Cape Coral- Rental property (Fort Myers, North Port: renter, HOA, condo)

[djdsa145]

I am thinking of buying in Cape Coral and for now renting the house out,- not sure if for "the season" or long term tenant. Does anyone know how easily houses in this area rent out? I don't want to buy and than find out I cant rent it out. thanks

[jnpittman9]

The rental market has been very good in this area. Fort Myers and area led the nation in rental increase. Should not have a problem annual or seasonal.

[Kim in FL]

You won't have a problem finding a tenant, but I suggest you hire a property manager who can/will screen your applicants. Set your criteria high and you will attract better tenants.. Do you and your neighbors a favor and don't accept sec 8.

[djdsa145]

I would hire a property manager. I am looking in Bella Vida..do you have any comments - good or bad?
thanks for this info

[chiluvr1228]

Bella Vida - that's the Northwest Cape? Single family or condo? If it's nice you should have no problem renting it out as long as you keep the price realistic for the area and the house itself.

[djdsa145]

Thanks Chiluvr1228

[Mr Cape Coral]

Buying a property to use as an income property must be well thought out.
Seasonal rentals are in high demand in January, February and March. Most of the people who come down want a home in good shape and many prefer to have a pool. The house would be fully furnished including kitchen.
When seasonal renters find a place they like, many will reserve it for the next year before they leave.
Seasonal rentals can be rented other times of the year but the demand is not as high.

Annual rentals can come furnished or unfurnished. It can have a pool or not. The area the home is in and the condition of the home and the demand for rental homes in that area determine the rental rate.

People who rent want problems taken care of quickly. It is generally advisable to have a property manager that can keep the unit rented and in good repair.
Just as in purchasing a home, the market determines the price, so it is in rentals. That means you will be more successful in getting and keeping a renter if it is priced right.

People who are wanting to retire in Florida but are not at retirement age will consider buying a home that they like and will use for their own use upon retirement but use it as an investment until retirement. If you go the seasonal route, you can set aside dates that you would like to personally use the property.

[Kim in FL]

Just a thought...if you buy a home with an HOA, make sure you research the ability to rent, either as a long term rental (annual lease) or vacation rental (3 mths or so). Also study the Florida Landlord/Tenant handbook, don't just take the word of a "property manager", they are dime a dozen around here.

Some, if not all, HOAs in this area do address rentals in their by laws. Not only do your tenants have to pass your rental criteria, they have to pass the HOAs. Our HOA can take up to month to process an application..that's a long time for someone to sit and wait for denial or approval.

Good luck!

[chiluvr1228]

^^^ What she said ^^^.

[CTC]

Two great things about using your property for seasonal rental is that you will get your money up front if you use VBRO/HomeAway.com(your quality of renter will be quite high), and you can charge quite a bit more (probably 2x the amount of long term).

We did this for 5 years-a small modest pool home in North Port. We averaged 4 months out of the year and a couple at 6 months.

You don't need a property manager-use Home Away/VBRO-be available and bend over backwards to get things fixed. One thing about FL, service people are used to working with absentee property owners.

We had a dishwasher go out-called Lowes-they had one installed within a week. bad disposal-no prob-called a plumber, new washer and dryer-same thing they charged my card over the phone. AC went out-no big deal, they put a whole new system in with out us being there.

Use a cleaning service, have a lock box, make some friends in the neighborhood to keep an eye on the place or use a Homewatch service. Go down a couple of times a year to have a working vacation. Find a good yard service etc

Our experience was that Dec-April was pretty solidly booked-we had people who wanted to rent 2 years in advance!

The cash flow we got helped with remodeling/renovations during the off season. We also had some rentals in the summer where people were looking for a place to stay while they searched for a house to buy. Lower prices for sure, but still nice income

In your area a nice furnished, clean pool home I imagine would be booked easily for 3-4k a month during season