Hi, all!

I am looking to try and buy a property in Orlando (or surrounding area) in the next year or so to use as a vacation home/short term rental property. I would like to try to be within a 30 minute drive to Disney to make it appeal to those who want to rent through Airbnb or something similar. At this point I'm looking at a price point of around $250k. I want to try for a standalone home as I don't know how well the Airbnb aspect works w/ Condos and such. I'm also looking for a not crazy HOA. Just browsing some of these homes, there are some that are more than 50% of what the mortgage is (like $800 mortgage, $500 HOA). I just cannot see the value in that. I feel like I'm one of those people on House Hunters that is asking for unreasonable things, so let me know if I am. I'm not quite ready to buy yet, as I just have enough saved for the 20% down payment - and I know there will be other out of pocket costs and I don't quite want to completely clean out my savings. So, I guess my main questions are this:

1) In addition to the 20% down payment, how much money should I have on hand for things like closing costs, inspections, other fees.  I'm from NC and don't know anyone who lives in FL to ask what to expect for these type of things.  Also any experience from those who have done anything similar who are like, "I wish I had put money aside for this," would be greatly appreciated.

2) I don't want to waste anyone's time by starting to look too early w/ a realtor or apply for lending or anything until I'm really ready to commit.  I also don't want to fall in love with something and not be at the point where I'm just not able to buy it yet.  When and how do  you start reaching out to people? I guess the when is really when I have the finances, but just wanted to get some feedback.

Sorry for the novel and thanks in advance for any advice.  I really appreciate it!

Thanks!

Steph

Hello. You start reaching out immediately but be honest with where you are in the process.  It is going to be helpful to you to learn your market.

Are you doing this remotely from NC?  I am a real estate investor here in Orlando and I looked into the Disney AirBNB/Homeaway market when I moved here 6 years ago.  I found that most of the investors doing this are from overseas and hire local management companies.  I ran the numbers on a bunch of communities and found that most people are just breaking even at best.  I spoke with a real estate agent who specializes in it and he said most of the international investors just want a home near Disney they can stay in when visiting and that they can rent it out when they are not using it to help pay the mortgage.  After looking into it, I found it was more lucrative to invest in long term rentals in Orlando.  I would recommend that if you are looking to do it from NC you may want to consider the Horizon West area.  It is close to Disney. It is mostly newer homes, but has good long term appreciation potential.

@Stephanie Nachtrieb I'm a Realtor here in Orlando that has helped several people buy STR in the Disney area. I would be happy to set up some time to chat and answer questions even if you aren't ready to buy right now. You may also want to chat with @Alice Horn who is a STR manager here in the area. 

Thanks @Tyler Gibson !  @Stephanie Nachtrieb , we would be more than happy to provide some guidance. We're property managers with over 90 Orlando area properties under management. Email me or PM me and we'll set some time up!

Stephanie,

You are getting some good advice here. I a very familiar with the Orlando market living here 20 years and constantly out there looking at properties. Long term investment would be a better first time investment for a new OOS investor. However, they are some amazing people that can help from here as we know this town like back of our hand. It is not too early to contact and get to know people, I believe you should cultivate those relationships and referrals. If you have specific questions along your research timeline go ahead and ask, lot of experts in the area will be happy to just give you advice and what they see in the market.

Hi Steph. If you have any home in mind, I can help with the rental analysis. Also my blog has an article, where I name communities zoned for STR. Hopefully, it helps.

Hi@Stephanie Nachtrieb . Glad to see you are being cautious about this purchase and asking good questions. Your concerns are quite valid and your budget should be fine for a smaller SFR and unless you are in a resort style community, like Champions Gate or Reunion or Windsor Hills etc, the HOA will be quite reasonable. One thing on some of the HOA's information, depending on where you are getting it can be misleading. Some of the big sites just import information from the MLS. If the agent enters it wrong, then that data will be wrong. Some communities have 2 HOA's (master and neighborhood), but the site can only import one field. This can really throw off your analysis if both are not available. On the flip side, some communities offer cable/internet or lawn maintenance included in the HOA which will make it appear out of reach, but if you back out those costs, the HOA is actually reasonable.

I don't feel it's too early for you to start reaching out to vendors, realtors or property managers to get an idea of the market, costs of services etc. I am a full time Realtor® and investor and can also help you with local lenders that can get you started and coach you along the way to make sure the loan process goes smoothly once you are ready. Although getting a pre approval may be a bit pre mature, speaking with a lender to get everything in order will save you headaches down the road. 

I'm happy to speak with you about any of this whenever you are ready, feel free to reach out anytime! Good Luck.

Originally posted by @James Fitzgibbon :

Are you doing this remotely from NC?  I am a real estate investor here in Orlando and I looked into the Disney AirBNB/Homeaway market when I moved here 6 years ago.  I found that most of the investors doing this are from overseas and hire local management companies.  I ran the numbers on a bunch of communities and found that most people are just breaking even at best.  I spoke with a real estate agent who specializes in it and he said most of the international investors just want a home near Disney they can stay in when visiting and that they can rent it out when they are not using it to help pay the mortgage.  After looking into it, I found it was more lucrative to invest in long term rentals in Orlando.  I would recommend that if you are looking to do it from NC you may want to consider the Horizon West area.  It is close to Disney. It is mostly newer homes, but has good long term appreciation potential.

Hi, James! I am looking to do this remotely from NC.  I guess I'm like the international folks - I'm not really looking for this as an income property per se - more on the vacation home side of things, with the chance to make some "extra" money when I'm not down there.  That's why I'm looking at the price point I am because I don't NEED to earn the money through rentals to cover the mortgage.  I appreciate the insight, and will definitely look into the area you suggested. I really appreciate you taking the time to reply to my cry for help!

Have a great weekend!

Originally posted by @Tyler Gibson :

@Stephanie Nachtrieb I'm a Realtor here in Orlando that has helped several people buy STR in the Disney area. I would be happy to set up some time to chat and answer questions even if you aren't ready to buy right now. You may also want to chat with @Alice Horn who is a STR manager here in the area. 

 Tyler - Thank you so much for reaching out and offering to let me pick your brain! I will definitely take you up on it - I'm dealing with some pressing client deadlines (I'm sure you know what that's like), but will reach out soon.  Again, thank you so much! I really appreciate it!

Originally posted by @Alice Horn :

Thanks @Tyler Gibson !  @Stephanie Nachtrieb, we would be more than happy to provide some guidance. We're property managers with over 90 Orlando area properties under management. Email me or PM me and we'll set some time up!

Alice - Thanks so much, for reaching out! I am buried w/ work at the moment but I definitely am interested in chatting cause I know property management is something I'll need an assist on w/ me being out of state.  I'll reach out soon.  Thanks, again! I appreciate it!

Originally posted by @Vicki Clark :

Stephanie,

You are getting some good advice here. I a very familiar with the Orlando market living here 20 years and constantly out there looking at properties. Long term investment would be a better first time investment for a new OOS investor. However, they are some amazing people that can help from here as we know this town like back of our hand. It is not too early to contact and get to know people, I believe you should cultivate those relationships and referrals. If you have specific questions along your research timeline go ahead and ask, lot of experts in the area will be happy to just give you advice and what they see in the market.

Hi, Vicki!  Thank you! I appreciate the response and your advice.  I will definitely do that!  Have a great weekend!!

Originally posted by @Valentina Naumenko :

Hi Steph. If you have any home in mind, I can help with the rental analysis. Also my blog has an article, where I name communities zoned for STR. Hopefully, it helps.

Thanks, Valentina! I really appreciate it and will definitely take a look at your blog! I am really appreciative of any helpful information that I can get as obviously (for me) this is a big deal so I want to be as informed as possible.  I don't have any places as of yet (just been perusing online so far), but will definitely keep you in mind.  Again, thank you so much for taking the time to reach out and offer advice!

Have a great weekend!

Originally posted by @Shawn McCormick :

[email protected] Nachtrieb. Glad to see you are being cautious about this purchase and asking good questions. Your concerns are quite valid and your budget should be fine for a smaller SFR and unless you are in a resort style community, like Champions Gate or Reunion or Windsor Hills etc, the HOA will be quite reasonable. One thing on some of the HOA's information, depending on where you are getting it can be misleading. Some of the big sites just import information from the MLS. If the agent enters it wrong, then that data will be wrong. Some communities have 2 HOA's (master and neighborhood), but the site can only import one field. This can really throw off your analysis if both are not available. On the flip side, some communities offer cable/internet or lawn maintenance included in the HOA which will make it appear out of reach, but if you back out those costs, the HOA is actually reasonable.

I don't feel it's too early for you to start reaching out to vendors, realtors or property managers to get an idea of the market, costs of services etc. I am a full time Realtor® and investor and can also help you with local lenders that can get you started and coach you along the way to make sure the loan process goes smoothly once you are ready. Although getting a pre approval may be a bit pre mature, speaking with a lender to get everything in order will save you headaches down the road. 

I'm happy to speak with you about any of this whenever you are ready, feel free to reach out anytime! Good Luck.

Thanks a lot, Shawn. I really appreciate the advice, especially about the HOA items. I've noticed it can be quite wonky on things like Zillow and whatnot, bc one house will say none, one house will say $6, and then the next $175 and they're all in the same neighborhood. I'm glad to see that it's likely an import error because I was getting frustrated! I know all that information on sites like that has to be confirmed anyways, but it's good to know to not really put too much reliance on it. Thank you so much on your offer to allow me to reach out! Once I'm through the busy time at work I hope to be able to dive into this more!

Hope you have a great weekend

Originally posted by @Nathaniel Walker :

Hello. You start reaching out immediately but be honest with where you are in the process.  It is going to be helpful to you to learn your market.

Thanks, Nathaniel! I appreciate your thoughts on the process!

You're very welcome @Stephanie Nachtrieb ! As part of our discovery process we can also provide projections with the HOA fees and all expenses. That should help take some of the guesswork out of buying your Orlando home!