We started our day at 4am. We texted Owner (Tom) so he could plan for our arrival. When we arrived at the condo, he told us he was just finishing up inside. We sat in our car and waited for 15-20 minutes. Tom opened the garage door and walked us through the condo, explaining the various house rules. The house is in good shape, although the upstairs carpet is worn and stained. (Parts of it were wet.) In the kitchen, where there is a desktop computer, Tom specifically stated that the computer should remain "open to the Google page." Later, we thought about the computer camera and put the sock that Tom designated for the dishwasher (he explains the dishwasher and sock in the walkthrough) over the camera. Tom lives in the condo when it's not being rented through VRBO, so there are many personal effects located throughout. The bathrooms are modern and the beds are comfortable. The kitchen is well-stocked for cooking, although we purchased and used our own food, drinks, etc. There is another rental unit situated below this condo. It is on the ground floor and has its own front door. We are not sure why, but Tom requested access to it through our condo. As for sounds from the other unit, we heard a baby crying a couple of times; otherwise, it was mostly quiet.
Over the course of our stay (five nights), we saw Tom on the property at least four times. Often he would sit on the bench situated right below the upstairs patio. This made using the patio difficult for us. One time our dog started barking when he saw Tom. We texted Tom and asked him if there was a problem with the property. He replied there was not. Another time we were walking our dog at the side of the condo and saw him walking with another person. We said hello, but he didn't acknowledge us. Later, I remarked on seeing him and he said he "was on the move." He doesn't seem completely comfortable with others staying in the condo, or at least not for the length of time we were there, which is probably why he texted frequently and was on the property so much. We have stayed at a lot of VRBOs in a similar price range and have never experienced this level of interaction from the owner. Typically, the owners have provided a list of rules and the keys and that's it. As with those properties, we respectfully followed the rules at Tom's place and "left it as we found it." We realized that personal downtime and privacy is very important to us, which is why we were not a good match for this property.