Villa Rental

[JohnnySharp2]

Maybe a meaningless thread to many but here goes anyway, ages since I last posted a new one!

I like to think I know a little about villa rental (stress the 'like').
Currently looking at renting a villa for part of our Easter 2008 holiday, a few quotes come in so far some of which are in excess of £850 per week (including pool heating), one was closer to £900 - I am not talking Reunion resort either here.
Not necessarily outside our budget but as there are just the 3 of us it's more than we usually like to pay.

Naturally with some shopping around and taking our time we will find the right one for us, long story but after our first rental which was a disaster plus having to get things just right for Joshua, has made us extra fussy.

Despite the fact that we are going at a busy time of the year the quotes I have had so far seem to be at least £200 a week more than they would have been when we last went at Easter in 2005.

Guess we just need to be careful with what we consider to be a fair price, also the owner's naturally have the right to advertise at a price they feel appropriate - it is very competitive these days as there are so many homes out there.

So the days of finding a nice villa at less than £500 per week during school holidays may be over perhaps?
As always shop around and take your time.

Just a thought but one thing we are asking now also is see if the owner is prepared or has available a google earth link (or something similar), this helps especially if you wish to double check that the pool is south facing for example.
May also help for when you arrive in finding the home quicker, after a long flight et

 

[kitcat1]

Hi Johnny,

We leave in few days, I don't know if its still school holidays in England, it is here in France. We rented our villa from an american family so can make use of the good dollar rate at the mo. We also asked if they would give us an under occupancy reduction because there are just 4 of us in a 4 bed villa. They gave us their friends and family rate. Normally they charge $100 per night plus tax but we got it for $75 plus tax. It also has a games room, 2 en-suite bathrooms, pool with spa, its in Indian Creek. I thought this was a pretty good price.

Without another family coming with us and sharing the costs I don't know if we could afford the prices you mentioned!

Hope you find something.

Cath

 

[Shropshire Saint]

Hi Johnny,
There are in my opinion 2 types of villas. Those you would want to rent & those you would not. Obvious I know, but you know what you want, which is in my opinion a premium product.
Continuing on the simple theme, you should pay a premium price for a premium product.
Owners desperate for bookings give there houses away for very low weekly rates. The rest of us who believe we have a premium product advertise a rate & pretty much stick to it. We own 5, 6, & 7 bed villas & offer discount to smaller groups. We do it because of less wear & tear & if you can afford a bigger property you are less likely to wreck it.
Many owners of the newer properties you prefer to rent are now selling because they can not cover their costs. They had a choice to rent cheaply or not rent at all so they rented cheaply or they let a letting agent do the work for them & never got anywhere near covering their costs. You never had to pay the premium price.
Those of us left get repeat bookings at higher rates because we have a premium product & would rather have a well priced booking or no booking at all than a cheap booking with too many people in your house. The supply of rental properties is still high, but the number of visitors to Central Florida is going up so net/net it’s about the same.
To summarise, I think renters have had the best of times recently, quality product for a low price. At some point that had to change, less houses being built, more visitors, many rental houses are now being bought by US citizens as homes, owners don’t invest in their properties etc etc.
The pendulum of premium house at a premium price is swinging back to the owners, very very slowly I admit. Back to what it should be in my opinion. For the price of a 5 bed Villa in Orlando you would not get a 2 bed apartment in Portugal! (Most of the time)
Also, as an owner I know I can sell Easter, Christmas, Thanks Giving, New Year & our Summer Holidays 10 times over so I never need to give a discount. Without doubt some people will, but all that does is leave those of us left with availability having less competition! That’s being very honest of course & some renters may not want to here that though.
Your idea about Google Earth makes sense. I am going to look into it.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi Johnny,
There are in my opinion 2 types of villas. Those you would want to rent & those you would not. Obvious I know, but you know what you want, which is in my opinion a premium product.
Continuing on the simple theme, you should pay a premium price for a premium product.
Owners desperate for bookings give there houses away for very low weekly rates. The rest of us who believe we have a premium product advertise a rate & pretty much stick to it. We own 5, 6, & 7 bed villas & offer discount to smaller groups. We do it because of less wear & tear & if you can afford a bigger property you are less likely to wreck it.
Many owners of the newer properties you prefer to rent are now selling because they can not cover their costs. They had a choice to rent cheaply or not rent at all so they rented cheaply or they let a letting agent do the work for them & never got anywhere near covering their costs. You never had to pay the premium price.
Those of us left get repeat bookings at higher rates because we have a premium product & would rather have a well priced booking or no booking at all than a cheap booking with too many people in your house. The supply of rental properties is still high, but the number of visitors to Central Florida is going up so net/net it’s about the same.
To summarise, I think renters have had the best of times recently, quality product for a low price. At some point that had to change, less houses being built, more visitors, many rental houses are now being bought by US citizens as homes, owners don’t invest in their properties etc etc.
The pendulum of premium house at a premium price is swinging back to the owners, very very slowly I admit. Back to what it should be in my opinion. For the price of a 5 bed Villa in Orlando you would not get a 2 bed apartment in Portugal! (Most of the time)
Also, as an owner I know I can sell Easter, Christmas, Thanks Giving, New Year & our Summer Holidays 10 times over so I never need to give a discount. Without doubt some people will, but all that does is leave those of us left with availability having less competition! That’s being very honest of course & some renters may not want to here that though.
Your idea about Google Earth makes sense. I am going to look into it.

I think what you say makes sense, and I would probably do the same if I was an owner - it was more pointing out to people going at the busier more expensive times what they would possibly have to pay than anything else.

I have no doubt I will find a villa soon, I have several queries ongoing, just a matter of time.
It was just to warn people that prices may be more expensive.

 

[nattyk]

I think what you say makes sense, and I would probably do the same if I was an owner - it was more pointing out to people going at the busier more expensive times what they would possibly have to pay than anything else.

I have no doubt I will find a villa soon, I have several queries ongoing, just a matter of time.
It was just to warn people that prices may be more expensive.

we rented a villa in Rolling Hills - south facing garden (4 bedrooms) at a really good rate to include pool heating from the 22 March this year for 2wks - let me know if you want me to email a link...

Nat

 

[wicket2005]

I like to think I know a little about villa rental (stress the 'like').

To be honest your name is the first that comes to my mind if I wanted advice about villas.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

To be honest your name is the first that comes to my mind if I wanted advice about villas.

Cheers

 

[natalielongstaff]

To be honest your name is the first that comes to my mind if I wanted advice about villas.

so true

 

[Cyrano]

To be honest your name is the first that comes to my mind if I wanted advice about villas.

I'm always surprised that his tag is not Johnny Villas

 

[ford family]

One of the factors behind an increase in villa rents is the big cost increases that villa owners have had to face.
Apart from the obvious energy cost rises which impacts pool costs and lawncare as well as heating/cooling there has been a huge increase in house and content insurance and local taxes. As non residient owners we do not get the homesteading allowance or the 3% cap on home value adjustments so our local taxes are bumped up sharply to reflect the higher house prices.
Management companies and HOAs have used this background inflation as an excuse for raising their fees.
Finally, water companies are finding it increasingly difficult to get sufficient quantity to cover the house building boom and new business developments in parts of Florida so they too have responded by raising prices.
We are out on the Gulf Coast and do not rent to the UK market but we have seen the snowbird market readily accepting higher prices for well equiped homes.

ford family

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I'm always surprised that his tag is not Johnny Villas

Now there's a good idea, come on TAG fairy get rid of my banana tag

 

[JohnnySharp2]

I appreciate the several PMs I have received since I started this thread.

In some ways I have mislead people, I am not struggling to find a villa, there are hundreds out there, just we have to be extra fussy for Joshua - this is a boy who will get upset if I drive past Indian Creek to go to Windsor Palms because he is used to staying at IC, and will get upset if I drive past the Formosa Gardens entrance to go to chik-fil-a just down the road....bless him.

So we have to be careful about the villa we have, it was just that the normal very nice villas we enquire about have come back £200 per week or so more expensive.
I guess I was just pointing that out really.

I have had a couple of positive responses now so it just a matter of time.

I also must stress that it is the owner's own right to ask for whatever price they choose, it is a competitive business.

In addition we do not have any budget restrictions either, just there is a limit to what I am prepared to pay.

Johnny 'villas'