Thinking of Moving to Michigan or Oakland County?  Rather than living out of a cramped hotel room, how about your family staying in a 5 bedroom Victorian Home or spending time on an All-Sports lake in a vacation rental home? Vacation rentals can be a delightful alternative to motel stays, while looking for the perfect home, your next business trip, or even a short weekend vacation. Yes, they may cost slightly more during the busy summer season, but the more than make-up the difference by allowing you access to laundry and kitchen facilities. Some vacation rentals offer wood burning fireplaces or outdoor fire pits and even use of a boat and fishing equipment.

Each summer I receive email requests from MichiganLakefronts.com for vacation rental properties. Usually, I'm able to find some type of property online, but I've never kept a list of sites. So, I went on a search for vacation rental homes in Michigan. There were hundreds of cabins, lodges, homes, and Bed & Breakfasts (B & B's) available online throughout Michigan. This might even be an option if your home is not selling and you're located near a tourist area or on a lake. Make sure you contact your lender and a lawyer first, I'm not an expert at rental properties, I'm simply providing information.

OK, so you can understand northern Michigan which is tourism oriented, but why Oakland County? Well, to start, there are 361 bodies of water listed in Oakland County by the USGS. Western Oakland County, especially the "Lakes Area" where I'm located, was at one time metro Detroit's favorite cottage area. Now, most cottages are being replaced by larger homes. This is especially true for all-sports lakes.

How Can You Find a Reputable Vacation Rental?

According to A1 Vacations, an advertising medium for rental property owners, "following a few suggestions you can enjoy the benefits of a rental property vacation and at the same time minimize your risks." Please read their disclaimer on the website.

I'm not an expert in rental properties. Please, at a minimum, use the following items suggested by A1 Vacations

"...to you satisfy yourself with the legitimacy of the ownership claims prior to submitting your deposit:

1. Ask the owners for referrals from previous renters.
2. If the property is a part of a homeowners association, contact the association to verify that the person with whom you are corresponding is indeed an owner.
3. Ask for the name of the company who does the maintenance or cleaning and contact them for verification. You might also wish to inquire regarding the condition of the property.
4. Ask for references from anyone else who services the property. For example, pool service, snow removal, etc.
5. Many of our listings also display guest book comments or a link to an online guest book where previous guests' comments have been added.
6. Prior to sending any money to an owner or providing a credit card number, always request and receive a completed rental agreement or contract. Be sure that it specifies the dates you will be
   staying in the property, the cost of the rental, any deposits, taxes, cleaning fees, and the cancellation and refund policies. Without a signed rental agreement, do not consider the rental to be yours. If you do and something unforeseen happens, you may have little recourse in getting your funds returned.
   If an owner prefers not to use a contract or written agreement, find one that will.
7. Your best protection can come by working with property owners that accept credit cards. First, there are certain protections that the banks put in place, and not everyone qualifies to accept credit cards. Secondly, using your credit card does provide you with certain remedies that are unavailable via other forms of payment. Note: Paying via PayPal may not provide you the same level of protection that paying directly via credit card provides. Avoid listings that demand quick payment via a wire service like Western Union or bank transfer.

By protecting yourself, you can be confident that you and your family will indeed enjoy a truly unique and affordable vacation experience."

The following local Owners/Property Managers answered my request and gave permission for their property to appear in this post. I would like to thank them all.

Waterford, Michigan Lakefront Home  3 bedrooms 2 baths located on Williams Lake

White Lake Township, Michigan Lakefront Home  2 bedrooms  located on Sugden Lake

Holly, Michigan Victorian Era Home 5 bedrooms 2 baths  Go antiquing in Holly and Fenton

Lake Orion Michigan Lakefront Home 2 bedrooms (plus)  located on Lake Orion

If you would like your Oakland County area Vacation Property added, simply send me an email.

Internet Sources of Vacation Rental Properties

(Caution: Neither Real Estate One nor the agent providing this information either warrants or guarantees all information on these properties to be accurate and correct. Information on any property of interest must be independently verified)

Equal Housing Opportunity From the Craigs List website ( please read before listing your home. Fair Housing is required in the United States) The State of Michigan has additional Fair Housing Laws that must be followed.

The following sites are in no particular order and I do not personally recommend any site or home.

Rental Bug   Approximate cost to list your home is around $70.00 per year with additional options and discounts. Many Michigan places were available on this Website.

Vacation Rentals By Owner  Approximate costs were around $179.00 per year to place an ad with additional options and discounts. Select Michigan from International Map to search for places in Michigan

Vacation Rentals  Approximate costs were indicated to be around $148.00 per year with additional options and possible discounts. Select Michigan from Options to search for properties.

Find Rentals  Ad costs were around $199.00 per year with additional options. Select US and Michigan

Great Rentals  Ad costs were around $158.00 per year with many options and some discounts. (Multiple site option available)  Selecting Michigan offered many choices.

Lake House Vacations:  Prices start at $69.00 per year for a basic ad. There is a free trial currently available.  Click on Michigan and then follow choices.

Craigs List:  Cost is currently Free. The easiest way to post is to create a free account so you can manage your ad. Ads remain active for 45 days and should be manually renewed once every 2-3 weeks. Select Michigan and your area. Ads can be placed in the vacation rentals section under housing.

With all these options, I'm sure your next visit to Michigan can be nicer than a stuffy hotel or motel room. If you have another suggested website, please enter it in a comment. Spam sites will be removed.

If you are a real estate professional and assist people to find vacation rentals locally, please enter your information below. I'm always looking for people to network with on lakefront properties.

Not happy where you live? How can we help?

Simply choose from the services available below. Know of someone needing assistance? We can suggest Federally approved Housing Counselors. Most require a monthly fee. We also have a short sale specialist that will work on your behalf to assist our agents to negotiate the best offer from the bank. There is a fee to a third party and home sellers must pass their qualifications to use this service when selling a home.

1. Search the Multiple Listing Service for Homes in southeastern Michigan through Internet Data eXchange (IDX) in Genessee County, Livingston County, Oakland County, Wayne County, Washtenaw County and Surrounding Areas. No sign-in no obligation.
   
2. Search other areas of Michigan. Public access to several Multiple Listing Services throughout Michigan. None of these sites require login.
   
3. While Your Sleep automated home search. Receive up to 250 homes from southeastern Michigan by email initially and then only new homes (new and changed price status homes) daily, usually while you sleep. The best homes still sell within days. Looking for lake frontage, foreclosures, or short sale homes? We can modify your search to fit your exact needs.
   
4. What's Your Home Worth in Today's Market? No Obligation Home Evaluation for homes in southeastern Michigan usually 24 Hour turn-a-round for legal homeowners. Ownership verified through public records to safeguard your information. Non-owners and home buyers. You will receive generic information based upon the entire subdivision or general area. Valid email address required, your information remains confidential unless written permission received. Subject to available areas.
   
5. Have a question? Click email me on the right column below my photo. We may not be experts in all fields but we will try to find you reliable choices to solve your problem and include any sources we find.

Have an interesting Michigan topic! We operate under the "None of Us is as Smart as ALL of US" premise. Tell us your story, we'd be glad to share. Click email me on the right hand column and tell me your Michigan Story.

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