My only experience with renting a house was for a few months in Maryland using AirBnB. That worked out although the lady wanted to do it off of airbnb to save on fees.

Now that I'm older I would definitely prefer having some kind of rental with a kitchen so I don't have to eat out so much. I've always been worried about getting scammed so I've yet to do it. We have a tentative trip starting in Munich later this year and I'd like to stay in a non-hotel for a few days midtrip to relax and rest without being in a hotel. Not sure if I will do that.

I once got scammed for about $2,500 when I was a young homeowner and had water damage the insurance company would cover but they wanted an estimate. So I just called someone who left a flyer on my door because it was just an estimate and not a company I was going to use. Unfortunately the insurance company made the check out to me and to that company. I didn't go with my instinct to call them back and ask to either give me a check directly to me or to a more established company.

The guy took the money and ran. I actually pursued it with an attorney who was doing something else for me and gave me a bargain rate. To make a long story shorter, I did get back all of my money except for some legal fees. The other people (he actually left his business license to expire which made him and his wife personally liable) never once showed up in court so it was easy for the judge to rule for me.

I used to live in a nice area of Scottsdale and during major events probably could have paid my yearly mortgage with a few weeks of renting the house out but I was afraid of the potential damage to the house and possessions in it.

Good luck.