True cost of owning a villa

[mogsy]

Don't know if this is in the correct forum?

We're thinking of buying a villa in the Kissimmee/Disney area to use and let, we won,t need a mortgage and wondered if any villa owners have any comments on the true costs of owning a villa (tax,insurance etc) do you think it's worth doing?

[islabonita]

The costs are different for each home due to size. We own a 6/5 in a gated community that have some amenities and it is located in the Formosa Gardens area. Here are actual costs.

home it self ?
furnishings 30,000.00 or higher
insurance on home 1,700.00
taxes on home 7,500.00
water/sewer 936.00
electric 4,300.00
phone basic 400.00
association dues 3,100.00
man/co 1,500.00
pest control 360.00
pool care 360.00
advertising 1,200.00
tax on renting state 7%
tax on renting county 6%
house cleans per guest 140.00
propane for gas grill 120.00
stamps, faxes, tangible taxes, licenses, etc...


There are also repairs, upgrades, replacements, spring cleans such as windows curtains and such. It is costly no doubt. I might have forgotten a few but this is a good start. Hope this helps.
regards Deb

[bob_day69]

Don't know if this is in the correct forum?

We're thinking of buying a villa in the Kissimmee/Disney area to use and let, we won,t need a mortgage and wondered if any villa owners have any comments on the true costs of owning a villa (tax,insurance etc) do you think it's worth doing?

A 4 bed home is going to cost you around $25,000 per year in running costs, plus any mortgage payments that you have to meet. Will vary depending how many weeks you rent, how many want pool heat but this is a pretty good figure to keep in mind.

[Dreamers]

It will not only vary as to the size of your home but also the community your home is on, as HOA fees vary from one community to the other, also if you have any costs included in your HOA fees, we are lucky and our cable and lawn care is included. Also obviously depends how often your home is rented as it costs more to run with guests than empty and you will not only have all the usual taxes but also state and county taxes on rental income, and accountants fees etc.. Our 5 bed home costs aprox $42,000 per year to run including mortgage, takes a huge amount of time as well as money to keep it all running ;)

[wrpac00]

Also from I what I read on various forums renting is getting harder each year so if your dependant upon rentals to pay the bills you may have to do a lot of homework first.

One tip, never believe anyone who says they can get you 35+ weeks a year (MC or Realtor) it just does not happen.

[Dream Orlando]

Hiya

A lot of info from villa owners on this thread: http://www.thedibb.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=191961

Kristina

[das c]

One tip, never believe anyone who says they can get you 35+ weeks a year (MC or Realtor) it just does not happen.

Oh it does happen, they will get you 35+ weeks rented the only drawback is after each one has had their cut you are left with a pittance!!

Outcome=Foreclosure

[Fiona]

I don`t know why, but when anyone asks a question on here about the costs etc. of buying and running a home in Florida, all the replies always seem to be done in a negative light! All the people (bar one) who have answered the OP`s question own homes in Florida so it can`t all be doom and gloom surely?! If it was then I`m sure all you villa owners wouldn`t be doing it! We are very seriously considering buying out there, but not until next year and it`ll be on the Gulf Coast, probably St. Pete`s, Sarasota or Naples. We far prefer it down there to Orlando, it is really beautiful. :-)

[sunsetlakes]

Good point Fiona.

It's not all doom and gloom, however it is a lot of hard work.

The point is that if you are looking to make a fast easy buck then don't buy a villa. If you are looking to buy for long term and have a love of Disney then you can't go wrong.

With the prices as they are at the moment and the pound still fairly strong against the dollar you can still pick up the odd bargain.

There have been plenty of threads on here about this subject that would be well worth digging out and reading.

Rob

[Fiona]

Thanks Rob. :-) We aren`t looking to make a fast easy buck and as much as we love Disney, to us there is far more to Florida than just theme parks. We much prefer the Gulf Coast, so that is why we will be buying down there. We are undecided whether to rent it out or just use it for us, our family and very close friends. Decisions decisions! ;-)

[sunsetlakes]

It would be great if you could keep it just for your own use Fiona and buy it with that in mind not what would give you the best income. As with anything that is going to cost you that much money, you have to fall in love with the place or you wont enjoy your own visits.

Renting just helps to pay those taxes and all those other little extras that jump out and bite you. Have fun.

Rob

[andyhayley]

I don`t know why, but when anyone asks a question on here about the costs etc. of buying and running a home in Florida, all the replies always seem to be done in a negative light! All the people (bar one) who have answered the OP`s question own homes in Florida so it can`t all be doom and gloom surely?! If it was then I`m sure all you villa owners wouldn`t be doing it! We are very seriously considering buying out there, but not until next year and it`ll be on the Gulf Coast, probably St. Pete`s, Sarasota or Naples. We far prefer it down there to Orlando, it is really beautiful. :-)

Yep, as Rob said, its certainly not all doom and gloom, we love our home in Orlando and its really great having people contact you who love it too.

However unfortunately one of the reasons you hear about difficulties and foreclosures is that a lot of people buy without doing their homework, a lot of people buy after being told they can rent their home out and cover all their costs and more often than not its simply not the case.

We bought our home as a holiday home and knew from day one that if we didnt rent it out it would simply be our holiday home. We had it furnished to our tastes and spend far too much on it adding stuff every time we go which really isn't necessary if we were running it as a simple 'business'.

We do now exceed 35 let weeks per year, but it does take a lot of time, work and money to keep everything to the standards we expect and unless we stop adding or upgrading things we will probably never make a profit! Fortunately we actually enjoy the work!

The fact that Mogsy asked the question is a great start, its all about doing your homework, working out what you can afford.

For me the bottom line would simply be only buy if you can afford to own the home without renting it out, that way if you do get rentals its a bonus!

Andy

[Fiona]

Thanks Andy for the advice. We will be buying because we want it purely as our holiday home. If we did decide to rent it out and made a profit from this then that is a bonus, but our main reason for buying is because we want a holiday home. One that we fall in love with and which we can furnish etc. to our own personal taste. :-)

[wrpac00]

Oh it does happen, they will get you 35+ weeks rented the only drawback is after each one has had their cut you are left with a pittance!!

Outcome=Foreclosure

I agree about the foreclosure but only a small percentage of owners get 35+ weeks plus bookings a year.

[*source*]

Right now is also a great time to buy :)

It's hard work but lovely to have a place in the sun that is your own!

[bob_day69]

I don`t know why, but when anyone asks a question on here about the costs etc. of buying and running a home in Florida, all the replies always seem to be done in a negative light! All the people (bar one) who have answered the OP`s question own homes in Florida so it can`t all be doom and gloom surely?! If it was then I`m sure all you villa owners wouldn`t be doing it!

Not gloomy at all. We love our home in Florida and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute we have spent there over the last 5 years of ownership. But we rent our home out and have been fortunate to pretty much cover our running costs over that time and hopefully will continue to do so.

The message is don't enter into ownership thinking that it will be plain sailing. Do your homework, work out the costs, see if it balances out for you.

Worse case if you have no rental income, costs are circa $25,000 per year, and you are limited to 4 or 5 weeks a year holiday. Are you prepared to pay what is effectively $5,000-$6,000 per week of time in residence, plus deal with the administrative overhead of ownership.

[WindsorHillsPad]

My bill for this month from my management company is $2844 dollars but this includes the 13% taxes that my guests pay me and then I have to forward it on.

If you have time to do the rentals yourself then go for it. Paying someone else to do your rentals isn't an ideal financial situation.

[jwalowls]

I would love to be able to afford my own Florida villa.

[Fiona]

Not gloomy at all. We love our home in Florida and have thoroughly enjoyed every minute we have spent there over the last 5 years of ownership. But we rent our home out and have been fortunate to pretty much cover our running costs over that time and hopefully will continue to do so.

The message is don't enter into ownership thinking that it will be plain sailing. Do your homework, work out the costs, see if it balances out for you.

Worse case if you have no rental income, costs are circa $25,000 per year, and you are limited to 4 or 5 weeks a year holiday. Are you prepared to pay what is effectively $5,000-$6,000 per week of time in residence, plus deal with the administrative overhead of ownership.

Glad it`s not all doom and gloom! :) As I said earlier, we won`t be buying until next year and it`ll be on the Gulf Coast, not Orlando, plus it`s mainly being bought as a holiday home for us and we`d let family and very close friends use it. We may rent it out, but we`re undecided at the moment. Because it will be our home, done to our own personal tastes, we just don`t like the thought of strangers being in it. If we needed to make a profit on it to keep it going then yes, we`d have to rent it out, but luckily that isn`t the case. :D

[Cal and Dave]

Hi Fiona :)

Good luck with your intended purchase, I too would like a house down on the gulf coast ( I know I shouldn't be greed, LOL :tounge:)

You may already know this, but there are certain areas of the gulf coast that you cannot rent for short term rentals, some allow minimum of 7 days, and some a minimum of a month.

HTH

Carole :)

[psharrock]

As other have said we love owning a villa in Florida, we furnished our home to our tastes. We did our homework and over a couple of months we found out a great deal about the pitfalls of ownership, how the market was saturated and guaranteed rental schemes is a big no no.

In terms of costs it will really depend on the size of home and the community it is in, as HOA fees vary dramatically. We do all the bookings and paperwork ourselves, and it certainly takes some getting used to with all the forms and licenses that are required just to be able to rent out a home.

With the right marketing, it is possible to get a fair amount of rentals, like Andy we have done pretty well in our first year of renting, with about 33 weeks booked and 8 weeks for our use. Next year we have 23 weeks booked so far.

It is hard work, and you need to put numerous hours per week into it to make it work. Relying on other to get the bookings for you will just see the amount you retain per week diminish.

Good luck in making your decision.

Paul

[Fiona]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. :-) Like I said earlier, it is pretty unlikely we will be using the property for rental as our main aim is for it to be a holiday home for us and we will also let family and very close friends use it. We are still undecided whether to buy in St. Pete`s, Sarasota or Naples. They are all so lovely, particularly Sarasota and Naples. We won`t be buying before next year though, well I don`t think we will! Never say never I always say! ;-)

[tomnj]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. :-) Like I said earlier, it is pretty unlikely we will be using the property for rental as our main aim is for it to be a holiday home for us and we will also let family and very close friends use it. We are still undecided whether to buy in St. Pete`s, Sarasota or Naples. They are all so lovely, particularly Sarasota and Naples. We won`t be buying before next year though, well I don`t think we will! Never say never I always say! ;-)

Also, a home on the coast is a different animal than to one in Orlando. Not sure you can compare so extra research is needed. Its a different county, taxes, variables. Insurance will be higher due to hurricane and flood risks. Utilities higher in Naples as its farther south. If near the gulf, the salty air does cause increase wear. As mentioned there may be rental restrictions depending on community.
Then again rents potentially are much higher esp in Jan, Feb March and Apr more so in Naples area.
Lots to consider.

[Fiona]

Also, a home on the coast is a different animal than to one in Orlando. Not sure you can compare so extra research is needed. Its a different county, taxes, variables. Insurance will be higher due to hurricane and flood risks. Utilities higher in Naples as its farther south. If near the gulf, the salty air does cause increase wear. As mentioned there may be rental restrictions depending on community.
Then again rents potentially are much higher esp in Jan, Feb March and Apr more so in Naples area.
Lots to consider.

Thanks for the advice. It`s definitely the Gulf Coat for us, so much nicer than Orlando. :)

[Cal and Dave]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. :-) Like I said earlier, it is pretty unlikely we will be using the property for rental as our main aim is for it to be a holiday home for us and we will also let family and very close friends use it. We are still undecided whether to buy in St. Pete`s, Sarasota or Naples. They are all so lovely, particularly Sarasota and Naples. We won`t be buying before next year though, well I don`t think we will! Never say never I always say! ;-)

Naples is my favourite :)