Hi poster: As someone who has rented from Jack Lingo for years (and whose father, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. rent from Lingo), I'm surprised by your assertion of misrepresentation. First off, Lingo's makes it very clear before you even contract to rent the property that you accept that if you have not yet toured the property in person, that you understand you are renting it "sight unseen." The agency cannot possibly guarantee that a property will meet your standards if even you don't know whether or not it will. Don't misunderstand: In your shoes I would have been very dissatisfied had I walked into a home that was in a state of disrepair or had not in my opinion been adequately or accurately described. But this is something I would not have let happen because prior to signing the rental agreement, I first either tour, or take the recommendation of someone I trust who has already toured/stayed at a property. The truth is, many of the home owners do not even live locally (the cottage I have been renting is owned by a family on the West coast); therefor it stands to reason that if problems/dissatisfications aren't addressed with Lingo, not only will Lingo's not know a problem exists, but neighter will the owner. Another thing to understand-- unless you are renting one of those newer and quite pricey "homes on steriods" that people are building lately in Rehoboth, you are likely renting a charming, yet smaller and older beach cottage with lots of personality. And that's another important point: Remember you are renting a cottage, a place to gather on the porch at the end of a long day at the beach, and a place to lay your head at night. It's not meant to be a palace. Personally speaking; besides the beach and boardwalk, those charming, slightly quirky and, idiosyncratic vintage cottages are what make Rehoboth Beach special. I hope the town will think about that, and enforce building codes that keep the charm and historic value of the area. I have stayed in a number of cottages in Rehoboth, and know the area quite well; so, if you'd like a recommendation about where to stay, please just reply to this post with your "must haves," and I will see if I can suggest something for you.

Thanks for your posting and I agree with you that part of the charm of Rehoboth Beach is the quaintness of the beach cottages. We have stayed in numerous beach cottages and have never had a problem. This property unfortunately was in such a run down condition it should never have been rented.

We will be going back to Rehoboth Beach next year and would appreciate your recommendations. We need at least 4 bedrooms and at least two full baths.

Here are a few recommendations for cottages in the Pines neighborhood. I don't recommend staying anywhere south of Pennsylvania Ave, or on the West side of Rehoboth at all. *The cottages I'm listing are all managed by Lingos, because that's who we've always used: #69 Oak, and also #s 35, and 7 Henlopen are lovely cottages with at least four bedrooms and lots of charm. They've been well-maintained and in some cases renovated, but haven't been so "redone" to have lost their uniqueness. I really like 69 Oak for it's huge porches - really more like outdoor living spaces, and because the mattresses seem to be replaced regularly. The kitchen is average-sized buy normal house standards, but huge by older cottage standards, and it has some special custom features, such as a swing on the back porch, and a hanging French door that closes off the kitchen from that area, as well as a spiral stair case going up to the upstairs porches and bedrooms, and to a widow's walk with a small roofdeck for sunning. There's also a hot tub offered as an option but you have to pay a little extra for it because they have to have someone come and set it up and maintain it.

My Grandfather built #40 Henlopen and it's still in the family (owned now by my cousin), however a family usually rents it for all but a few weeks of the season and I'm not sure when it's free. It's a really nice--and very definition of the word "cottage" type of place. Has great front and back yards too.

There are also several very nice homes in Henlopen Acres you should check out. Those are more like year-round homes and might have more of the amenities you're looking for.

Lastly, someone told me that Bethany Beach has rentals and that it's a good alternative to Rehoboth's crowds during the high season, My Aunt used to live down there but I only visited her a few times and didn't really get a feel for the area or the availability of cottage rentals, but a quick search online shows listings under Homeaway.com. Bethany Beach is only about 20 minutes from Rehoboth attractions. The cottages also seem to be very reasonably priced.

I hope this can be helpful to you.

Thanks for your advice and recommendations. Other than 4 bedrooms and at least two full baths, we are really not looking for any amenities. The problem with 27 Philadelphia is that it was not in condition to be rented even as a summer cottage with vintage charm.

Although the places you mention specifically sound appealing, the problem is that they are all listed with Lingo and right now we are so negative on Jack Lingo that we are looking at renting either through private owners or other brokers.

If you google "Jack Lingo complaints" you will find that there are many other renters who have had problems with Jack Lingo most complaining about the company's lack of any quality control.

Rehoboth Beach is a wonderful place to visit for a family vacation and we will definitely be back next year just not renting through Jack Lingo.

I think you'd find negative reviews about any one of the rental agencies operating there, but I do hope your experience next time is much better. While I have only good things to say about them, I hope Lingos will take seriously any negative reviews and do something to correct the problems. Best of luck to you.

Big Al,

Just curious, did you do a walk through with a representative from the realty company on the day you checked in? If not, did you bring your disatisfaction regarding the condition of the cottage at any time durng your stay and did they have a response?

Maybe I've just been lucky, but I have had only one problem over the years when renting a property and when I brought it to the attention the realtor during the walk through, the realtor went out of his way to get us another rental unit.

We did not do a walk through on the day of our arrival since it was not offered. We have rented properties in Rehoboth for many years and a walk through has never been offered by any agent or broker.

The very next day we brought our dissatisfaction to the attention of the Jack Lingo agency. No action was taken except to replace some burned out light bulbs and to unclog the bathroom sink. We were definitely not offered another unit.

When we checked out at the end of the week the agent said that she was "sorry". I think that she was sorry that we were so dissatisfied, not that they had rented us a property that was in such a run down decrepit condition that it was to be torn down in two weeks.

This was the first time we had ever had a problem in Rehoboth Beach and it will not keep us from vacationing there next year. We will just be renting through another agency.

I have had my problems with Lingo Realty in the past......while it would always be prudent to be able to walk through a property before renting, it seems to me that Lingo passes on the responsibility of making sure a property is suitable to the owners of the property. We once did a walk through in advance with a Lingo agent (he was the rental's listing agent of record) and he readily admitted he had never been there before. Lingo's also has a habit of siding with the owners when there is a dispute over the condition of a property after renting......we now only rent directly from owners we know and have had no problems.

Personally, I never rent a property without first doing a walk through. I've never dealt with an agency that hasn't insisted on one. Thanks for the info with regards to Lingo not offering such...I cerainly won't deal with them in the future.