I should have taken it as a red flag that the owner didn't respond to any of my messages the days before our stay. I've just had so many good experiences with VRBO in the past, I didn't even imagine that this would not be one of them. Unfortunately, the owner didn't respond until about 2 hours before check-in and that was to tell me that the property was not available due to a broken pipe. We were 1300 miles from home and had nowhere to stay! All he said was he was sorry and would refund my money. I had to scramble to find a hotel on a Friday afternoon before a home game. I found one and it was so outrageously priced that if we weren't already in Lansing, we might not have traveled in the first place because it was outside our budget, but we were there now, so what else could I do? Needless to say, I'm still waiting for the balance of the money owed to be refunded. I shouldn't have to pay for the cancelation fees if I'm not the one that canceled. He's had my payment since I made the reservation in May. Lesson learned, if the owner doesn't contact me the week before the rental, it's time to look for another one.