Has anyone bought a 2nd home in Orlando?

[tbee407]

We are constantly going to Disney World and are thinking that in a few years that we might relocate to the Orlando area. As a result I have been thinking about buying a place there now. In the meantime we could use it as a vaction home and possibly rent it to help with the expenses. Has anyone on the Dis bought a second home in Orlando? If so how has your experience been? What are some issues I need to consider?

Thanks.

 

[LMCT88]

Thinking of retiring there in a few years (hopefully), but for now we are waiting, my husband read an article awhile back about buying down there and renting out property (article said it wasn't that easy to do, as alot of people got into buying condo's etc. to do the same thing). We will most likely when we decide to retire look into a gated community for over 55 so that we don't have to worry about our home when we are not there. Just my thoughts. Good luck with your decision.

 

[ducklite]

I'm living here now, but when we first built our home it was with the intention of using it as a second home, and eventually retiring to it.

Here are some caveats:

Property taxes work differently in Florida. Permanent residents can register their homes as "homesteaded." That keeps property taxes from increasing more than 3% a year, as well as taking some off the top to begin with. Of course the shortfall needs to be made up someplace, and they make it up by allowing non-residents taxes to go up unchecked. Plan on $4K or more a year for a $250K home, and it will be hard if not impossible to find a decent property for less than that.

Homeowners insurance is significantly higher--and harder to find--if you aren't occupying the home year-round. Depending on where you live and how the home is constructed it could be well over $2000 a year, not including flood insurance. If you are renting it you'll pay higher rates yet due to increased liability.

You'll need to pay a management company to look after the place if you do'nt have a trusted friend in the area to leave a key with. That's usually $50-150 a month, depending on what services you want them to provide, 10-15% of each rental if you rent it.

You'll need a lawn care company (plan on that running $100-150 per month)

If you have a pool, you'll need a pool company, that's another $100+ per month

Pest control will run $30 a month

Alarm monitoring will run $10-30 a month

You still need to run the a/c to keep the humidity levels down or you'll get mold, so plan on power bills even when you aren't there.

You'll have cable, phone, water, and possibly gas bills.

All that is before the mortgage and any homeowners fees, and it can be difficult to find a property that doesn't have home owners fees these days.

Not all communities allow short-term rentals, and think about this--when you are ready to retire, do you want to live in a community with short-term rentals and ever changing neighbors?

Anne

 

[JANNYANS]

In addition to the expenses already mentioned don't forget the taxes you will have to pay on any rentals which can be anything up to 13%.

 

[5mins2disney]

Lot's of "issues" with owning a vacation rental home in Florida. It's a business...it's a TON of work! Are you prepared for this? I don't know of ANY owners who are happy with the amount / frequency of bookings from their Mgmt Company...if the frequency is ok then the $$ amount they net is not. If you go and decide to do the bookings / marketing yourself (which is the smart thing to do)... there's a whole host of other things you will need to know and learn about to be successful at it. Most people lose money doing this. Many were "sold the dream" in Florida and think that their place will rent itself via Disney "magic" and the $$ will just pour in...these are the properties you find for sale / in distress a few years later when the reality hits the road.

The previous poster has a good point...do you really want to live / retire in one of the resorts that is basically 100% short term rentals? Windsor Hills, for instance, where we own a home..has about 12 people who live there full time.

Our realtor lived there full time for 1 year...just so he could avoid the capital gains exemption tax he would be hit with, then moved on...very few people actually "live" there. A lot of this is due to the high HOA fees in these resorts...people who live there simply don't want to pay these fees.

- George

 

[hmp2z]

Another thought - the market down here in FL has slowed significantly, and further corrections are expected over the next few years. If you wait a couple of years to buy, when you're actually ready to retire here, you may end up getting a decent deal. Last year, the prices were so over-inflated it was ridiculous, but they're getting progressively better.

We own land here & are building a house, but it will be our residence, so we don't have to worry about short-term rentals.

Cheers!
Heather W