posted by orlandovacationhome on Jul 12
It is no secret that the current economic climate has afforded a significant housing price decline in Central Florida over the last two years. The Orlando Realtor Association statistics page show that the median home price in Central Florida has declined 39.26% +/- (1) June ‘08 - June ‘09. However, this is a median and each individual area and community will obviously differ.
As foreclosures now impact many of the vacation homes near Disney including the Orlando, Kissimmee, Davenport and Clermont areas, some communities have understandably struggled to maintain Home Owner Association (HOA) fee collections.
As a result, some communities have suffered operationally. Most typically you might see:
- Overgrown lawns in some common areas and around individual homes.
- Some gated communities with gates left open some or all of the time.
- Some vacation home communities with guard towers at the entrance, but no guard.
- Some vacation home communities could have had abrupt development stoppages exemplified by significant overgrown vacant lots and incomplete homes.
The good news is there are many HOAs who are doing a great job at maintaining their communities.
As a result, we have found it necessary to visit each of the communities on a regular basis. This allows us to keep up with those that are maintained, as well as monitor improvements or deterioration in terms of overall quality.
A Well Maintained Orlando Vacation Home Community
Now more than ever, it is important for the Orlando vacation home consumer to do their research and book a community that will meet one’s expectations. As always, we recommend booking with a credible and professional vacation home management / rental company that can remove the guesswork when booking a vacation home reservation in Orlando.
Some Vacation Home Communities
Tweet This Post
posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 15
Cheap Orlando Vacation Homes
Vacation homes in Orlando have become a cheaper commodity. It is estimated there are 35,000 +/- vacation homes in the area. Many of these vacation homes are often unoccupied.
Expect the Orlando vacation home rental rates to drop further for the following reasons:
- Many current owners are now cash strapped and are willing to rent their homes for less
- As the recession sets in, less people are visiting driving demand down to rent these homes for their Orlando vacation. Please see our POST on this topic.
- There are large amounts of these vacation villas entering foreclosure and are being picked up for a fraction of their original price, thus the new owners can rent them out more affordably.
Many of these expansive villas can now be rented at a lesser price than most cramped hotel rooms.
Don’t be afraid to shop around for vacation villas in Orlando, and feel free to ask a lot of questions. Remember, all vacation villas and vacation home management companies are not created equal, so do your homework.
Tweet This Post
posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 29
Buying A Vacation Home in Orlando - Kissimmee
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 the same model was selling for less than $160K (bank owned).
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 after all incompetent.
Tweet This Post
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.
Tweet This Post
posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 12
Renting an Orlando Vacation Home Rental in the Foreclosure Crisis - 10 Tips
Orlando vacation home foreclosure
Vacation homes sold quickly during the Florida real estate boom when demand in many cases was overwhelming.
Renting an Orlando Vacation Home - In Foreclosure?
Now demand appears to be significantly less than supply. Many homes are now bank owned or in some stage of foreclosure, so before renting a home rental, you may want to consider:
- Try and book the home rental as close to your travel date as possible.
- Ask if the home you are reserving is behind on its mortgage
- Ask how many homes in the subdivision have been abandoned
- Ask what percentage of the development you are staying in contains vacant lots
- Ask if the community facilities have been completed
- Ask what percentage of homes in the community have overgrown lawns
- Pay by credit card only
- Use a reputable rental management company. If a home they manage is repossessed, they have others.
- 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.
- If in doubt, keep asking questions. There are hundreds of management companies handling rental homes - so pick a good one!
Tweet This Post
