General Advice About Buying A Home In Florida

[Steve]

There were things we wished that we knew before buying our Florida home. You know the saying, "if I knew then what I know now". Well this is a bit of the knowing before you buy. It is just a bit of general advice and purely my own views and may differ from others.

Before doing anything, join a forum such as this that has some existing owners and pick there brains. Try to get some recommendations as to what to look for and to look out for.

Try and familiarise yourself with the locations of the villa communities so you have an idea of where you would like to buy. There are two types of villa owner basically, there are those that choose to buy purely for investment and are not really bothered that much about the villa itself it is just a business product to them that will one day (hopefully) yield a profit on their investment. Then there is the villa owner that buys a home for themselves first and as an investment second. Somewhere for them to stay whilst visiting Florida, a second home that they choose to rent out. If you fall into the second category then yours will be a much more emotional experience.

Choosing a realtor.
There are almost as many realtors in Florida as there are restaurants and the same applies as with restaurants there are good and bad. A realtor can make a lot of money from selling homes and providing buyers. The average commission on a property sale is 6%. This is normally shared between the sellers agent and the buyers agent. So you can see that on the sale of a 300k property the commission is $18000. I have heard many stories in the past of realtors telling buyers that they will have no problem renting it our 40 weeks a year and so on. This is just not true, not impossible but it will take a lot of hard work and a little luck! So before choosing a relator again, ask some advice from existing owners and try and find one that you feel you can trust.

Getting Finance.
Financing your Florida dream will not be so easy these days not after the collapse of property values and the increase in foreclosures of recent times. Mortgage companies and banks were lending money to anyone as long as you could come up with the deposit, which could be 25% and no further checks were made into your background or you ability to be able to pay it back. If you paid a smaller deposit such as 20% then you would have to verify your income etc. The situation now is a little different, some companies are refusing to give mortgages to foreign nationals and others requiring 30% -40% deposit. This is because it is harder to recover monies owed by aliens (Foreign Nationals or Absentee Owners)

Make sure you can afford to finance your purchase, there are many expenses to consider besides your mortgage once you have bought your property. Again some of these may not be clear from the outset. There are annual property taxes that will be in the region of $2000 but not much less. There is your annual property insurance again can be around $2000. Most mortgage companies will take the payments along with your monthly mortgage payment for both of these expenses and hold them in escrow until they are due and pay them for you. Other expenses you can expect are HOA fees (Home Owners Association) these charges are set by your community HOA are compulsory and vary quite a lot between the communities. You should be told of these fees when you buy. Some HOA include the cost of landscaping the community so your grass will be cut on a regular basis. Other expenses include, water, gas if your community has it, electricity, cable TV and telephone. Then there are your annual licences these cost around $200. Add to this your monthly Management Company fees maybe around $200 - $300 a month and the upkeep of the property with repairs and renewals. One last important expense is State Taxes and County Taxes at around 11% of everything you receive in booking fees. Finally, there is the cost of marketing your villa. This can vary as it is entirely up to you how much you spend to advertise your villa. To be sure ask yourself this question, could you continue to finance the villa even if you financial circumstances changed or perhaps bookings never materialised for you?

Management Companies.
Another important choice, again ask for recommendations. If an MC is good at their job, their name will be given to you. Once again i'm afraid there are good and bad here too, most owners will tell you that they are not now with the MC they first started with. In general, there will be a few problems from time to time but if you are happy with their service overall stay with them. If they do a good job of cleaning your home and taking care of any problems that arise then you have a good one. It is like a partnership with give and take from both sides.

Marketing your villa.
You can spend as little or as much as you like to advertise your property and it may take some time to find out what works for you. To find listing sites that rank well try a few Google searches and put yourself in the place of the guest by using phrases that they may use, such as "Orlando Villas" or Florida Villas" or perhaps "Gulf Coast Villas for rent" then check out the top results and see if you can list on them. It is worth pointing out that generally the top ranked sites are closed to new subscriptions and operate a waiting list. There are many ways to market your villa such as flyers, business cards, tell everyone you know and some you don't about your fabulous vacation home. Leave your flyers and business cards on notice boards and anywhere else you can legally do so. The possibilities are endless.

This article is not to pour cold water on your dream of owning a villa in Florida, it is just to make sure that you are aware of the facts before you buy. Obtaining bookings takes a fair bit of hard work and a degree of luck. You will find yourself in front of a computer screen every day, several times a day answering enquiries. If you can do all this you will find it a very rewarding time of your life Ownership brings with it a lot of pleasure and you will meet a lot of very nice people, I know we did!

[ellie]

Very interesting reading, Steve, and some good tips for potential villa purchasers.

I think that your suggestion of seeking advice from villa owners is very sensible.

I am also sure that few people would believe just how much time owning a villa actually takes. I am on the internet 365 days a year -yes, even Christmas Day - and the first thing I ever think of when leaving home is 'is there internet access?'

And if you think you can just turn up every year or six months and sit and relax with a nice ice cold drink on your pool deck then think again! <:wink If you want to keep your house to a high standard then you will most likely find that trips to Walmart, Target and Home Depot are higher on the priority list than a day at the parks!

We have had 4 MCs - we have been with our current one for more than 4 years, so that says it all.

One of the best things, as you say, is the great people you get to know. Other villa owners are so supportive - I guess there is nothing like sharing the ups and downs with someone who truly understands.

And of course, there are the pluses - I will never get over the thrill of turning the key in the lock of our own home. Nor will I ever stop feeling a shiver of excitement when I walk out onto the pool deck and look at our fabulous sparkling pool.We have certainly made good friends, both British and American. The hospitality of our US neighbours is phenomenal - we were even invited to join them for Christmas dinner one year.

But best of all, maybe is the sunshine.

[malcolm]

Many wise words from Steve....

Some things i pass onto potential owners who come on my forum aswell....

Speak to any owner and pick there brains as you will find that although it is a competative market they will most always offer hints and tips from finding a realtor to furnishing the villa.

I tend to say contact at least 3 or 4 realtors and ask them to send you information through and see what they have on there books, if any of them get pushey then dont go any further with them. Most realtors will push you towards a new home sale as they are offerd huge insentives from builders to sell there homes and this although may sound nice could cost you financialy dear against getting a good resale in a nice plot.

Always ask things like
What way does the home face, does it face south or southwest so you get maximum sun on pool area.
What are the Home Owners Association like as many can be beyond reasonable approach ...sometimes putting in a plant in the garden can be a violation or estate rules or wanting to paint a fence or repair plaster cracks on an external wall may require permission....so get a copy of the estate rules ...very important.
What are the Home owners Association fees and what do they include.
Find out what the approximate rates are on the estates that your interested in as they can range a considerable amount.
If you find a place backing onto conservation land or farm land check there is no potention construction planned or allowed as conservation ground means very little.
Once you narrow down your choice then we all hope you will use this forum to contact any owners on those estates for the finer details of ownership.

It is important if you are looking to put the villa on the STR market that you can sustain at least a years running costs as it is in reality a full time job to get rentals in ...even when you are on holiday in your own villa !!

[Steve]

Thanks Malcolm, great advice!

[ellie]

I would say that as far as choosing a Management Company goes - and apart from choosing your home in the first place this really is the most important choice you will ever make - think about what you want from them. Make a list and then ask as many questions as you can. Your choice of MC can make or break you. If they don't look after your home properly then you are likely to get unhappy guests, for example, as well as sleepless nights!<:wink

Deciding what is most important to you in a Management Company is the first step.
Do you want someone who will look after your home and keep it to a high standard?
Do you want a MC who will get bookings for you? I am sorry to say that if they are good at one they are often not good at both - getting bookings for you takes a lot of time, and if they are doing that, are they looking after your home properly?

Do you want a small MC or a large one? We have had both, and are now with a small MC who look after our home themselves - they do all the cleaning, for example, and know my home inside out - they notice things which a cleaner who only visits your home every now and then would miss. A large company may have plenty of staff, but you may never have the same cleaner twice - so how do they know what the home should look like before and after a guest has been in your home? Is a large company able to offer a personal service, or are you just another number.

Do they charge extra for every little thing they do? Is there a charge, for example, for changing the battery in the smoke alarms, or for putting in a new light bulb. Do they charge to switch on the pool heat? All of these things may seem very trivial, but they can mount up. Be clear at the outset what they do and do not include.

What is their customer service like? When you call them are they friendly and helpful, or do they make it clear that its out of hours and they think you are a nuisance? If they are not very friendly to you, then how will they be with your guests? How quickly do they respond to emails? If it takes two days or two weeks then that is way too long. Your relationship with your MC is very important, there needs to be give and take, but you should feel at ease with them, too.

You will also find that some MCs demand that you keep $1000 in an special account at all times, even if you pay your own bills (and that is something I would recommend as this way you keep a finger on the pulse and know that the bills have been paid, and if they are unusually high, for instance). The amount required may vary from $1000 - $500 or even nothing.

Best of all get recommendations from other villa owners - but make sure they have been with their MC for at least a year, and preferrably more. All too often an MC starts off with high expectations of giving good service, but after a while they overstretch themselves and get too big and standards slip. So don't consider a recommendation from anyone who has not been with their MC for a reasonable amount of time.

I think that Malcolm's final piece of advice should be tattooed on the arms of all potential villa owners - expect to support your new home financially for at least a year, and possibly two years. If you can't afford to pay for everything yourself for this amount of time then villa ownership may not be for you.:)

[Steve]

More great advice ellie, we fell foul of some of those things with our first MC, we got charged $25 for adding out own bookings, $10 for pool heat on $10 for pool heat off, and some questionable other charges. I even had to pay those fees for our own first visit. <:firing Then after our second guests in the villa we had complaints about food in the microwave and some other cleaning issues, so we asked for recommendations from other owners and found a great MC.

[diddlyidi]

Some great advice already. Many Thanks
I have trawled the internet to find advice about buying a home in Florida and it seems quite scarce (or I am not doing a very good search).
Anyway if I can tell you a little bit about us.
Family of 3 ,mum dad and a 15yr old son. We have been to Orlando 5 times and love it and have always said we could live there( but we know now that this isn't an option)
We are off to Orlando again in December and for the first time we have decided to stay in a private villa which is on Hampton Lakes.
It was whilst searching for a villa that we happened to stumble across real estate and we were amazed at the prices that the properties in Orlando are currently selling for and thought that maybe this the time to invest in a holiday home.
We have a very small mortgage on our property in the UK so we would probably look to finance the holiday home by remortgaging.
We have already been looking at properties on myfloridamls.com and are trying to understand the difference between “short sales” and “foreclosures”.
We have been contacted by a number of realtors who are happy to provide information and upto date property lists for us and who will arrange viewing of properties whilst we are on vacation in December if required.
We are currently in the process of drawing up a spreadsheet for our own benefit and are trying to get a rough idea of what expenses there will be.
This is what we have gathered so far :

HOA-approx $100 monthly
Electric/Gas-$100 monthly
Pool Costs-unknown
Insurance-Approx $2000 per year
State taxes- Approx $2000 per year
Telephone-unknown
Cable TV-unknown
Advertising-unknown

We would be grateful for any feedback on the information we have gathered so far
Thanks

[ellie]

Water is something else you have forgotten. It is very expensive in the US.

I think your electricity costs are not realistic - they would be considerably more especially if you have pool heat on.

Also annual licences.

Checking and renewal of fire extinguishers.

Don't forget Management Company costs - not sure what others pay but $350 - $400 per month?

Then there is termite protection - an annual charge and an inspection charge if that has lapsed - if the home has not had this done regularly then you normally have to pay for another inspection and a lump sum to cover the period it was not renewed.

Don't forget ongoing costs for replacement, repairs etc. For example our solanoids on our irrigation system had to be changed recently, that was $120. Call out to air con $120
Then we had our pool heater break down and had to replace it $3,500 in one fell swoop. So the total for just one month was nearly $4,000! And thats without all the ongoing costs.

Replacement for air con would be about $5000.

Replacement of towels, linens etc. and unexpected repairs.

Replacement of 'white goods' such as washing machines, fridges, cookers etc,

Upgrading of items - TVs etc.

Sadly, most realtors are in the market to sell houses, they are not usually owners of vacation rental homes so don't know the true costings.

Why not ask Steve if you can join the owners area so that you can discuss more of your questions there?

[Steve]

Hi Diddlyidi, don't yet know your real name :)

Anyway welcome to the forum, I will allow you to access the owners aera if indeed to decide to go ahead with a purchase.

It is quite a complex subject where there are so many different scenarios.

Yes I agree it is a good time to buy as property prices have plummeted over the last couple of years.

We have a very small mortgage on our property in the UK so we would probably look to finance the holiday home by remortgaging.


This is fine as long as you could still afford to make the mortgage payments assuming that you didn't get much booking revenue. You have to assume the worst scenario. Also would you be looking at borrowing the total cost of the property against your UK property or just the deposit and take a US mortgage?

We have already been looking at properties on myfloridamls.com and are trying to understand the difference between “short sales” and “foreclosures”.

A short sale is where the bank/lender has a agreed an offer from a new buyer through a realtor which is less than what you owe them. They agree to accept the offer made as payment in full for your mortgage. A foreclosure is when the bank/lender takes back the property from the owner and attempts to sell it to recover it's money. The downfall with this is that any shortfall is still owed to the bank/lender.

We have been contacted by a number of realtors who are happy to provide information and upto date property lists for us and who will arrange viewing of properties whilst we are on vacation in December if required.

There are almost as many Realtors in Orlando as there are light bulbs! I am sure the other owners on here will recommend ones that they have used and know well. I can recommend Steve & James Donovan from Team Donovan (Google it) They were very efficient for me.

Others will chip in with their advice regarding charges because this can vary depending on where your home is located and whether the Home Owners Association takes care of landscaping etc.

HOA-approx $100 monthly - It could be around this figure, ours at Calabay Parc was $440 a quarter but they took care of the landscaping and grass cutting etc.
Electric/Gas-$100 monthly - again this will vary depending on how many guests you have in the property but I would work on at least this for each utility.
Pool Costs-unknown - This is nearly always taken care of by your management company and costs around $90 a month.
Insurance-Approx $2000 a year. Yes allow that you may find it is a bit cheaper.
State taxes - Approx $2000 per year - This is what is called Property taxes not state taxes, state taxes are what you pay on your rentals along with county taxes. $2000 is probably a close assumption.
Telephone-unknown - If you have just the basic package it will be around $30 a month
Cable TV-unknown - Again depending on the package you choose but for the average package it would be around $40 a month.
Advertising-unknown - this is up to you how much you spend and how you go about it. There are villa magazine that owners have tried and found them to be useless as are many of the free rental websites. It is a matter of trying things out and seeing what works for you.
I will add management company into your budget, you need to look at around $100 a month for the management fee, then if they do the pool add $90, add $35 a month for pest control and if the HOA don't do the landscaping you will need to add probably $40 a month for that. (Not sure exactly as ours was done with the HOA)

You also have water missing from your budget, now, this again can depend on whether you are using reclaimed or potable water for your sprinkler system. I was on reclaimed and my costs were between $40 and $100 depending on how much the property was occupied.

County and State taxes are payable on revenue received from bookings. This varies slightly depending on which county your property is but is either 10%, 11% or 12%
In the case of Polk County, where Hampton Lakes is it would be 6% to the State and 5% to the County both of these sums are worked out on the gross rental figure.

There are a few other licences that need to be renewed every year but they are not too excessive. I have probabaly missed something and I am sure others will add things if necessary.

[Steve]

Water is something else you have forgotten. It is very expensive in the US.

I think your electricity costs are not realistic - they would be considerably more especially if you have pool heat on.

Also annual licences.

Checking and renewal of fire extinguishers.

Don't forget Management Company costs - not sure what others pay but $350 - $400 per month?

Then there is termite protection - an annual charge and an inspection charge if that has lapsed - if the home has not had this done regularly then you normally have to pay for another inspection and a lump sum to cover the period it was not renewed.

Don't forget ongoing costs for replacement, repairs etc. For example our solanoids on our irrigation system had to be changed recently, that was $120. Call out to air con $120
Then we had our pool heater break down and had to replace it $3,500 in one fell swoop. So the total for just one month was nearly $4,000! And thats without all the ongoing costs.

Replacement for air con would be about $5000.

Replacement of towels, linens etc. and unexpected repairs.

Replacement of 'white goods' such as washing machines, fridges, cookers etc,

Upgrading of items - TVs etc.

Sadly, most realtors are in the market to sell houses, they are not usually owners of vacation rental homes so don't know the true costings.

Why not ask Steve if you can join the owners area so that you can discuss more of your questions there?

Hi ellie,

it looks like you posted as I was doing my post, yes I will add him to the owners area if he is serious about buying. :)

[arkvilla]

Don't forget annual Property Tax - our home is in Polk County and my tax this year is in the region of $3650 on our $ bed, 3 bath home

Sandra

[ellie]

Hi ellie,

it looks like you posted as I was doing my post, yes I will add him to the owners area if he is serious about buying. :)

Great minds, eh, Steve? <:wink

[Shirls]

I have just done a quick tot up from my 2008 spreadsheet and excluding any items relating to guests, such as cleaning and taxes on rentals or items we have bought, such as new pool cover, furniture or mortgage payments and advertising. It has cost around $1700 per month.
This does include all electricity which of course is more when occupied (I would up your figure to between $250 and $450 per month btw)
Quite scarey really!

[diddlyidi]

Water is something else you have forgotten. It is very expensive in the US.

I think your electricity costs are not realistic - they would be considerably more especially if you have pool heat on.

Also annual licences.

Checking and renewal of fire extinguishers.

Don't forget Management Company costs - not sure what others pay but $350 - $400 per month?

Then there is termite protection - an annual charge and an inspection charge if that has lapsed - if the home has not had this done regularly then you normally have to pay for another inspection and a lump sum to cover the period it was not renewed.

Don't forget ongoing costs for replacement, repairs etc. For example our solanoids on our irrigation system had to be changed recently, that was $120. Call out to air con $120
Then we had our pool heater break down and had to replace it $3,500 in one fell swoop. So the total for just one month was nearly $4,000! And thats without all the ongoing costs.

Replacement for air con would be about $5000.

Replacement of towels, linens etc. and unexpected repairs.

Replacement of 'white goods' such as washing machines, fridges, cookers etc,

Upgrading of items - TVs etc.

Sadly, most realtors are in the market to sell houses, they are not usually owners of vacation rental homes so don't know the true costings.

Why not ask Steve if you can join the owners area so that you can discuss more of your questions there?
Thanks for your comments Ellie.
We have now decided that a condo might be a safer investment.I'm sure that it still has significant costs but the initial outlay isn't as expensive.
I had a quick search last night and the prices for a 2 bed 2 bath seem to be around the 40-50k mark.We just need to know the areas as we have been informed that crime has soared in rlando due to the current economic climate.
So we preferably would want to purchase a condo a resort community where hopefully it would be more secure

[Steve]

I don't want to sound like a "doom and gloom" merchant but just wanted to say that condo's are a bit harder to rent out than a villa, mainly for the reason that they don't have their own private pool. On the other hand the investment as you say is less and if you can get out there a few times a year and get the benefit of it yourselves and it is affordable then maybe this is your best option. Being on a resort can have some positive and negative points. I am not that familiar with how many of them work and I am sure there will be others that can give better info. I do know that Regal Palms for example do charge your guests $10 per day per guest to use the communal facilities.

[diddlyidi]

I don't want to sound like a "doom and gloom" merchant but just wanted to say that condo's are a bit harder to rent out than a villa, mainly for the reason that they don't have their own private pool. On the other hand the investment as you say is less and if you can get out there a few times a year and get the benefit of it yourselves and it is affordable then maybe this is your best option. Being on a resort can have some positive and negative points. I am not that familiar with how many of them work and I am sure there will be others that can give better info. I do know that Regal Palms for example do charge your guests $10 per day per guest to use the communal facilities.

Hi Steve
I have been trying to respond to your last post where you offered so much useful advice although I struggled trying to use multiquote response method.
Firstly I want to thank you for your response and secondly my name is Diane, husband is Jeff and our son is called Jack.
We have switched our attention to condos mainly because they are more affordable.
We also had a private response to our initial thread about purchasing a villa and this did not paint a rosy picture and almost stopped us pursuing our dream.
It was all doom and gloom with no positive comments made
Obviously we want to take on board any comments offered by other villa owners as we don't want to rush into something without having first done the essential research.
We were informed that the cost of Gas/Electric would be approx $1100 per month
That crime levels are very high in Orlando due to the economic climate and also to be prepared to get our home trashed. This was quite alarming and made us think twice about a holiday home purchase.
By purchasing a condo we will not have to rely on too much rental income and the main purpose will be a second home for us and hopefully a long term investment.
I understand what you say about holidaymakers wanting a private pool although I do think some first time visitors to Orlando sometimes feel safer in a community/complex.
I have had a look at Team Donovan and they do seem to have quite a lot of property to choose from and we are hoping to arrange some inspections whilst we are there in December.
Could you just clarify one other point that you made Is a short sale one where an offer has already been made by a prospective buyer and they are just waiting for word from the bank. And if so are other buyers able to submit offers?
Thank you
Diane

[Steve]

Hi Diane,

No problem, glad to help and advise you. I think we all want you to be aware of the things that realtors may not tell you about. I would say that $1100 is a pretty over the top scenario for Gas/Electric. My pool heater was gas and the most I ever paid was around $350 and I don't think I ever had an electric bill over $250.

The crime levels probably have gone up a bit, but they have always been there it is pretty much the same as the UK in as much as that it can happen but may not happen to you. Where I live in the UK there have been burglaries on my estate, but so far, touch wood, it hasn't happened to me. Unfortunately Short Term Rentals are an easy target for thieves as there are people coming and going all the time and so strangers are not so conspicuous. They know that many of these homes have large screen TV's and other attractive items. The thing I should say though, is that it is not a daily occurrence but more a weekly thing where we hear of homes being broken into and on the scale of things with somewhere in the region of 25000 vacation homes, the chances are it won't happen to you. These outbreaks seem to come in waves where probably the same gang is responsible for many of the break-ins and hopefully before long they get caught. Then the next wave starts and so on.

Getting your home trashed. It has happened, but I am glad to say it is again quite rare. You make sure you have a good set of terms and conditions and make sure you take a sensible security deposit that is refunded after satisfactory inspection by Management Company. In the event that the damage exceeds the security deposit you can try and get the short fall from the guest through the courts.

Yes a Short Sale, has to be set up between the new buyer/agent and the bank. The new buyer/agent will make an offer on the property and as long as it is acceptable to the bank they will go ahead with it. So say for example an owner owes $250,000 on the mortgage. The agent has a buyer that is willing to only pay $225,000 the agent has to work out all the cost that come off of that $225k such as closing costs for the title company, any outstanding property taxes and his commission, about 6% but he may take less. So he then says to the bank I have a buyer that will give you $190k. Then there is a bit of negotiating back and forth and either the bank accept it or they don't. The answer to your question is, I would say, Yes if you contacted the listing agent for the property and made a higher offer then I can't see any reason why your offer would not be accepted, barring the fact that the agreement hadn't started.

Hope this helps and keep in touch, let us know what you decide to do. If you do go ahead with it I will add you to the owners area. One other thing I should add, is that despite all this "Doom & Gloom" many owners get a great deal of pleasure out of home ownership. :)

Good Luck <:thumbup :)

[diddlyidi]

Thank you once again Steve for such an informative response.
I'm hoping somebody might be able to give me a bit info on some nice condo areas.
I will keep you posted:)

[demi147]

hi my name is damian i am thinking of buying a holiday home in orlando
to rent out and also for our own use with the amount of properties
on the market out there i am a bit wary of what a realistic period of time
i could hope to get it occupied i understand this might depend on the type of property i buy and the location but in genral is the holiday villa rental market still strong out there .

[pbensur]

Well, right now property prices are way down so it's a good time to buy, but renting it out is A LOT of work. It's an extremely competitive market and it's been even worse recently with the poor economic conditions. It is a huge time commitment so you have to ask yourself how much time you could devote to this before taking the plunge.

[Steve]

Hi Damian, I agree with Patty, it can vary between owners too, some have a knack for it and are able to convert leads better than others. You need to market your home well, get it seen by as many people as you can and like Patty said, to do this it takes a lot of your free time. So if I was you I would ask myself, can I afford that amount of time and I would also ask myself if I could afford to make payments even if bookings are very slow. Good luck and keep us informed. :)

[ellie]

Patty is SO right. From our experience it is a 365 day of the year job. I never like to be far from the internet, and even on a cruise I have to make sure that I can answer emails each day. And in order to keep my home to a very high standard we spend much of our time when we are in Florida doing jobs and upgrading, so trips to Disney are rare, which can be hard if you have children.

One good rule of thumb is that if you can't afford to have it standing empty for 18 months to 2 years then you really shouldn't buy. This means that, should you not be able to rent it out, you can cover all the costs yourself and not be in difficulties.

There is, of course, much competition, but a well cared for home is still rentable at decent rates. Unfortunately there are quite a few villa owners who are so desperate that they are giving their homes away, but these homes are often on the verge of being repossessed, and with little income owners would find it very difficult to maintain them, and it has been known for the poor old guest to arrive and find their dream vacation home is less than perfect. As they say, you get what you pay for, and anything which seems too good to be true probably is.

But having said that, I never cease to get a real boost when I walk through the door of our home, or swim in our very own beautiful swimming pool, or when I receive an email from guests telling me how much they have enjoyed staying in our villa.

[lizpaterson47]

I own a 7 bedroom 5 bathroom home and my largest electricity bill was $1072 and that was once in 10 years and more than double normal. On investigating I subsequently found out that one guest had brought a boat with her and was charging it every night at my expense.

My normal electric bills are around $400-$600 dependent on occupancy and season. I own on a secure gated community with a strong HOA board and in 10 years there have only been around a dozen breakins and its very likely a number of these were carried out by a renter (according to Police).

If you keep your rental rates high your home will be looked after by the guests and also take a reasonable security deposit.

When I started to rent my home I worked on the formula I could probably rent for around 20 to 25 weeks and set my rates accordingly.

[demi147]

hi my name is damian i am thinking of buying a villa out there in orlando something with about 5 beds 3 baths and a pool what roughly do you think the running costs per year would i need to budget for for a property of this size .

[lizpaterson47]

hi my name is damian i am thinking of buying a villa out there in orlando something with about 5 beds 3 baths and a pool what roughly do you think the running costs per year would i need to budget for for a property of this size .

excluding your mortgage and dependent on community/area minimum $25k

[demi147]

thanks for the reply would i be right in thinking that a 5 bed 3 bath villa in a good location would rent for about $1000 to $12000 per week depending on the time of year

[lizpaterson47]

thanks for the reply would i be right in thinking that a 5 bed 3 bath villa in a good location would rent for about $1000 to $12000 per week depending on the time of year

dependent on where you buy and presentation $1k per week is not very much, more can be achieved. Take a look at my websit and rates are within the availability calander. I rarely discount and do achieve these rates in 2008 I had 27 weeks booked and in 2009 24 weeks and 3 days, I also use my hom for 10-12 weeks myself

[Shirls]

I agree with Liz that you could achieve more. Pricing is a horrid issue, but remember that very few people buy on price alone (even if they set out with that intention). If they did, all the cheap homes would be booked and many are suspitious of cheap prices.

Presentation and customer service is most important. The upbeat way you sell your home, your photos. Do searches on the internet and see which homes you would like to stay in and look at the prices

[demi147]

thanks for the feedback girls its most helpfull iam just at that point now of shall i shant i about buying a property . we dont want it just to rent out but as somewhere to stay for long holidays as our kids get a bit older they are 2 and 5 now . so it would need to be rented as much as possible for the first couple of years to cover running costs hopefully . but with the amount af holiday homes over there i am a bit wary about the amount of weeks i could get it let out also the usuall other things type of house 4 or 5 bed best area and which are the best management companies to use.

[ellie]

it would need to be rented as much as possible for the first couple of years to cover running costs hopefully . .

Demi, the rule of thumb is always, if you can afford to pay ALL the expenses for the first 18 months to 2 years then maybe you can afford to buy a villa - so that could be $30,000 a year or more. If you need it to be rented out in the first 2 years to be able to survive then you should think again!

And if you buy this home, remember that if you want to keep it to a high standard, then a lot of your 'holiday' time will be spent doing maintenance on your home, upgrading, spring cleaning etc, and with young children that isn't easy when all they want to do is go to the parks.:(

Better to remove the rose coloured spectacles now than find it a bit of a shock after you have bought. <:wink

[Shirls]

If you do go ahead, don't take on a management company without asking here first.

If you can afford it and will get lots of use yourselves and are prepared to be stuck to a computer screen, then it is great fun, all be it hard work <:lol

[demi147]

thanks shirls as far as the management side of it goes what are the rates here and what does it cover .there seems to be that many companies out there its hard to know were to go

[Shirls]

When you think that you are trusting an investment worth thousands of dollars to a complete stranger, then you realise you must do a bit of research first. The owners forums are the place to ask, but not until you know where you are buying.

I think cost wise, you will not find a lot of difference as some include everything, others have add ons.
Ours organises pool cleaning, pest control, gardening and house cleaning. Without rental cleans, I would say if a MC organises all the above, then expect to pay around $350 and $450 a month for a 4 bed home

I prefer to use smaller companies because in my opinion they are more likely to feel they are working for/with you. My experience of a large company was they felt I was a nuisance and I should be asking permission to use my home!

I do all my own rentals now however and go there often to do jobs some would pay their MC to do.
I do my own tax and pay my own bills as well, so in some ways for me, they are more like caretakers which is what I prefer.
I also like the fact I have the same cleaner each time and that they are fairly local in case there are problems.

[terraceridge2009]

Hi Demi147
Do you need a Realtor? We purchased in Dece,ber last year and worked with our Realtor for 7 months previous. He was fantastic our eyes and ears, he sent us load os photographs of properties, gave his honest opinion, told us if they were not right for us based on the information we had given him. If you want his details let me know.