Sample Lease - Beachview House

This is your vacation lease. Please read it thoroughly. If you have any questions, please feel free to call us. This lease is in effect from your arrival until your departure. This agreement constitutes a contract between the Guest and Carol Irvine, Owner of Idyll Rentals and the rental cottage. Please read it carefully, sign, and return one copy to the Owner (instructions will appear above after this form is completed).

It is our sincere desire to ensure that your stay in the cottage is wonderful and what you expect. To that end, we always want to make sure we meet expectations. This is a restored historic home, with all its charms and quirks. It is centrally located. Please review the virtual tour, the web pages, location maps, the FAQ page on our web site, this lease, etc. and ask if you have any questions. We want to make sure the house is a great fit for you. Please let us know if something is broken or needs addressing and we will get it resolved as soon as humanly possible. We try really hard to make sure your expectations are met/exceeded.

1. Confirming Reservations: Reservations are confirmed upon Owner's receipt within 24 hours of both: (a) a signed lease and (b) 50% of the base rental rate. Reservations not confirmed within 24 hours will be cancelled. You will receive a confirmation receipt (via email) after we process your initial payment. This receipt is confirmation that we are in possession of your signed lease (if you don't receive a confirmation receipt from us, you have not booked). Your reservation is for the time specified under arrival and departure dates listed above. The 'Guest Name' on this lease must be an adult, and is the responsible party for the reservation and all lease obligations.

2. Payment Schedule: An advance payment of 50% of the rental rate is due within 24 hours in order to confirm your reservation, made by credit card (or with Owner's approval, via check and overnight mail). The final balance is due 75 days before your arrival, and must be paid by automatic credit card draft. If we do not receive your final payment by the due date, your reservation is subject to cancellation and all deposit monies forfeited. Reservations made less than 75 days prior to arrival require full payment.

3. Taxes: You are quoted a rental price estimate that is based upon up-to-date tax rates. However, it is possible (but rare) that tax rates will change between now and the time of your stay. You will be notified if there are any changes to your quoted tax rate.

4. Getting Here: Upon receiving your final payment, (due 60 days prior to your arrival), the Owner will send you details on your rental, along with the names and phone numbers of: (a) emergency contacts, and (b) our very pleasant manager.

5. Arrival/Departure: Check-in time is strictly at 4:00 PM (or later). Check-out time is strictly at 10:00 AM (or earlier). These times must be followed due to the logistics of preparing the property between guests. Early check-in or late check-out is rarely available, but when available (Leaseholder must obtain written approval by the Owner), additional partial day fees will be charged. Please note that the property is located in the Eastern Time Zone, and be cognizant of when Daylight Saving Time changes.

6. Parking: We own all parking spaces (6 reserved, 5 handicap, 3 other) between Beachview House and the Golden Isles Welcome Center building and you are more than welcome to use any of these. We have signage on several of the spaces, marking them as reserved 24 hours a day for the exclusive use of Beachview House. In the event that the back house is occupied by owner or family (rare), only two of these four reserved parking spaces are for your use.

7. Damage Deposit: A security deposit is required on all reservations at the discretion of the owner. The security deposit's purpose is to protect the Owner's home and contents from damages. If damage exceeds the security deposit, the guest agrees to pay (by check) any and all damage charges above the security deposit. In addition, if any checkout procedures aren't followed, additional charges will be deducted from security deposit. Checkout guidelines are given to you in advance. The cottage is inspected before and after every tenancy. While you are here, we ask your cooperation in reporting any damage. The security deposit, less any charges incurred where applicable, will be refunded within 20 days of departure. Leaseholder -- you are responsible for any damages incurred during your group's tenancy. Your security deposit will be fully refunded by postal mail within 20 days of your departure, providing the following provisions were met: (a) There was no damage to the cottage or its contents beyond normal wear and tear; (b) All debris, garbage, dog waste, etc., was placed in outdoor trashcans; (c) Dirty dishes were placed in dishwasher; (d) Cottage was left in a neat condition and does not require excessive cleaning; (e) No items were missing from the cottage; (f) All keys were left in the cottage; (g) The number of guests did not exceed the agreed upon number of adults, children, and infants; (h) There has been no smoking in the house and screened-in porch (smoking outside only). (i) The outside grill (if used) must be cleaned after use (or there will be a $100 cleaning charge) (j) No use of any illegal drug. Any use of marijuana is strictly prohibited.

8. Utilities: The cost of normal utilities usage is included with your stay. However, you are responsible for the costs associated with excessive utilities usage (for example, leaving a garden hose running).

8a. Trash/Recycle: Please respect the trash/recycle pickup schedule posted in the house. We provide two large trash bins and one recycle bin for your use. You must set bins out the night before collection days, as collection can be as early as 4am. If you do not set bins out for collection on time, we need to hire a firm to haul material away and you will be charged an additional $100 for this service. Please note that the bin lids MUST BE CLOSED AND FLAT (bins not overfilled) when moved to the curb -- as crazy as it sounds, the pickup people will refuse to empty a bin when the bin lid is raised even a couple of inches!

8b. Internet: You are fully responsible for the actions of everyone using the Internet connection during your stay. For example, a teenager using BitTorrent to illegally download a copyrighted movie. Please notify everyone using the Internet connection, that use of P2P (peer to peer) file sharing services during your stay is not permitted.

9. Cancellation/Hurricanes: If you cancel your reservation for any reason you are entitled to a refund of your payments to us, less a cancellation fee of $250.00, provided that (1) for any rental including days from the “GA/FL week", "Thanksgiving", "Christmas", "Prime", or "July 4th" time frames, you cancel 180 days in advance of your check-in date, or (2) for all other rental time frames, you cancel 90 days or more in advance of your check-in date. There are no refunds for cancellations made outside of these time frames, and the full lease amount remains due. If you think trip cancellation is a possibility for any reason, we strongly recommend purchasing "Trip Cancellation Insurance", which is available through most travel agents, insurance agents, or sites on the Internet. There are no refunds due to weather conditions, including hurricane evacuations, because Trip Cancellation Insurance is now available and very affordable. We strongly recommend that trip cancellation insurance is purchased. We can refer you to several possible sources of trip insurance, if needed. Every single place we have traveled to within the last seventeen years has required prepayment in full, 90 days in advance, with no cancellation possible, even for hurricanes and cyclones. We obtained trip insurance on each occasion, and it has provided a great deal of peace of mind for very low cost.

10. Occupancy: The house capacity is nine (9) individuals (babies in cribs not included), but occupancy is restricted to the number of adults, children, and infants disclosed at the top of this lease. Your rental rate and fees were calculated based on the agreed upon occupancy. Any leaseholder found in breach of this contract will be evicted and monies will not be refunded.

10a. Bedroom/Bathroom Allotment: The cottage is an 3 bedroom and 4 bathroom house. Your rate and fees have been based upon a number of bedrooms and bathrooms you agree to use during your stay. If this number is less than the house maximum, please notify all members of your group during checkin which bedrooms/bathrooms you elect to use, and more importantly, which bedrooms/bathrooms are off limits and not to be used at all. You agree to pay additional rates and fees if more than the allotted number of bedrooms/bathrooms are used during your stay.

10b. Property misuse: The cottage and property may NOT be used by anyone occupying other rental properties. If your occupancy is large enough that you must rent multiple homes/properties/hotel/etc, and want those other people to come over to the cottage during the day, that is a misuse of the property and not permitted.

11. Parties: There are to be no parties in the cottage. And yes, of course, having a few friends and family in occasionally is fine (we want everyone to have a wonderful stay) but by a few friends we mean no more than 14 people total, including the guests staying in the cottage. I have learned that I need to define "having guests in" includes 14 people, total, whether in the cottage, on the deck, or on the porches. Sadly, I also have had the need to delineate "occasionally"- occasionally means once in a while; it does not mean 14 people all day, every day and all night, every night. We don't mean to sound so strict -- we truly want you all to enjoy the house -- we just want it taken care of for everyone to enjoy.

11a. Fireworks: Use of (1) fireworks of any kind, (2) any item with an open flame (Chinese lantern, etc), and (3) any similar items (cap guns, etc) are strictly prohibited. The reason is SAFETY! A neighbor in one of our rental houses almost set OUR house on fire when a Chinese lantern landed on our roof. Thankfully, our renter noticed and was able to quickly put the fire out.

12. Maintenance / Repairs: Even the best or newest equipment occasionally malfunctions and cannot be guaranteed 100% of the time. We have an excellent maintenance team who corrects problems as soon as humanly possible. Authorized personnel may enter the premises during business hours for purposes connected with repairs, care, or maintenance of the premises. Expect lawn care personnel on property once a week.

12a. Vintage Cottage: The cottage is a restored vintage cottage, which means that with those quite significant charms also come older construction techniques and floorplans, including a smaller number of closets than a contemporary house, wooden walls, antique windows and doors. In other words, this is an antique home and is therefore going to be different from new construction. Please take a minute to review photos of the property.

13. Construction / Public Facilities: Saint Simons is a highly desirable, developing resort area. As such, there may be occasional noise from nearby properties (eg: construction, parties, events, etc), or even closures of county/city public facilities. The Owner is not responsible (no refunds) for the actions of third-party property owners, nor responsible for facilities operating hours or the maintenance/construction schedule for Glynn County(eg: new public water park opening date / operational status). If you are concerned, call and inquire with Glynn County before you book your reservation.

14. Consideration: If you are not satisfied with anything, you must call us immediately (not after your stay) and all efforts will be made to correct any problems you may experience in as timely a manner as possible. Recompense will not be issued due to malfunctioning equipment or other guest's dissatisfaction. You can expect a courteous, professional, and very caring attitude towards problem solving.

15. Pets: There is a $45.00 non-refundable dog fee. Guests bringing dogs are required to notify Owner in advance and sign a separate pet addendum, disclosing all dogs.

16. Children: Here is our policy on children...We have friends with very young children that we would allow to use this house in a heartbeat. We also know children that wouldn't be appropriate for this house. (The same could be said for some adults, too.) Here's the thing- if children aren't exposed to good things and taught how to take care of things at an early age, then they won't grow up knowing how to treat a house right. (It is the same principle on having art and music exposure in early educational experiences.) Anyway, we want children to have that opportunity. If, however, you think it is okay for your child to actively and aggressively use the sofa, the beds, and the other upholstery in your vacation house as trampolines, than this probably isn't the right cottage for you. We want everyone to be comfortable, relaxed, and enjoy himself or herself, but not to the abuse of the house.

17. Telephone: Any long distance calls or long distance facsimile transmissions must be charged to a calling card.

18. Second story porch and attic: The leaseholder understands that the cottage is rented as a single story house. Neither the second story porch nor the second story attic will be available to the leaseholder. The second story porch will always have a tape across the top of the outside spiral stairs blocking access. The second story porch and attic storage room is reserved exclusively for the use of the owners in the back house. The second story porch and attic can be accessed by the owners from the back house by a private bridge (not by going through Beachview nor Beachview’s porches) and in the rare event that the back house is occupied by the owners, the owners might access the porch or attic through that bridge.

19. Indemnification: Guests agree to indemnify and save homeowner and employees, free and harmless for any liabilities, or any loss or damage, whatsoever arising from, related to, or in connection with rental of the premises including but not limited to any claim or liability for personal injury or damage or loss of property which is made, incurred, or sustained by guests or guests of guests.

20. Forum Selection Clause: This agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the law of the State of Georgia. This agreement shall be treated as though it was executed in the County of Glynn, State of Georgia, and was to have been performed in the county of Glynn, State of Georgia. Any action relating to this agreement shall only be instituted and prosecuted in the courts in Georgia. Tenant specifically consent to such jurisdiction and to extraterritorial service of process.

21. No Agents / Non Transferable: The leaseholder certifies that he/she is the renter who will occupy the house along with friends and family, and is not acting as an agent for an anonymous third party. The leaseholder agrees to fully disclose not only those individuals staying in the house, but also any individuals coming to the house. This lease may not be transferred to a third party without prior written permission of the owner.

22. Severability: If any part of this agreement is held to be invalid, such invalidity shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the rest of this agreement. The parties agree to replace any invalid provision with a valid provision that most closely approximates the intent and economic effect of the invalid provision.

The undersigned has read and agrees to abide by the terms, rules and regulations of this Lease Agreement.

______________________________________ Carol Irvine Signature Owner

______________________________________ Signature Leaseholder