Let me start by saying that I have never left a bad review in my life. Well, this would be the first.
We rented this house a few times both through VRBO and from owner directly. I stopped renting directly, because there was always an issue with getting the deposit back: there would be some fees withheld that the owner "forgot" to include beforehand, checks bounced, etc. Every time the owner would find a reason to call and complain about something - the "missing" extension cord or "moved" lamp.
The house itself is cute, however, far from being clean. I am shocked that some renters review it as clean. Under the beds, and on the top of the vent in the bedroom there is a layer of dust, the light switches have never been cleaned and are are black from hands touching them. Everything in this house is done the way so not a single penny is spent by the owner. Only one is operational in the kitchen, many outlets don't work. The water in the shower downstairs is barely running, to the point that it’s impossible to wash. The owner states that she doesn't provide sheets, but there is also no toilet paper, soap, dishwasher detergent, or hairdryer.
However, we do love the location and the lake, and were willing to deal with it. This time, however, topped it all. We came with 2 dogs, which, having read other reviews, I made sure to discuss with the owner prior to booking. I was charged more than double of the regular cleaning fee. Part of which the owner requested to send to her directly. I understand, no problem, the dogs do shed. What I don't understand is the frantic phone call from the owner that the house is full of dog hair and the cleaning lady is complaining. Makes me wonder how much of the extra cleaning fee actually ended up with the cleaning lady. How about the fact that we cleaned everything else in the house and didn't use one of the bedrooms? We had 2 10-year old boys with us. Alas, they broke one screen and a door handle in the hustle and bustle of us packing up to check out at 10, and the adults didn’t even notice it. Both items were very old (like everything else in this house), and were overdue for replacement. We apologized and offered to pay for it, expecting that it would be reasonable. Reasonable it was not. The owner then proceeded to harassing my family, calling, talking to us in the most disrespectful way, texting, disrupting my work and causing me anxiety. Stay away. Especially if you have kids. Or dogs.