Florida Gulf Coast Condo Investment

[James Jacobs]

Hello,

I am from Michigan and am serious about buying a condo for investing on the Gulf Coast of Florida. My family and I would be vacationing in this condo for 2 to 3 weeks per year and rent it out the rest of the year. I'm looking for a 2/2 or 3/2 condo. 

I currently own 9 units in Michigan and have REI experience around here, but do not have any experience in the Florida market nor in vacation rentals in general.

I have two main questions:

1. Does anyone have knowledge of how to gauge how much of the year it will be rented out? I really don't know what numbers to use to run the calcs on the investment. 

2. I am most interested in the Sanibel Island to Marco Island area, but am open to suggestions. Does anyone have an opinion on the best vacation spot on the Gulf Coast of Florida? 

Thank you so much for your time and consideration! 

James

[Chuck Masters]

@James Jacobs when I purchased my vacation rental near Disney World I looked at airbnb and vrbo to see what others were charging per night for their rentals and then looked at their calendars to see their occupancy. From there I used this data to build my model for potential profits/expenses. Next I contacted a few property managers in the area to learn how they could assist and to interview them and to also learn about the area along with learning the cycles for rentals. When we found a property manager we then rented a vacation home that they managed to get first hand knowledge of their management style, including contacting them off hours to see how they respond. Hope this helps.