buying property in orlando were do i start ?

jarjarmustdie

ognum wrote: »

This is probably not going to be a popular reply but I will post it anyway. Before you purchase abroad do all your sums well.
You will not only have the purchase price but the cost of upkeeping your house. Remember the costs of power/water.
Homes in the US are really only built for a twenty year lifespan particullaly in Florida were the sun/heat has fast detremental effects. The cost of hurricaine insurance is big, I have a home in the hurricaine belt, not Florida and my hurricaine insurance is 3K a year.
If you plan to rent your property look into the with holding taxes of the state on rentals, you may need to pay state tax as well as UK tax on your rental income.
If you have a pool you need to factor in the ongoing cost of pool maintainace, chemicals and water. In the sun pool levels fall quickly and pools need to be topped up ofen on a baily basis which can end up expensive. Pool maintainance fees when you are not there need to be adressed.
You will also need a gardener handy man to maintain the outside of your home, you cannot expect to do this just on your twice yearly visits. Who is going to shutter up for you in the event of a hurricaine?
Also factor in Terminex treatment to prevent insect infestation. I could go on but I would say is Orlando is large and sprawling and older areas become old quickly, the prices start to fall as people move to the newer developments and the less desirable neighbours move in.
If you buy in Orlando and you need your money out remember that Real Estate agents in the US charge big bucks you maty be asked for 71/2% to sell your house, that may be a laege chunk of your profit. Prices are cheap because there is so much on the market and your will be just one more!

lots of good points there
thanks for taking the time to post

googler

You could also take the approach of finding yourself a 'buyer's agent' who is active in the Orlando market. For a fee, such an agent will (1) find out what you want (2) find properties that match what you want (3) arrange with the selling agent for you and your buyer agent to go look at them

This might take a lot of the effort and travel away from you, but at a cost - what you save on petrol, car hire, shoe leather, etc could be spent on the buyer agent fee, but it might work out as money well spent.

The buyer agents will have a better idea of what's available and might get a heads up on exactly what you're looking for before it hits the various websites and other avenues that you're looking at at present.

junkanoo

ognum wrote: »

Homes in the US are really only built for a twenty year lifespan particullaly in Florida were the sun/heat has fast detremental effects.

I am going to have to disagree with this. Firstly houses are not built with the intention of only lasting 20 years in Florida. I have known no one who has bought property in the USA, to have bought with the intention of the house lasting only 20 years!!! Yes the sun/heat does affect a property but not to the extent your talking about. If you maintain your property then it should last a lot longer than 20 years. Now if its hit my a hurricane, then thats mother nature and it doesn't really matter where you live. Mother Nature will do what mother nature wants!! I know about house because I was born and raised in the Caribbean, and trust me it gets hotter there!!

About house insurance, again this is down to where in Florida you buy. There are lots of elements that are involved with this cost. It will depend how often the area has been hit by hurricanes, if flooding occurs etc.. Do your research on this. I would say also to make sure your home insurance covers flooding and tornados. Sometimes hurricane insurance does not cover this.

You may be able to buy in a development that has a pool, gym, tennis courts, etc... for the residents of the development. My husbands parents have just brought a property in Florida, and this is the style they went for. Also they have hired someone (I belive through the housing development) to look after the house while they are away. He goes in and checks the house I think once a week, and in the event of a hurricane will secure the house.

Good luck with your search. I know many people who live/lived or own holiday homes in Florida and they love it there!

vinuela13

Just done a search and found this post.This is something we are contemplating at the moment.
We are off to Florida in December and hopefully will get to look at some real estate whilst we are out there.
The info that I have read here is certainly very helpful.Thank you

vinuela13

Ian_W wrote: »

You might also want to have a look HERE - it's the Orlando version of RightMove by the look of it.

I can't seem to get the above link to work.Does anybody know which website it is?
Thanks

vinuela13

diddlyidi wrote: »

I can't seem to get the above link to work.Does anybody know which website it is?
Thanks

Found it now
http://www.myfloridahomesmls.com/

thanks

g_attrill

I know quite a few people who live in FL, and if you are looking to let it out then be aware that the rental rates away from the parks are very low because there is a huge surplus. Apparently foreclosures are still going strong so there should be a good choice, quote "only the Brits seem to be able to hang on at the moment"

vinuela13

g_attrill wrote: »

I know quite a few people who live in FL, and if you are looking to let it out then be aware that the rental rates away from the parks are very low because there is a huge surplus. Apparently foreclosures are still going strong so there should be a good choice, quote "only the Brits seem to be able to hang on at the moment"

I quite agree.When we were choosing a villa this time it was extremely difficult because there was so many to choose from.
In the end we have rented a 5 bed 4 bath with pool for £700 for the fortnight(this includes pool heat).I believe this is a bargain.The quotes we obtained ranged form £700-£2000 so there was quite a wide disparity.
I just wondered if anybody is aware of a website where it is possible to research an area

RJP33

Be aware of the extra charges for maintenance/tax etc when analysing what to offer on properties, it can work out a lot more expensive than you think particularly if you're looking to rent out for most of the year.

Still a great time to buy if you're in a position to take advantage of the slump.