NEW YORK -- Is it too late to get a summer rental at the beach, or can you find a last-minute deal at a better price?

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Hamptons Summer Rentals

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It appears location is everything. Not only how close to the beach, but which beach, and which town.

If your idea of summering in East Hampton is staying at a quaint bed and breakfast, Michael Kaufman and his family have been running one for years.

"The standard reservation or the most common I should say is Friday, Saturday and Sunday in July and August," said Kaufman, owner of Accommodations Plus.

For a three-night minimum stay in top season, you can expect to pay a couple of hundred dollars a night, but if that's too steep for you, Kaufman has some suggestions.

"There are locations throughout the Hamptons that are more reasonably priced," said Kaufman. "They might be motels or points west. Once people cross the Shinnocock Canal and enter Southampton and Bridgehampton the accommodations are a little higher."

Most of the regulars book early, said Kaufman. But you may find a mid-week availability in the summer and you can give yourself a break before or after the season.

"Our rates are a third lower in, what we call, the off-season months, May and June and September and October," said Kaufman.

But what if your bed and breakfast days have evolved into a need for family accommodations? Kaufman showed us a house with a water view that sleeps six.

"It offers three bedrooms and two baths," said Kaufman. "It features central air through out and a magnificent view of three mile harbor."

If you wish to eat in, there's a modern kitchen completely stocked down to the china and glassware.

And when you don't want the beach, the property has it's own backyard pool and outdoor grill. Rentals are generally a two-week minimum.

"A half a month at Island View, could be anywhere from $6,000 to, at the highest level at the last half of August, $14,000," said Kaufman.

Sometimes there are isolated weeks not rented and if your timing is just right and you're willing to look, you may be able to snap up a week in the Hamptons without having to commit for two.