Future snowbirds wanting to buy now and rent/move when we retire (Cape Coral: 2015, rentals)

[Baby Boomer]

Thank you for all the wonderful responses!
@ Mike: yes, I heard that Port Charlotte was a good location for canal properties. I am concerned that the canals " lock" and we are going to investigate further.
@ Sea Ray Mark: That's great you can both retire in the next 5 yrs. Sorry about the snow shoveling and I feel your pain! Born and raised in NY and moved to VA 7 yrs ago! Did plenty of that in the past! My sister lives in Bound Brook and had to get towed.
@MrandMrsSunshine: if we can rent the house we want to buy even 26 weeks we would be happy! We can afford to pay some of the expenses but wanted to cover a large portion of them. We will try to be careful moving forward because we don't want to burden ourselves financially. We spoke to a real estate agent and they recommended Gulf Cove.
@ Marty: Maybe we should look in Punta Gorda! Good to know we could cover the marjority of our expenses. That's great that you can move down in a few years.
@ Tam: Thanks for the great info and websites! We will do our research thoroughly before moving forward.
@ foggytoado you like Rotunda? I did talk to a real estate agent and he Recommended Port Charlotte for our what we had said we were looking for. We wanted a canal for boating and wanted to be close to the beach. Your rental experiences are concerning to me. We might have to use a management company since we live in VA.
@ Vikingen: We have been looking in The Gulf Cove area on line per the suggestion of our real estate agent. We also want to be close to the beach but do want to be on a canal for boating. We are coming down in March/April to do our first evaluation of the area and properties.Maybe if we buy we will rent to Scandinavians too...... My best childhood friend was from Norway! We will make sure we decorate in neutrals! I will check out Homeaway too! Thanks for all your suggestions!
@ Kyjake: there still seams to be a decent inventory from what we have been finding. We we come down there to look we will determine if buying now will be to our advantage. If we can rent 5 months per year we would be pretty satisfied! We I also check on which areas and homes need flood insurance BEFORE purchasing. We will take all of the expenses into consideration before moving forward on a home.
@ RexLan: Thank you for letting us know about our expenses including RENTAL tax, which we didn't know about. Unfortunately waiting until retirement will be too late!

[Baby Boomer]

@ Sunshinewi: We were thinking of doing annual rentals also. Was told by sone one that weekly/monthly rentals were more profitable and less wear and tear on a house. We are in our early 50's and can't afford to retire for many yrs! Trying to figure all of this out! Like what area is the best for rentals! Thanks for all your info!

BB

[sunshinewi]

I don't know about less wear and tear. We don't own any furniture (except appliances) in the home and are renting to a couple without children. Plus its all tile. I would imagine if you did seasonal rentals to retirees, there wouldn't be much wear and tear. But vacationers often bring the whole family, so who knows.
I don't know what the rental market is for short term when you aren't on the beach, and during April thru November. Perhaps we will hear from someone who has had success with that.
Although we can't use the house, it is nice to know its rented for a year with guaranteed income. We like the idea of it being occupied instead of sitting empty. BTW - the value according to some websites has increased our house by 12% this past year. If that keeps up, we may not have been able to afford a home down there by the time we retire! We do have to deal with the big things - air conditioner, garage door problems, and some electrical work, so its not like we are making money. But that is to be expected.
We contacted real estate agents and told them we were buying before the prices rose and planned on renting. They were very helpful. Pointed out things in a house renters like.

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by Baby Boomer

.... I heard that Port Charlotte was a good location for canal properties. I am concerned that the canals " lock" and we are going to investigate further....

The canals in Rotonda have a lock that you pass thru to get into Charlotte Harbor. There are no locks in Port Charlotte but a general rule is that canals north of Tamiama are considered freshwater canals. They have spillways leading to the saltwater canals. If you want something that you can transit by boat to the open water of Charlotte Harbor then you have to look pretty much south of Tamiami. Then you are only limited by your bridge clearance, which in most cases is about 10 feet. Unless you want sailboat water (meaning no bridges to open water), then you need to look pretty much south and east of Edgewater and Midway respectively or off of the Manchester Waterway. Plus there are some areas north of the Rt. 41 bridge, but I don't know if that's still considered Port Charlotte or Punta Gorda.

[mr&mrssunshine]

Picking up a couple of points, if you are looking more at vacation rentals then yes less wear and tear as 'vacationers' tend to be out and about more and also live by the pool.
you will achieve higher rents per week but less weeks occupancy. for me I would go for the seasonals, as they tend to respect the house more and pay deposits and rents all up front.

Again, if it were me, for seasonal I would buy in Rotonda. Not because we live there , but because its a much more popular tourist area than PC. Plus revenues will be higher. You are nearer the beaches and golf courses. the downside is the canals go nowhere. i wouldn't recommend PC as a vacation rental spot. PGI will be IMO too expensive to be viable but does have the great canals....downside...beaches a fair way away

lastly don't think you MIGHT HAVE to use a management company, will WILL have to. you will need someone on the ground to handle the day to day stuff....making sure people move in/out ok, supervising proper cleaning, attending emergencies speedily, checking lawns and pools are attended to...it goes on.

Really, do a lot of due diligence before jumping.

[Sea Ray Mark]

Originally Posted by MikMal

The canals in Rotonda have a lock that you pass thru to get into Charlotte Harbor.

I think you mean South Gulf Cove. Rotonda has no access to the harbor.

[mr&mrssunshine]

Originally Posted by Sea Ray Mark

I think you mean South Gulf Cove. Rotonda has no access to the harbor.

I was just thinking that too, then wondering in my coffee hadn't kicked in.

[mr&mrssunshine]

Ok, just cos Im sitting here waiting to walk (and run!!) the dogs. heres some thoughts for VACATION renting only.

(for rent info i have used vrbo.com)

Punta Gorda, really nice area, great for canals, not great for beaches. You will pay a lot more here to buy, rentals seem scarcer and can be $750-$1000+pw

Port Charlotte, i just wouldn't recommend this for a vacation rental home. There are no homes on vrbo.

South Gulf Cove, yes its on canals but i think it takes a while to get to the gulf. Not bad for beaches, Again no rentals on vrbo in SGC. It can be a bit remote which might make some vacationers a bit nervous. I quite like SGC but have heard they get mosquito problems.(that needs confirming)

Rotonda, great for beaches, bad (as in no access) for canals to gulf. Very popular area for vacationers due to the golf courses. rents can be $750-1000pw , i would allow the lower figure as it can be competitive.

two things, wherever you consider buying check if it has an HOA and that they allow weekly rentals (some have a month min)

im sure there is more but its too early :-)

[Baby Boomer]

Contacting real estate agent before we buy is a great idea! I do need to know what renters are looking for. I figured a pool was a nessessity. And we want to buy now just like you because when we retire we will not be able to affort to also.

[Baby Boomer]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

Picking up a couple of points, if you are looking more at vacation rentals then yes less wear and tear as 'vacationers' tend to be out and about more and also live by the pool.
you will achieve higher rents per week but less weeks occupancy. for me I would go for the seasonals, as they tend to respect the house more and pay deposits and rents all up front.

Again, if it were me, for seasonal I would buy in Rotonda. Not because we live there , but because its a much more popular tourist area than PC. Plus revenues will be higher. You are nearer the beaches and golf courses. the downside is the canals go nowhere. i wouldn't recommend PC as a vacation rental spot. PGI will be IMO too expensive to be viable but does have the great canals....downside...beaches a fair way away

lastly don't think you MIGHT HAVE to use a management company, will WILL have to. you will need someone on the ground to handle the day to day stuff....making sure people move in/out ok, supervising proper cleaning, attending emergencies speedily, checking lawns and pools are attended to...it goes on.

Really, do a lot of due diligence before jumping.

We were thinking that renting to seasonal renters but would be concerned that we would not be able to rent enough weeks per year to pay the majority of our expenses. We will talk to a few real estate agents to get their input also. The only real estate agent we did talk with recommended South Gulf Cove because we were thinking that being on a canal would be nice. When we come down to look at areas and house we will look at SGC and Rotonda.