Short Term Rental Agreement.

Before we begin, we would like to say that we do have a long list of rules here. While you might think that this is excessive, you would probably like to know that we started with only 2 rules, and that all of the rules that came after those two were the direct result of actions of one of our guests. So while reading this, you might think that most (if not all) of this is common sense, just know that there is a story behind every one of these paragraphs.

These rules do boil down to: “Be cool, be clean, don’t damage stuff, do not make anyone else’s stay unpleasant and deliver the property in the same condition as you found it.”

Please read all of them, especially the last section about penalties, as to avoid any surprises during your trip.

Having said that, let’s dig in:

House Rules:
Smoking of any kind (even prescribed) inside the house is strictly forbidden. Violation of this rule will immediately terminate the booking and any damages or cleaning required will be 100% covered by the guests. No refund will be issued and security deposit will be forfeited.
If parties can be held at this property (please check amenities section of this listing) we do have a different nightly rate for those. Parties are being priced based on the number of guests attending and not only guests that are sleeping. In order to have a party/gathering/reunion or any type of event, you have to have a written authorization from the host.
** NO UNAUTHORIZED PARTIES** | let me say that again | ** NO UNAUTHORIZED PARTIES**
This listing is for registered guests only. Any visitors not listed on the reservation need to be approved by the host in advance (process is rather simple, just send us their name).
If pets are allowed at the property (please check amenities section of this listing) read on:
We have a $350 cash refundable pet deposit. This is fully refundable after check out and cleaning is completed at the property, and our rules regarding pets were followed (please see below).
Our furry friends are not allowed on the beds or furniture. We are VERY strict about this because we do have guests that are allergic, and if we do not catch every hair that can get stuck in the bed, we could be endangering their health.
The guests are required to provide, in writing and at least three (3) days in advance of taking possession of the property, the weight, breed and general description of the pet or pets.
Pets are never to be left unsupervised inside of the property.
Every pet has to be registered (and approved by the host) in advance.
All pet waste and excrement shall be picked up and placed in a tightly tied bag and disposed of in the proper outside trash.
All pet hair must be cleaned up prior to departure.
Check-In is from 4PM and Check-Out before 11AM. If you can't check-out before 11 AM we will charge an extra night from your deposit. This might seem harsh, but you have to understand that we have only few hours where we can clean the place, wash the sheets, blankets, pillows, dry them, and stage the place for our new guests who are coming at 4PM. This is not a hotel and we can not give the guests another property/apartment/room if theirs is not ready. Please be mindful of this.
There is an option of checking in earlier and checking out later. It involves hiring more cleaning people to make the property ready faster. If you are interested in this option, let us know and we might be able to arrange it.
The white towels are only for drying clean hands and/or body, and not for wiping off makeup, dirt, juices, lotions, wine, etc. Most of these things can not be completely washed, so if you do use towels with them, we will have to replace them and charge you for it.
If upon taking the possession of the property, guest discovers any damages, inoperable equipment, broken glass, or any general maintenance issues, they must report it to the host no later than four (4) hours after the check-In. If the guest fails to report the damage issues within the prescribed time, the host will assume that the property has been delivered in satisfactory condition and with no prior damages.
In the event that any damage to the property occurs or items go missing during the rental, regardless if they were caused by the guest, guest’s family members, and/or guest’s invitees, the guest who made the reservation will be directly responsible for reimbursement.
Locked cabinets, closets and compartments are not for guest access and their contents are for the owner and host use and access only. Guest agrees to refrain from accessing any locked compartments during their stay.

Quiet hours are between 9PM and 9AM.
Guest agrees to dispose of all garbage, waste and debris in the appropriate trash bins provided on the property. Garbage pick up schedule
Garbage days: Please take out the Black bins to the curb
Garbage and Recycling days: Please take out the Black, Green and Blue bin to the curb
Bulk trash pick up: Do not place any concrete, paint cans, or solvents.
The property must be free of garbage and litter except the storage of garbage, and litter in authorized receptacles. Garbage pick up is guest's responsibility while they are staying at the property. Seriously, Florida is in tropical climate and any garbage not picked up quickly will fester/rot really, really fast.
We understand that accidents happen. But we do ask that you please let us know when they do. Chances are we can fix them effortlessly and quickly, which also means better chances of having your full security deposit returned too.

Barbeque rules (assuming your property comes equipped with one. Please check amenities section of this listing):
Barbecuing is only permitted on the concrete on the patio (meaning never on the grass or wood or any other flammable material).
Do not use kitchen utensils at the grill.
Leave the grill in the same general condition you found it. This means it has to be clean! $150 grill cleaning fee and $50 BBQ utensils cleaning fee would be applied if they are found dirty.
For gas grills: turn it off and turn off the gas tank after each use. For charcoal grill: don't leave the flames burning and wait for charcoal to completely cool off before disposing of it.
Never, ever, leave the grill outside when not using it. Sprinklers or rain will damage beyond repair. There will be a $500 (USD) charge for purchasing the new grill if this happens.

Patio rules (assuming your property comes equipped with one. Please check amenities section of this listing):
After each use fold the umbrella and put the umbrella's main bar in the upright position.
Use provided protective umbrella covers and zip-up folded umbrella. This is supremely important as the strong winds can come out of nowhere and damage umbrellas beyond repair.
Never leave hammocks outside if not using them. Always bring them inside the house after each use.
Leave the patio and surroundings in the same general condition you found it. This means no beer bottles, booze containers, or cigarete buds in the grass. It is stupid and dangerous. A $50 patio cleaning fee would be applied if we have to look through every inch of the yard for these (or similar) items.

Pool rules (assuming your property comes equipped with one. Please check amenities section of this listing):
Guests who are or were sick in the past two weeks CANNOT use the pool.
Showering is required before entering the pool.
Toddlers who are not toilet trained cannot use the pool.
Guests agree not to tamper with, damage or adjust pool and/or spa equipment, including but not limited to adjusting temperature, removing pool vacuums (which remain in the pool for cleaning, water flow, heating and filter purposes) or changing timer and valve settings.
If any liquid ends up in the pool that shouldn't be there (alcohol, punch, juice, bodily fluids, etc.) there will be a $1,500 (USD) penalty charge which will cover the cleaning and/or draining the pool, and having it out of commission for 2 days.

PENALTIES:
We sincerely hope we will NEVER have to apply a single penalty to anyone. The main purpose of it is to serve as a deterrent to a bad (or dangerous) behavior. Having said that, we are super serious about this and will be deducting these from your security deposit.

Again, we hope we never have to do this, so please help us make that a reality:

Any UNAPPROVED or UNANNOUNCED visitors to the property without host’s prior approval, will carry a penalty of $30 (USD) per person, per calendar day.
If a party is held, without host’s consent there will be a $1,000 (USD) event penalty charge per night, and $30 (USD) for every person, per night, attending the party, regardless if they sleep/stay at the property or not.
SMOKING of any kind (even if prescribed) inside the house is strictly forbidden. The penalty of $1,000 (USD) to cover the expenses of smoke smell/restoration and professional cleaning of air conditioning system, and steam cleaning of the furniture. Getting rid of this smoke stink involves cleaning every fabric in our house, washing not only walls, floors and ceilings but every other surface, including items on shelves and in drawers. When we advertise that our home is smoke-free, people with allergies and other medical issues depend on it being smoke-free. When someone who smokes takes that away, an enormous amount of energy is required to return the house to its smoke-free state. We are so serious about this that we will legally pursue any smokers who smoke inside of the property in a small claims court in Broward county.
If pets are brought without our written approval there will be a penalty of $300 (USD) per stay and $30 (USD) per night of the total reservation.
A $250 (USD) penalty fee will be deducted from the refundable deposit if there is any report of pet hair on bedding and sofas.
If any keys gets lost, or any electronic lock gets damaged, guests will be charged for the necessary lock and key changes. $250 (USD) penalty to cover this expense.
Any damage, extra cleaning or missing/lost items for anything in the property, not limited to furniture, linens, towels floors etc., will have a penalties from $50 to $2,000 (USD) dependant of the item.
Any tampering or unauthorized access of the locked cabinets will carry a penalty of $100 (USD)
Guests who request a forgotten item to be shipped to them will pay a $50 (USD) fee plus the cost of shipping. While we are happy to help out our guests, these events cost us since we have to get time off work, go to the post office, and come back to work.
Any missing poker chip or foosball ball will carry a penalty of $10 (USD).

Any guests who remain or attempt to remain in the rental premises after being requested to leave shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree punishable in accordance with Florida law. If any person is illegally at the subject rental premises, the Owner may call upon any law enforcement officer of this State for assistance. If the Guest is arrested, the Owner shall employ all reasonable and proper means to care for any personal property which may be left at the rental premises by the guest; however, upon arrest and expiration of the reservation, the Guest/guests shall be deemed to have given up any right of occupancy and to have abandoned personal property.
$180 penalty will be applied per umbrella for any damages (environmental, physical, etc) and for negligence of not following the directions for proper use.
$115 penalty will be applied per hammock for any damages (environmental, physical, etc) and for negligence of not following the directions for proper use.

Disclaimers:
The property and the surrounding areas are being monitored 24/7 with surveillance cameras. It is a requirement of our insurance, and as a bonus it protects us and our guests from any unforeseen circumstances. Just to clarify this means only outside areas of the property. No surveillance of any kind is inside of the property. We respect your privacy 100% and will do anything we can to protect it.
Pool condition (i.e. temperature, clarity, chemical balance and cleanliness) can fluctuate greatly with changes in climate or environmental factors out of the host’s control.
The pool is serviced weekly.
Cleaning is performed after every guest checks out.
Since Florida is located in a warm, humid and tropical climate, certain bugs, ants, insects and other animals may not be avoided. As such, guest agrees, understands and acknowledges that the presence of these bugs, ants, insects and other similar type animals or animals which are endemic to the State of Florida, including, but not limited to raccoons, iguanas and alligators shall not be grounds for the cancellation of the reservation, or a reduction in the amounts paid or agreed to be paid.

Under certain circumstances, we may request to check the identity of anyone trying to gain access to our property. We might require current government issued ID and a selfie with the ID in front of the property for every guest in the reservation. If no ID can be provided or the guest is unwilling/unable to take the selfie in a manner we request, we reserve the right to deny entry to the property. All visitors must be pre-authorized and submit the ID and a selfie with the ID, before being allowed at the property. No refunds would be given for the reservations where the guestscan not identify themselves and every member of his party with the current (meaning not expired) government issued ID. In certain cases, 2 types of ID may be required.

We may also request the make, model and license plates for all the cars that will be parked at the property. Any unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the guest’s expense.

By execution, guest agrees to assume all risks associated with the above mentioned and, guest specifically agrees to hold the owner and host harmless from any and all liability related to any disturb, damages, personal injury or death caused by any of the foregoing.

ATTORNEYS FEES – VENUE. The parties agree that the prevailing party in a suit commenced to enforce the terms, covenants, conditions and agreements contained within this agreement shall be entitled to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The venue for any legal action, other than matters which are required to be filed in the county in which the property is located, shall be Broward County and the laws of the State of Florida shall apply.

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES – BINDING EFFECT: The parties agree that this agreement is made effective by and shall be governed by both the Federal Electronic Signatures and Global and National Commerce Act as well as the Florida Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (“Electronic Signature Statutes”). It is agreed and acknowledged that although this agreement is not being physically signed by the parties that pursuant to the foregoing Federal and Florida statutes the subject agreement and all provisions, obligations and duties contained therein are nonetheless binding upon the parties and enforceable under the laws of the State of Florida. Pursuant to the foregoing statutes, the agreement by and between the parties is considered an Automated Transaction as defined pursuant to Florida Statute ********)(b) and this agreement is considered a fully binding and effective Contract pursuant to Florida and Federal law.