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[Q=eileenh177] He will accept PayPal (and we're about 60 days out). Does that give any layer of protection?[/Q] For him, yes. For you, no. A payment received via PayPal can be immediately moved into a bank account by the recipient. From that moment forward, the difficulty of future retrieval of funds (or any portion thereof) is exponentially more difficult and much less likely. Tread carefully. Please share what this owner has to say about declining to offer or participate in a formal rental contract --- that should be a very interesting story indeed. That said, in all fairness, at 60 days out it is not at all unreasonable for an owner to adopt and enforce a "no refunds upon cancellation" posture. After all, the odds of advertising and finding another renter within that ever-decreasing time frame are not really on his side. Last minute air fares to some locations can be absurdly expensive too and most working people like to (and / or must) plan their vacation time and travel further in advance that.