were disclosed, or offering us a refund, or another house at a different location. We work very hard for our money when I enter an agreement with someone I expect people to be up front and honest with me.in my opinion, the parties involved were not. I was: with them. I had a pirates of the caribbean party for the kids. I placed a banner of pirate flags on a rail by the pool. With the weather, part of the banner damaged the paint. I immediately called and reported this. Took full responsibility. The owner came by surveyed the damage and stated that it would take $300.00 to repaint the rail: but for all our "inconvenience" he would not charge us to have the rail repainted.in my opinion, this in no way compensated us for any of our "inconveniences": It was like spitting in the ocean.
In all my experience with rental agencies, Surf or Sound Realty has been the worst rental agency that I have ever dealt with. They never offered an apology, In my opinion, they treated my family and myself like dirt. I will never use Surf or Sound Realty again and I will not reccommend anyone that would ask me to use them either.in my opinion, Surf or Sound Realty and the owner of Hatteras Island Estates, Dara Construction owes me a full and complete refund with an apology for ruining our vacation.
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