An existing contract is legally contingent upon the successor to honor it under all the terms and conditions originally advertised. I would estimate that at least 30% of vacation villas and condos are currently listed for sale. Again, the buyer assumes all responsibility for all contracts. No worries!

at worst you're screwed and rent another accomodation. at best the new owners honor the rental contract without significant changes to the unit.
most likely the unit won't close before the rental date. if you see a the unit adveritesed for sale it's best to get assurances in writing from the owners. I suppose the owners (who contracted with) would be obligated to refund deposit. I would be leary of renting anything for sale without written assurances.
What's leagal and what's reality are often two different issues. I supose if the unit sells and your contact is cancled you can pursue leagal remendies--but who wants to do that. Better all contigency are transparent up-front. Lot's of nice rentals that aren't for sale and lots of nice owners (who are willing to be completely honnest) with units for sale.

blu4u, you obviously know nothing about contract law as it applies to real estate transactions. The information I gave is correct and standard and there is no, "at worst you're screwed " scenario such as you describe.

Your correct I haven't viewed the rental agreement. Nor have I viewed the listing agreement. Nor will I view the future escrow agreement. I don't know if whats excluded /included. and I would assuem any lawsuit involving breach of contract would limit damages to the deposit and possibly "replacement value". But what the heck? why go that far? why not simply have an open and honest conversation with owner? If the owner's evasive, book another accomdodation. Vacation is supposed to fun and stress free. Believe there are plenty of very nice condos in the VI.

All issues regarding monies for rentals income are addressed in the closing docs. if there is a sale.
I have not heard about any problems with guests being defrauded for their deposits for a vacation rental due to their chosen vacation rental property being sold prior to arrival.

That's not to say it is not possible for it to occur but it is not usually the case.
Many listings for vacation rentals have clauses that the advance bookings must be honored.
If a situation were to occur, the guest(s) has several options to recover their money.

If you are concerned, contact the owner and ask directly what contingencies he/she has made for your contract to be honored in such event.

It is a good thing to purchase travel insurance. I recommend this to guests traveling during Hurricane Season as many rental accommodations of all types do not wish the liability that having guests in residence during a severe storm may incur and this goes for many hotels as well.

Best to check on your vacation rental policies for such an event.
It helps to document and get such policies in writing.

Hey Blu - spell check is working! 😉

STT Resident wrote:
blu4u, you obviously know nothing about contract law as it applies to real estate transactions. The information I gave is correct and standard and there is no, "at worst you're screwed " scenario such as you describe.

Your right, I am not a real estate attyn. Since you are expert in tennet landlord relations, maybe you could answer a few question.?
What happens in the case of foreclosure?
What if the new owners aren't accommodating? Who do you sue? the original party to the contract, The party who assumed the contract? The real estate agents who facilitated the contract? How much does that cost?
Since it's small amount, how does one pursue a small claims judgment from 1,000 miles away?
Don't you agree it's best to question the property owner beforehand? Rather than rolling the real estate-contract-law-dice?

blu4u wrote:
[quote=STT Resident]
blu4u, you obviously know nothing about contract law as it applies to real estate transactions. The information I gave is correct and standard and there is no, "at worst you're screwed " scenario such as you describe.

Your right, I am not a real estate attyn. Since you are expert in tennet landlord relations, maybe you could answer a few question.?
What happens in the case of foreclosure?
What if the new owners aren't accommodating? Who do you sue? the original party to the contract, The party who assumed the contract? The real estate agents who facilitated the contract? How much does that cost?
Since it's small amount, how does one pursue a small claims judgment from 1,000 miles away?
Don't you agree it's best to question the property owner beforehand? Rather than rolling the real estate-contract-law-dice?

No, I'm not an expert in "tennet" landlord relations but I do have pretty good knowledge of state landlord tenant laws both Federal and local. There are Federal guidelines in place to protect tenants in the event of foreclosures and there are Federal laws in effect which protect a short-term renter of a vacation property which is on the market and for which a contract has been signed.

New owners are contractually obligated to abide by the contracts already in situ at the time of purchase. The rest of your questions are based on hypotheses but if you have knowledge of actions being brought against property owners and subsequent buyers who have willfully disobeyed the contract terms of vacation rentals, feel free to cite examples.

In my opinion there is no "rolling the dice" routine involved at all as the law is quite specific. But of course if a prospective renter has questions, there's no harm at all in them asking the owner for clarification which I'm sure will be readily forthcoming.

I agree check with the owner!

From personal experience here on St Croix, rentals have been passed onto new owners and renters were also given option of an upgrade and assistance placing in a new rental at same rental rate. Both win win options!

Everyone posting has at least partially and in some cases grossly misinterpreted the law of Contracts. Unless a prospective buyer agrees to honor the existing rental booking, there is no privity of contract between the buyer and renter and thus no contractual obligations on Buyer's part. Existing bookings are typically resolved in the signed Contract between buyer and seller and should contain language that the Buyer's obligation to honor the booking "shall survive the closing." Any deposits are typically transferred as a credit to buyer at the closing of the property.