Investing in Orlando, Florida for a newcomer!

[Sambit Sharma]

Hello everyone,

Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! I am actually from California and have been thinking of moving to Orlando, Florida area for a while. I will be in town December 10-16. I have not started buying real estate just yet but want to set myself up in a location where that would be feasible, and unfortunately CA is definitely not a market I see myself beginning this career in. My plan is long term, buy and hold rental properties for nice cash flow and passive income. 

I’m focused on Orlando and very open to understanding your opinion on the various areas in the city, how you evaluate which ones to invest in and how’ve you’ve achieved success in previous projects. I don’t think there’s a better way to get an understanding of a market then to talk to people who live and invest there! I’d love to take some gurus from the area for some coffee and chat about your experiences, and your overall opinion on starting the real estate journey in a place like Orlando.

Sorry I am not being too specific about where in Orlando or what strategy precisely I am going for in real estate, etc. I would like to hear everyone's honest opinion about the area and what you feel is important and your experiences living there and/or owning property there.

I really appreciate your time for reading this and would love to hear from you all.

Thanks so much,

Sam

[Elise Marquette]

Hi Sam, I used to live in and around Orlando and would be glad to discuss it with you. Whether or not it's a good place to invest depends on your strategy and what you're looking to buy. If you're wanting to do Airbnbs, the Kissimmee/Davenport area is probably a good bet since it's so close to Disney. The Disney cast members are all going to need somewhere to live too. My old apartment complex had a bunch of cast members who lived there and the rent was around $1250 each month for a 2/2 apartment 1200 sf. 

If you're looking for a little higher end, you may want to check out Winter Park/Maitland area. I will say Maitland has more corporate businesses and is likely less dependent on the service/hospitality industry like Kissimmee area. Of course in Winter Park, there's always college student rentals with Rollins being right there. And with tuition being about 60K annually for Rollins, you can probably charge a pretty steep rent. 

If I'm being completely honest, downtown Orlando is pretty scummy. If it were me, I'd steer clear. You may want to check out Baldwin Park and Lake Eola area