Where can I find good deals on vacation home rentals in lake tahoe area?

You may want to start with Vacation Rental By Owner website - vrbo.com. If that is not giving you the options you want - try going to a site like realtor.com and searching for rentals. While you may not find a short term rental - you will probably identify a few realtor who deal in rentals in the Tahoe area and then you can call them direct to see what they might have available. If they can't help you they likely can refer you to someone who can.