Purchasing property in Orlando, Florida - Where to start ?

[Tetrarch]

Originally Posted by Minnie18

Thanks very much Gryff

I own a holiday home management business and I was curious to see how a business like mine ran over there. It sounds like they work the same way as us 😃

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I would say that anyone who runs one of these businesses in the US needs their head examining. There are so many things to go wrong: A/C, a tonne of potential pool issues, any number of unusual local ordinances and restrictions, door lock problems, cleaning, explaining about the climate, back-to-back bookings, owners who just won't invest in their property, non-bill-paying owners, plus any number of "guest issues" etc etc etc

The other major negative is that you just can't win. The only acceptable outcome is perfection and often the MC is just the interface between a guest. You would be very surprised about how some scenarios play out when you hear one version of events from a guest's perspective and another from the MC.

Regards

Gary

[starwarsclark]

Some very interesting advise has been given, my wife and I looked at this a number of years ago and decided against doing it - we ended up buying another property over here. We are still interested in doing it but really only as our own property with no interest in renting it out. I was wondering if many owners have done just that, bought and only used it for themselves/family etc and if so what costs do we need to look at to do this?

[Big Dog]

Originally Posted by starwarsclark

Some very interesting advise has been given, my wife and I looked at this a number of years ago and decided against doing it - we ended up buying another property over here. We are still interested in doing it but really only as our own property with no interest in renting it out. I was wondering if many owners have done just that, bought and only used it for themselves/family etc and if so what costs do we need to look at to do this?

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I have to say, this is what I'd do if I was serious about it.

[HappymanUK]

I think after reading through all the information I'm mostly interested in purchasing it for my own use, as I think I would be too worried about visiting it and finding out it has been wrecked by someone. As well as all the high costs (but the majority of those I would be incurring anyway).

The only problem is you can only stay in it so many months a year that for at least half the year it is going to be empty - which is a risk itself

[claireyfairy8]

Some great advice already been given.

This is a good time to sell, not buy imo. Especially for taking the money back to the UK.

We bought our first one in 1996 (I was only 4 so I beat all of you by being the youngest ), however I do actually remember this.

Our next property, we bought in 2010. I took the lead on this as my dad was abroad working and my mum is not business minded. We actually wanted to buy the one right next door but it was in foreclosure and going to be pricey to repair unless we got it for a bargain but that was not guaranteed as it was going to auction.

We ended up buying one just up the street, it was a short sale (the period before foreclosure) and owned by a family from Devon. Bought at height of the market, couldn't sustain losses and couldn't rent it out for enough money to cover bills and mortgage.

This was 2010, the market hadn't recovered at all from the 2008 crash and was definitely a cash buyers market. I offered £50k under the asking price. And we got it. A bargain for a well maintained & fully furnished villa.

We had a mortgage on our 1st property, but that was paid off within 5 years and the 2nd was cash purchase.

I would not recommend buying if you need a mortgage. I need 30 weeks booked to break even (in each house) assuming nothing major goes wrong.

For 2 villas, I am doing 30 hours a week easily work on chasing quotes, sorting things out, planning projects. Remember, your holiday will never be your holiday again. Lowes, home depot, DIY... It's fun, but not a holiday.

Another point - you need at least £10k in the "oh sh*t" fund. Things go wrong. At the wrong time. And it's always expensive. Pool heater $5k. A/C $6k+. The list goes on.

Property taxes vary from year to year. Insurance is expensive compared to the UK (I'm just under $1k each).

Would I do it again? Yes. I love it. I've loved growing up going "home" to Florida every year. So many great family holidays.

All in all, I think it's cool to own 2 peices of paradise

If you go for it after all of this ^^^ then I wish you well.

[starwarsclark]

Originally Posted by djblamire

I think after reading through all the information I'm mostly interested in purchasing it for my own use, as I think I would be too worried about visiting it and finding out it has been wrecked by someone. As well as all the high costs (but the majority of those I would be incurring anyway).

The only problem is you can only stay in it so many months a year that for at least half the year it is going to be empty - which is a risk itself

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I am sure I read somewhere that the visa is valid for 6 months and you could, in effect, get off the plane from America, then step on another the next day or two and go back for another 6 months - Now immigration would pick this up at some point if you tried to do it a lot, but if you were sensible and left a couple of months between visits then this could be an option. Happily to be corrected if the info is wrong.

[steve@mac155.f]

A 6 month visa would allow you to stay in the states for a total of 6 months in a 12 month period.

Steve

[Gryff]

A six month stay would be lovely but would as a property,owner be subject to different tax implications

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by starwarsclark

We are still interested in doing it but really only as our own property with no interest in renting it out. I was wondering if many owners have done just that, bought and only used it for themselves/family etc and if so what costs do we need to look at to do this?

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We placed an order on a new build July last year, took possession of it last October and it’s purely for our own family use as we never fancied buying to rent out and that’s before I ever read any of Magnificent’s sobering but excellent posts. After a year of ownership we’re delighted with it.

Costs of ownership accepting that it’s a new build, it’s still under warranty and therefore no renewal costs so far:

The HOA fee is currently $473 per month and for that everything to do with the outside of the house is covered - weekly gardening, irrigation, weekly pool clean, refuse collection directly from the bins stand at the side of the house, pesticide, annual clean of the outside of the building. The fee also covers gated and mobile site security, internet, TV package and phone.

We don't use a management company but have CCTV with alerts inside and out and Ring to keep an eye on things so between that and the HOA services feel the house and maintenance is being looked after. For $50 a month we have a fire alarm linked to the local fire department which is a legal requirement but also gives us peace of mind.

The utilities bills do vary according to usage so electricity is around $200 a month but can be $400+ when we're in it; gas is around $30 but can be $400+ when pool heat is on; water is around $30-$60. Insurance is $100 and Property taxes around $550 per month.

[starwarsclark]

Originally Posted by SteveC

We placed an order on a new build July last year, took possession of it last October and it’s purely for our own family use as we never fancied buying to rent out and that’s before I ever read any of Magnificent’s sobering but excellent posts. After a year of ownership we’re delighted with it.

Costs of ownership accepting that it’s a new build, it’s still under warranty and therefore no renewal costs so far:

The HOA fee is currently $473 per month and for that everything to do with the outside of the house is covered - weekly gardening, irrigation, weekly pool clean, refuse collection directly from the bins stand at the side of the house, pesticide, annual clean of the outside of the building. The fee also covers gated and mobile site security, internet, TV package and phone.

We don't use a management company but have CCTV with alerts inside and out and Ring to keep an eye on things so between that and the HOA services feel the house and maintenance is being looked after. For $50 a month we have a fire alarm linked to the local fire department which is a legal requirement but also gives us peace of mind.

The utilities bills do vary according to usage so electricity is around $200 a month but can be $400+ when we're in it; gas is around $30 but can be $400+ when pool heat is on; water is around $30-$60. Insurance is $100 and Property taxes around $550 per month.

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Brilliant, thank you for posting, that helps a lot. We would be looking at something like a 2 bedroom condo on which, I would hope, would be lower cost but if we were to budget for around $1000 ~ $1500 a month then we should be close.