posted by orlandovacationhome on Sep 30

When renting an Orlando vacation home with a pool , there are literally thousands of vacation homes to choose from with varying types and amenities. It’s important to do your research before booking.

The benefits of renting a vacation home over a hotel are numerous especially when it comes to amenities and space. One such amenity many people request is a private pool. Some specific questions you may want to consider:

1. How large is the pool – is it a “splash pool” or is it much larger?
2. Is there also a spa/hot tub built in?
3. How secure is the pool – Is it equipped with a pool alarm / fence to ensure children don’t go in unsupervised?
4. Does it come with pool heat in the winter and if not, how much extra does it cost?

If a private pool is not of importance to you during your stay, a good Orlando vacation home community pool might be enough. Some additional tips you may want to consider include:

1. How big is the community pool and its condition?
2. Does the pool area come with resort style amenities?

Renting a vacation pool home in Orlando affords several options and choices. Be sure to book with a professional and accredited vacation home management company. A professional management company will consider your needs during the planning process and make sure your are satisfied with your rental home.

Orlando Vacation Homes With Pools

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Dec 5

Vacation home rentals in Kissimmee have stabilized the area along the US 192 corridor. It has been no secret that the southern arm of the Orlando Florida metropolitan area tourism market (otherwise known as Kissimmee) has struggled over the years to increase its share of the transient hotel market. One lone spot has been the increase in vacation home accomodations in the area. 

Bankrupt hotels have been commonplace, and now more shockwaves are moving through the hotel industry in the US 192 corridor. The Orlando CVB recently reported that hotel revenue on the west side of US 192 was down as much as 52%+/-  in November 2008 compared to last year. On the bright side, some of the better performing hotels are off much less, but still down roughly 15% according to our inquiries.

The one bright spot for Kissimmee (Osceola and Polk counties) over the years has been the explosion in popularity of the vacation home market over the last decade. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, Orange County (“Orlando Proper”) has been slow to embrace the vacation home concept, and there are relatively few vacation complexes in this county.

Kissimmee vacation rentals offer an economically viable alternative to hotels for about the price of a typical hotel room with your own private pool in most instances. Such homes are suitable for many families, and even some groups visiting the Orlando area. Larger vacation homes can offer as many as seven bedrooms and can sleep as many as 16 +/- people. This has allowed many of the US 192 restaurants and businesses adjacent to the larger vacation home communities to stay afloat. For Kissimmee community reviews and ratings, please consult our blog posts area.

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 15

Cheap Orlando Vacation Homes

Expect the Orlando vacation home rental rates to drop further for the following reasons:

1. Many current owners are now cash strapped and are willing to rent their homes for less
2. 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.
3. 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.

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Nov 12

When booking an Orlando vacation home rental via the internet, part of your decision will include selection a quality vacation home management company. There are plenty of Orlando vacaction managment companies to choose from in the Central Florida area.

1. Professionally run with 24/7 customer service
2. A professional easy to navigate web site to select your Orlando villa
3. The vacation homes have a quality assurance program in place to maintain top notch vacation home standards (Please see our blog post on this topic).
4. The Orlando vacaction villa management company has their own service trucks and maintenance staff and are always on call.
5. Location of the vacation home.The home should be in a completed and well maintained vacation home community subdivision. No vacant lots and overgrown lawns in the area. Please consult our site often for updated vacation home community reviews and ratings.
6. Great vacation villa community facilities (i.e. pool, clubhouse, community activities)
7. Internet access or WiFi in the Orlando area villa
8. Crystal clear pool/spa
9. Fully furnished includes items like blenders and other amenities in the kitchen – not just the basics
10. A game room for the kids

Ultimately, you will decide what’s important to you and your family’s Orlando vacation experience. Always try and book the homes with the best location (as close as possible to the parks if that’s where you want to be). Ask the management comany a lot of questions and consult our independent vacation home community ratings. The best run companies are always happy to answer all your questions.

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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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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.

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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 for an Orlando vacation rental home:

• 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 for your Orlando vacation home, 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.

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Sep 20

Orlando Florida Vacation Home Subdivsions are Not All Equal

There are some great subdivisions out there for your vacation home, and there are some not so great.

We recommend you stay in vacation home communities that are newer (built in the last 10 years), and those that have extensive community facilities such as pools, club house, play ground, etc…

A gated subdivision is a nice extra touch, as it can keep unwanted elements out of the community.

If you are coming to Orlando for the theme parks, you stay as close to the parks as possible.

Also, find out a little about the subdivision – how many foreclosures are there? Are there incomplete and vacant lots? Are there a lot of lawns overgrown? Can you be at the main entrance to Disney in under 10 mins?

Our favorites:

Emerald Island

Windsor Hills

There are at least 50 other subdivisions to choose from, so be careful. Some of them are terrible and poorly maintained. Do your homework and ask a lot of questions!

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posted by orlandovacationhome on Sep 12

Always do your homework. There are hundreds of management companies and picking the wrong one can be costly. Here are some questions you may want to consider asking:

1. Are they licensed and do they have proof of licensure?
2. Are they insured and do they have proof of insurance?
3. How long have they been in business and do they have proof of that experience (references, etc…)?
4. How many homes do they manage?
5. Do they have a physical office and where is it located?
6. How will they market your house to potential renters?
7. How many full time staff do they have?
8. Do they contract out and markup pool service, cleaning, landscaping and general maintenance or do it themselves at cost?
9. Do they have a system that an owner can access and view when the home is booked?
10. Do they have a system where I can view my account and property maintenance?
11. What is the average occupancy of homes they have managed for 3 or more years?
12. What type of preventative maintenance will they do on my home?
13. Do they make a profit off repairs and maintenance?
14. How is my home inspected and maintained?
15. Will they guarantee a minimum net rental income in writing?
16. Are they also real estate agents?
17. Are they registered with the Better Business Bureau?
18. Do they have 24 hour customer service?
19. Can they provide you with a dozen references (of other home owners) for you to call?
20. What type of quality assurance do they offer and how is it communicated?

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