How do I ask a legitimate question here? (Tampa, Orlando: apartment, to rent)

[Ksc1972]

How do I ask a question on here? My posts keep getting deleted?

VTSnowbird, if I am doing something wrong please let me know, don’t just delete my posts.

[Ksc1972]

Ok, as this thread has not been deleted. Let me ask the question here….

Hey folks, so I am Canadian and as happens every winter I dream of having winter place in Florida (that white stuff only looks good on TV and shoveling it is a real chore ). I still have about 10 years before retirement so I want to buy a place now that I can rent out but use as our winter residence after retirement. We have about 200K-250K in liquid assets we could use for the purchase. We would like to buy in either Orlando or Tampa area so I will post on both forums. Once the pandemic ends we plan to visit both cities but for now I am just gathering options.

If our requirements are

- Budget max $250K
- Distance from downtown/entertainment centers: 1 hour max
- Type of property: Single Family Home
- HOA: $0; or no more than $100/month
- Preferably close to 'some' shopping and restaurants

Is it possible to find a house in a safe area which won't get run down/lose value in coming years and that we can easily rent out for the next few years given our budget and requirements? If yes; please provide a list of such areas/zip codes.

If our budget is too low; which of our requirements should we change. If at all possible we don't want to buy an condo/apartment and would prefer a house.

I have looked on Realtor.com and Zillow and am able to find many potential properties but have no idea if they are in safe areas, if those areas are likely to become run down, or how hard it will be rent the place. Please help and provide list of potential areas.

Thanks!

[Schuttzie]

Originally Posted by Ksc1972

Ok, as this thread has not been deleted. Let me ask the question here….

Hey folks, so I am Canadian and as happens every winter I dream of having winter place in Florida (that white stuff only looks good on TV and shoveling it is a real chore ). I still have about 10 years before retirement so I want to buy a place now that I can rent out but use as our winter residence after retirement. We have about 200K-250K in liquid assets we could use for the purchase. We would like to buy in either Orlando or Tampa area so I will post on both forums. Once the pandemic ends we plan to visit both cities but for now I am just gathering options.

If our requirements are

- Budget max $250K
- Distance from downtown/entertainment centers: 1 hour max
- Type of property: Single Family Home
- HOA: $0; or no more than $100/month
- Preferably close to 'some' shopping and restaurants

Is it possible to find a house in a safe area which won't get run down/lose value in coming years and that we can easily rent out for the next few years given our budget and requirements? If yes; please provide a list of such areas/zip codes.

If our budget is too low; which of our requirements should we change. If at all possible we don't want to buy an condo/apartment and would prefer a house.

I have looked on Realtor.com and Zillow and am able to find many potential properties but have no idea if they are in safe areas, if those areas are likely to become run down, or how hard it will be rent the place. Please help and provide list of potential areas.

Thanks!

Hello, you will find it difficult to find a tenant for those months other than winter as we have many snowbirds here. I am in Dunedin and we love it here. Hopefully more replies will come along.

[gus2]

Originally Posted by Ksc1972

How do I ask a question on here? My posts keep getting deleted?

VTSnowbird, if I am doing something wrong please let me know, don’t just delete my posts.

Follow the terms of service: https://www.city-data.com/forumtos.html

Discussing moderator actions (deleting/moving/editing threads or posts) is not allowed in the public forums. General concerns should be addressed in About the Forum. Any particular issues will only be dealt with in Direct Messages sent to a local moderator. All complaints should be sent via DM to the senior moderators

So, edit your first post to be in compliance and you should be good to go!

[MortonR]

Your budget limits you to areas that are less than desirable, I’m afraid. On top of that the likelihood of finding a tenant for the summer months is slim at best.

Sorry.

RM

[Ksc1972]

To clarify, we are not going to be using the house until we retire. So the intention is to rent it for a few years. What is a reasonable budget for our requirements these days?

[Ksc1972]

Originally Posted by gus2

Follow the terms of service: https://www.city-data.com/forumtos.html
So, edit your first post to be in compliance and you should be good to go!

Sorry I must be dense but I cannot find an option to edit my original post. How do I do that?

[HWTechGuy]

Originally Posted by Ksc1972

To clarify, we are not going to be using the house until we retire. So the intention is to rent it for a few years. What is a reasonable budget for our requirements these days?

The market is insane right now. If you have ten years before you retire I would wait until things stabilize.


As others have said, your budget will limit you to less-than-desirable areas, to put it politely.

[LKJ1988]

Even in dumpy areas like west Pasco prices are insane jane.

[Zambon]

Originally Posted by Ksc1972

Ok, as this thread has not been deleted. Let me ask the question here….

Hey folks, so I am Canadian and as happens every winter I dream of having winter place in Florida (that white stuff only looks good on TV and shoveling it is a real chore ). I still have about 10 years before retirement so I want to buy a place now that I can rent out but use as our winter residence after retirement. We have about 200K-250K in liquid assets we could use for the purchase. We would like to buy in either Orlando or Tampa area so I will post on both forums. Once the pandemic ends we plan to visit both cities but for now I am just gathering options.

If our requirements are

- Budget max $250K
- Distance from downtown/entertainment centers: 1 hour max
- Type of property: Single Family Home
- HOA: $0; or no more than $100/month
- Preferably close to 'some' shopping and restaurants

Is it possible to find a house in a safe area which won't get run down/lose value in coming years and that we can easily rent out for the next few years given our budget and requirements? If yes; please provide a list of such areas/zip codes.

If our budget is too low; which of our requirements should we change. If at all possible we don't want to buy an condo/apartment and would prefer a house.

I have looked on Realtor.com and Zillow and am able to find many potential properties but have no idea if they are in safe areas, if those areas are likely to become run down, or how hard it will be rent the place. Please help and provide list of potential areas.

Thanks!

$250k for a single family house means you will be looking in less than desirable neighborhoods as other folks have put it above. That means renting the house to vacationers will be difficult. I personally do not think your plan is realistic, but it is also not impossible. I think you should look at condos instead. There are some 2/1 condos with community pools that you could rent out for some of the year and enjoy while you are down here.