posted 10-09-2011 09:34 PM ET (US)            

Only a licensed home may rent for less than 28 days in Monroe County.Incorporated areas have different rules.Check first.

You do not want your holiday spoiled by a fine and eviction with loss of your deposit and security.

The local Chamber of Commerce knows who is legal or not.

posted 10-09-2011 10:35 PM ET (US)            

http://www.coconutpalminn.com/

posted 10-09-2011 11:34 PM ET (US)            

You are required to pay sales tax if you rent for less than seven months anywhere in Florida. No big deal, just make sure it is in your short term lease,

posted 10-15-2011 08:54 AM ET (US)            

His name is John D. Williams but his victims knew him as David Osborne, Gary Sharon Delich or Doug Collins.

Over the past several months, Williams allegedly overbooked properties for a legitimate property manager for whom he worked, took deposits and pocketed the money. He also set up a fraudulent company and websites that advertised "beachfront elegance with sunset view property," suckering unwary visitors into a scheme to take their deposits without providing the promised lodging.

Those who tried to do business with him literally "got the business."

It all caught up to Williams this week as the result of detective work by Special Investigator Robert Dosh and Detective Sgt. David Carey.

Williams, 52, a local real estate agent who used the Internet, aliases and multiple business names, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with grand theft, computer fraud, swindling through communications and obtaining property by impersonating, all felonies.

Three are third-degree felonies punishable by up to five years in prison. The computer crime is a second-degree felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

He is also charged with deceptive advertising, a misdemeanor, and is being held in the Monroe County jail without bond.

On July 1, a Lantana resident met with Williams, who reportedly had represented himself as Osborne. He was supposedly representing Resort Property Management. The victim was shown a property near Mile Marker 96 and told it was available to rent. He gave Williams -- posing as Osborne -- a check for $2,681 and later sent him another check for $1,270. The second check was sent to David Osborne at a UPS box in a shopping center at Mile Marker 99.

The Lantana man, wishing to inspect the property, arranged a meeting with Williams and met him at the property on July 2. Williams introduced himself as David Osborne and brought the victim into the house, where a cleaning crew was present. The victim signed a contract for the rental then and there.

The day before, July 1, the owner of the home, Kimberly Defoe, told Williams not to rent her property, and that she would no longer be using his services. She became suspicious of Williams after several customers complained that they had asked for deposits back when they discovered the property they rented was already rented when they arrived.

Williams continued to use Defoe's company in his ruse. In late August, a nurse at Miami Children's Hospital booked a private canal home at Mile Marker 101 for the Labor Day weekend from Gary Sharon Delich. She found the property advertised online but was unaware that Delich -- really Williams -- had copied a legitimate website and created a bogus one.

The nurse offered her Bank of America credit card number and drove down early to check out the place. The homeowners had just arrived for the weekend, and the nurse realized she had been scammed and called the Sheriff's Office. Even though the nurse eventually had her money refunded and found another Key Largo house to stay in for the weekend, the scammer got away with $800.

But not for long.

After Williams was arrested, the Sheriff's Office, with help from the Secret Service, confiscated four of Williams' computers that will be forensically checked, according to sheriff's Capt. Donald Fanelli.

"We will check the hard drive, records, modus and air cards to search for more evidence," he said. "We estimate that he has scammed at least $70,000, and the amount could be significantly higher.

"This guy potentially could have given the Keys a bad name, and we hope this doesn't discourage people from coming here," Fanelli said. "The sheriff is working with the county [Tourist Development Council], the chamber of commerce and the lodging association to ensure that accurate information is shared in reference to rental property scamming."