Andrew Cottier

Greetings Terje,

1. Each of these types of properties has its charm. Many renters want that resort feel and decide to book a condo. Many want the space and privacy a home or villa affords. While some homes do have the included HOA fees they are almost always less than the condo/townhome fees per month. You still are entitled to use all of the amenities that each community has to offer but that savings is offset by higher county taxes and insurance on the entire villa. You desire the resort atmosphere and true worry free maintenance so definitely go with the townhouse. You will be happy whenever you get to personally use the property while here on vacation. The only added expense will be your pool maintenance which you can hire someone yourself or a good management company can take care of that because you are a foreign owner.
2. In my previous post 5 bedroom townhomes are extremely rare in fact Paradise Palms is the only community that has them available that are useful rental properties. There are several communities that have 4 bedroom townhomes but some do not have private pools out back. A 3 bedroom unit does not appeal to you because of limited space. I can also tell you that the 3 bedroom townhouse rental market is saturated with competition so stay away from that size unit which is all you can get in Windsor Hills.
3. As I stated some people that choose to visit will really like this townhouse like you do and decide that it is right for them. Working along side one of the larger rental companies affords me the ability to check occupancy rates so I can tell you that the larger more rare townhomes have a higher percentage. Therefore I think that there is a market for this type of rental especially of this size and you can keep it with the on-site or choose a reputable management company in the area to oversee everything.

Now that you have done your research on the property let an experienced agent assist you with getting the best possible deal on your behalf. You will be able to build a relationship that will pay dividends now and into the future.

Best Regards,

Andrew Cottier
877.208.8456 407.488.8939 - Fri Aug 8 2008, 11:35

Greetings Terje,

Paradise Palms is a very nice new community but the prices are high for what you are getting in there. There are single family homes with pools that are just a few years old that are less than $340,000. A single family pool home will offer more privacy and return when or if you decide to sell. The HOA dues are higher in Paradise Palms than just about any other in Kissimmee as well. Since they have started out so high you likely would not see an increase in dues unless there was some type of storm or other issues that depleted the reserves.

Because you will use this as a rental you will need to take a few things into consideration and noise from the construction may have an adverse effect on some renters. Also 5 bedroom townhomes are rare in our market so it will be hard to project what the rentals will be like. Compare this property with a 5 bedroom single family pool home that has a history of rentals and the house will likely do better. Hopefully all of this is helpful but should you have any questions that I can assist with feel free to contact me.

Best Regards,

Andrew Cottier
877.208.8456 407.488.8939
andrew.cottier@orlandoera.com - Fri Aug 8 2008, 08:55

Hello Richard,

It is true that the entire vacation industry is down this year but it is not as bleak as it is portrayed. While some management companies are trying to survive others that have the experience and know how are doing quite well.
There are a few townhomes that are very interesting as far as investments go. 8564 Crystal Cove Loop (MLS # S4639467) looks to be the best and it was just placed on the market 3 days ago for $119,900. It is offered fully furnished and as you can see from the photos the upstairs balcony looks down into the green space and to the newer phase 2 community pool. I personally sold 2 three bedroom townhomes that bookend this property in early 2007. 8572 Crystal Cove Loop was sold for $205,000 and 8558 Crystal Cove went for $200,000. You can see that prices have come down to a degree that makes these units very intriguing for future equity growth. Concerning this particular townhouse I have personally worked with the listing agent on another property and I would think that this townhouse could be purchased for possibly a few thousand dollars less than the asking price. Even at full asking price you would be $5000 less than the next lowest closed townhouse in Emerald Island that sold in March 2008 for $125,000. In going back over the historical statistics for this community when these were brand new and being resold they were going in the $135,000 to $160,000 range back in 2003. So now we are at a point when it is less expensive to buy one of these townhomes then when they first started to be resold. Another stat to consider is that at the height of our market these were being sold at $250,000. I think any reasonable investor knows that we will not see that same type of accelerated growth that we saw a few years ago but it is safe to say that these are undervalued right now and we will see long term growth going into the future.

As far as the rentals go I will not pull any punches. There will be a few months out of the year that you will carry most of the expenses associated with this property like in September, October, and likely November. Once the Holidays are over and we begin the new year things will pick up especially during the summer months. So I tell investors to save what they make in revenue over the summer for the slow months that follow. The important thing to remember is that you will have a great vacation home right next to Disney while having invested in the long term here at a substantially lower amount than almost all of your neighbors. Should you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me at anytime.

Best Regards,

Andrew Cottier
Realtor®
(877)-208-8456 Toll Free
(407) 488-8939 Mobile
Andrew.cottier@orlandoera.com - Thu Jun 26 2008, 09:03

Hello Steve,

Absolutely you can own property here in Florida. In fact the largest group of foreign investors that purchase homes in Kissimmee reside in the U.K. It is true that you have many great options for holiday homes but you need to be careful in your selection. The present market we find ourselves in has hurt some communities by allowing them to become more long term residential than true vacation homes. When a development goes through this change it sometimes is not as well maintained or as presentable. This has a great impact on the current and future value of each home. The most important advice I can give you for your search is to pick a real estate agent that works with these types of properties and one that you have trust in. As you can see my company is called “The Vacation Home Store “ because that is all we do. If you would like me to lend my expertise to assist you in finding the perfect home I here to help out in any way.
Best Regards,
Andrew Cottier - Sat May 24 2008, 12:47

Greeting Tanya,

Prices are still coming down to a degree in almost every community here in the Disney area. Some are experiencing larger declines than others while some are very close to what we think is the bottom. Those communities that have remained fairly immune to foreclosures and short sales are the most stable. Of course proximity to the theme parks has helped other communities tremendously as well.

How will we know for sure when the market is going back up? When it has already started. So I tell my clients that it is a good time to buy for two reasons and in your case three. The first reason is that we are entering into our busiest time of year with renters. Assuming that you are going to use the home as a rental property you will want to capitalize on the summer months. The second reason is that some communities will not be this low for long. The third and maybe most important reason for you is that exchange rates are very beneficial for Canadian buyers right now.

I would recommend that you look into Windsor Hills first. It has a clubhouse and pool complex that rivals most of our resorts here. The amenities and its extremely close proximity to Disney make it the hottest rental community in Kissimmee. Another community to look into would be BellaVida which is right off of 192. This is a brand new community with an excellent clubhouse and pool. You can even take a look into Terra Verde as well.

The most important thing to do is to build a relationship with a Realtor that you are comfortable with in our area. Do your research and have plenty of questions for the professional that you pick. Once you have a Realtor working with you he or she will be able to navigate you through the different choices and then get you the best deal possible here in Kissimmee. - Mon Apr 28 2008, 11:40

Hello Dave,

I am a Realtor right here in Kissimmee about five miles from Disney and this is my market. Due to the market adjustment there are some really nice homes that have come down to levels we thought were not possible a few years ago.

I will suggest that you have a look into communities such as Terra Verde, Emerald Island, Windsor Palms, and even Windsor Hills. A general rule of thumb is to stay as close to Disney as possible to capitalize on the short term rental market. If you are willing to purchase a distressed property and put some money into it to bring it up to rental standards then there are some even better deals out there. For instance there are some 7 bedroom foreclosures in Emerald Island for around $300,000. I can assist you should you like more details on homes that you have seen in our area.

Best Regards,

Andrew Cottier
407.488.8939
407.397.1599 ext. 5107 - Mon Mar 17 2008, 07:01