Rental Houses (Orlando, Daytona Beach, Oviedo: relocating, for sale, apartment complex)

[twheels]

Hey All, been a lurker here for some time. My family and I are moving to Orlando area in a couple of months. Wondering if anyone has any great advice (besides stay away) on renting houses. I've looked around at the 'good areas' and seems like everyone has their own opinion on what is good and what isn't. That is to be expected. We are looking to rent for about a year to see what areas we really like and where we actually end up working and stuff...but in the mean time, we don't want to end up living in some ramshackle. I've done some pretty extensive searching and found that a decent (at least on the net) house can be had for about a thousand a month, with some more expensive areas obviously more expensive!

Wondering what GOOD advice anyone can give on areas. We have a 6 month old currently, who will hopefully grow bigger as the days pass, so all the kid stuff is important. I guess it is important also in case we don't end up moving in a year as well.

Thanks!
Tony

[win13]

Originally Posted by twheels

Hey All, been a lurker here for some time. My family and I are moving to Orlando area in a couple of months. Wondering if anyone has any great advice (besides stay away) on renting houses. I've looked around at the 'good areas' and seems like everyone has their own opinion on what is good and what isn't. That is to be expected. We are looking to rent for about a year to see what areas we really like and where we actually end up working and stuff...but in the mean time, we don't want to end up living in some ramshackle. I've done some pretty extensive searching and found that a decent (at least on the net) house can be had for about a thousand a month, with some more expensive areas obviously more expensive!

Wondering what GOOD advice anyone can give on areas. We have a 6 month old currently, who will hopefully grow bigger as the days pass, so all the kid stuff is important. I guess it is important also in case we don't end up moving in a year as well.

Thanks!
Tony

Hi, Tony

I am also moving to Orlando in March 2008. I work for the federal government and will be working from Maitland. I have been doing research on where to move. I have 4 kids(1,4,5,9) and am looking for a good school area. I heard that Seminole County is good; so I am looking into Oviedo. I will also be renting for about 6 months to a year until I get to know the area better and then buy a house.
I was thinking of renting a house, however most house rentals are asking for at least a 12 months lease; I am wondering if the lease can be broken if I find a house to buy during that time. If not, I will probably look into a apartment complex that have shorter term lease.
Wish you all the best with your search. Let me know what you find out.

Winston

[Dee2e]

Tony, if you want an escape clause in your lease, ask for one. Many landlords will say no but some may say yes. Don't be afraid to ask for what you want.

Most leases here are 7 or 12 months unless you are in a short term rental community where the prices for rent are high since they can rent daily or weekly, like a hotel.

Try rentals.com or rent.com.

[sg928]

We are also moving to florida this summer. We are looking @ Southwest FL. Please keep us updated on what you find and how's it going for your family and children. It will give me a reference point on what to expect. Like you, I don't want to hear. "Don't move to Florida!". I just want to hear what it is like from someone with children around the same age and looking to rent a house for about the same price. Good luck.

[nickindependence]

Hi Tony, hope you all had a good christmas and new year. The best thing i can tell you is that there are alot of properties on the rental market and many landlords will bend backwards to get your business because there is so much competition out there so dont be afraid to ask for what you want.

As someone who is originally from the UK i understand the trials and tribulations of relocating and how hard it can be. I do think you are doing the right thing renting but i wouldnt do so for more than 7 months as you want to take full advantage of the current market.

If you are a young family as we are i can recommend Winter Garden not only as a realtor but as someone who lives there myself. We are right on Disney's doorstep and quite a way from the neon lights and hustle and bustle of the tourist trap which is 192.

If you want any help or info feel free to contact me and i would be more than happy to help you. When are you looking at moving down and have you already found a place to rent as i might be able to refer you to a good rental company aswell who im sure would be happy to rent for 6 months.

Nick

[pel4us]

Hi I am a realtor in the Daytona Beach area and highly recommend moving to Florida. Anywhere in Florida that meets your needs as to style, population etc. One way to determine the general feel of an area is to map the the local schools and check to see what grade the school received. If it is less than a B, check some more. Most schools which have received grades of A are generally in what one would consider a "nice area". Then if is is managed by realtor, ask for pictures. If the pictures offered do not give you a good feel for what the home looks like, ask the realtor to get more pictures for you. It should not be a problem since they are trying to rent the property. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. Remember realtors can not tell you some details of a community, due to the discrimination laws, buy all can give you an idea of what the community is like along with community photos and highlights of community activities.

Also, it is not unheard of to add an escape clause just explain your plans, it is a reasonable request. Yes most leases are 7 to 12 months, this allows the tenant to avoid the 12.5% tax that is charged on any rental that is for less than 6 months and 1 day. It is the law to collect taxes on these. But for those relocating, many times this escape clause is standard if you let the realtor you are working with that you will be happy to use their services for your purchase.
Hope this helps someone and yes by all means move to Florida, it is a great place to live. Takes a bit of getting used to but overall there is nowhere that I would rather live and I relocated here almost 20 years ago.

[pel4us]

Hi I am a realtor in the Daytona Beach area and highly recommend moving to Florida. Anywhere in Florida that meets your needs as to style, population etc. One way to determine the general feel of an area is to map the the local schools and check to see what grade the school received. If it is less than a B, check some more. Most schools which have received grades of A are generally in what one would consider a "nice area". Then if is is managed by realtor, ask for pictures. If the pictures offered do not give you a good feel for what the home looks like, ask the realtor to get more pictures for you. It should not be a problem since they are trying to rent the property. Ask questions, ask questions, ask questions. Remember realtors can not tell you some details of a community, due to the discrimination laws, buy all can give you an idea of what the community is like along with community photos and highlights of community activities.

Also, it is not unheard of to add an escape clause just explain your plans, it is a reasonable request. Yes most leases are 7 to 12 months, this allows the tenant to avoid the 12.5% tax that is charged on any rental that is for less than 6 months and 1 day. It is the law to collect taxes on these. But for those relocating, many times this escape clause is standard if you let the realtor you are working with that you will be happy to use their services for your purchase.
Hope this helps someone and yes by all means move to Florida, it is a great place to live. Takes a bit of getting used to but overall there is nowhere that I would rather live and I relocated here almost 20 years ago.[/quote]

[Sue59]

Hi Tony, I live in Clermont and its pretty good as you probably know by now rent is cheap, very cheap, we are moving out of our apt, and we decided to rent a house at this time, we are finding them running about 1,000 on up...the area we are going to is either going to be groveland or we will stay in clermont.............the outskirts of Groveland is not bad quiet but alot of diffrent cultures may i say but that is ok, clermont is more up class should i say but very congested too much building with alot I mean alot of empty houses which is sad that is why the rent is so cheap.... anyway good luck sue

[twheels]

Hey All, Thanks for the replies! I appreciate it. I am headed down this week to hopefully secure housing and employment!

[traysea]

I live very close to downtown Winter Garden .. in a cute small subdivision called Winter Oaks. There are several houses for sale here and I am sure they would also be open to rentals. We're renting and really love the neighborhood...

my hubby works in maitland and he takes the back roads and avoids a lot of traffic that way.

The 408 and turnpike are convenient. Schools are decent. Charter schools in Oakland is excellent. I also found good daycare for my baby in a close by church.

Winter Garden is really cute.

good luck.