My family (two adults and a toddler) and our friend's family (2 adults and a young child) stayed in this house for what was supposed to be four nights, but ended up being only two nights.

Let me start by saying something positive. Mike is a VERY nice man. After we expressed our concerns with our experience at his property, he gave us a full refund.

With that being said, the rest of this review will focus on the issues we had, because I want to spare anyone what we experienced. Upon arrival, all of the windows in the house were open and fans were aimed out of the windows. We thought maybe he was taking advantage of the cool weather, but quickly realized that this was done to cover up the smell within. The smell was a combination of cigarette smoke, mildew, and in the kitchen: urine.

Mike said if the smoke detectors went off, to get out immediately. He also told us about the neighbor's barking dogs, and gave us a phone number to call if we experienced this. The first night we did experience barking dogs all night. It was on the second night that we called the phone number provided, only to discover it was the police. The police came and this caused the dogs to become even more agitated and they barked even longer and louder than before. When I stay at a rental property on vacation, I don't want to have to call the police about the neighbor's dogs.

Another thing we found odd was that Mike mentioned the basement, and that there was nothing down there to see. One of the kids opened the basement door, and what we discovered was truly frightening. The basement was a legitimate safety hazard: insulation hanging down on top of wires and a wall covered with a black substance that appeared to be mold.

Aside from these major problems, the house in general didn't appear clean. The rug in the living space was dingy and the furniture was in disrepair. There were also exposed vents and outlets without covers, which is not ideal for children.

After our second night, we made the decision to leave. We secured another house, which was very difficult on a Sunday afternoon, and immediately came back and packed up.

Our vacation was soured, as well as our experience with HomeAway, because of the caliber of this property and the multiple 5 star reviews. Several reviews mention to not expect a 5 star experience, and we absolutely didn't go into this expecting that. But what I do expect is a safe, clean, and relaxing environment.