Reunion vs Encore at Reunion vs Championsgate

[Aaron May]

Hello. My wife and I own a handful of vacation rental property units in Michigan, our home base. We also own one on the Atlantic in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida which has performed very well. We self manage all of our own units and it's worked out well for us. We are now interested in acquiring a STR in the Disney Corridor of Southwest Orlando . We have taken two scouting trips and have connected with a great Realtor who has been very helpful. At this stage we have it narrowed down to Reunion and Championsgate. Our personal tastes lean more towards Reunion, but everything you read or hear about Championsgate suggests that calendars fill fast, high occupancy can be expected, and values stretch further in that development. We would love insights from anyone who has invested in these areas before.

Additionally, we haven't toured any homes in Encore at Reunion and don't know as much about it. We heard early on that Encore's values weren't holding and that there were issues there. We also heard that Encore requires that you hire one of their pre-approved management companies which would not work for us. However, we do see listings with great value PSF and the amenities appear to be robust. 

Our budget for this property is $400,000 - $500,000 and we're letting ROI steer us to the right opportunity. We want to love the place, but it needs to be a cash flow generator first and foremost.

Thank you in advance for your insights. 

[Ryan Moyer]

Originally posted by @Nancy Bender:

I would love to hear any other insights on Margaritaville in regards to being an investor. I have money down on a new townhouse build there, but I am concerned about the fact that you can't self manage and I have not heard the most positive things about the property management company.

 If you want to make money in Orlando, and I mean REALLY make money, you need theme rooms and self management (or low cost boutique management from a self manager that takes on a few extra homes).  Both of which I believe are not allowed in Margaritaville.

If you want a nice place to use for yourself with maybe a little cashflow on top then I'm sure it's a nice place, but if you're looking to really maximize your investment dollars in Orlando I think there are better options.