Do you think it's still worth buying a florida villa?

[eyoreaud]

We have been seriously thinking of investing in a villa in Orlando, but after having read some older threads on these boards, i'm now not so sure if it's still such a good idea. I know that most people don't get their property rented out enough to cover their mortgage repayments but if it covered even half it would maybe still be worth it Are any of you fellow dissers home owners? do you think i'm MAD I've read the article in the Sentinal, saying that the number of people buying over there have now slowed down.

Any opinions either for or againsed would be most welcome

Thanx Audrey

 

[isla bonita]

Audrey
I am a fellow DIser and own a home in Emerald Island. We were very lucky and bought ours before the rise in prices. At this time the prices of homes are still inflated and the market is getting flooded with new homes daily. They are not moving so I think the price will drop some but not enough to make a killing. Just my thoughts on the subject.

I think it is wise to get as much information before purchasing a home. Many peopld will tell you that you can make money on your home. I beg to differ. It is a wonderful opportunity for some for others sheer nightmare. There are many aspects to rental homes that they fail to explain fully. I put in almost 2 years of preperation time and there are still things I am learning.

1. Where to buy? Location of your home is important. Threre are areas such as 27, formosa gardens area, poinciana area and now out near reunion.

2. Size 4 bed easier to rent but market is flooded, larger more a specific clientel

3. Price, what ever you can afford?

4. Man/co ask a lot of questions and get a lot of advice. Even when you think everything is ok they canstart to slack off. We personally have had 4 in the not quite 2 years we have owned. They will be caring for your home while you are many miles away.

5. Will I take care of all the bills or will the man/co? I can only tell you my suggestion. Do as much as you can yourself. You will know it is getting done correctly.

6. You might hear man/co will rent your home for you an ave. of 20 weeks. That might be true but not very likely. My man/co does get me bookings but it is truelly up to me. It is a lot of work running the house and keeping up with the joneses. We do not have a games room as of yet because of the added cost. We also have lost customers because of it. Yes we want to install one but to be perfectly honest I would like to own our home one more year before we decide to put another chunk of cash into it.

7. Here are a list of bills that you might acquire.
mortgage?
taxes
insurance
ecectric
telephone
water/sewer
tangable tax once a year on contents of home
propane? spa heat/BBQ
man/co + %
pool care
pest control
clean fees
state + county tax on rental income
advertising business card ect.
website
general upkeep and repair ongoing
home owner assoc. dues?
The list may be some what different. Maybe you will not have a mortgage or live in a community that has assoc. fees or you do not have a BBQ? Every home is different and it is the owners choice. We did make a big error in our home we did not put 2 kings in our 2 master suites just 1. I know that sounds minimal but it is an error in judgemanr onour part and It is expensive to fix. so we will leave the Q size bed in untill one of them is no good then we will upgrade. Also good advice get a games room if you can afford it or purchase a home with one intact. Ask many questions and keep asking the same questions from as many peopld as you can so you get a good picture. Also ask these questions of owners not realtors. I am being honest with you and I can because I have nothing ot loose. It is not so for some one who just wants a sale. Sorry if I sound glass half empty. You did want the truth I am sure.

We love our home and have had many great times in it since we have owned it. I also know what it is like to have the head aches that go along with being the owner. We plan on keeping our home but if it does not work out we have had many wonderful memories and our equity has gone up approx. 35% so we are one of the lucky people. We are in a win, win situation. I hope I gave you good information and did not scare you away from it. It is the best thing we have done but the most scary at the same. time. Good luck what ever you choose and if thee is anything I left out that you need info on please just pm me any time. Deb

 

[eyoreaud]

Hi Deb,

Thankyou very much for the very honest info it was exactly what i was looking for We are still thinking about it and if we need to know anything more i'll be sure to contact you.

Thanx Again,
Audrey

 

[magicmouse2]

This is something we are planning too. I know there are millions of villas owned by brits in Florida but I would like my own home there, especially since we would love to emigrate in the future. I would rent it out also but just to help contribute toward the costs.

 

[Bambi]

Hi Magicmouse,

That's exactly what we were thinking about! It's a nice dream to look forward to in the future isn't it?

Luv Audrey

 

[allie5]

We keep toying with the idea (espcially after ruling out a DVC membership - the figures just didnt work for us) but I think we missed the boat for now. Prices are nearly double what they were 5 years ago and there are so, so many unrented properties, making a real go of it would be tough. With so much competition, your villa would need to be stunning - as prospective renters expect a lot these days (south facing pool, unoverlooked property, spa, games, internet access etc etc) and it all mounts up.

Our conclusion has been, it is something we WILL do, but only when we dont have to rely on a rental income to pay the mortgage. With the heavily oversubscribed rental market (and more and more villas being built every year) I wouldnt consider taking one on as a business in the current climate.

I think prices are going to drop soon - too many properties, not enough buyers - so if you ARE going to do it, I think it would be wise to leave it a bit longer.

Good luck with what you decide!

Allie

 

[JANNYANS]

I have owned for 8 years and can say at the moment that it is getting harder every year to create income mainly due to the number of homes being built and the building of new condo hotels that is begining.The costs rise almost every month I had a rise of over $100 from last month to this in electricity alone and the bill was $530 so you can see it takes a lot to run a home .As Deb says do a lot of research before you even start to think and then having decided you want to do it do more research from people who have nothing to gain from telling you the truth mainly other owners.I generally say to people who ask me this question that they should ask themselves a question.If there were no rental coming in for 6 months -which is quite feasable - could they afford to run the house and run the house they live in here.
There are many homes for sale and they are staying on the market for longer before they do sell .A lot owners are just not getting enough return to make the house viable .

Do not rush into buying but take your time and find a home you really like -then once you have it you can start working on renting as the only way
to get anywhere near to making enough to maybe cover costs is to get the rentals your self and not rely on a management company getting them for you.

Despite all the hard work and costs of running a home there it is nice to have one but if you are going in it to make money then seriously consider another type of investment .

 

[JoyG]

I know owners of homes have posted here, but what about condo or townhouse sales? Are prices inflated in those areas? Are they experiencing the same type of problems renting as villas? More? Less? Any insight would be great. thanks!

 

[Tron[ADS]]

ive been looking around over the last couple of weeks, and the prices really have hiked up. i remember seeing signes saying "homes from the 80's", but now its rare to see less than the 200's. what has shocked me though, is the sheer volume of new developments going up. they are building wherever they can, yet the prices stay high. competition for rentals is going to get considerably tougher.
what we have decided is that we arent buying till ive paid off my current mortgage, which is about 5-6 years off, or sooner if i can manage to get voluntary redundancy accepted (3rd time lucky maybe).
i wouldnt rule out buying a 2nd hand home maybe a few years old though.

 

[Ali and boyz]

we also thought about it long and hard and we have decided to leave it just now because my husband runs his own company and can only get time of when the school are off but can only take 2 weeks at a time , that and as we need direct flights to Orlando and there are none via scotland in the winter we wouldn't be able to go over then.

if there had been flights and my husband got more time off it would have been more beneficial. went went for DVC for the time being, but I know this isn't for every one.

there is another site/forum that is all villa owners and that is where I got alot of info but I don't know if I am allowed to name it here. I can always pm you if you want the website.

 

[minnie29uk]

Hi!
It is still worth buying a Florida Villa - if you can afford it and love to visit Florida!!!You can't beat the feeling of walking into your own villa and knowing its yours.
If you can buy without a mortgage-even better.But if not,it is still possible to run the villa as a business and it pay itself-that is what I have successfully done for 3 years.But I do spend a couple of hours(maybe more) on computer each evening.I post leaflets,cards up on all notice boards I find in shops,hospitals etc.
I know owners who solely get bookings from work - hospitals and those in the police force have alot of success.Whereas 95% of my bookings are from the internet.

If you can travel and use the homes in the off-peak times,even better.As it is the school holidays that fill up first.

There are lots of lovely homes for sale,and you should always follow your dream-if you can afford to and it doesnt become a financial worry for you.But it will be work too ,

Lynn

 

[Floridafriend]

We have decided to wait as well , we would love to own a villa in Florida but I would worry if I could not afford to run it without relying on rental income