Hi Irish Newbie! Welcome to the forum, and to everything you ever need to know about Florida.

I think that whilst it may be possible to find a villa to meet a budget, whether or not that villa will meet your expectations for a luxury home is quite another thing. It all depends on what your budget is really!

I am afraid that in our experience, and in the experience of many others, cheap villas rarely come up to expectations. As with everything, you get what you pay for. To keep our homes to a high standard costs a great deal, and those of us who will not compromise on quality know that you cannot look after a home properly if you don't charge an adequate rate.

Unfortunately, many of those who charge rock bottom prices are in the last throes of losing their villas, or maybe their villa is in the middle of a building site, or maybe it is just very old. If you don't have enough revenue coming in then the mortgage company will re-possess it, and the unlucky guest may well find that their dream home becomes unavailable just before their expected holiday, leaving them with nowhere to go, and maybe a loss of their rental payment.

Much would depend, of course, on when you wish to go. The peak times, Easter, Summer holidays, school half terms, Autumn break, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year will be more expensive, but if you have a budget then why not look for a less popular time? You may well get much cheaper flights too. You can get brilliant car hire from the above site, so look there to get an estimate of your car hire costs.

What I would say is that one's accommodation is crucial to the enjoyment of one's holiday, and a visit to Florida is something that people may look forward to for some time. Can you imagine saving up for your holiday, booking a villa that seems very cheap, and finding that the sheets are threadbare, the towels in rags, and the carpets stick to your feet. Who wants to return to such a villa every evening for a fortnight?

Anyone who gives away their villa for silly prices has to cut corners somewhere.

So take a look at some of the villas on these sites, and see what they charge, that will give you a very good idea of what to expect. You will then be able to work out what your costs would be, so that you can see if your original estimate was realistic.

Hope that helps, and have a great time looking at all the villas!