posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 31

We think good Vacation Home Management includes, but is not limited to:

1. All rental mark ups are fully disclosed to owners
2. All repair costs are fully disclosed in detail
3. Accounts can be accessed on line at anytime to see all bookings, fees and revenues
4. Any conflicts of interest are always fully disclosed by the managing entity
5. The cost of property maintenance is clearly broken down
6. The ability to opt out of the management agreement at any time
7. Quality assurance scores and complete inspection photos are disclosed monthly
8. Quarterly contacts to go over the scores by the manager
9. Realistic estimates formulated on the level and type of rental income the home can generate
10. Enabling owners to escrow for capital (major repairs) in an account the owner controls

Please see our other blog posts for additional tips and suggestions for choosing a vacation home management company.

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 29

At a dinner party in our home town of Frome, England, we recently met a couple who told us they just bought a vacation home in Orlando, Florida.

As we go to Orlando all the time and our mum owns two vacation homes, we had a lot in common. Our new friends told us where they bought the home, so we looked it up on the Internet. When we visited Kissimmee the following week, we met with our management company and started talking about the home. The owners told us they paid $220K cash for the house. Our property manager said this was ridiculous, because there were at least 8 homes of the same model selling for less than $160K (all bank owned).

If you are from out of town, it is an easy mistake to pay above market value for a vacation home. With the foreclosure crisis in full swing in Central Florida, this same mistake would be very expensive.

In America, there are various real estate professionals that can help you. To ensure you are getting the best deal possible, directly hire your own independent professional advisors. Your cost for this type of advice will be several hundred dollars for an appraiser as an example. Hiring a professional to do some market research could have saved our friends almost $60,000. Don’t make the same mistake!

So if you are looking to buy a vacation home in the Orlando, Kissimmee, Clermont or Davenport area, do your homework and directly hire a team of independent professionals these might include CPAs, Appraisers and Attorneys. As always we just express an opinion and don’t offer professional advice. We are incompetent.

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 28

Foreclosures Devastate Orlando Vacation Home Market.

The level of foreclosures in the Orlando vacation home market are now at devastating levels. As many of these vacation homes in the area are second homes and many were bought by speculators, the prices in many communities have dropped significantly. It would seem that many owners have simply walked away due in part that the rents from such homes are not enough to cover larger mortages. Some of the communities hardest hit are those that saw the greatest appreciation. 

Vacation Home Foreclosures Soar in Central Florida

Unlike regular homes, vacation homes have few, if any, permanent resident owners that help stabilize the area or neighborhood.

Currently, some banks will no longer lend on vacation homes. This is further holding demand down and pushing up supply. The number of homes for sale has grown, but relatively few people have been buying.

As we have indicated in our blog, this creates potential rental opportunities at great pricing for savvy consumers.

The data above is based on research for a typical Kissimmee vacation home subdivision over the last 5 years showing the actual average price per heated square foot for the same two month period. 2008 shows values plummeting 41% from the same period a year earlier.

Orlando Florida Vacation Home Foreclosures

So what will happen to the Orlando vacation home market in the future? No one knows, and it is pure opinion and speculation at best. If we knew, we would be sitting on an island in Tahiti sipping a beer rather than worrying about the general state of the market. Having said that, our best guess is that home values will continue to come in line relative to the net rental revenues they generate to cover the monthly mortgage. Once that comes back in line, we’ll then most likely see prices stabilize.

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 25

With a fragmented industry with lots of players and no strong “branded” presence, the consumer for vacation homes is left to make some decisions with little or no information regarding the maintenance and cleanliness of the home they will eventually be staying in. Quality assurance in the mind of the consumer will be the ultmate differentiator after staying in the home or referrring

Orlando Vacation Home Management Quality Assurance

How Clean is your Vacation Home

others to frequent that management company again. Along those lines, and before booking any vacation home, one should make sure that the management company has a program in place to proactively manage maintenance and cleanliness of each vacation home.

A quality program for housekeeping may include training methods, graded inspections and employee recognition to deliver a home that is clean and well maintained for each inbound guest. All three elements and others are part of an overall strategy to compete with the cleanest hotels, and to deliver a pleasurable experience.

From a maintenance perspective, regular and thorough inspections of the entire home are an important part of the process. Too many companies use the guests as their de facto QA team, which should not be the case, and is

All Vacation Homes Should be Quality Inspected

certainly not what you paid for. Performing needed maintenance and preventive maintenance at appropriate intervals before the guest arrives keep the home and its collective infrastructure operating effectively to the benefit of the occupants.

Before you book your vacation home, make sure the management company has a quality program in place as evidenced by testimonials, referrals or a program mentioned on their website. Although this might seem a given as a consumer, it is surprising to see the number of companies that don’t see the guest experience as part of their “brand”. Why? They put their time and efforts into other areas of the business or they purposely cut corners to reduce expenses. Make sure you never book with a company in the latter group.

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 12

Renting an Orlando Vacation Home Rental in the Foreclosure Crisis - 10 Tips

Orlando vacation home foreclosure

Renting an Orlando Vacation Home - In Foreclosure?

1. Try and book the home rental as close to your travel date as possible.
2. Ask if the home you are reserving is behind on its mortgage
3. Ask how many homes in the subdivision have been abandoned
4. Ask what percentage of the development you are staying in contains vacant lots
5. Ask if the community facilities have been completed
6. Ask what percentage of homes in the community have overgrown lawns
7. Pay by credit card only
8. Use a reputable rental management company. If a home they manage is repossessed, they have others.
9. If booking direct from an owner, you must be able to verify the rental home will not be repossessed by the bank by the time your stay comes around.
10. If in doubt, keep asking questions. There are hundreds of management companies handling rental homes - so pick a good one!

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 5

Good Vacation Home Management

So you own a vacation home? Join about 40,000 other owners in the Orlando, Kissimmee, Disney, Clermont or Davenport area.

What Homeowners should demand from their management company:

1. The option to opt out of the management contract at any time if you are not happy with the company.
2. The ability to rent out your home at least 65% of the year.
3. A quarterly quality assurance and inspection report with photos and scores for all aspects of your home from the AC system to pool.
4. Assurance that home repairs are completed at cost, and that a detailed report is provided of work completed
5. All capital projects are bid out in writing to at least three bidders for items such as roof repair, ac replacement, pool resurfacing etc.
6. Minor repairs are billed at a rate no higher than $35 an hour.
7. You can login-in to your account 24 hours a day to view all bookings, maintenance and account details.
8. They are licensed and insured, and can provide all documentation
9. They provide resumes of their key staff
10. They respond quickly and professionally to your requests and answer their phones by the third ring 24/7

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 2

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 1

Looking for a few simple, quick ways to promote sustainability and conservation with your vacation home? Here are some simple ways you can reduce the carbon footptint of your vacation home:

• Consider a green values statement for guests at check-in. Simple tips such as running the washing machine, dryer and dishwasher only as needed go a long way in conserving water and energy during the year.
  

  environmental orlando florida vacation homes

• Caulk and seal around windows and door frames of your home.
• Make sure water heaters and hot water pipes are insulated properly.
• Make sure heating/cooling and condenser coils are cleaned regularly.
• It is advisable to paint in lighter palette colors for bath and living areas.
• Refrigeration coils should be cleaned regularly and door seals checked often.
• Make sure you reinforce the need for temperature setbacks when the vacation home is not occupied with your housekeeping team.
• The housekeeping team should also close draperies during periods when the home is not occupied.
• A schedule for changing HVAC filters should be maintained.
• Be sure and adhere to a regular PM program for pool heaters to prevent scaling.
• Make sure the pool skimmer and pump strainer baskets are cleaned regularly.
• Also verify that the pool filter is serviced as recommended.

Although there are many additional ways to promote conservation, these simple ways will have a large cumulative impact on your home energy usage.

posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 1

Payback Estimates for Various Actions

A lot of media attention has been paid to environmental initiatives geared towards reducing resource consumption. As a homeowner and investor looking to make prudent financial decisions for payback periods of three years or less, let’s look at various greening improvements relative to their estimated payback periods:

• Conversion of incandescent lighting to compact fluorescent bulbs yields an average annual operating cost savings of $5.10 per bulb based on national averages.[1] Compare this to the cost of an 8,000 hour cfl 13 watt mini twister bulb for roughly $4.00. Based on these metrics, the payback period for cfl bulb conversion should be 1 year or less. The actual types of bulbs you install, seasonal home occupancy patterns and other factors will impact this figure.
• Front loading washers require less energy and water than the standard top loaders. National averages indicate tat this change may yield an average annual operating cost savings of $129.[2] Compare this savings to an average new large capacity washer appliance cost of $410 with installation. This yields roughly a 3 to 4 year payback period depending upon actual occupancy and usage factors.
•  If you have a dishwasher older than seven years, the newer high efficiency models can save on both energy and water. National averages indicate that this type of a change could yield an annual savings of $51.[3]Compare this to the cost of a new high efficiency dishwasher that will run in excess of $300 depending upon the model you select. This yields a payback period in the neighborhood of 6 years.
• Newer high efficiency refrigerators with bottom freezers also provide significant savings. A check of national operating cost averages indicate that making a switch from an older model (15 years or more) yields an annual operating cost savings of $72.[4] Compare this to a new refrigerator price tag of $650 yields a near 9 year payback period
• New heat pump storage water heaters provide a potential savings of $310 if you are converting from a 10 year old or more model with an equivalent .9 energy factor.[5] Compare this to a medium sized water heater sized for most homes for a cost of $1,300. This yields a payback period of roughly 4 years.
• Showerheads – Green Seal, a non-profit greening organization, considers 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) to be green. However, many newer showerheads operate efficiently at 1.6 gpm. If your showerhead is around 3-5 years old, it is probably in the neighborhood of 2.5 gpm. A gpm flow rate is normally printed on the showerhead itself. Industry experts armed with standard usage and cost metrics for water and energy indicate that a drop from 2.5 gpm to 1.75 gpm will yield a payback of roughly one year. This would be for a $30 showerhead retrofit. Savings will vary based upon local water and energy costs, but this is a good rule of thumb.

Although these examples are rough estimates, these give you a fair idea of what home product replacements may be feasible based on a required three year payback period. As you can see from these estimates, the compact fluorescent lighting and showerhead conversion meets these investment payback thresholds. However, there are many recommended low cost or no cost common sense actions that can be performed to your home to leverage cost efficiency. These will be covered in future articles.