Anita, don't worry too much, just ask for more information. And remember one thing, not everyone is in the financial position to HAVE to rent out their home or rely on money to keep it going. Some people can afford to have a home in Florida simply for the fun and pleasure of it and don't really have to worry too much about financial income and outgoing. Everyone is jumping to conclusions. You may have just got a great deal.
Arby, if some people don't have to rent out their home in order to keep it going then why on earth would they want it filled with strangers, who will use utilities and add to the wear and tear? If I did not have a mortgage then I would be asking MORE not less for it - I certainly would not be so desperate as to rent it out at these terrible rates. Tour operators do not generally tell you who is going to be in your villa, or how many there will be in the party, so you are renting out your pride and joy to totally unknown people, and often large parties.
If you had a fantastic home in Florida, which you kept to the highest standard, would you rent it out at such a pitiful rate in order to subsidise someone else's holiday, because that is what it amounts to?
Surely you would leave it empty so that when you went out to enjoy it you would not arrive to find it well worn and shabby, and have to pay out of your own pocket to restore it to a decent standard?
As everyone has already said, you cannot keep a villa up to a reasonable standard at these sort of prices, something has to give. What is for sure is that tour operators take on houses from owners who cannot rent them out themselves, and who are desperate for cash flow. Nobody in their right mind would accept these sort of rates. I hope this villa will still be around in February, as there are a lot of bargain villas which will not be.
I do hope that poor Anita will not be disappointed with her bargain villa. If I were in this position I would want to know exactly which villa I was renting, how old it was, how recently refurbished it was, and I would want to see lots of photos, as well as talking to the owner. I would also want to know what the condition of the bedding and towels was. So do start asking now, Anita. I certainly would not accept a villa which is allocated on arrival. By this time it is way too late to do anything about it.
The old saying, 'you get what you pay for' is very true when it comes to villas.
ellie
Not always. Besides it's still better than a crummy hotel room at that price. You forget, a lot of Lindfields is pretty old. That person could have bought their house in the early 90's when prices were still low and they get their expenditures covered by the small income. Most people who own houses in Florida, need a much higher level of income because they paid too much for them. As for the investment part, if my theory above is true, then the person made their money by the value of their house today. I wish you all would stop scaremongering people. It's really not helpful and not nice either. If someone came onto this forum and did what you do, you'd all be up in arms because it would hurt YOUR investment. Please people think before you speak. Just wish her well the way you do people who book through this site.
Lindfields is a lovely community, I don't consider the early 90's old. Sorry, but I think you may have missed the point we are all trying to make. That is, with these prices even without a mortgage expenditures will probably not be covered. As homeowners we all know the hidden costs and there are a lot of them! The owners on here just want people to enjoy Florida as much as they do when they visit and just want to warn people about low rental rates and what they could mean. A Florida holiday takes a lot of planning and expenditure on park tickets, flight tickets etc, it is a shame if it is spoilt by the accommodation. Owners only want people to be informed so they can enjoy Florida at its best. We all love Florida and want to pass on our experience to help others. After that its up to the individual to make their own choices. I see that as being very honest.
When we satyed on Lindfields during '97-'02 our villa was booked direct with the owners and was lovely, however opposite were 2 villas used by travel agents, they were really heavy used with mainly weekly (or shorter) lets (as we were there for 4 weeks we saw lots of coming and going) they were shabby, dirty and generally not very nice unfortunately[msnsad]
How do we know this I hear someone ask?? Well one had a break in (very, very, very rare!!!!) and we went to give a statement to the sheriff[msnsad]
I really hope this is not the case for kixxy but when some posts info like kixxy has its always best to be truthful even if the truth hurts[msnsad] They are then in a position to make an informed choice as to what to do next (if anything)[msnwink]
Well I did a little research this afternoon and found that the average price in the mid 90s for a home in Lindfield was actually around $100,000. After finding an online calculator I worked out that a $100,000 (100% mortgage) at 6% was only $595.55 per month over 30 years. I would say that if the owner of the home in question bought at that time, then the money would be sufficient to cover it. Let's not jump to conclusions now.
Finally, while a home in England built in the early 90s may not be considered old, it actually is considered fairly old in Florida.
I wish the lady who booked her villa good luck and she'll have a great time in Florida anyway. [8D]
I do not have a mortgage on my villa and with these rates would not cover my costs which is why I advise anyone looking to rent a villa on price alone to be aware of this.
Agree Dawn - we couldn't cover our running costs on these prices either. The trouble is that for a non-owner it is difficult to appreciate what the actual overheads are!
When we first bought our home we were stunned at the level of the utility bills - for example electricity bills which (for the benefit of non- owners) are about 3 to 4 times higher than our home in the UK!
I'm not complaining though as the pleasure we get from our home is worth every cent - but I can't afford to subsidise someone else's holiday.
Going back to the original reason for this thread, I wish Kixxy well with her holiday and at least she has had some honest feedback to ensure she is fully aware. Nothing worse than a nasty surprise when you arrive tired after a long flight.
Carole
<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Arby
Well I did a little research this afternoon and found that the average price in the mid 90s for a home in Lindfield was actually around $100,000. After finding an online calculator I worked out that a $100,000 (100% mortgage) at 6% was only $595.55 per month over 30 years. I would say that if the owner of the home in question bought at that time, then the money would be sufficient to cover it. Let's not jump to conclusions now.
Finally, while a home in England built in the early 90s may not be considered old, it actually is considered fairly old in Florida.
I wish the lady who booked her villa good luck and she'll have a great time in Florida anyway. [8D][/quote]Arby, as we've all already said, it's the running costs that we've been discussing, not the purchase price or mortgage. You're the one who bought up the mortgage by saying that the owners probably didn't have one - now you're quoting your version of mortgage costs. BTW, the US mortgage rate for non-resident aliens wasn't 6% in the 1990s, it was 9%+. And you've forgotten the price of the pool and the furniture and fittings in your estimates - both add ons to purchase price.
Whether a home is what you'd call 'old' or not isn't the subject of the discussion here. Even if a home is older, then looking after it properly and refubishing it will keep it looking good. The whole point was that on those rates, no-one could afford to do that. I've stayed on Lindfields, visited owners who have homes on Lindfields and they have beautiful homes because a lot of time, attention and money has been spent on them.
If Kixxy wants to go to Florida and only pay £577 for two weeks, that's her perogative but, as has already been suggested, if it were me I would want to find out a whole lot more about the condition and facilities of the home. However, if she's booked through a travel company, unfortunately she probably won't be able to do this, nor will she know which particular home it will be as it's probably allocated on arrival.
I also hope Kixxy has a good time and enjoys Florida.
blott
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums...topic_id=19629
have a look at this thread I posted when we rented a Florida villa from an online tour operator!!
We paid £400 a week for this, we had no photos of property or info before we went and we arrived to this[msnmad]
I don't mean to scare you, just beware and get as much information as possible.
Again I don't want to put a downer on your hol, just be aware, I will be in future, we as a family have learned our lesson, as others have said, all may be fine, just try and get some information before you go.
Have a great holiday[msncool][msnsmile2]
vicky
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