Summer Rental Goes South in South Haven

For 40 years my family has escaped to Southwest Michigan for 1 week of vacation. 40 years without missing one. At first the “family” was my wife and baby son. Now the family is an enterprise with sons- and daughters-in-law, several grandchildren. And a dog. Our space needs have grown and, given the vagaries of Michigan weather and babies, we need a pool. And a good kitchen because I ain’t dragging this crowd out to restaurants for meals every day.

Pricey!
So, yeah, the budget has grown. But, then, the 1-week vacation repeated annually for decades has become a cornerstone of our family. In fact, we talk about it all year. In spite of our many lifestyle differences, one thing we can agree on is getting together for a good time in Michigan. Even during the pandemic. It’s a great experience that you can’t put a price on. But, alas, we have to and we choose to.

Expectations Disappointed
Regrettably, we had issues with our rental at “Little Piece of Haven”, managed by Beachwalk Properties and we think our unfortunate experience may help others. It is not my purpose to merely whine but rather to help future renters understand the risks of this or other properties owned by one party and managed by a third party.

Having rented through Beachwalk Properties the previous year we had found them to be responsive to our issues. And there are always issues. And the property we found, Little Piece of Haven, could be and should have been marvelous. Unfortunately our reasonable expectations were not met.

The issue is that Beachwalk Properties is only the management company. A middleman, as it were. They are entirely dependent on the property owner to make repairs, give financial consideration for non-performance and even, in our case, to remove the pool cover. Yeah, the pool cover.

Little Piece of Haven is a beautiful and high quality property and priced accordingly. For serious money one has reasonable expectations that the property will perform, that things that are wrong will be made right and in the event of genuine non performance, a financial adjustment will be made as a last resort. Regrettably, none of this was true.

   The All-Important Swimming Pool

We were unable to access the pool for 20 hours after taking possession because the pool cover mechanism failed. Only after consultation with the property owner on our second day did the management company learn how to manually winch open the cover. Once open, it could not be closed all week, presenting an unanticipated safety hazard, filling with debris and unable to maintain its heated temperature. In sum, a huge and disappointing failure. The pool was the main reason for renting this property.

Great Expectations

Consequently, finding a great place is paramount. We commit to a location and date six to nine months ahead. Everyone arranges vacation time around this date. We arrive with great expectations and anticipation. We ask only one thing of the lodging we select and that is that it fulfills its promise. And it always has. Until last year when things didn’t go so good.

Inoperable stove hood fan. Set off smoke alarm
The stove hood fan was inoperable. Discovered in the middle of meal preparation, the unanticipated smoke set off the smoke alarms. Although reported, there was no repair or acknowledgement of the failure.

Garbage and Recyclables – Filled cans
Apparently we arrived on the “off” week for trash & recycling pickup. So we got to enjoy full containers, bag our trash and store in the garage. An extra container was provided mid way through our stay.

Creepy Video Surveillance
The video camera at the rear door was pointed directly at the hot tub. Security is one thing but this just creeped us out. Who’s watching?

Loose Dogs
Neighbor dogs ran around off-leash. Because, you know, freedom. Unfortunately, dog poop littered the front property.

Cleanliness and Maintenance – Not
Bring a screwdriver and hammer. Minor annoyances like torn shower curtains (pictured), drawers, bathroom door locks needed attention. It was like being home, except more expensive. And the carpets, ugh, needed attention. The carpeted steps were actually black. I mean the place had possibly been cleaned deeply perhaps at the beginning of the season. But by July it needed more serious attention than the 4 or 5 hour turnover between tenants permitted. And it showed it.

Temperature Control – Brrrrrr
This is a multi-level property. Regrettably there is poor zone control. Those in the top rooms can be comfortable while those at the lower levels have temperatures 8 to 10 degrees lower.

In sum, do better Beachwalk Properties. You’re known by the company you keep. Little Piece of Haven is doing you a disservice. And your inflexibility to demonstrate any consideration for this failure was unbusinesslike and very much caveat emptor.

A Day at the Beach

I have the good fortune to live in a community on the shores of Lake Michigan. To many not familiar with the Great Lakes, a lake is a large puddle in which to sink a line, test your sailing skills or skim the water on skis behind a fast boat. But Lake Michigan, like all five of the Great Lakes is really an inland sea of freshwater. In fact, the largest body of fresh water on the planet. And I live next to it.

Now, don’t get me wrong. My fortune is good enough to enjoy this lake proximity. But not good enough to stare out my window and listen to the waves. I live about 2 miles from the lake, a short bike ride if I were so inclined. But the lazy truth is I drive to the beach carting enough beach paraphernalia that would make a bike ride a shlep. And the prospect of pedaling home with the same crap wearing my wet bathing suit with sand chafing in my, well, you get the idea. So I drive to the beach.

Where I live, the lake sits below bluffs of 150 to 200 feet, part of the lake border moraines formed about 14,000 years ago. Although I could park in a lot at lake level, I choose to leave my car in the parking lot of the municipal park on the bluff and walk down the 88 magnificently crafted stone steps, part of an original design by famous landscape architect Jens Jensen. The bluff is alive and shifts a bit from season to season creating all manner of havoc with the stone step structure. Our park district (the parks & recreation department to those of you outside of Illinois) does a courageous job of maintaining the integrity of these steps. I feel it is my obligation to walk them in appreciation.

On the bluff, even on the hottest days of which today is one, there is usually a breeze which makes one forget about air conditioning. Looking seaward, or lake-ward, one can eye an occasional passing freighter, but more often than not it is just azure blue dotted by various flavors of pleasure craft. And down below come the sounds of people frolicking in the almost comfortable 70 degree water. The smell of grilled-something rises from the picknickers. It is heavenly.

I grab my gear and descend the historic steps embedded into the ancient bluff. Choosing my location – sun or no sun – I set up shop. I may listen to the Cub game often timing my sunbathing to the ½ innings – front, back, shade. Or I may study one section of the NY Times. The beach helps me keep perspective on the miserable fortunes of my baseball team or of the desperate state of our world presented by the NYT. Down here, the breeze is muted and in time I get sufficiently toasty. Then there is only one thing to do. Go for a swim.