PETS

Pets...that's a difficult issue for those of us who own rental property. Susan and I are proud owners of one Bouvier and an unspecified number of Border Collies, and we teach our dogs how to live with us in our houses. But not all dogs are as well trained as ours are, and those dogs can do tremendous damage to a house, especially to a strange house. At this point, we don't have a firm policy about allowing or disallowing dogs. We will take each situation individually, and will favor crate-trained dogs. We will also ask for a larger security deposit for clients with dogs, and will expect further financial accommodation if a major dog disaster were to occur.

Cats, on the other hand...sorry, but no.

SMOKERS

Same thing for smokers, which we used to be. There is no smoking in the house, and if the person who cleans the house sees or smells clear evidence of it, we will not refund all of your security deposit.

PROTOCOL

On Cape Cod, the usual rental bloc is from Saturday afternoon at three o'clock p.m. until the following Saturday at ten o'clock in the morning. We will stick to that schedule generally, but will try to accommodate specific needs.

We will expect half of the rental fee on signing the lease, and the balance of the fee plus security deposit on taking occupancy.

For multi-week rentals, our rental rates have been reduced, partly to reflect decreased house cleaning expenses, but also to give positive reinforcement to those of you who stay longer and don't need as much of our time and effort. If you decide to stay two or more weeks at a time and would like house cleaning during that time, we will provide you with the name and number of a wonderful neighbor you can call. She'll tell you what her charges are.

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SECURITY DEPOSITS

• Without dog: $500
• With dog: $1000

RENTAL FEES

We highly recommend the off-season as a time to get acquainted with the house and village. It is also our preferred time to be there...the ocean's more active and there's less of a human presence. It's a great place to sit beside the wood-burning stove and read or write a book, and it's a great place to bundle up and go out a late night stroll alongside pounding surf.

Memorial Day to Labor Day

• one week: $1700
• two weeks: $3200
• three weeks: $4500
• four weeks: $5600
• additional consecutive weeks: $1300 per week

Four weeks prior to Memorial Day and six weeks following Labor Day

• one week: $1300
• two weeks: $2400
• three weeks: $3300
• four weeks: $4000
• additional consecutive weeks: $900 per week

Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year Holidays

• per day: $300 (minimum of four consecutive days)
• per week: $1600

Rest of the time

• one week: $900
• two weeks: $1600
• three weeks: $2100
• four weeks: $2400
• additional consecutive weeks: $550 per week