buying properties remotely in Orlando

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buying properties remotely in Orlando

Ronnie Ho
Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 5 votes

Hi, I live in NY and I am planning to purchase my first rental investment property in Orlando around the Disney area. I am thinking the property can be used for STR on aribnb, vrbo, etc. My real estate agent has been showing me listings in the Orlando through a portal, but she said that to actual visit the property is very difficult since there'll always be tenants and most of the listings don't even have a floor plan, so I can only get an idea of the place through the pictures and need to make a decision based on that. I would like to hear others' experience if it's similar to what I described. Thanks a lot in advance!

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Quentin Moore
Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 13 votes
5y

I live in VA and just purchased an STR in Kissimmee, FL. Here are some tips:

Consider using a lender and a local agent that mostly engage in STR deals.

Identify the STR communities you want to buy in. This includes Championsgate, Reunion, Windsor Hills, Solterra, Festival, Storey Lake, etc. They all have pluses and minuses. I chose Storey Lake because of its location.

Once you know which community you want to buy in, you can google for the floor plan or virtual tours by searching on the community name.

Pull up the community you are interested in on the Zillow.com map and click "Save Search". You will then get an email whenever there are new listings in that area.

Whenever you get an email alert, if the home's photos and the numbers look good, consider putting an offer on the property. :-) Maybe this quick reaction isn't as necessary now. In the Spring, homes in the area I was targeting were going under contract fast. Note that you can always back out of the offer during the inspection.

If the home has bookings, your agent can ask the selling agent to ask the STR guest if your agent can visit the home during their stay. The guest will probably say no. :-) You can then try to have your agent visit the home between bookings, i.e., between when one guest checks out and the next guest checks in.

Ask your agent to record a video walk-through. If you can have a live video session, that's good too. Still have the agent record a walk-through that you can review later.

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  • Kyle MccawBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Keller, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Quentin Moore:

    @John Menton You can manage the bookings yourself or you can pay someone to manage them for you for 10%-30% of your gross revenue. When I launch in October, I plan to manage my own bookings. I pay a local property manager a flat rate to maintain the home.

    How is your Storey Lake property progressing? I'm curious to know how the bookings and process have gone. I'm in the market for a townhome in either Windsor Hills or Storey Lake. 

    McCaw Property Management4.4905 Reviews
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  • Quentin Moore
    Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 13 votes
    4y

    @Kyle Mccaw I haven't started taking bookings yet. I am currently staying in the home. I plan to launch next month.

    I don't know anything about Windsor Hills. I really like the Storey Lake location. Disney is 15 min away. The airport is 20 min away. Any store you need to go to is 5-10 min away.

    The community appears to be well kept.

    I typically see a lot more cars on the weekend so other hosts appear to be doing 2-3 night minimums.

    My one complaint so far is that trash pickup is suppose to be daily but occasionally they skip a day.

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  • Courtney Radmall
    Santa Rosa Beach, FL · Member since 2018 · 81 posts · 67 votes
    4y

    I own a 4 bedroom townhome in Kissimmee and we manage it from long distance and it was A TON of work up front but now I spend 30 minutes to 1 hour every week because we have automated so much. 

    We are actually looking into buying another one. It was rough during covid but we managed to have someone book through Airbnb for 6 months and we didn’t lose money. This year has been amazing though. Please reach out with any questions. 

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