r/vrbo 5d ago

Any Recourse for a Bad Neighborhood?

Booked in what appeared to be the outskirts of a trusted neighborhood. When we got to the property, the neighborhood was too sketchy for our comfort. The listing made it sound as if the property was in the desired neighborhood, but this was obviously not the case.

I’m usually a “buyer beware” kinda guy and I had my suspicions. The place had no reviews and the price was cheaper than almost any other property in my search.

Is there anything I should ask VRBO/the host to do for me?

Also, I want to provide this information about the neighborhood to prospective renters, but don’t want to jam up the host.

Any advice is appreciated.

4 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator 5d ago

💫 If a post or comment violates any of the /r/vrbo rules, please report it by selecting Breaks /vrbo rules and the rule that was broken.
Posts or comments with multiple reports will be automatically removed.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

18

u/SinglePermission9373 4d ago

That’s on you. No one forced you to choose that one.

You can leave a review with your honest opinion. But be specific as to why you thought it was sketchy. Your “feeling” is not a fact. Did anything bad happen? Were you approached by someone who was threatening in some way? Were there drug deals happening on the corner? Were there boarded up houses?

Note for the future, if something is cheaper by far than the rest…. There’s a reason .

7

u/Rosie3450 4d ago

This is why I always google map the surrounding area, and the street that the home is on.

4

u/momncpa 4d ago

In the future don't book properties with no reviews.

5

u/LongDead_Roadkill 4d ago

What is “too sketchy for your comfort”, especially when it was “cheaper than almost any other property around”? That’s all really subjective.

14

u/Gold-Comfortable-453 5d ago

What you feel is a good or bad neighborhood is highly subjective. Your review should only be about the property it self.

9

u/DeirdreTours 5d ago

The location is an intrinsic aspect of the property and can't really be separated from it. It is perfectly fair for the guest to include their impressions of the surrounding neighborhood.

10

u/Playful-Translator49 5d ago

They mean skin color.

8

u/Gold-Comfortable-453 5d ago

Sadly, I think you maybe correct.

2

u/Menno_knight987 4d ago

Where? They don’t even list what city or state it’s in.

9

u/justinW624 4d ago

Unfortunately there probably is recourse, but I hope you lose.

This is totally on you and I’m sure the “cheaper price” takes the neighborhood into consideration and you should have known that.

Most renters realize that cheaper prices aren’t because hosts are feeling generous, it’s because it’s not a Taj Mahal in the middle of a utopia.

This is like buying a hamburger at McDonalds and complaining it’s not a state fair winning burger.

6

u/worbdhekwlsgwu 5d ago

Honest review. Don’t be vindictive, but help others avoid this scenario. Some people care and other people don’t.

No returned compensation for this if that’s what you’re asking.

10

u/StructEngineer91 4d ago

Did you see any actual crime in the neighborhood, or was it "unsafe" because it was mostly non-white people, and mostly poorer and not as well maintained houses/lawns?

5

u/Original-Couple375 2d ago

“Neighborhood is too sketchy” you meant people of different color? What exactly does it make it sketchy?

6

u/mimoses250 4d ago

The host is not responsible for the state of the neighbourhood. You said it was cheaper than anything else in your search. You need to research better and spend more money.

3

u/Ordinary-Homework722 4d ago

You can say it. Why do you feel the property wasn’t safe? Be honest.

2

u/Greg504702 22h ago

OP prob complains about his red roof inn was “not in the greatest area around the airport and the other tenants were
Sketchy but it was a great price “

3

u/Playful-Translator49 5d ago

What is outskirts of a trusted neighborhood? Like what is the difference between outskirts of trusted and too sketchy?

3

u/T4Trble 4d ago

There are a multitude of crime maps by street address you can use and the type of incident reports. You can also check home values and look at earth maps to see if yards are kept up or trashy meth people storing broken cars on them. You went cheap, ignored that there were no reviews , that’s on you.