Carolina Designs Realty
reviews and complaints

Carolina Designs Realty, Inc. was supposed to give refunds for rentals affected by Covid19, according to the owner. However, they have not followed through on this promise. We had rented a 12-bedroom house for a large group in late June. Unfortunately, some people in our group were unable to travel due to being out of the country or living in states still under a stay-at-home order. When we asked for a refund, they initially said they would provide one. But then they started talking about trying to re-rent the property, which took weeks to do. This delay made it difficult for them to find new renters. The owner of Carolina Designs Realty, Inc. has been dishonest in the media about refunding customers and they are not prioritizing the safety of their potential clients.

We can't cancel our May 23rd vacation rental home cuz the visitor ban is lifted as of May 16th. We don't feel it's safe to travel. I got a vacation rental in Nags Head that starts on May 23. We booked it for a wedding that got postponed till October. We were gonna spend a week at the rental property, with our 2 grown children and their families. We're a party of 12, from 3 different households and 2 different states. Right now, the family from Colorado can't travel cuz of work restrictions. The other 2 families are following Maryland's stay at home order and not seeing each other since I'm an essential worker and I don't wanna risk my grandchildren's health. As you know, under Executive Order 138 for the state of North Carolina there's a phased Stay at Home order that prevents us from using the rental property. Also, this Executive Order says no non-essential travel, no gatherings of 10 or more people, and more travel restrictions. So, we can't travel to the property and even if we could, as a group of more than 10, we can't stay there. I know NC lifted the travel ban on outer banks, and we should have access to the property, but they won't cancel or change our rental agreement. We'd be breaking your state's rule of no gathering larger than 10 (since we're not a family living together, the household rule doesn't apply) and the *** website says the property should be available for the renter's use and enjoyment. But there won't be any enjoyment if only one of the 3 families can use it, and part of our family vacation was to do fun things with the grandchildren and eat out. It's not a vacation for me if I gotta bring my own groceries and cook cuz restaurants are only doing carry out. And even if the grandchildren were there, there's nothing to do with them. The rental is for a property called *** rented thru Carolina Designs Realty. We tried working with them and the *** to get a refund, but no luck. I really think I should be able to cancel for a refund given the circumstances. Also, as an essential worker, I go to work and come home, cuz I don't wanna risk spreading COVID if I've been exposed. I'm not comfortable going on vacation and possibly bringing COVID to your state. I hope you can help. Thanks for your time.

We wanna go to Kitty Hawk next year, just a week later than our Covid canceled 2020 rental dates at ***. We already paid our *** deposit to Carolina Designs Realty. Covid 19 showed us how people and companies act, and if they care or not. We booked a rental house in Kitty Hawk with Carolina Designs Realty before Covid happened. We paid all the deposits on time. We called on April 7th to cancel and get a refund. We talked to *** and she said to call back when the next deposit was due. We did that and on April 22nd, *** told us to wait on our final payment, which was due on April 23rd. We called again on May 5th and talked to ***. We asked for a refund, but she said no. She said she would talk to the owner about transferring our deposits to the same house for May . On May 11th, *** emailed us and asked if we would be willing to move our date to next year. We said yes, just a week later. *** didn't reply until May 11th and said she would talk to management. It took another 2 days for a response. Then, on May 18th, they told us that the owner wouldn't refund us or let us use our deposits for May . They just copied and pasted their cancellation policy. We feel like they strung us along. We were coming from places with a lot of Covid cases like Florida, New York, and Colorado. It was impossible to find supplies, especially things like toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning products. I called the grocery stores in Kitty Hawk and they laughed when I asked about those things. They said there were shortages on the island. But the scariest part was that some of our family members are in their 60s and my mother-in-law is 79 and has health problems. It would have been really dangerous for us to travel to Kitty Hawk, especially since North Carolina had a big spike in Covid cases on May 23rd, the day we were supposed to arrive. A good rental company should be able to help both the renter and the owner and be flexible. We still want to go to Kitty Hawk next year and stay at ***. I thought it would make sense to transfer our deposits to a rental in May . Carolina Designs is blaming the owner, but they are our business partner in this. They should show some compassion and let us use our *** deposits for the week of May 29th, which is available according to my research.