pros and cons of buying a condo near Disney World as a vacation home

[Grumpy's Gal]

I'm no where near ready to do this -- but I think of it from time to time.

I'd love to have a small condo (2 BR maybe) really near Disney so anytime we found reasonable airfare on short notice, off we could go! No searching for a hotel and no packing bags! We could keep our stuff there.

And no paying $$$$$ for bags on the airline.

So I'm trying to make a list of pros and cons.......

anyone care to give me your thoughts?

Obviously, the first consideration is money. If we got a reasonable priced condo, would it still be a better deal just to stay onsite instead. And with a condo, we'd have to rent a car.

However, as DD pointed out, we could go and stay for several weeks in the summer and bless her heart "dad could come to visit us if he had to work!"

ha!

 

[SandrA9810]

I know right now, banks aren't approving loans on condos in florida. Because so many HOAs are going under A) lack of tenants B) people failing to pay their fees. If you really want a vacation home, look into a town home in the Reunion/Champions Gate area.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

We have a condo as a vacation home. Ours is not at Disney but at a lake 4 hours from our "work" home. Here are so pros and cons we have found over the 4 years we have been owners at our favorite vacation spot:

Cons:
It is ours and if something needs fixing we have to figure out how to fix it! It can be very hard to get someone to go in and fix the air conditioner for example when you don't live in the area. We have a guy who works for our association who will let workers in and check on them for a fee. He is a God send!

Things wear out and need replaced like appliances and heat and cooling systems.

There are trips spent not on the lake but painting or repairing

I have to clean it!

Pros:
I don't pack anything but the key.

I can go with out any planning. If we discover on Friday that we have no soccer games or other kid stuff all weekend we can just decide to leave.

I can spend all summer there IF I can figure out how to not need to be at home!

It is mine - no worries about who slept in the bed last or what the hotel will really look like when we get there.

It will be ours forever and we can retire there if we decide we want too.

My kids have their own room!

To us it is the best decision we ever made. It is way more expensive than we thought it would be but soooo worth it for us. DH can actually relax there. and that is priceless! When we are having bad days at work we can dream of getting in the car and heading out to our little piece of heaven.

 

[cvjw]

Why not buy some DVC points and get an owner's locker? Most times of the year, there is usually something available short notice. You wouldn't have to do any upkeep - you pay Disney to do that. I had always wanted to have a beach house - that just seemed so wonderful. The older I get, I have started thinking about the reality of having a second home. 2 sets of bills every month, paying insurance and taxes on 2 homes, repairs and upkeep on 2 homes, the list could go on. That is one of the reasons we bought DVC - we bought the points and Disney does the rest. I have had very good luck getting reservations with only a months notice - we consider it our 2nd home for 3 weeks a year.

 

[Silent1CB]

Cons from 2 people who both grew up with parents who owned vacation homes. You NEVER go anywhere else. Its the only vacation place you & your kids will ever go to again & again. Make sure its something everyone in family is willing to do year after year.

Yes, the work of owning it, cleaning it, repairing it...... Takes away that vacation feeling for lots of folks.

We both grew up having vacation homes. As adults, we've had the opportunity to buy those homes, and both of us have said no each time. After living it as kids, its not something we want as adults. We like to travel, but don't want to be tied down to the same place over and over and never go anywhere else.

I hear that same thing from others that own vacation places. They never go anywhere else. And they miss that sometimes.

 

[arminnie]

I debated for years about getting a condo in New Orleans. I finally decided to - bought 10 days before Katrina!!!!!

But I am still very happy that I did it.

But my situation is a little different than Disney - I have a many decade relationship with New Orleans and have many friends there.

I love being able to hop a flight with only my purse. Plus a couple of times when I've been stranded at some airport I always know that I could always go to New Orleans and have a bed. Little Rock is sometimes kind of hard to get a flight to.

I'm not sure I would buy in Orlando as it is always possible to get a room some place. In New Orleans (even pre-Katrina) it could be impossible to get a room during Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest.

 

[Sarah_Rose]

I personally wouldn't choose to buy a vacation property, anywhere, even if it was somewhere that I was sure I was going to want to visit many times for the foreseeable future.

Not the same situation, but my DH's parents bought a cottage on a small island 3 hours north of Toronto (where they live), back when their kids were very young - this was more than 25 years ago. Over time, many family members have bought their own cottages on the island, including DH's cousin (and his young family) who live in Seattle (where we are currently living) on the other side of the country. DH's parents have also bought the two cottages on either side of their original one over the years, so that they have 3 cottages to give to their 3 children as they get older. I love going up to the cottage for short trips but.... oh god, I'm dreading owning one of them one day.

Every summer, I watch DH's cousin's wife become more and more bitter about having to fly across the country to spend a month (most of the summer) performing maintenance on the cottage. They never go anywhere else because they have to use all their vacation time to upkeep their cottage and feel obligated to go there because they own it. My husband and I will be in the same situation once we receive the family cottage as a "gift". Right now the agreement is that we vacation on a 3-year rotation: cottage one year, WDW one year, and somewhere else one year.... once we own the darn thing, I won't have the option NOT to go. And I really do like it up there... but I also like traveling other places. DH's family never went anywhere else growing up, and I don't want to do that to my kids (and myself!).

Yes, it's nice to own a place that is entirely yours and full of your own stuff, but you have to think about how you'll feel in 5, 10, or 25 years. Will you still want to go to WDW several times a year? What if your adult kids don't want to go to WDW? What if you can't sell it?

 

[Disneycrazymom]

One of the things we agreed too before we bought was that we would take 1 week each summer to go somewhere else than the lake. The last 2 years have been Disney, the 2 before that we did a cruise. It is important to be flexible and not always feel like you have to go to the same place. Our place is in an area we both traveled to as kids and our families still go there. It feels like home. We enjoy it year round and so that makes a difference too.

 

[dclfun]

The biggest con to me would be upkeep ( not only costs but the time involved) and then security concerns when you aren't staying there. As was mentioned, many condos and HOA's in Florida are having trouble with defaults on monthly dues so the other owners are having to cough up to cover costs. With a condo, you always have the maintenance fees which can rise substantially over time. If the area you buy in starts to deteriorate, then you'll have trouble reselling or you could have depreciation of the value of your investment. Sometimes a once-nice neighborhood will become one that ends up being a target for crime, etc. I'd also buy DVC if I were you. We once thought of buying a large camper for our family of 6 then realized that with storage, maintenance, costs for gas and needing to rent a campsite at Ft. Wilderness we'd be better off having DVC and "freedom" vs. being tied to owning the camper. I know I'd feel the same way about a vacation property- more responsibility and inherent risk than DVC ( or another timeshare property that you'd enjoy) and less freedom to enjoy my vacation time. If we'd have bought the camper we'd have only been able to choose Ft. Wilderness for a Disney vacation. With DVC we have many Disney resort choices and if we want to go somewhere other than Disney we can rent our points or bank them for later.---Kathy

 

[Sarah_Rose]

One of the things we agreed too before we bought was that we would take 1 week each summer to go somewhere else than the lake. The last 2 years have been Disney, the 2 before that we did a cruise. It is important to be flexible and not always feel like you have to go to the same place. Our place is in an area we both traveled to as kids and our families still go there. It feels like home. We enjoy it year round and so that makes a difference too.

I think the fact that you're so close makes a big difference, too. When you have to fly to your destination (like the OP is talking about with WDW), it becomes a much bigger and expensive production. If you can just drive up for a weekend, it's much easier to just enjoy your vacation home.

 

[SandrA9810]

Living within a few hrs of your vacation home out on a lake or something sounds wonderful. It's a small home away from home. It's not close to work or school or any other daily important life things, but close enough to enjoy as often or as little as you like. And making a weekend to go out there for some routine maintenance isn't going to ruin your whole family vacation time.

A time share option might be better. And even through DVC you can swap your points for a fee to use at other time share resorts across the US. Plus they have the Vero Beach, South Carolina, California and now Hawaii. So you aren't limited to just Orlando.

You also have to look at the cost of Disney tickets. Are you going to be going for a month in the summer?? Maybe spend a holiday or two at the World?? Annual passes are great but your looking at a few hundred per ticket (with fl resident discount). So you'll have to stack that on top of your yearly fees for the house. What about other theme parks?? As the kids get older are they going to want to spend time at Universal or Sea World or the water parks?? The other places are cheaper than Disney, but that's still a lot of money. At least as a DVC owner you can get discounted APs or regular MYW tickets.


Campers are great. But you have to be the right kind of family to own one. Plus the cost of adding a Tow Vehicle. Are you going to happy driving across the country and staying at state parks and being more of a nature kind of person??
My cousins have a really nice Travel Trailer, I would love to have. But A)they have the space to store it, cause they have a farm, B) their tow vehicle is a F-350 but he uses it often on the farm so it serves more than one purpose, C) since they run their own farm, they can take vacations when they want to (they also have help from the grown kids for crop season).

There's a lot more options out there than buying a vacation home near your favorite spot, because soon it might not become your favorite spot.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

I think the fact that you're so close makes a big difference, too. When you have to fly to your destination (like the OP is talking about with WDW), it becomes a much bigger and expensive production. If you can just drive up for a weekend, it's much easier to just enjoy your vacation home.

I totally agree! Even 4 hours can seem long. (I realize with a direct flight a person could be in FL as fast). If something goes wrong we are able to drive down in the am, fix whatever, and drive home in the pm. Not a plan I like but we have done it. Once the power went out due to a storm and was off for a couple days, I had left meat in the freezer and so we had to get down there to throw it out. Yuck! DH did the drive on Sat. while I stayed home to shuttle kids to weekend games. In a case like that having to take a flight would make it harder. Of course the OP would be smart enough not to leave meat her freezer in storm season!

OP also if you decide to buy try to get into a condo with some full timers. We have pretty many and they are wonderful about keeping an eye on things. Also try to get into one that does NOT do nightly rentals. Some of our original owners still have the right to rent theirs out (not for less than 3 nights though) and we have found IF there is going to be someone causing trouble it will be the renters. By trouble I mean little stuff like parking boats in the middle of the road, being up late with music on. We have never had anything bad happen but we will be happy when there is no one left who can rent. (the HOA has changed the rule and only those grandfathered in can still rent).

On the HOA plan for the fees to go up every year! they just do!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Why not buy some DVC points and get an owner's locker? Most times of the year, there is usually something available short notice. You wouldn't have to do any upkeep - you pay Disney to do that. I had always wanted to have a beach house - that just seemed so wonderful. The older I get, I have started thinking about the reality of having a second home. 2 sets of bills every month, paying insurance and taxes on 2 homes, repairs and upkeep on 2 homes, the list could go on. That is one of the reasons we bought DVC - we bought the points and Disney does the rest. I have had very good luck getting reservations with only a months notice - we consider it our 2nd home for 3 weeks a year.

I have an owners locker already which is nice -- but.....not nearly on the scale I am thinking.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

several of you mentioned DVC but I'm not sold on that idea. It's never really "yours" (not forever) and if we purchased a condo or townhome it would be OURS forever. And then our kids could use it too when they were old enough and with families of their own. Know what I mean?

A DVC doesn't keep me from having to pack and take luggage etc. I can't leave my stuff there.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

OP also if you decide to buy try to get into a condo with some full timers. We have pretty many and they are wonderful about keeping an eye on things. Also try to get into one that does NOT do nightly rentals. Some of our original owners still have the right to rent theirs out (not for less than 3 nights though) and we have found IF there is going to be someone causing trouble it will be the renters. By trouble I mean little stuff like parking boats in the middle of the road, being up late with music on. We have never had anything bad happen but we will be happy when there is no one left who can rent. (the HOA has changed the rule and only those grandfathered in can still rent).

On the HOA plan for the fees to go up every year! they just do!

Good points! Thanks for the advice I had not thought of neighbors and such.

 

[Acklander]

I hear that same thing from others that own vacation places. They never go anywhere else. And they miss that sometimes.

Not everyone is comfortable with the idea but, we had our vacation home listed on one of the home swap sites where we've swapped our house for someone elses. Places we've swapped with included a 3 bedroom apartment, just off central park in NYC; a castle in Scotland (with use of a ferarri while there) , and a beach house in Bali. We've had offers to swap to many more places, but there are only so many vacation days in a year.

OP, if you're doing it because you think you're going to save money, reconsider. Once you add in costs to purchase, utilities, property taxes, insurance, maintenance, etc... you're going to spend more. BUT if you're looking at it from a convienience factor, a place to call your own, a place your family will feel comfortable going to year after year, and you can afford it, go for it.

 

[DawnM]

100% agreeing with you.

Our neighbors all seem to have either a beach house or a cabin in the mountains......all they do is complain about the upkeep and then when we mention our last vacation spot they say, "Oh, that would be nice, but we have the cabin....."

Plus, honestly, for the 4-6 weeks we use per year MAX on a vacation condo, it is WAY cheaper to rent. This year we will only need a place two weeks, last year four....but we have gone to different locations and not had to worry about maintainence at all!

Oh, and even with the renting, it is way cheaper than even a time share and the ability to go other places......we pay less for our weekly rental than most time share "owners" pay for their maintainance fees per week.

Dawn

Cons from 2 people who both grew up with parents who owned vacation homes. You NEVER go anywhere else. Its the only vacation place you & your kids will ever go to again & again. Make sure its something everyone in family is willing to do year after year.

Yes, the work of owning it, cleaning it, repairing it...... Takes away that vacation feeling for lots of folks.

We both grew up having vacation homes. As adults, we've had the opportunity to buy those homes, and both of us have said no each time. After living it as kids, its not something we want as adults. We like to travel, but don't want to be tied down to the same place over and over and never go anywhere else.

I hear that same thing from others that own vacation places. They never go anywhere else. And they miss that sometimes.

 

[lastminutemom]

My inlaws own a place at the beach and she says all the time that what they spend monthly they could vacation at the best resorts around the world. And they own this free and clear.

Florida is a killer with taxes and insurance. And each time there is a major hurricane, even if your area isn't directly impacted, rates seem to go up. HoA fees often go up as well.