Help all villa owners!!

[donny]

Can anyone tell me why there is such a price difference on rental villas? Yes i know 'you only get what you pay for'. All villa description sound the same though, 5 - 10 mins from Disney, photo's look great, some even give free pool heat (which i'm sure we won't need in aug!!![msnwink]). I have been doing a search on many villa forums for a 3 bed villa. The price difference is amazing! I have had quotes from £600 - £1400 for a 2 week booking[:O].The only thing I can figure out is the 'area', the ones in the Formosa area are more expensive and the ones with a wonderful lake view. Is this the reason? Are villas down the US27 just to far away?. Thanks for any advice.

[ncmurray]

Hi Donny,

That is a vast difference in prices! However, I would think that £600 for two weeks is ridiculously low!! If you think about it, how could an owner possibly run a villa with such a low income. With such a low rental price, something has got to give, and it is usually the quality of the villa, and it's maintenance. Basically, you get what you pay for. I assume the £1400 price for two weeks is for a lakeview in Formosa? Again, if this is what you are looking for, you will pay a premium. However, if this is what you are looking for... then go for it.

I think you need to trust your own instincts when you choose a villa. You are obviously concerned about the difference between £600 and £1400, and I think that you probably suspect that £600 for two weeks is just too low. It truly is!! You need to decide what you want in your holiday villa, choose a maximum (and minimum!!) price that you are prepared to pay, and go from there. If you decide on one particular villa, get in touch with the owner, get to know them, and trust your instincts. Most owners, especially on here, are very proud of their homes in Florida, and will be only too willing to answer any questions you may have.

You ask if villas on US27 are too far away. I assume you mean from Disney? If so, then I would say not. We are on the 27, south of the I4, and we can easily drive to Disney in 15 to 20 minutes. Overall, I would say that the 192 is more commercial, and the 27 is more residential. The 192 is closer to Disney, but the 27 has less traffic, so drive times can be comparable. Where you choose is a personal choice, and again I would say to trust your instincts.

Have a great time planning your holiday[msnsmile]

Nuala

[christhear]

I would not say villas down the 27 are too far away. We are on the 27 and although the distance to the parks is further, you can reach disney form our villa only going through one set of lights. Which saves a lot of time.
Prices vary as this depends on the upkeep of the villa. When you take into account what it costs to run a villa if you are being charged £600 for 2 weeks, I can not see the owner covering their outgoings.
Also some villa owners (generally not on this site) do not play by the rules. We have to pay taxes and have our villas licensed. If you think the price is way to cheap ask for a copy of their current licenses (there are 2 required ).

[Susan J]

Imagine you were booking a package deal
These homes have to be run with a business mind, as anything else -so you have to imagine what you would get in a cheap package deal as against an expensive one.........the more expensive one will be nearer the beach/town centre/ be more luxurious -and at the other end of the spectrum.........well.....you know!
If a home owner has bought on the edge of Disney property, close to restaurants etc on the 192 they will have paid a premium for that location- that is why, Sunset Lakes, Formosa etc are expensive homes- and if they have a lake view- yep even more, and south facing- well you get my drift.
If someone is flogging a home for £300 a week I would wonder how on earth they could manage. THe outgoings would cost considerably more in any home- the Insurance, licenses, rates etc and management company fees -so, to let it go so cheaply they cannot be running a successful rental home! What happens when furniture becomes worn -again you get my drift.
Now- what is important to you in a home? Some people like the convenience of being minutes from Disney, some people do not mind being 30 minutes away. Some people want a lake view/not to be overlooked/ large pool/ southfacing/ near golf course/spacious/ on site facilities etc you need to see if a home catches your eye, with the items more important to you. If driving doesn't bother you, you will pay less for a home further away from Disney with less facilites. Most important is that you have a great holiday and most villa owners can help you on the way with that!

[Albert the Frog]

I'm not an owner so no axe to grind but I would avoid the 600 one as being too cheap I would expect to pay 1200/1300 for a fortnight in a 4 bed.
I agree about the 27 though it moves easier than the 192 so in a bizarre way you get everywhere easier.

[grayster]

Don't expect to pay less than a grand for a fortnight in August - and £1,500 will buy you quality. You might be lucky and someone could be just underpricing their home - but more likely is they're desperate for bookings. And whatever their reason for the despearation, it is not a good sign for a guest. I totally agree with Nuala's comments on 27/192. Most important is to get a nice villa.

Look for recommendations and reviews. Speak to the owners about their homes - that will differentiate.

[Snapper]

Hi Donny,

There are so many things that go in to making a villa what it is. You've hit on two of them. Having a lake view, or a golf view, or a conservation view; and also the area. Formosa is a fantastic area and so the villas there run at higher prices. There are dozens of other things that will impact the price too. The size of the villa, the amount of space it has around it, the size of the pool, whether it has a spa or not, which direction the pool faces, the quality of the furnishings, whether it has a PC, and wi-fi internet, the type of cable TV package it has, number of TVs, even the schedule for maintenenace, upkeep and cleaning will affect the price. For example - if you want a villa spring cleaned (top to bottom deep clean) two or three times a year, that thousand dollars has to come from somewhere ... the flip side being it's relfected in the experience you get when you walk in through the villa's front door and you should know immediately where that extra money went.

Think of it like the difference between walking in to a bedroom in a Hilton and walking in to a bedroom in a budget motel. They both have a bed, a table, a TV, and a bathroom, but despite the similarities they are world's apart in terms of what you experience.

[FraserLynn]

Oh dear, I wished I hadn't read this, but now i have, I feel compelled to post[msnembarrased]

The only judgement I would use on price is what can you afford.

To expand snappers analogy, in every Hilton hotel on every night the will be a massive range of prices that the people have paid for the same room. In fact I can almost guarantee that some people would have paid a budget motel price for the room (from which the hotel will have made very little profit) and some people will have paid a premium price from which the hotel makes a fat profit. So here, price is no guarantee of quality, just how good a deal you have got.

Same thing for me with Villas. In Orlando we have rented a total of 10 villas over the years and the 2 best ones we have had were the most expensive one (we paid a premium for the facilities of the reunion resort) and the cheapest one. I can find no correlation between price and quality whatsoever in my personal experience.

I do, however, echo the points that are raised about talking to the owner, get a feel for them, are they someone you trust, do they seem to care about their villa, are they easy to get hold of and respond to your questions. The quality of service you get in the booking process seems to me to be much more indicative to the quality of the end product. The only time we had any minor issues was the first villa we booked and the owner was pretty illusive during the whole process. A lesson learnt.

[Robert5988]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:These homes have to be run with a business mind, as anything else [/quote] Why?

This discussion has been aired time and again.

Some people have villa's that they don't see as a business, but their home in the sun and as such they are prepared to pay the 'standing charges'. They take the view that £600 for 2 weeks gives them a modest profit over the additional expenses, to defray overall costs.

The business model also differs for someone who bought some years ago for $120k and someone a couple of years ago for $400k.

No point in stating that £300 a week doesn't cover costs all costs as that is a given! With the depreciation villas have suffered recently an extra £1,000 a week wouldn't cover 'real' costs!!

I know people who let their expensive properties to 'snowbirds' for 3 or 6 months for a low rental on just that principle.

Fraser above has given the OP the correct advice in his last two paragraphs.

[Father]

Interesting question.

I agree that you have to go with your instincts. £600 seems ridiculously low for a fortnight in August but there are lots of fantastic villas in Orlando and some of them are really competitively priced. Although you won't need pool heating, there are some villas where you have to pay for this anyway so you need to choose one that gives you everything you need. You will be best placed to know what your party's needs are.

Some interesting discussion here around which villa features carry a premium. From a renter's perspective, I have a very different idea of this from that held by many owners. For example, those big spa-type baths you see outside some villas? Definitely not for us. We had one of these for a three-week stay and, hand on heart, we did not even climb into it. In fact, it got in the way as it cramped us a bit when we were relaxing out by the pool. Maybe that's a separate topic.

In reality, villa owners have varying financial circumstances and varying reasons for buying their respective villas. As there is no minimum pricing legislation, they are free to charge whatever they see fit and do so. This is, at least in part, one of the reasons why there is such a range of prices for what is often substantively the same product (although I do take the point that no two villas are exactly the same).

As for the H27 communities? I would definitely look at these. Some fantastic villas there.

[Katys Grandad]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Father


From a renter's perspective, I have a very different idea of this from that held by many owners.
[/quote]

An important point all too often overlooked by those with property to rent out. Why do a lot of owners seem to believe that only they can make a judgement on what is or isn't good value?

Nobody on here has the faintest idea about the property referred to by the OP but some are perfectly happy to pass judgement on almost every aspect of it and its owner based upon pure conjecture and, perhaps, a degree of self interest?

[floridadreamvilla.co.uk]

As we now effectively have two threads discussing the same thing, I'm locking this one. Please feel free to carry on the discussion at the other thread: http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/topic_53726_2.asp