Hi aim new to the site.

[bennyball75]

hi all, we have just returned from another florida holiday. we would love to buy a place out there so we could call it our own. as we have 3 kids no holiday is cheap and villas seem to work out good for us as the kids are aged 15,12 and 6. They all have there own space and can do what they want. i was just wanting to pick homeowners brains to running costs out there and any recommendations to places to look or AVIOD. any advice would be welcome wether its positive or negative.

hope to hear from some of you that already home own!!

thanks richard

[MICKEYSDEN]

Hi Richard

Welcome to this great site and good luck with your new venture into the world of villa owning.

The one thing I will say to say goodbye to holidays as you know them when you own your own villa, depending on whether you are going to rent out your villa to help with the costs, or just keep it for your family.

Costs will vary, but our 5 bed villa costs about $3500 to run per month.

Good luck and listen to all the great advise you will receive on this site.

[DisneyFunVilla]

Welcome and enjoy!

I think the most important thing is property location. A lot of things can be changed, but not where the property sits. Find a place you really like in a location you really like. Do be aware that taxes and laws vary by County.

[Val]

Hi Richard, Welcome to the site and I am confident you will find all the information useful especially about buying your own home in Florida
We have had our villa now for the last 14 years and have loved every minute of it but we are now coming to the age where it is time to say goodbye and thinking of selling this year, so if you have interest in a 3 bed in a great location overlooking a lake/conservation area in a very quiet area just send me an email or a message
Good luck
Val

[Snapper]

Hi Richard,

The answer to the question you ask will tend to very depending on your plans for the property you might buy over in Florida. So may I ask you a question by return?

What are your goals for owning a place in Florida? Would your property be:
1. A lifestyle choice? You want to buy a place. It's your place. You go on holidays there. You mothball it when you aren't there. Specifically - you don't want/need to rent it to paying guests?
2. A rental business? You want to buy a place in order to rent it to paying guests.

IMHO, and I'm sure many would disagree, these are the only two ways to own property in Florida.

The following is going to sound harsh, but if you are thinking that you'd like a place out there in order for you and your family to use for holidays but that you would also like to rent it to help with the costs, this translates into the above options as:
1. You would like a villa as a lifestyle choice but you can't actually afford it, so instead you will ...
2. Set it up as a rental business without having the time or inclination to run it as a business with the result that it ends up costing you a whole lot of money each year.

From this point onwards, forget everything you might have seen on property shows on the TV or might have been told at property exhibitions. The reality you experience will be considerably different. The good news however is that you have found a very good resource with these forums where many people will give you the benefit of their knowledge and won't charge you a penny for it. Get things right with a Florida property and it's great. Get them wrong and you could end up a whole lot poorer (think six figure sums) a whole lot quicker.

Here be treasure ... and here be dragons.