Location recommendatons for a Mom with 2 teen girls (Miami, Orlando: lease, house)

[poobears]

Well thanks for the heads up on the mall, we'll mark that off the list too and look into the other areas mentioned. My work background is mostly in CS and retail management and some warehouse work (which is something I'd rather not do) so sticking close to retail jobs would be easiest all around.

[hot ho]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

I agree.

Further South would be better if going that direction. Closer to Hunter's Creek also has some good options, and is close to major retail (as is virtually ALL of Orlando really) and to the attractions.

Near FL Mall is drug-ridden, prostitution, guns, strip clubs, etc. Avoid living around there.

No way. Hunter's Creek is too close to Meadow Woods and Kissimmee and Boggy Creek. How long until HC becomes a stinkbomb too like those places?

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

I agree.

Further South would be better if going that direction. Closer to Hunter's Creek also has some good options, and is close to major retail (as is virtually ALL of Orlando really) and to the attractions.

Near FL Mall is drug-ridden, prostitution, guns, strip clubs, etc. Avoid living around there.

I agree Hunters Creek would be another good option.

[poobears]

I'm not sure how much I trust the listings on Zillow now. I knew about the sketchy ones like the fake rentals but today we checked out a local one just in case we wind up moving local for a while before moving down. The house on Zillow was really cute and said it was ready for immediate renting. The house we found (no doubt it was the right house, was pretty unique design) was trashed and definitely occupied. Didn't appear to be squatters or anything, these were people that were definitely living there, not sure why they even have the place up for rent and it's not just on Zillow, it's on all the rental websites, so we pulled up another with the same result. Drove to it and it was definitely being lived in. Even though it was a new Zillow listing and said it was ready to be rented immediately. Plus once again it was not in the condition on the outside that the photos showed, they posted old pics from who knows when.

If 2 out of 2 houses were not even close to accurate here. It makes me wonder if I'm wasting my time even using the app.

[bmw335xi]

You might want to find a realtor who is willing to help you find a rental. It doesn’t cost you anything, it’s just a matter of finding one who is willing to do it because like I said, there is little to no money. The only benefit they have is the hope you will use them when you are ready to buy and/or you will recommend them to any friends, family looking to buy or sell in Orlando.

[phlydude]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

You might want to find a realtor who is willing to help you find a rental. It doesn’t cost you anything, it’s just a matter of finding one who is willing to do it because like I said, there is little to no money. The only benefit they have is the hope you will use them when you are ready to buy and/or you will recommend them to any friends, family looking to buy or sell in Orlando.

Agreed - find a realtor - many have helped renters move into purchased properties and help cover remaining rent expenses. They generally look to place other people into these rentals to limit their expense. They also help people that have bought homes transition them to rental properties until they are ready to move into the houses (or they may have been bought specifically as investment/rental properties).

[poobears]

I contacted 5 or 6 realtors in the area and only a couple would even return my calls. None were willing to work with us.

[phlydude]

Let me know if you need another that works with renters
I am working with one now on a home purchase and he works with people looking for rentals as well

[poobears]

Thanks for all your help. I think right now, we are down to such a time crunch on moving, we'll just have to get something here for a while and move when our lease is up. That will give us some time to gain a rental history since all I've done is own outright all the last 20+ years. Then maybe I can get a realtor to work with us from a distance and we can get some houses lined up for viewing prior to going down. Too risky to move with nothing, if it was just me, I wouldn't care, I could bounce from Airbnb to Airbnb until I found a place, but I can't do it with the kids.

[MyITGuy]

Originally Posted by poobears

I contacted 5 or 6 realtors in the area and only a couple would even return my calls. None were willing to work with us.

Jumping in late to this thread - Unfortunately realtors don't really work the rental market down here unless it's their own listing. I found this out the hard way when I relocated here from Miami.

Catching up - I would avoid hopping between major cities (Tallahasee to Orlando), just due to the impact on ability to job hunt as well as kids being able to settle into a school and make friends.

From what I gathered, your looking to stay on the lower side of the budget, while also staying close to Disney/Universal? It's not ideal, but Clermont may be ideal for price, and is just a hop away from Disney (30 mins?), otherwise it looks like there are slim options in the area near me (Just behind Magic Kingdom) with Lakewalk at Hamlin (Apartments), two houses along Avalon Drive in Stoney Brook and several options along Reams and Winter Garden Vineland Road in Winter Garden/Windermere.

In the event it comes through OK: