Buying holiday home in Orlando

[gsbell]

Thanks for all the info, i have been a bit busy recently, and just managed to catch up with the replies. I think i will use the house a bit like "magicmehdi" a couple of times a year, so long term rental is out. I have been in touch with a couple of realtors over there, and there does seem to be a lot of properties on the market for a long time. i have seen on news reports over here in Europe that they think the US house prices will drop for the next year, so maybe it might be better to wait a while.
Does anyone now anything about management companies? I presume that there is a lot of short term rental in the Davenport area, as it is so close to Disney. How many weeks of rental would be realistic, and how much weekly income would you get on a 4 bed property with built in pool in say Davenport?
Thanks for all your help.

[cfIfan]

Well these are interesting questions as i have a number of UK customers, (being from the UK myself) and i also write a newspaper column in Kent on the US property market. In terms of property management, the days of companies guaranteeing a minimum occupancy are gone, many companies have gone out of business. You will generally find that at least with the company i work with, income is totally dependent on property and location, and can be from $400-$700 per week. There is usually a management charge which in the company i deal with is $300 per month. Hope this helps

[spainbrit]

I don't work in the Orlando area, but my head office is there. I'm at the gulf beaches.
Many of our clients come from the UK as I and fellow realtors do.
It is most important that you do your homework on buying here. Our company website gives a lot of useful information to buyers. I'm sure other Orlando area ones do.
The people who make claims that you are 'guaranteed' 30 or more weeks per year income are giving sales talk, and you should talk to other owners. You can do this yourself by looking in places like Dalton's weekly and calling some of the advertisers. Some will tell you to get lost, others will be honest. Also look at websites , like vrbo.com (check the letting calendars to see how they are doing) and consider using this service yourself. Management companies can't do it all, you need to get your property known out there.

If you are buying a home that is already used for rentals, ask for their last 2 years tax records for sales - they have to declare rental income for sales and tourist taxes, and from that you can figure out their rental income. If they have other rentals and don't declare them (shocking I know ) then you can assume there is potential for further income. Course you have to take that info with a pinch of salt.

If you are coming on a buying mission, don't see too many properties each day, so that you can take time, away from realtor, to come back and view yourself the one or two that are most likely candidates. Get a shortlist drawn up to view when you come, by receiving information in advance of your trip and go over good and bad points, plusses and minusses that will help narrow down your search criteria beforehand and avoid you wasting both yours and the agents time.

When you come over bring enough funds to open a bank account and have enough in to write a sensible security deposit for a contract offer - say $1000. This is safely taken care of don't worry. Ask your realtor about process for a contract, it's all good when you work with an agent. Try to stick to agents who actually understand the UK market, so they know where you are coming from. There are lots of good ones I'm sure in the area.
Finally remember in Florida, excepting for contingencies written into a contract, once you have signed and the other party has agreed to your terms and signed, you are commited.

[orchidvilla]

Hi... i own a rental on Sunset Ridge Davenport and also run a rental villa owners website and if i can offer any help from a rental owners point of view then feel free to contact me.

Malcolm

[ZIPFL]

I would recommend Reunion, Celebration, Clermont, Hunters Creek.