Alexandria, VA · Member since 2016 · 6 posts · 1 vote
My family lives in the Washington DC area and we've been thinking about investing in a vacation home in Florida that we could use, but also use it for a short-term rental during the times we won't be there. What areas of Florida would you suggest we look at for properties? I'd love any advice you could provide. A newbie at rentals.
what times of the year would you be using it? whats your price range? are you looking for a family oriented environment thats good for children? and do you want something inland (like in the country) or a place on the beach?
Thank you all for your feedback. Rookie mistake - I should have added more details :)
Family with small children and although we would like to be close to the beaches, it's not a "must". Inland will be just as fine. We would most likely spent the winter months there while the kids are still young and we work remotely.
In regards to price range, we would like to stay under $100K.
Rental market is strong in south Florida but tough to find one in the 100k range that doesn't need work. As Wayne has stated condo is your best bet if you can find one allowing short term rentals. Orlando may have something in that price range if you are looking for Disney area. Good hunting.
Galya Iliev $100k is not going to go very far near the beach anywhere in Florida. You will primarily be looking at condo’s and townhomes. I’m most familiar with southeast Florida. Stuart and Ft. Pierce area have some decent options and are not quite as expensive as some of the options in Broward and Palm Beach counties.
I would look in the panhandle. Pensacola, Ft Walton, Navarre, Destin. I would also suggest looking in Orange Beach, Alabama. Florida does not have state income tax so there are other advantages to you buying here rather than AL meaning you could possibly claim "residence" here and not have to pay state income taxes anymore if you are paying them now. Panhandle is also gonna be more affordable than S. Florida but the weather is a little more predictable S. Florida. it does sometimes get cold in the panhandle during the winter months. good luck on your search
Thank you all. Everyone has provided such good feedback and tips. I will spend the weekend doing some research on the areas you suggested. I really appreciate this wonderful community and the insights I'm learning. I definitely need to spend more time on biggerpockets :) Cheers!
@Galya Iliev I ran a bunch of Airbnb projections in Pensacola proper and lets just say the numbers didn't exactly blow my skirt up. If you don't care about cash flow and just want to break even and have a cool place to stay, you'll have a lot more options.
As @Jay Helms mentioned Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Beach are great options. Not sure what he thinks about Milton or Baghdad but there are dirt cheap waterfront lots for sale.
All the folks I've talked to who run successful STR investments own waterfront condos purchased in the $250k range on the panhandle.