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Old 01-11-2009, 12:43 PM
 
1 posts, read 16,550 times
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Hi, We currently reside in Scotland, after many visits to Florida we have decided to invest in a Villa/Townhouse in the davenport/Orlando area for short term rental. Does anyone out there have experience in this area, that could give some valuable advice?
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Old 01-13-2009, 12:54 AM
 
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ttt, also interested in this.
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Old 01-13-2009, 01:35 AM
 
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Hi
Just a note don't expect it to pay please do not take a loan and think the rental will cover the costs!!
If you have the money go for it. I have/had several properties in Florida (in the Orlando area) and noticed a sharp decline in rental return due to over supply. Saying that with so many failed rental homes ie off the rental market and on the foreclosure list rents may go up soon. It is very important to buy in the right area LLL is always the money maker. Within 10-15mins of WD MAX or on a really good golf course if its a bit further out.
Hope you buy and enjoy your home for what it is, please don't buy because you think it will make you rich...its a holiday home first with potential to cover some of the cost thru rental.
There are some real bargains out there too put in silly offer they work.
Regards Martin
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Old 01-13-2009, 04:26 AM
 
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LLL?

Thanks!
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Old 01-13-2009, 08:27 AM
 
Location: Orlando FL
1,065 posts, read 4,146,388 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UKmartin View Post
Hi
Just a note don't expect it to pay please do not take a loan and think the rental will cover the costs!!
If you have the money go for it. I have/had several properties in Florida (in the Orlando area) and noticed a sharp decline in rental return due to over supply. Saying that with so many failed rental homes ie off the rental market and on the foreclosure list rents may go up soon. It is very important to buy in the right area LLL is always the money maker. Within 10-15mins of WD MAX or on a really good golf course if its a bit further out.
Hope you buy and enjoy your home for what it is, please don't buy because you think it will make you rich...its a holiday home first with potential to cover some of the cost thru rental.
There are some real bargains out there too put in silly offer they work.
Regards Martin
Extremely good advice here. Vacation Home first, investment second. vacancy rates in most neighborhoods's have dropped off a cliff. There are lots of foreclosures and lots of neighborhoods that they are a blight on. Some great deals can be found in a market like this, but know that it can take years before the market in the area rebounds.
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Old 01-14-2009, 12:48 PM
 
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Hi BrantM,

Sorry LLL = Location, Location, Location.
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Old 01-18-2009, 06:43 AM
 
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Great advice already. I own short term rental home on Orange Tree, we do ok as we've worked our socks off to make it work, but, it still doesn't make us money. Again, I work in this area, mainly looking after vacation homes, (landscaper) and each community is different. Some are really nice, some are crummy.

The best advice anyone can give you is - research thoroughly. Don't trust what a realtor tell you - find out from yourself. Asking questions on forums like this gives you a great overview.
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Old 01-19-2009, 11:11 AM
 
Location: Championsgate, Fl
986 posts, read 3,550,158 times
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Hi there, i sent you a direct message with some info

Nick

Quote:
Originally Posted by Lorna J View Post
Hi, We currently reside in Scotland, after many visits to Florida we have decided to invest in a Villa/Townhouse in the davenport/Orlando area for short term rental. Does anyone out there have experience in this area, that could give some valuable advice?
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Old 02-13-2009, 09:55 AM
 
Location: Winter Garden
6 posts, read 28,444 times
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Talking Tons of Info about Orlando Holiday Villas

I couldn't resist answering this questions because this is my area of expertise.

Holiday villas in Orlando are basically divided up into a niche area. Davenport, Kissimmee and Clermont. Those are the only cities zoned to allow you to rent out your villa, condo or townhouse should you decide to do that. Most vacation home buyers do decide to rent their home out because it offsets their expense of owning it that is why it's important you buy in an area that is legally zoned for this otherwise you are limited to a minimum of a seven month rental and those are hard to find.

I could literally spend hours talking about the logistics of buying a vacation home here in the states but to save us both time I'm copying and pasting a questions and answer e-mail that I answered for a foreign national client of mine. This should help you with your questions:

1. What kind of a home insurance premium can I expect to pay and is hurricane coverage typically incl. in Central FL home insurance policies?

In your price range you can expect to find an annual policy for around $800-$1000. It could be more but generally that's the average. That usually comes with up to 300K in liability coverage for short term rentals however some management companies will make you get an additional $1MM policy which usually runs around $200-$300 per year. If you're not using a management company than you aren't required to get this. I recommend speaking in more detail about this with a man named Alan Pearce from 4 Corners Insurance. He specializes in STR insurance policies in the STR areas. He could better answer your question regarding hurricane coverage: {information removed due to message forum policy}


2. Are all the communities that qualify for Short Term Rental (STR) gated communities?

That's definitely a No. Many of the communities are not. Some of the nicer ones like The Hamlet and others back in that area are but most are not. Alot of the townhouse communities are. Do you have a preference for a gated community? If so, I will make a note of that. The gates are usually always broken anyway though. They work Mon-Wed-Fri and sometimes every other weekend. . . that's a joke but there is some truth to that.

3. I have found the following website the other day and I was wondering if I could get your feedback? - www.reunionhome.com - By the way, I do not know the owner.

I like the fact that this owner created his own site for the property. It's a great way to market it. He bought a domain name and everything. I see he's utilizing Home Away's calendar system which is a huge resource. I also recommend utilizing Rentalo and Viscape. They are great owner booking sites as well. Reunion is another community that I absolutely love, it's gorgeous however the maintinence fees will drill a hole in your pocket and they charge your guests an extra $10 per day to use the facilities so you have to factor that into your booking rates.




- B[SIZE=4]y using the word "ugly" I suppose you are referring to fierce competition?[/SIZE] I use the word "UGLY" in reference to the management industry I mean it's so full of scamming, hype and over promising and under delivering. . . I've never seen so many unhappy people in my life than when I worked in the STR management field.


[SIZE=4]- do STR properties typically come fully furnished?[/SIZE]

Many do but there are quite a few that don't come furnished. It's not really that expensive to furnish one if you know where to shop (IKEA) but in your case, being in Canada it's much easier for you to buy one furnished.


[SIZE=4]- what about foreclosure homes/short sale homes?[/SIZE]

Definitely an option however, these homes can get pretty funky after sitting for so long. Generally they are not furnished and defitely not in move in condition. Some short sales that are in move in condition could be ideal however please make sure you have at least 3-4 set aside JUST for negotiating. This is how long it takes sometimes to go back and fourth with the bank. At closing it is also possible you could end up paying any liens associated with the property that the bank does not want to pay.


[SIZE=4]- totally agree with you on the pool being a MUST![/SIZE]

I'm glad to hear that. . . it's a shame how many people buy a vacation home without a pool and then get stuck not being able to book it out. This is Florida, we swim 11 out of 12 months of the year and that's why tourist come here.



[SIZE=4]- $300k would be the budget for a Windermere home[/SIZE]

Is Windermere still in the running? If so that's a reasonable budget for Windermere as it tends to be more expensive. Just a tidbit of info. . . Tiger Woods lives in Windermere (until his Jupiter home is finished) along with many other pro golfers, Shaquille O'neil and other famous athletes also. It's a prestigious address with some of the best public schools in Orange County so getting in for these prices is the deal of the year.


[SIZE=4]- $250k for STR[/SIZE]
Definitely realistic and we shouldn't have any issues finding you a nice place.


- I wonder why LTR are so popular, is it because of the credit crunch, banks cannot approve mortgages like before?


That is one reason and the other being that so many people had to foreclosed on their homes because of their balloon mortgages, they had to file bankruptcy, close their business down, getting laid off, forced to downsize etc etc. They don't have the money for a down payment, have to start over, and have no other choice to rent. Usually it's good people and families who just have been affected in the worst way by the economy. Especially the case in Windermere and the outskirts.


[SIZE=4]- the time frame depends on the market and economy in general as I expect house prices to continue to fall - some time in 2009[/SIZE]

Yes they are still dropping. Inventory is starting to go down which is a sign more people are starting to buy in reaction to the low prices however we still have more than enough inventory for the next two years. I don't think prices will be going up anytime within the next four years. They have been starting to level off in some areas but fortunately for you Davenport and Kissimmee are not those areas.


[SIZE=4]- financing - mortgage![/SIZE]
Sounds good. Depending on how much you plan on puting down you might run into a PMI situation and that's around an extra $80 per month. If you put down 20% you can avoid that. Also their is an RBC bank right here in Champions Gate and I know many Canadian buyers have had luck getting loans through them.



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Old 02-13-2009, 04:16 PM
 
Location: Windermere (Orlando) FL
5 posts, read 24,737 times
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I live just north of Disney World and invest in the local area. Short term rentals do have an oversupply and will for many years. So my recommendations are
1. Buy a vacation home for your own use as if you could never rent it
2. If it does rent, consider it a bonus.
3. If you can, get a group of friends together to buy a home outright and just share it. It will cost you less. There are regular homes and condos near Disney selling very cheap.
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