Question to those who own rental homes

[Mickey527]

I am not thinking of buying a home to use as a rental but have a question.
I notice that there are quite a few newer developments going up in the area near Disney. Some of them are very attractive and the homes are everything I would eventually want in a home.
I plan on moving down to FL someday, health willing and would like to live close to WDW.
Are the rental homes you bought all owned by people who rent them out most of the year or are there people who live in these homes year round?
I would want to live in an area with year round neighbors. I depend on my neighbors to watch over things when I am away and I would want to do the same for them. But I don't want to be a watchdog for people who are only there weeks in a year. And I definately don't want the chaos that would occur with living next door to a home that has new "tenants" 52 weeks per year.
Emerald Estates has always interested me when I drive past it on I-4. I always thought it was an upscale gated community until I saw all the rentals available on different rental sites. I drove by it on my way to visit my sister who lived in WinterHaven. I wouldn't want to live as far away from WDW as she does when I move to FL but I don't see any communities in the area other than Celebration that are owner occupied. Peggie

 

[JANNYANS]

The question to ask your realtor would be is this area zoned for short term rental if yes then you may well have vacation homes nearby although the amount will vary from development to development. The counties that do allow it are the ones closest to Disney, Polk Osceola ,Lake and I think you need to look at areas north of WDW maybe Dr phillips, Windermere or that area or Orange county which doesn't allow str .My home is in a development that is a mixture of residents and vacationers and the comments I get from my neighbours and guests are the same ,It is nice to be able to meet new people . My neighbours don't seem to mind the guests being there and often offer them help as I have built a nice relationship with the residents having been there for 7 1/2 years and they keep an eye out for my home when it is empty but I can understand if you wouldn't feel comfortable with new people every couple of weeks .

 

[kilee]

The last community we rented from must of been a 50/50 mixture. In the morning the school bus came through and made quite a few stops.

 

[safetymom]

The community I live is has short term rentals. In fact the house next door is one. We are 12 miles from the entrance of MK and Epcot.

 

[Cherylzw]

The other thing you have to remember the guests who rent our homes are there to vacation. So chances are they are usually out most of the day until late at night unless they rent for an extended period of time. If they rent for a week or two they are out visiting the parks or sightseeing most of the time so chances are you will not see or hear them much.

 

[ducklite]

When we decided to build, one of the things we knew we didn't want was any short term rentals in our neighborhood. We specifically looked for a neighborhood that was primarily owner occupied, with maybe a smattering of snowbirds.

We found that neighborhood, and love it. There are ten houses on my street. One is still under construction. One is owned by a couple that split their time pretty equally between our neighborhood and a condo in South FL. The rest are f/t owner-occupied. We aren't all the best of friends or anything, but we all know each other, and each others kids where applicable, and keep an eye on each others places when we are gone--bring in mail, etc.

We felt that we didn't want transient neighbors. We wanted people who were going to put down roots. The thought of having a new family next door every week didn't work for us. Our community restricts rentals to a minimum six month term and no more than two in any given year. There are a few homes rented, I know of one that the tenants are a professional and his family who were transferred into the area for two years and will live in that home the entire time.

Anne

 

[tednvon]

Hi Peggie,

I am former owner in Emerald Island, one of the newer developements.

Here is my take on your question.
As time passes, more people will move into their dream retirement home. The newer the development, the more the chance of weekly rental numbers being up.
I also saw a few kids waiting for school buses outside of Emrald Island, sunset Lakes, Oak Island Cove just off 192 and Formosa Gardens.

Many more kids outsides of Indian Ridge and Indian Ridge Oaks off Old Lake Wilson....Indian Ridge is well over 60 owner occupied. All of these are very close to Disney.

Another way to get a feel, especially if you really like a community is watch for a mail carrier in the developement and follow them or ask them how many homes they deliver to.

Finally there is a very good chance if there is no pool in the back it is not a rental...not 100% accurate but very close..

All the best....Ted










Good luck....Ted