Good Price or 2 good to be true

[JessieJohnson]

We have found a villa in Lake Berkley 5 beds and costs £400pw in Oct plus £12.50 per day pool heat. Is the price about right ? As we haven't rented a villa before we are feeling quite cautious so any advice would be great thanks.

[dizneenut]

Hi :wave:

That sounds like a fair price to me. Never stayed at Lake Berkely but never stayed at a bad villa either. We're paying £450 a week in Apr/May for a 5 bedroomed villa but this includes pool heat, so it is pretty much the same.

Happy planning:pgig:

ps - notice you live in Broadstairs, I was born there many many moons ago

[JessieJohnson]

dizeenut thanks for that. I know renting a villa is a trust thing just trying to be careful.
P.S Coincidence (sp) about Broadstairs prob find it hasn't changed much.

[foxyfee]

Well it's cheaper than we paid in 1995 for a 3 bed villa when we first started travelling to Florida!

[manunited1]

we are paying £450 including pool heat for a 5 bedroom in october

[JessieJohnson]

Thanks for the replies. I am going to book it now. :d: :d:

[corrinda]

I am paying 500 a week for 7 bed room in terra verde with pool heat.This is for october and we are going for three weeks.

[dazjo]

I'm paying £1100 for fortnight in Oct for a 4 bed 4 bath at Windsor Hills with pool heat

[Petalsoftly]

It cost us £800 per week then another £100 per week for pool heat for a 5 bed at Formosa Gardens last year Sept/Oct. Went with Shogun and Snowflake to share the cost... otherwise I would say that we paid well over the top for what we got :(

[JessieJohnson]

Thanks for all your replies Petalsoftly from what I have seen Formosa seems to be more expensive not sure why. Did anyone have anyway of checking out owners etc or did you just go with gut instinct.

[fintywalker]

I pay £1000 for two weeks in 4 bed, 2 bathroom, poolheat, jacuzzi, huge games room, cinema room in Indian Ridge

[forever florida]

I think that is a very good price and lake berkley is a very nice community. We have paid way more than that in the past so go for it!

[Petalsoftly]

Thanks for all your replies Petalsoftly from what I have seen Formosa seems to be more expensive not sure why. Did anyone have anyway of checking out owners etc or did you just go with gut instinct.
Well Shogun and Snowflake did the booking... not sure but think they got it off the net somewhere. Know they looked at loads before deciding. When we got there the villa was up for sale and although very nice some things were abit tatty.... ie; the towel rail had been glued on after it had obviously fallen off previously, one of the toilet seats was dodgy and cracked, halfway through the holiday after daily problems the pool heater was condemned, one day the front door lock broke. and for the whole time the safe was broken.. for the price we paid if you know what I mean.... Apparently the owners told Shogun, from what I can remember... that we could have £100 of the deposit back but that the repair of the toilet seat would cost £50.. something like that :( So bang goes our half of the deposit return because it was our loo seat :( oh well... caught once, not twice.... will not stay in Formosa again.

[brody-maddison]

yes, that's definitely a reasonable price. I think with the house market at the moment, there's a lot more competition between home owners and you can get a good price compared with 10-15 years ago when I first started going.

[Suzie&Stuart]

I think you will find Lake Berkeley a very nice community indeed, and the price reflects the time of year and the fact that there are now more villas than people wanting to rent them, so competition is fierce.
Walmart is just around the corner, as is Medievel Times dinner show.Not far away on the 192 there is a Super Target as well.
We stayed just up the road at Indian Point a few years ago and loved it.

I think the problem with Formosa Gdns and the like nearby, is that they are the nearest villa communities to Disney. Therefore the villas get a lot of hammer and because of the location, owners know they can charge higher rates and someone, somewhere ,will still pay it, just for the convenience

We ars staying at Orange Tree located North of the 192 up the US27. Villa looks great and I cant wait to see it for real. Cost approx £395 per week in mid July. Again, location dictates prices in Orlando, but being a couple of miles further up the road doesnt bother us at all.

Stuart

[JessieJohnson]

Thanks everyone.
Thanks Stuart haven't heard of Orange Tree but that is a good price from what I have seen.
Am I right in thinking you normally pay a deposit when you book and then balance about 8wks before ?

[georgemac]

Yes, that is what happens, deposit when you book and balance 8 weeks before departure. Also a security deposit will be required, this will be refunded after you return home once the villa has been checked over by the management co.

Last year our security deposit was simply a credit card swipe at the management co when we arrived and I liked this option.

In 2001, Westridge US27 we paid £1100 for 2 weeks in Mar/Apr inc pool heat, 4 bed 2 bath, same villa in Oct 2005 I paid exactly the same price, pool heat was rubbish and poor management co.

Oct 2006 paid £780 for 2 weeks inc great pool heating on a new 4 bed 3 bath on US27 West Stoneridge

Prices look a lot less but remember if you are paying in £sterling the owners are getting more $ from you - in 2001 exchange rates were 1.33 now 1.93

During the same period though to be fair to owners their costs have increased substantially, homes cots more, utilities cost much more and insurance and taxes also cost a lot more.

[Cal and Dave]

I think you will find Lake Berkeley a very nice community indeed, and the price reflects the time of year and the fact that there are now more villas than people wanting to rent them, so competition is fierce.
Walmart is just around the corner, as is Medievel Times dinner show.Not far away on the 192 there is a Super Target as well.
We stayed just up the road at Indian Point a few years ago and loved it.

I think the problem with Formosa Gdns and the like nearby, is that they are the nearest villa communities to Disney. Therefore the villas get a lot of hammer and because of the location, owners know they can charge higher rates and someone, somewhere ,will still pay it, just for the convenience

We ars staying at Orange Tree located North of the 192 up the US27. Villa looks great and I cant wait to see it for real. Cost approx £395 per week in mid July. Again, location dictates prices in Orlando, but being a couple of miles further up the road doesnt bother us at all.

Stuart

I disagree with this statement,
see this article from the sentinel.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/1195070041.html?dids=1195070041:1195070041&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+16%2C+2007&author=Christopher+Boyd%2C+Sentinel+Staff+Writer&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=Vacationers+choose+homes+over+hotels

[lausan]

the pool heating is a bit pricey you should try and get a villa with it included

[Petalsoftly]

Well we are not focusing on the parks so much this year and even if we were we are prepared to travel abit for the cheaper rates.

[Suzie&Stuart]

I disagree with this statement,
see this article from the sentinel.
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/orlandosentinel/access/1195070041.html?dids=1195070041:1195070041&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Jan+16%2C+2007&author=Christopher+Boyd%2C+Sentinel+Staff+Writer&pub=Orlando+Sentinel&edition=&startpage=A.1&desc=Vacationers+choose+homes+over+hotels

Which part did you disagree with????

I wasnt saying that people were choosing hotels instead of homes.

What I was saying is that it is a renters market at this time because of the continued home building. You only have to look as far as the US27 or Old Lake Wilson Rd to see how much development has gone on in the past 6 years. There are more homes than renters.

Its also known that owners who have properties on older communites or on communities that are any sort of distance away from the parks are having ask lower prices or add more into the home [i.e. games rooms etc/ free pool heat/free international phone calls and internet access] to lure renters like myself away from the very convenient areas like Formosa Gardens.

You only have to read threads here on the Dibb of peoples preference to villa location, and a lot of renters will think that the bottom end of US27/the CR54 or the areas off Poinciana Blvd are too far away for them.
Luckily for the villa owners, there are the likes of ourselves who dont mind older properties and driving that little bit further, in fact the best villa we ever stayed in was also the oldest and was situated on Thousand Oaks on the CR54 Loughman Rd. Unfortunately the British owner sold it because of the above.

Stuart