All Forum Posts by: Levi Bennett

Did anyone find anything? I could really use some great references asap. 

Yes, yes and yes. Rent is astronomical here. I've seen a 15% increase in rent in some areas just in the last quarter. 

Hey BP, 

I have a client that just went under contract with a house that needs a new roof, some minor interior work, and a extensive landscaping.. they're looking for a GC ASAP that will be available to walk around with them on the property in Orlando (Azalea Park area) before they fly back home on Thursday.

@Justin Stamper, I know you're well connected, do you have any recommendations? Any leads for someone reliable would be amazing. 

The goal is to get the house to renting condition. 

Thanks everyone!!

The main thing (in Florida) is a pool. The pool needs to be big enough at the clubhouse to accommodate everyone. Some have lazy rivers, waters slides, etc.. it's not required, but for a neighborhood further from Disney, you need to have an appeal that the ones close don't have. Often you can get a lot more for less money just by going another mile or two away from Disney. Another commonly requested one, but isn't necessarily a requirement to have a successful rental, is a manned guard gate. Renters feel a lot more secure who have been traveling when they find that they have a manned guard gate to help them out and check them in. Those two things are the most expensive in an HOA.

@Cal C.

 That's it man. That's the key, that's the million dollar question down here that some ask and some don't. 

The one's that are doing well do a lot of "little things" but, in my mind, here are the biggest "little" things you can do:

1. refurbish with modern furniture. Successful units have either interior decorators, or the owners are savvy with decor so that it looks NICE in photos. 

2. That's the next point: photos. Hire a professional photographer for $200-300 to take amazing photos of your property. It makes all the difference when people are browsing 100 properties on Homeaway.com

3. TV's. Have a flatscreen in every bedroom, cleanly mounted without tacky wires. They don't have to be big in the bedrooms, just have them in there. Have a really big one (modern) in the main room. People eat that up. Flatscreens are cheap nowadays compared to when most of these homes were originally purchased.. in my mind, this should be a given. 

There are other factors like management, location, amenities, but.. it usually boils down to what people see on the internet, the better you can make it look there, vacationers don't care about the other stuff as long as it's up to standard with other communities. 

Check out Poinciana. I just took a client there on Tuesday and the rent market is crazy good there. New medical park, new resorts, new Sun Rail station coming through.. they've got it going on, and at a great price. 

Revenue generated on a vacation home near Disney is about 2-4 times MORE than it would generate in a long term rental. Determining ROI is up to the investor... there is no standard, no public record, nothing.. it's investment, that's it.. so how you work the numbers is up to you. How much you spend on a home, etc.. but I know plenty of investors that are making hand over fist in vacation rentals. I know plenty that have lost money, what it usually boils down to is occupancy. If your occupancy is high, you can make a LOT of money, if it's low, you may break even or lose money. But there are many easy ways to fix occupancy problems. Demand for homes is NEVER a problem in the Disney World area around Florida.

Florida is blowing up dude. Take Orlando for example.. nearly 5 billion dollars of commercial investment is under construction RIGHT NOW, not including the THOUSANDS of new home sales that is going on, all the while, existing home sales are still appreciating. It's remarkable here. Other than Miami, I don't think any other city in the South (besides Austin, TX) is poppin like Orlando. 

listen to tons of podcasts and just read up.. this site a wealth of knowledge. There are some good groups that meet up also around Orlando. CFRI is the big one and a lot of the members here have been there. 

I'm an agent, my forte is in vacation home sales around Disney. But I'd be happy to help you or point you in the right direction if you have questions. 

@Brandon Turner

I can't think of a better market for entry level vacation home investment than Orlando. Prices are way lower than HI and CO, and you get the benefit of having US laws for protection as opposed to buying in the Caribbean (not saying that's bad, but maybe not the best choice for a first time vacation home buyer). 

My office has made their name helping investors purchase almost exclusively vacation rentals for income, personal use, or a hybrid of both. I'm thinking about starting a forum on WHY Orlando area is unique and perfectly aligned for this, but basically it boils down to a few simple facts... 

1. There is no grey area with vacation rentals being legal here. Vacation rentals were popular here before the internet, and so the laws are very black and white. When you buy in a vacation rental community, it's specifically zoned for it. 

2. Because the zoning is specific, the vacation rental neighborhoods are DESIGNED for it. They have the amenities you need to market, and the floorplans are conducive to vacationers. 

3. Banks love giving loans for this purpose. They know you're from out of town, they know what you're trying to do, and they're okay with it. Most banks from our investors home states' don't understand, and won't allow it, but when you get pre-approved here, it's usually no problem. 

4. Entry level vacation condos from the high 100's? Where else can you get that in the US.

5. Cash flow is the key here, but of course, you want appreciation also. Average appreciation in our market is up 50% since 2011 and all trends are pointing upwards right now. We're still only 1/3 to the 2005 peak. 

6. In 2013, 57 MILLION people came to Orlando as tourists. That is more visitors than Chicago, New York City, and Las Vegas.  Less than 1/10 of 1% stayed in a vacation home because they either didn't know about it, or it was already booked. With the rise in credibility of AirBnb and Homeaway (the big one here in Orlando), this market is poised to have an almost unlimited growth. There is absolutely NO reason why you can't do well in the vacation rental market here.

7. With the vacation rental economy so strong here, you have all the parallel companies to support it. Great property management companies to choose from, great pool services, interior design companies, etc... anything you need to help you be successful, there are multiple good options. 

I could go on and on.. but I won't, maybe I'll make a forum instead. 

@Jay Hinrichs.. Whatever analysis you're using in your experience probably had one or two major flaws. The most common flaw is occupancy. Did the vacation rental have the demand high enough to get at LEAST 57% occupancy (that's 30 weeks, sort of a standard).  Also, how expensive was it to maintain? You need a lean, mean property management company to do the work for you, and not dig too deep into profits.. this can be automated with a good occupancy however. And finally, were there enough rooms? It's an outlier most people don't think about.. but the more rooms the better. The best performing investments I've seen are 14 bedrooms at @ 25% cash on cash returns cash flowing about 250k/year. In Colorado or Hawaii that's an expensive investment, here in cheap central Florida, not so much.