posted by orlandovacationhome on May 17

In this post, we list the top vacation home picks for vacation rental home communities in the Davenport, Florida area.

For our purposes, “vacation homes” are defined as detached dwelling structures with multiple bedrooms and are similar, if not synonymous, to single family residential homes. A complete explanation of the various vacation rental options are contained on a prior posting.

The top vacation home picks in Davenport, Florida based on evaluator reviews are (in alphabetical order):

Solana Resort   

Tuscan Hills Vacation Homes 

Watersong Resort 

West Haven (multiple communities)

Click on any of the links above to get a detailed review score, map and video tour of each of these communities.

As we state in our disclaimer, community ratings are objective opinion evaluations. There are additional and notable vacation communities in Davenport, but based on our criteria, these were the best overall.

Each of the Davenport vacation home communities above received a “Good” or “Premium” quality review from our evaluators.

Davenport Vacation Homes

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Mar 24

In this post, we take a moment to discuss some of the vacation options we see in the Orlando area vacation home marketplace. There are a lot of new vacation homes in Orlando to choose from.

Many of the new vacation home rental developments in Orlando are becoming much more like full service resorts rather than traditional vacation home communities. These include common area amenities such as spacious clubhouses, large pools, retail shops, game rooms, concierge services and more.

If You Need A Private Pool - Ask

However, some developments do not include individual pools, and the home density (i.e. apartment, condo or townhome style buildings) is typically much higher than traditional single family homes. In other words, although one may get more common area amenities, the trade-off can occasionally be a loss of privacy. You may have to walk to the pool rather than having one attached to your vacation rental or possibly put up with some noisy guests next door.

The great thing about the Orlando market is the variety of choice you do have available depending upon which product you wish to stay in. In some cases, there are vacation homes that combine premium luxury resort type elements in their design and service delivery along with fully functional single family pool homes. These tend to receive the highest overall ratings reviews on our website, as it is geared primarily to the typical family/group on vacation in the Orlando area. 

The key as a consumer is to know what you are booking and what your expectations are during the vacation planning phase. In all cases, and as we stress on our main page, vacation rentals are still superior in value to hotels. This site also gives you the opportunity to view video of most new vacation homes in Orlando.

Consult our website for information on newer vacation resort developments such as Compass Bay, Bella Toscana, Aviana Resort and Watersong. Many are profiled on the website now (Crestwynd Bay, Bella Vida Resort, Encantada Resort and The Shire at West Haven).

Orlando Vacation Homes

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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. Please reference our disclaimer.

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Oct 28

Foreclosures Effect Orlando Vacation Home Market.

The level of foreclosures in the Orlando vacation home market are now at or near record levels. As many vacation homes in the Central Florida 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 their expenses.

Some of the communities hardest hit are those that saw the greatest appreciation. Unlike regular homes, vacation home communities tend to have less permanent resident owners that can help stabilize the area or neighborhood.

Many banks are also being tough when lending on vacation homes which can further hold demand down. In effect, this means that many homeowners who bought a property over the prior three years could now face significant losses they sell today.

We are not real estate professionals, as we had to go through online public records, and methodically pull sales along with calling a few local realty offices in the Orlando and Kissimmee area. Our information may not be perfectly accurate so, as always, consult a real estate professional in the area and have them pull the data for you.

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.

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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!

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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

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