How do I go about finding informatin about BUYING a vacation home near WDW?

[MousekaMaddi]

well said!

 

[isla bonita]

well said!

I second that.

 

[Frothy]

What I am about to say is just MHO. I am a resident surrounded by short term rental homes. The majority of the homes sit empty at least 50% of the time.

Many are going to long term or selling. Why? because a short term rental is a dime a dozen here. Competition is fierce and it's very hard to stand out and get full time bookings.

Now, if you have the extra income and plan on doing the majority of the bookings yourself and have someone in place that will watch over the place and take care of issues for you...then I'd say consider it.

I see more and more for sale signs with fully furnished on the signs on a daily basis.

Foreclosures are the norm and banks want a large downpayment.

For everyone that is making a go of it, congrats, but honestly with the economy the way it is.....well I personally wouldn't do it with the thought of being able to make money off it or even count on making the mortgage every month.

Again, just MHO

We became interested in buying a home if we could get it to cover it's costs and we didn't have to work at it too hard to make it do so. The company that we rent from gave us some invaluable advice, Nigel, I think his name was, and he said that under no circumstances should you ever buy a rental home unless you can afford to carry it for 12 months.

He said that it takes 2-3 years to get a decent level of bookings and only if you are prepared to do a lot of work yourself. He was very open and told us that if you were buying for lifestyle and family reasons first then great but if investment was the main concern then not to as although the real estate market is now at a great time to buy, you simply don't want to gamble on it recovering quickly. He also said that if this is a long term investment of 10 years then you'd probably be OK but there were no guarantees.

As a result we didn't go any further and we think his advice was good. He told us the plus side and he definitely told us the minus side. We are still thinking of doing it at some stage but for now we are staying with renting a couple of times a year.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

I'd love a PM too please

 

[isla bonita]

We became interested in buying a home if we could get it to cover it's costs and we didn't have to work at it too hard to make it do so. The company that we rent from gave us some invaluable advice, Nigel, I think his name was, and he said that under no circumstances should you ever buy a rental home unless you can afford to carry it for 12 months.

He said that it takes 2-3 years to get a decent level of bookings and only if you are prepared to do a lot of work yourself. He was very open and told us that if you were buying for lifestyle and family reasons first then great but if investment was the main concern then not to as although the real estate market is now at a great time to buy, you simply don't want to gamble on it recovering quickly. He also said that if this is a long term investment of 10 years then you'd probably be OK but there were no guarantees.

As a result we didn't go any further and we think his advice was good. He told us the plus side and he definitely told us the minus side. We are still thinking of doing it at some stage but for now we are staying with renting a couple of times a year.

You got some great honest advice. You can not beat that.

 

[gqchicago]

I think I would tend to avoid buying a rental home with a partner. If you can't afford it yourself, then you truly can't afford to own one! They're VERY expensive to maintain. Most homes run at a loss. You have no idea how much work and effort goes into it, like hours, every single day! (I wasn't prepared for this part).

Don't do the work, you won't get bookings.

How do you split up the work load amongst partners? How do you decide what to spend $$ on for the home? (This is important!) Maintenance is expensive, and since it's a rental home, it will take a lot more wear and tear than a normal home, meaning more maintenance, more replacement of items, etc.

I think it's a great tip to plan on being able to "carry" the home for 12 months if you don't have rental income. Will you be good at marketing it, running it, getting bookings, decorating it, setting up a website, etc? Hard to say, it's not impossible, but it's definitely a ton of work.

Here's an article from the WSJ:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120232437161848343.html

Here's an interesting article posted on another owner's website about vacation homes:
http://www.mickeytown.com/how-do-you-recommend-that-i-furnish-and-decorate-my-vacation-rental-home/

I also suggest doing some reading on:
www.laymyhat.com

 

[DVCJEN]

We looked at purchasing a vacation home a few years ago. We decided against it. In addition to the mortgage amount, taxes, and insurance we had to factor in a management company. For the type of property we wer looking at, a management company wanted between 500-800 per month for services.
So not worth the headache in an over exposed market.

 

[gqchicago]

...a management company. For the type of property we wer looking at, a management company wanted between 500-800 per month for services.
So not worth the headache in an over exposed market.

Ours is pretty typical, it's $275 a month, and that includes weekly pool maintenance and monthly pest control, just an fyi for you all that might be looking so you get an idea / budgetary figure for the costs involved.

 

[KayR]

We looked at purchasing a vacation home a few years ago. We decided against it. In addition to the mortgage amount, taxes, and insurance we had to factor in a management company. For the type of property we wer looking at, a management company wanted between 500-800 per month for services.
So not worth the headache in an over exposed market.

Wow, that must be more than just the regular management fee.

George has it right. 275-300 per month is what should be budgeted for a regular monthly M/C payment. On top of that are any other charges for repairs / maintenance, replacement items etc.

 

[chickie]

It's funny. I thought I'd do a quick search about owning rental homes this evening here on the Dis. I didn't have to search very far!
Thanks for the honest answers from everyone and the attached articles. We've been thinking about this, but we'd only be able to do it AFTER our own mortgage was paid off, so we could afford the new mortgage payments without much hardship.

Isla Bonita (and the others) if you have a minute, I'd love to get that PM that you've been so generously sending out.
Thanks!

 

[mama03]

Have you considered a timeshare or Disney Vacation Club. I know you can also purchase thru Marriott or even hilton. We currently live in Florida, but purchased DVC back in 1999 when we lived out of state. We still love owning at Disney. Go to DVC area and look at all the info and the boards to get all the info you could want at owning. Also, look at the timeshare store for resales. If you plan on coming down once a year or even every other year its worth it. We certainly already have paid for our ownership. We usually get a Two bedroom/Two bath with full kitchen and washer/dryer for one week. It just depends on the points you purchase. As a side note I am a real estate agent here in Clearwater, Florida. I would do alot of research before actually purchasing a home or condo (insurance, monthly maintenance fees, taxes). One of my favorite places to rent from is VRBO. Although we rent for our ski vacations. Check out this site and just see what is available in the Orlando area. You will get a good idea of the competition. Hope this helped you.