starting out

[cartmell]

I have sent for information regarding buying a villa in orlando from several companies, but I would like some information from people who have recently bourght property in florida. I am looking for a 3/2 $150000 approx. villa to rent out. Is the rental market good at the moment(Can you really expect to rent it out for 36 weeks)? what areas should i look? is there anything i should avoid? Are re-sale homes worth looking at? Any other general information either positve or negative would be greatfull.

[Lizzie]

Lee, I have been renting my villa since Feb this year. There are not so many 3 beds as 4 beds but there is tremendous competion. 32 weeks a year is realistic but you will have to be prepared to spend a hell of a lot of time and effort trying to rent it. There are lots of experienced owners and this forum is a great help. I think it will be hard to find something that little bit special for $150,000 new, but gen.opinion is that resale homes are definately worth looking at, (no building work nearby) and maybe resale home will have forward rentals in place - I think the key term is "location, location, location"!

[michellemaxted]

Dear Lee

We purchased our villa in August this year - it was a resale. We spent many months researching the market and had loads of companies sending us literature. We went out in June and had in mind buying new. We stayed in a friend's villa in Hamilton Reserve and fell in love with it. But it was 10 years old. We drove round the area and found loads of for sale signs and phoned up many Real Estate Agents. They work differently over there, a Real Estate Agent has access to all the properties for sale, making it much easier to view properties. I could recommend the one we used if you would like.

We spent two weeks viewing many properties, new and old and realised that we would save money buying a resale and they often include the furniture. We have bought on Eagle Pointe which is a new community approx 3 years old and so far since October this year we have taken 3 bookings so not bad in one month. But it is hard work I seem to be stuck on the screen an awful lot of the time but it is rewarding....We haven't a web site up and running yet but hope to new year.

We have a management company looking after the property. The running costs are fairly high so if you are thinking of having a mortgage on the property bear in mind it can prove quite costly and there are many many rental properties in Kissimmee, far more than we realised and everyone looking to rent wants a cheap deal with lots of facilities .........There are also lots of new developments springing up all the time, in fact two new developments are going up near our property so next time we go out there I am sure they will be finished which means even more competition......

I personally would not recommend purchasing a property to rent out if you are going to have a large mortgage......

Hope this is of help to you.

[fiona]

I would seriously look a re-sale. Get yourself a good realtor you like and trust and they will find you different estate to choose from. Go with what you like, but always remember the prime mover in choosing a house is location, location, location. So do consider the lake view, the conservation view, the extra bit of land etc. Is it important to you to be near Disney? That was a criteria to us which is why we chose where we are, Rolling Hills, and it gives us an edge with those that are looking for that. Big selling point will be no building going on.

36 weeks is achievable, but it will probably take you a few years to build that up. 20/25 may be more realistic in the first year til you get the hang of things. Can you afford that?

If you can, get a website asap and get marketing - it will take your life over and become a second job! Because if you don't have the time to put in to learn how to do it you won't reap the rewards.

However, at the end of the day, you will have a lovely holiday home, with guests making a contribution to the running costs.

A point to note is that property does not appreciate in the US the way it does in the UK. If you're looking for a financial return on your money you'd be better of buying to let in the UK.

Hope this helps, it's better to be forewarned rather than going in blind as so many others have done.

[chris]

I bought my resale in December last year for $143000. It is a 4 bed on Indian Ridge Oaks, 3 years old, which is 8 minutes drive from Animal Kingdom in the peak driving times via the back route. I've managed to sell 37 weeks this year but it's been hard work, takes up about 3 hours a day on the computer, writing letters, sorting out the financial side etc.(Though I do admit this forum takes up quite a bit of that time- you end up getting addicted!). We've just broken even covering the mortgage as well as expenses and spending about $5000 on new furniture, extras like PS2, TV etc and a fence. There are quite a few properties for sale on my small sub-division and I can also let you have details of my buyers agent (realtor) if you want it.
At the moment the exchange rate is just right for buying if you get a sterling mortgage.
Chris

[cartmell]

thanks for reply. Can you let me have the details of your realtor.Thanks

quote:Originally posted by chris

I bought my resale in December last year for $143000. It is a 4 bed on Indian Ridge Oaks, 3 years old, which is 8 minutes drive from Animal Kingdom in the peak driving times via the back route. I've managed to sell 37 weeks this year but it's been hard work, takes up about 3 hours a day on the computer, writing letters, sorting out the financial side etc.(Though I do admit this forum takes up quite a bit of that time- you end up getting addicted!). We've just broken even covering the mortgage as well as expenses and spending about $5000 on new furniture, extras like PS2, TV etc and a fence. There are quite a few properties for sale on my small sub-division and I can also let you have details of my buyers agent (realtor) if you want it.
At the moment the exchange rate is just right for buying if you get a sterling mortgage.
Chris