Off site homes? Have a few Concerns?

Most owners require a security deposit that they will refund you if there's no damage. A few have a damage waiver that you buy extra instead or along with a security deposit. The saying usually holds true: "you get what you pay for." Cheap gets you cheap and hopefully more expensive gets you much better. Yep, it's a lot of work. I usually find 10 or so that I like and bookmark them for the next time we're going, usually go twice a year. A lot will be already booked by the time I get dates finalized. If they don't have the floor plan on their site you can usually google it and find the subdivision and the style of homes they have.

I'd recommend Emerald Island and Windsor Hills. Both are secure gated communities 3 and 2 miles from Disney respectively so ideally located. They also have a holiday feel and consist primarily of homes used for holiday rental rather than residential. We've usually just rented direct from owners. Would recommend

Windsorhillsprivaterentals .com and Emeraldislandprivaterentals .com

When renting direct from owners advice is always do your research. Look for evidence of the owner and their property online using google searches. Post on disboards looking for others who have stayed in the property and dealt with that owner so you can get feedback. You can also check the Osceola or Polk county records to ensure the villa is owned by that person. I think this is probably not necessary but it's there for peace of mind if needed. I would always suggest talking to the owner on the phone and getting a feel for them.

Hope that helps.
Dave

soma151 said:

Thanks every one, we got a hold of a real-estate agent and she has been very helpful. She pointed out all the areas and even rental companies to use. Now all in have to do is not buy any of those beautiful homes she keeps sending us in email. I can believe how cheap they are? I have rentals in Portland and none give any where close to the return that she claims you can get?

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Of course she is telling you about absurdly high returns. They are not true. Just look on vrbo and see how much people are actually renting places for (get quotes, pretend you want to rent). Then factor in all the expenses, I will be happy to pm you some of our receipts/statements from when we had a vacation rental in Orlando. Even though I kept it rented out myself (rented almost 300 days a year) the management company still managed to nickel and dime us to death. We had no profit at all. $175 every 2 months to "power wash the pool area" (all 300sf of it). $15 to change a light bulb, $70 to replace furnace filter. $250 to clean the furniture, frequently. $300 to clean the carpets, very frequently. And the taxes, around $400/month. Electric out there is $350-400/month. Pool service, $90/month. And on and on and on. Seriously, its so cheap to rent places in Orlando and its the worst place to buy. Most of the renters I had were good but all it takes is a couple bad ones to trash your house, and the management company will probably be too busy to notify you that the couch, carpet and and chairs all needed steam cleaned after a guest left, even though it had just been done, so you probably will have refunded their deposit before you ever find out about how dirty they made your house and how much it cost you. Plus, every time we went there for vacation I ended up replacing cooking equipment (one time all of my pots and pans were gone), painting dirty/stained walls, replacing ruined furniture, etc. Our "vacations" became hellcations where all I did was try to repair stuff while the kids complained that they wanted to go to the parks. And you can say "well you had a bad management company" but I had one of the highest rated ones. None of them are good. Why do you think there are literally thousands of foreclosures in Orlando? If you want some of my statements I will send you them, just let me know.

If you're still looking for somewhere, I stayed at the Windsor Hills Resort in May at this house - https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoLakefrontVilla?fref=nf

This is the fourth time we've stayed there as booking etc was a total breeze and no issues during any of our trips. It's worth looking at - I can't recommend them enough! They have a website with availability. So it might be worth a look.

Hope you find somewhere perfect, it's worth the hassle. Most amazing holidays I've ever had!

We just rented a house in Haines City about 2 weeks ago and it was great. Found it on VRBO, and had no problems. It was a little farther away than I wanted, but ended up being perfect! Easy drive in, about 25 minutes, tons of grocery and food nearby. Would rent it again in a heartbeat, and only $400 for 5 nights. Pool, but no hot tub. If you want more info, let me know.

We have rented in Windsor hills a few times and have had good luck. My favorite is to go through the owner but have it managed by a real estate company. It just makes me feel better.

I have used VRBO and look for houses with the newest reviews. I also used windsor hills private rentals and then google the house to see about reviews. Windsor hills best rentals is another website. That is where I found my latest . I rented it last year and am renting it next month. Going through the owner , he gives me a great rate and I don't have to pay the ex,tra real estate fees. But the real estate company manages it .