Making a Disney Vacation Rental Work

[Raja Gupta]

Hi Everyone,

My wife and I currently own some STR properties in TN and are looking to expand to the Disney area. We have narrowed in on buying in Windsor Hills as we feel like the amenities are a nice bonus for families that may not want to spend every day in the parks.

The issue we are having is that I just can't seem to make the numbers work, so wanting to see if maybe I am doing something wrong in my calculations. 

Right now, we are looking at 3bd townhouses in WH w/pool in the 220-240K range. I am estimating a $150/nt rate, ~$1000/month for mortgage costs (20% down, 3% int, including taxes), $1500/month in operating expenses (Utilities, HOA, maintenance, reserves, etc). Also assuming 30% of gross rents for property management since we are out of state investors. Based on some initial analysis, it looks like we would need a 80% occupancy to break even.

Do those numbers/ my assumptions look right to you? Is 80% even a feasible number during or even post COVID?  We could be open to going a little bigger and doing a 4-5 bed single family home as well. 

As a second question - I have been looking at some properties and rental calendars, and I can't seem to make heads of tails over what is causing high occupancy/ DAR. Seems like some properties with great theming and decorating are staying empty and others with old decor are rented every night. What do you see driving traffic to Disney STRs in particular? 

Would love the community's thoughts and advice! Thanks!