Owners direct has been used by many members on our site, and we havent heard anything derogatory that I know of.

However, please be aware that they do have a disclaimer on their site http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/disclaimer.htm

Kath HT Admin

Ask members here is they have any knowledge of it. Give us details etc. Check it out in Google. Good luck. BTW Portugal is FAR nicer than Spain, it hasn't YET been overun by Lager louts, although there are some places I am too old to go to

Don't think you should worry......I've been to a couple of places through owners direct and never had any problems.
After all, they want to let their property and make money........it's not worth their while to advertise on a site like owners direct and then get bad press.
Pat

Hi Claire,

I can understand your concern but I wouldn't think there'd be any risk in booking one of the apartments advertised on Owners Direct. After all, if anyone had a problem with such a booking and complained to OD, I imagine the advert would be immediately removed and the advertiser banned.

In order to set your mind at rest, why don't you email the owner and explain your doubts. Or if there's a phone number, ring them up. If the apartment is on a complex, you might be able to do a Google search and contact their Reception to check it out.

The Algarve is fantastic and I hope you will have a great holiday!

Hi claire
My friend has an apartment on owners direct that she rents out i know she is geniune... she has a 1 bedroom apartment which sleeps upto 5 people... I dont know what you are looking for to rent out, but i know hers is available to rent out... let me know if i could help in anyway if you would like to know anything else about the apartment im always happy to help you..
Julie

We used Owners Direct for the first time in October and had the most gorgeous apartment in Majorca - owners lived downstairs which was really useful. We are using Owners Direct again next May for mainland Spain.

If possible check the availability on the site - not all owners show this but if they do then you can get a good idea of how popular the place is. Also at the bottom of the OD site it tells you how long the person has been with them.

Last year we booked an apartment via another site - it did not appear to have many bookings which at the time we thought nothing of but when we got there we were rather disapointed - the apartment needed a lot of TLC - it was cheap so we just made the best of it and the location was great. That apartment no longer appears on the site!!

You should have no problems.

Pippa

We used owners direct earlier this year and the villa was as descibed although it was the owners first rental and it was not as well equipped as expected.
Also there was building work going on in front of us which was not mentioned either so i would do a little bit of homework if i used them again.

Regards.

Thanxs guys you've relly put my mind to rest, but i will email her and ask if theres any building work going on.

Thanxs againxxx

To be fair to the owners, you should bear in mind that,in Portugal, very often the first thing anyone knows about building work nearby is when the diggers turn up!They don't have the rigmarole of statutory notices in the local newspapers,notices asking for objections posted on nearby lamposts etc. as in the U.K. - one day there's nothing there,by lunchtime the next day it's a building site !!

We used ownersdirect property P1692 in Albufeira this year and had an excellent holiday with no probs at all, villa was as described.
A bit worried at first when sending our deposit by western union but Zara the owner kept in constant contact via email and we have booked again for next year.

Have used owners direct on three occassions now.Always found apartments as described.Also found owners to be extremely helpful.Ask them as many questions as you want about any of your concerns.