We're on our way too!!

[Tushar]

Hey! I'm Tushar from Birmingham UK and will be flying to Florida next week to buy a resale villa.
This forum is great. My first visit here. So much helpfull stuff!!
It's a little daunting but my wife and I reckon that it's a good investment project for the long term prospects.
A lot of people who I have spoken to say that it's very rare to make money on rentals, however, the cost of villas in Orlando have risen approxiamtely 6% per annum.
I could do with any help anyone can give. Recommendations on Management companies and how to best deal with them would be welcome.

[Cowboy]

Hi Tushar,
Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of information on this site if you go to the search facility. I don't know where your figure of 6% comes from but it seems a bit high to me although more knowledgable people on here may put me right.There is a lot of development at the moment and much planned in the future all around the four corners area. Go into it with your eyes wide open and don't let your heart rule your head.
Your overheads will be quite steep :-
utilities
management fees
lawn
pool
taxes and insurances
licenses
home owners assoc. fees etc.,etc.
It takes quite a lot of time and work to get bookings and you will be advised to have your own web site.
Please do not think that I am trying to dissuade you but I just want you to realise some of the pitfalls. Florida is a fantastic place to have a home but I am like a stick of rock with FLORIDA written through the middle of it.
One thing you will need from the outset is a good Man. Co.
Good luck,
Mike

[fiona]

Welcome Tushar. Are you looking at any particulary STR community?

You will find that management companies tend to specialise in certain locations, so once you tell us where you are going to be people can possibly make some suggestions.

You are right to think of this as a long term prospect.

[chrizzy100]

quote:Originally posted by Cowboy

Hi Tushar,
Welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of information on this site if you go to the search facility. I don't know where your figure of 6% comes from but it seems a bit high to me although more knowledgable people on here may put me right.There is a lot of development at the moment and much planned in the future all around the four corners area. Go into it with your eyes wide open and don't let your heart rule your head.
Your overheads will be quite steep :-
utilities
management fees
lawn
pool
taxes and insurances
licenses
home owners assoc. fees etc.,etc.
It takes quite a lot of time and work to get bookings and you will be advised to have your own web site.
Please do not think that I am trying to dissuade you but I just want you to realise some of the pitfalls. Florida is a fantastic place to have a home but I am like a stick of rock with FLORIDA written through the middle of it.
One thing you will need from the outset is a good Man. Co.
Good luck,
Mike

If you buy at the right price...I can see prices going up 4to6% per year.... if you're buying under $160k... that will give you a quicker return than a Villa costing you over Two hundred thousand +....the cheaper homes play catch up to the new builds costing more.....that happened to us here.....you have to remember that the people who live in Orlando mostly have a low wage....they can't buy homes much over $160k...so you lose a lot of buyers once you start paying silly money for a house in that area.....a lot of new builds are now way over the pockets of most people who live in Orlando....I listened in on a realtors meeting down there.....and they were saying that they have seen prices go up around $30k in 3 years.....not enough for some....but it seems fair to me....

[chrizzy100]

I have noticed that yahoo...now tell you if the villa you like is STR or not....they never used to do that......

[wilfy]

Tushar,
having only recently bought a resale, a couple of good web sites
to get an idea of prices etc...

www.realtor.com + www.planetrealtor.com

If your looking for fully furnished short term rental house that
are being sold, not all the adverts mention this. And both sites
are not bang up to the minute, in some cases a week old.

Your realtor will have the up-to-date info.

To make money, assuming you want to cover your mortgage (if you need one)
and running costs will take a lot of effort on your part.

[Gillian-B]

Hi Tushar - welcome to the forum.

We bought a resale last year and I completely underestimated the amount of time you need to put in on renting (fortunately, I love it so don't mind in the least).

There are loads of properties over there for resale, so go with a list of "must haves" on both what you want in the villa as well as from the Community. Because we didn't have a realtor before we went, we had a chat with a couple and found one we "clicked" with. She was brilliant (although ironically, we didn't end up buying with her) and she got to know what we wanted and didn't waste time on showing us properties that she knew we wouldn't like.

Do as much homework as you can before your trip so you go armed with information - and this forum is the best source of advice you'll find on any topic related to Central Florida.

Good luck and have fun.

[Tracy]

Hi Tushar

After contemplating for quite some time, we decieded to buy in August last year, we flew out in March this year after doing lots and lots of homework. We knew exactly what we could afford, taking into consideration the worst case scenario for renting, the location and size.

We had a FANTASTIC realtor and we bought on the first day. We did go across with the intention of looking at both re sale and new properties and bought new. We complete Nov / Dec this year !

We kept our options open, and knew exactly what we didn't want.

This site is a mine if usefull information, everyone will help you through the intial process, then continue to support with any queries you have for completion and then the marketing of your new home - It has certainly been a great asset to us over the last few monhs and I am certain will continue well into the future.

Good Luck with your trip.

[Tushar]

I'm so glad I've found this site. You guys have been very helpful. It's nice to get feed back freom people who are in the same situation and can talk of personal experience, so thanx for your comments so far.

I've taken on board the comments about the hard work involved in trying to make this venture successful. My wife and I have three kids so it's going to be interesting to see how we manage our time!!

[hamptonlakes]

Hi Tushar, i am a new owner, i bought a resale on Hampton Lakes the home was a repssetion so got a great deal.

I have my mortgage with www.britishmortgagesabroad.co.uk who have been ok, i would defo recommend my realtor his was fantasic from www. classic homes realty.com his name was Jason and has been very helpful throughout the purchase nothing was to much trouble.

I have opted for Classic Management & travel inc as my management company, dont know what they are like but fingers crossed they will be ok but only time will tell.

I would agree about going to see property personally because i see a property which was for sale and i looked at the website and the home looked fantastic but then i seen it in the flesh and it was horrible and i really did not like the property and was clad i went to see the property.

I am at the moment marketing my villa as much as i can, i feel like a tape recorder telling everyone i know cos word of mouth is a great advertising and also i been many a late night adding my villa to websites and building my website *(which a friend is doing her best to tidy and improve my site)

Good luck with your purchase [8D]