Best Apartments for Rent (Miami, Kissimmee: apartment complexes, townhouses, to buy)

[Mac4life30]

What do you recommend in the areas of Lake Buena Vista/Hunters Creek/Windermere.

[EditorJul]

What sort of budget and size are you looking for?

[Mac4life30]

$1000 or less for a 1/1
Currently I am in Miami and paying $1200

[EditorJul]

Most of the places in Windermere will be above that price, but I'll ask my husband about places in LBV that cater to cast members (and so will have lower rents). Hopefully someone can chime in about Hunter's Creek, too.

[Mac4life30]

Thanks thats very nice of you

[EditorJul]

Looking at the Cast Member-type places in LBV, you've got Windermere Cay, which is just slightly over your price range.

I have a feeling that in the price range you're looking for, you might want to look either in some parts of Kissimmee or stick with Hunter's Creek. Any place near Disney (ala LBV), and you're paying a premium for a 1-bedroom apartment or you're paying for the Windermere mailing address if you're in Windermere.

[StreetSmarts]

$1000 for a 1/1 and its not doable in Windermere? Really? Thats strange.

[EditorJul]

Citra at Windermere is $1175 for a 1/1. The Retreat at Windermere starts at $1224 for a 1/1. Colonial Grand at Windermere is $1100 for a 1/1. Windermere Cay (which is technically in Winter Garden in the LBV cast member zone) is $1015 for a 1/1. Casa Mirella in Windermere is $1142 for a 1/1. Post Lakeside is $1200 for a 1/1. Windermere doesn't have a ton of apartment complexes because of the nature of the town -- but $1100-1200 is the norm for a 1/1.

[StreetSmarts]

^^^ thats ridiculous. Not sure what you mean by the nature of the town lol - Houses and townhouses are going up everywhere there for the low $200k's and cant find an 1/1 apartment for $1000? Strange.

[EditorJul]

Originally Posted by ComSense

^^^ thats ridiculous. Not sure what you mean by the nature of the town lol - Houses and townhouses are going up everywhere there for the low $200k's and cant find an 1/1 apartment for $1000? Strange.

A lot of the people who rent in this area are service industry workers for the Mouse, with some working for Sea World and a few working for Universal. Because some are temporary (college program, foreign program), they aren't likely to buy a townhouse or SFH here. Having your own space as a service industry worker comes at a premium -- lots of demand means you can get high prices if you are renting those 1/1 properties, for those people who just don't want to share an apartment.

To put it in perspective, two-bedroom units in those complexes run from $1300-1400, and three-bedroom units are from $1600-1800. It's just the 1/1s that are pricey. The two and three bedroom units are either shared by service workers or people just renting for a year or so until they get a house built/renovated/purchased.

But one thing to keep in mind about building a new home, the price that they put as the "from the" whatever range gets added to by about 20-40% when you actually build. So that "from the low 200s" property will be easily over $250K by the time all is said and done. Aside from townhouses, I'm not seeing a lot in the low 200s here, though… most are $300K and up.