Buying a property in Florida

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Mar 14th 2004, 2:46 pm

Bagnut

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Buying a property in Florida

We are investigating buying property in Florida, possibly for letting. Can anyone give advice on the best areas, whether to buy an apartment or villa, or to buy off plan or not. Costs of letting, ie management fees etc. Would appreciate any advice.

Mar 14th 2004, 3:18 pm

Ray

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Re: Buying a property in Florida

Quote:

Originally posted by Bagnut
We are investigating buying property in Florida, possibly for letting. Can anyone give advice on the best areas, whether to buy an apartment or villa, or to buy off plan or not. Costs of letting, ie management fees etc. Would appreciate any advice.

The best area is the one you like!
Apartment or villa..what do you prefer!
buy off plan or not! No idea what you are talking about.
Costs of letting, ie management fees etc! Depends on all the others..
Suggest you do your investigating out here..Or be more specific in you questions..

Mar 14th 2004, 4:11 pm

Bagnut

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I apologise for not being more specific!!
By the best areas I mean the Gulf coast (for golf enthusiasts ) or near Disney (for theme park lovers).
Would an apartment or a villa be better for letting? On a gated community or not?
For those who don't know, buying off plan is where you purchase before construction has begun. You put down a % of the price, and on completion you pay the remainder.
I was hoping that there was maybe someone that could give advice, having gone thru the process themselves.

Mar 14th 2004, 4:33 pm

Ray

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Quote:

Originally posted by Bagnut
I apologise for not being more specific!!
By the best areas I mean the Gulf coast (for golf enthusiasts ) or near Disney (for theme park lovers).
Would an apartment or a villa be better for letting? On a gated community or not?
For those who don't know, buying off plan is where you purchase before construction has begun. You put down a % of the price, and on completion you pay the remainder.
I was hoping that there was maybe someone that could give advice, having gone thru the process themselves.

If you are intending to rent it out the first thing to check is whether the local county allows short term rental..
In my personal opinion the Disney area have over capacity of rental homes now... some people still do well but many other are struggling..
Apartments, condo, can have many restriction..check that one carefully.. gated community annual Home Owner association can have serious restriction but can also have very high annual fees
I pay (non gated) $130 a year... gated can be anything..I know one that is $3000 a year.. Management fees can vary wildly $200- $600 a month depending on your needs.. Off plan as you call it..is fairly common you normally pay in stages as the property is built...but bear in mind "EXTRAS" A house you buy for say $200k is never that at completion...there are inpact fees, landscaping, taxes and all sorts of other things seem to come up as extras, likewise any additions or changes you make to the plan costs big..

Mar 14th 2004, 5:14 pm

dunroving

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Re: Buying a property in Florida

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I think there was a similar thread a month or so ago, which you might want to search for. My recollection was that many replies said that if you were looking at it as an investment, think twice. If you've got loads of dosh and want a holiday home that will make some money to help with the mortgage go ahead. But there is a glut of such housing, scarcity of renters, high expenses (pool, air conditioning, etc.), etc., etc.

[That's just my recollection of the last time this was addressed]

Good luck finding it!

Mar 14th 2004, 5:40 pm

Bagnut

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Re: Buying a property in Florida

Quote:

Originally posted by dunroving
I think there was a similar thread a month or so ago, which you might want to search for. My recollection was that many replies said that if you were looking at it as an investment, think twice. If you've got loads of dosh and want a holiday home that will make some money to help with the mortgage go ahead. But there is a glut of such housing, scarcity of renters, high expenses (pool, air conditioning, etc.), etc., etc.

[That's just my recollection of the last time this was addressed]

Good luck finding it!

Thanks ray6 and dunroving for info.
I have searched for previous thread on this subject but can't find it. Can anyone help.

Mar 14th 2004, 5:51 pm

JeanDupont

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Everything you need to know may be found here:
http://www.orlando-guide.info/forums/

Mar 14th 2004, 6:22 pm

dunroving

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Re: Buying a property in Florida

Quote:

Originally posted by Bagnut
Thanks ray6 and dunroving for info.
I have searched for previous thread on this subject but can't find it. Can anyone help.

I'm bamboozled. I just searched using words and terms I'm sure were in the posts (rental, property, Florida, pool), and it didn't come up. I've had that happen before (i.e., for some reason a thread I know existed doesn't come up from a search I'm sure should produce it). Either the search engine doesn't work in the way I think it does or I'm losing my faculties... sorry, I tried.