Realtor in Greater Orlando Area (Kissimmee, Davenport, Clermont)

[OnlyDisney]

We are looking to move to the Orlando area and need a realtor. We have a trip coming up the week after Thanksgiving and would like to see some homes in the area. You can only see so much online before you need to see it up close and personal to get a feel for things.

We're out of state so we need someone who isn't going to blow off our phone calls.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Contact a Relo, (relocating) Realtor in your home town. Most of the realty companies have Relo Realtors on staff. They will interview and find a Orlando realtor for you.

 

[OnlyDisney]

I didn't even know that a relocating Realtor was a thing! Thanks! I'll give our realtor a call to see if they have something like that.

Though I'll still take suggestions from anyone here for a realtor in FL

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

I'm on a FB group called Taking the Florida Plunge - there are 3 highly recommended realtors on there Suzanne Swyers, Suzanne Harrop, and Marianna Wartella.

 

[DianeV]

I am on that page too and have been in contact with Suzanne Harrop who has been super helpful. If you want her contact info let me know

I'm on a FB group called Taking the Florida Plunge - there are 3 highly recommended realtors on there Suzanne Swyers, Suzanne Harrop, and Marianna Wartella.

 

[arthur06]

I have had wonderful luck with Shannon Christian (I think that is her last name spelling).

Very helpful and always stays in contact

 

[SMorgan711]

We relocated to FL 1 year ago! (WOW!) and when we were looking for rentals (we rented for one year), most realtors were not very helpful to us. Some of the ones we found were also not helpful once they found out we were only looking for a house $300K or less. We used Cheryl LaWell from Century 21 in Celebration for both the rental and then when my parents were looking to build a house. My husband and I are also going to use her once we go to build/buy within the next couples of months. She was extremely helpful and personal. I felt she really took the time to understand what we were looking for and she was completely no pressure. She also went to all the appointments with my parents by their request - ie picking out the building supplies, colors, materials, etc, and now she's going to the inspections and walk throughs with them. We found her very knowledgeable, especially about things that we wouldn't think of being from the north.

ETA: she also deals a lot with out of state clients !

 

[jlovesee]

I would STRONGLY recommend renting for at least awhile. We moved from KC MO in February, sold our house there, and have enough for a down payment and only now just starting to think about looking at houses. Orlando is very different from Kansas City (and I'm sure most other cities), traffic is horrendous in many areas, (especially Kissimmee where I work), and give yourself some time to get acquainted with the area and decide where YOU want to live. Trust me, even if you visit WDW all the time its not the same.

Jennifer

 

[OnlyDisney]

I'm on a FB group called Taking the Florida Plunge - there are 3 highly recommended realtors on there Suzanne Swyers, Suzanne Harrop, and Marianna Wartella.

I am on that page too and have been in contact with Suzanne Harrop who has been super helpful. If you want her contact info let me know

I have had wonderful luck with Shannon Christian (I think that is her last name spelling).

Very helpful and always stays in contact

Thank you for the recommendations. We are going to be looking at homes that are less than $200,000. Is anyone more recommended than others for that price point?

We relocated to FL 1 year ago! (WOW!) and when we were looking for rentals (we rented for one year), most realtors were not very helpful to us. Some of the ones we found were also not helpful once they found out we were only looking for a house $300K or less. We used Cheryl LaWell from Century 21 in Celebration for both the rental and then when my parents were looking to build a house. My husband and I are also going to use her once we go to build/buy within the next couples of months. She was extremely helpful and personal. I felt she really took the time to understand what we were looking for and she was completely no pressure. She also went to all the appointments with my parents by their request - ie picking out the building supplies, colors, materials, etc, and now she's going to the inspections and walk throughs with them. We found her very knowledgeable, especially about things that we wouldn't think of being from the north.

ETA: she also deals a lot with out of state clients !

It didn't occur to me that some realtors wouldn't want my business since I'm out of state and not as wealthy as other people. I just assumed they would like to make a sale.

 

[SMorgan711]

Thank you for the recommendations. We are going to be looking at homes that are less than $200,000. Is anyone more recommended than others for that price point?

It didn't occur to me that some realtors wouldn't want my business since I'm out of state and not as wealthy as other people. I just assumed they would like to make a sale.

It didn't occur to us either until it happened. I would also second jlovesee and recommend renting so that you get acquainted with the areas and traffic. I'm originally from PA and we had lots of little towns/villages/cities where down here, a development (Summerport/Summerlake/Independence) might be the equivalent of a whole town back in PA.. Clermont is HUGE and it also butts up against Davenport. Clermont is really nice but depending on where in Clermont, it can be pretty far from say Kissimmee. Davenport is also a really nice area but traffic on 27 and 192 can be horrendous. When we first moved down here, I always heard that once you move to FL, you never want to commute to work more than 10 min. I thought that was so silly because I commuted 30 min back in PA. Well that 30 min in PA is completely different down here and I now understand that sentiment I would definitely choose something close to where you'll be working.

 

[OnlyDisney]

It didn't occur to us either until it happened. I would also second jlovesee and recommend renting so that you get acquainted with the areas and traffic. I'm originally from PA and we had lots of little towns/villages/cities where down here, a development (Summerport/Summerlake/Independence) might be the equivalent of a whole town back in PA.. Clermont is HUGE and it also butts up against Davenport. Clermont is really nice but depending on where in Clermont, it can be pretty far from say Kissimmee. Davenport is also a really nice area but traffic on 27 and 192 can be horrendous. When we first moved down here, I always heard that once you move to FL, you never want to commute to work more than 10 min. I thought that was so silly because I commuted 30 min back in PA. Well that 30 min in PA is completely different down here and I now understand that sentiment I would definitely choose something close to where you'll be working.

My husband works for ADT so he'll be all over the greater Orlando area. He has a take home vehicle and only goes to his office to restock the truck and for the once a week morning meeting. We could also get his supplies drop shipped to him if it takes to long to drive to the office.
I can't find the map that showed the boundaries of the Orlando work area for ADT but I remember it going to at least Apopka to the North, Poinciana to the South, Groveland to the East. I can't remember if Lakeland was Tampa or Orlando area but close to that area down there.

We're originally from the Seattle area and are no strangers to traffic!

We're looking for someplace on the cheaper side since we only live on his income- but not in the ghetto! I'd like to be less than an hour to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[SMorgan711]

My husband works for ADT so he'll be all over the greater Orlando area. He has a take home vehicle and only goes to his office to restock the truck and for the once a week morning meeting. We could also get his supplies drop shipped to him if it takes to long to drive to the office.
I can't find the map that showed the boundaries of the Orlando work area for ADT but I remember it going to at least Apopka to the North, Poinciana to the South, Groveland to the East. I can't remember if Lakeland was Tampa or Orlando area but close to that area down there.

We're originally from the Seattle area and are no strangers to traffic!

We're looking for someplace on the cheaper side since we only live on his income- but not in the ghetto! I'd like to be less than an hour to the Magic Kingdom.

that's a huge area! I do not envy your husband lol. but in that case, you should be fine !! we were looking around Davenport but in the interest of full disclosure, we decided against it only because there are a lot of weekly vacation rentals and we didn't want to have new neighbors come in and out weekly. There also could be higher crime due to the fact that a lot of houses sit empty and are seen as an easy target. That's a personal preference of ours but yours could be different! now I have heard (from our realtor actually) that there are developments/communities in Davenport that are more for full time living. One is ChampionsGate. I have two friends that live in Davenport - one in ChampionsGate and one off of 27 and they both love it! I really like Clermont (rolling hills and all ) and would, personally, probably choose Clermont over Davenport. I would think that Clermont is less likely for weekly rentals because it's farther away. I also have a friend that lives in Clermont and they can see the MK fireworks from their driveway! MK from Davenport would either but all the way down I4 to 192 or 27 to 192. Clermont would either be 27 to 192 or if you're up closer to 50 then 50 to 535 to Reams. Kissimmee is really, really busy and also have a high volume of weekly rentals.

Winter Garden is also a very nice area. They are building lots and lots of new homes in that area. They are probably more $200+ but there could be something in your price range. Especially the closer to 50 you'd get. But Davenport and Clermont would definitely be cheaper. You'd probably get a nice 2 story house for the price of a 1 story. We are in the process of looking for a house and we did look in Clermont but I work too far away

So take it for what it's worth. My advice would be to visit each because sometimes when you're actually there, you just have a feeling of whether or not it'll work for you! but if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help!

 

[OnlyDisney]

Thank you so much for all the details!

My parents keep bugging me if I've found a realtor who can show us some homes. They are excited that we plan on moving since they're going to move in with us once we find a place down there. (They currently live in their RV)

 

[SMorgan711]

Thank you so much for all the details!

My parents keep bugging me if I've found a realtor who can show us some homes. They are excited that we plan on moving since they're going to move in with us once we find a place down there. (They currently live in their RV)

You're quite welcome!! If your parents are moving in with you, some builders in Davenport are creating multi-generational family homes with separate entrances / kitchens, etc. I saw them when I was looking. I can't remember off the top of my head what the prices were but may be an option if you pool resources! I think it was Lennar that was doing it. I'm sure if you google it, it'll come up!

 

[ilovefh]

Thank you for the recommendations. We are going to be looking at homes that are less than $200,000. Is anyone more recommended than others for that price point?

I'll just pop in and give some local advice, even though you didn't ask.

Housing prices are on the rise down here. It is almost impossible to find a home in Winter Garden for less then 200k unless you want to live near 50 and near downtown which is generally regarded as not such a great area. Houses that sold last year for around 200k are closer to 250k this year. We spent a lot of time looking because we have to live in Winter Garden for DS's school.

We lived in Davenport and loved it but it is getting busier. Do you have kids that you would enroll in schools? Davenport has a nice new k-8 school that I think will be nice once they get everything figured out, right now it is over capacity and not even accepting any zoned kids anymore. Because of this they would go to other Davenport schools. Typically Davenport schools are not rated highly, but there are some decent charter schools in the area.

As far as the area we liked that it was far away enough to be quieter but close enough that we could be at MK in 20 minutes. Plus there is everything we could have ever wanted within a 20 minute drive. We also only had 2 rental houses on our street. Our friends don't have any. Sometimes I think the fact that Davenport has vacation rentals gets blown out of proportion.

I hear better things about Clermont schools but I don't know specifics so I can't comment.

We loved our realtor, Gillian Redman. She was super helpful!

 

[OnlyDisney]

Schools aren't at the top of our list since we homeschool.

I already know that we won't be really close to Disney as that is too expensive for us. Unless we can sell our house for more, we won't be upping our price point. We don't have to move, so if we can't find something in our price range then we will just stay put.

On a happier note, I made contact with a realtor from Taking the Florida Plunge facebook page! We'll be looking at what's available when we come down after Thanksgiving

 

[ilovefh]

Schools aren't at the top of our list since we homeschool.

I already know that we won't be really close to Disney as that is too expensive for us. Unless we can sell our house for more, we won't be upping our price point. We don't have to move, so if we can't find something in our price range then we will just stay put.

On a happier note, I made contact with a realtor from Taking the Florida Plunge facebook page! We'll be looking at what's available when we come down after Thanksgiving

If you're not worried about schools it opens up tons of areas within your budget! We have friends that live in Kissimmee in a beautiful neighborhood with a gorgeous house. Like you, they homeschool so they don't worry about the local schools.

 

[danygirl]

My husband works for ADT so he'll be all over the greater Orlando area. He has a take home vehicle and only goes to his office to restock the truck and for the once a week morning meeting. We could also get his supplies drop shipped to him if it takes to long to drive to the office.
I can't find the map that showed the boundaries of the Orlando work area for ADT but I remember it going to at least Apopka to the North, Poinciana to the South, Groveland to the East. I can't remember if Lakeland was Tampa or Orlando area but close to that area down there.

We're originally from the Seattle area and are no strangers to traffic!

We're looking for someplace on the cheaper side since we only live on his income- but not in the ghetto! I'd like to be less than an hour to the Magic Kingdom.

 

[danygirl]

My son moved to Seattle this year - he read all about the Seattle traffic online - he says it is nothing compared to DC / Baltimore traffic - my point is that traffic in Orlando may be waaaay more than you think so don't discount what people are telling you about it.