Who Wants a Vacation At The Reunion Resort in Orlando for Free with 20 of Your Closest Friends?

Looks like Nature’s Own has partnered with Reunion Resort in Orlando and will be giving one lucky family a pretty sweet family vacation.  Check out what the lucky grand prize winner wins:

Reunion Bank Owned Property List

1. Round trip airfare for up to twenty (20) people from the major commercial airport nearest the winner’s home to Orlando, Florida

2.  Three (3) Night housing accommodations (at multiple homes as necessary) for up to twenty (20) people (hotel taxes included)

3. One (1) family round of golf (“Event”) for twenty (20) people on one of the three signature courses designed by legends Palmer, Watson and Nicklaus based on course availability

4. Unlimited bicycle rental use for the families stay

5. A family cookout catered by resort for up to twenty (20) with menu to be discussed with winner based on provided menu options from Reunion Resort’s catering team.

Condo Foreclosures in the Reunion Resort

Oh yea and 10 First prize winners get a year’s supply of bread. . . make sure you ask for the kind with no high fructose corn syrup!

So what are you waiting for, go to the website and register today and while you’re here be sure to pop in and see The Pink Flamingo.

Schedule a Free Vacation Home Buyer Consultation

Emerald Island-DON’T EVEN GO THERE!

Every now and then I come across very funny vacation home reviews for the Disney area resort neighborhoods.  This one was by far one of the funniest I have ever read! I still love Emerald Island!!

Emerald Island: DON’T EVEN GO THERE!

From: Trip Advisor
“As this was our fourth time to florida we knew what to expect,NO NO NO BIG MISTAKE,on arriving at are home we could not get in the lady at the clubhouse said sorry cant help you,we were told to ring are travel agent in the uk,what a joke it was 11pm back home,we finally spoke to the management who told us sorry the house you booked has been sold but she did have another house for us,when we arrived at the new house what a DUMP and i mean dump the house was FILTHY, FURNITURE was well worn we payed a lot of money for the house for it to be fit for SQUATTERS.after many phone calls we were finally moved,with only 4 days left to are holiday,we WOULD NEVER EVER stay at emerald island again even if it was free,back to remmington for me and my family nxt year only come here if you like DIRTY USED HOUSES CHEAP TATTY FURNITURE OTHER PEOPLES PUBIC HAIR ON YOUR TOWELS DIRTY USED BEDDING SIX MONTHS OF DIRT IN THE POOL AREA BROKEN GAMES ROOM LEAKING ROOFS AND A POOL YOU CANT USE DUE TO FLIES, if you enjoy this type of holiday then EMERALD ISLAND IS THE PLACE FOR YOU.”

The Pink Flamingo Says: Wow! That’s a good reason not to tick off your guests! Maybe they should dump the “tatty furniture” and clean the towlels. . . gross.  This is also what happens when you hire a bad property management company!

Top 3 Disney Area Vacation Home Neighborhoods That Have Water Parks

Whether you are looking for a place to cool for this summer or you’re in the market to buy a family friendly vacation home in Orlando these three communities boast the best private water parks in Orlando and are sure to not disappoint the kids!

1. The Reunion Resort
The Reunion Resort water park is the behemoth of all the Orlando vacation home community water parks.  It has a lazy river, twisting water slides, wooden boardwalk, water playground, full food and beverage service, sunny and shaded lounge areas and scheduled family activities Monday through Saturday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM at the Kids Crew adjacent to the Water Park. A huge plus about this water park is that it’s generally not as crowded since there is also another pool in Reunion.  I love to come here for the day with my daughter, she always has a blast and we don’t have to fight off mobs of soaking wet kids trying to fight for their spot in line at the water slide.  In order to take advantage of the Reunion water park you must either be staying at the Resort as a guest or purchase into their membership.  If you are considering buying a property in Reunion I would advise picking one up that already includes the membership.  That will save you about $20,000.

View All Properties For Sale in The Reunion Resort Here

2. Regal Palms
In my opinion the Regal Palms Water park in Davenport is second only to The Reunion Resort.  It offers the same type of activities such as a lazy river, water slide and kids splash area just on a smaller scale and usually it is a bit more crowded.  Regal Palms is an excellent choice for a vacation home for those on a budget and that want to enjoy the same amenities as a larger resort.  The water is warm year round and the kids will absolutely love you for taking them here.  To enjoy the facilities at the Regal Palms water park you must either be a guest of the Resort or an owner of a Regal Palms townhouse.  If you are an owner you have to pay $250 per month to be a member in good standing and utilize the facilities.

View All Regal Palms Resort Townhouses For Sale Here
3. Windsor Hills

The Windsor Hills Water Park in Kissimmee is a baby compared to The Reunion Resort and The Regal Palms Resort however, it’s still an excellent choice is you want to own in a five-star neighborhood at an affordable price.  The water park consist of one large water slide, a splash area with fountains,  a large pool area, convenience store, game room and fitness center.  The Windsor Hills water park is more of a giant pool with a large water slide and splash park.  It’s still alot of fun it’s just not as extravagant and large as the others.  The properties in Windsor Hills are beautiful and most come fully furnished with bookings already in place.  This community does extremely well with bookings and if your looking offset your expense of ownership for a vacation home near Disney this community is an excellent choice.

View All Windsor Hills Properties For Sale Here

6 Common Sense Reasons Why You Should Never List Your Orlando Vacation Home For Sale With a Property Management Company

The purpose of this post is not to knock management companies as their are a few good apples out there however, it’s been my experience that property management companies should stick to what they do best and that’s managing vacation property. Here are some of the issues I’ve ran into with homes that are listed by property Orlando vacation home management companies that also have a real estate side.

1. Scheduling Conflicts: I’ve never had more issues trying to get into houses than I have with ones that are listed with Orlando area management companies.  It’s inevitable for everyone that if your home is being actively booked there will be times it can not be shown however, the vacation home management companies I have had the pleasure of doing business with seemed much more concerned about the bookings than actually showing the home to prospective buyers.  It seemed as though they only wanted to sell the home to their clients who were staying in it (they will make more money that way) than to expose the home to as many buyers as possible in order to get it sold quickly and for the best price. This is certainly not in the sellers best interest.

2. Not a Specialized Process: Yes many management companies have a real estate division however it is NOT their specialty.  When it comes to selling an Orlando vacation home, marketing is one of the most important skills a real estate company/associate can possess.  Aside from slapping an MLS print out of the property in their window and throwing the home up on their website (that doesn’t get any traffic anyway) I haven’t seen any vacation homes listed by Orlando management companies that are being marketed effectively, uniquely or heavily.  A dentist and an orthodontist both work on teeth, however I’m not going to go to a dentist for braces I’m going to go to an Orthodontist.

3. Under-staffed: Wow, this has been a huge problem I have been running into when trying to sell Disney area vacation homes listed with Orlando management companies.  Their operating hours are from 9am until 5pm Mon-Fri and if you call on the off hours you get a voice mail that won’t be checked until the next business day.  When do you think most of your property showings and contracts will be coming in? It’s usually on the weekends or after 5pm and if your agent/broker is unavailable during those times you wont be hearing about any offers until it’s most likely expired.  Take in consideration time differences as well if you are living in another country, by the time everyone gets on the same page the buyers have moved onto a different property.

4. Poor Marketing: This reiterates what I recently stated in number 2, due to the fact that 99% of Orlando management companies main source of income comes from the management end, they don’t dump too much time and money into their real estate marketing or train their agents how to market and sell Orlando vacation property. The property sales are a bonus for them and from what I have seen the listings get slapped into MLS and that’s about as much marketing as your going to get.  Why would you want to pay a full service real estate commission for a half service job and wait even longer for your vacation home to sell? It sounds convenient at the time to just list with the company who is managing your Disney area vacation property however, this can be one of the most costly mistakes you can make when selling your home.

5. Ulterior Motives: Management companies are not trained to sell homes they are trained to book vacation stays.  It’s the difference between hospitality management and business marketing.  They are two completely different animals and therefore you run the risk of ending up with a Realtor who’s sole purpose in selling your home is to secure vacation home management with their company.  If you have two buyers both placing offers on your home, Buyer A wants to use their management company after closing and Buyer B does not but buyer B is willing to pay more or offer better terms which offer do you think you’re going to hear about first? Though it is illegal to withhold offers from the seller, I have seen Realtors wait until after the one that was in their company’s favor was accepted and then present the higher offer afterward when it’s too late to accept it. I’m not saying they all do this but I have seen it happen and you always run the risk of this whenever there are ulterior motives with the agent (kickbacks, quotas etc).

6. Hard To Show : This has to be one of the most common reasons why it’s so complicated to sell properties listed with Orlando management companies.  Many of them do not utilize the lock box system and insist on meeting you out at the property.  This means you have to work within their restricted schedule.  Most buyers that are buying real estate in the Orlando-Disney area do not live here and are only in town for a limited amount of time. I recently ran into a situation where there were two townhouses listed in a resort community that my buyers really wanted to see.  They were only in town for 48 hours and  for the sole purpose of finding a vacation property.  The management company who had these townhouses listed was not able to reschedule their day or free up some time to meet us at the properties within that 48 time period.  My clients did not see those town homes and purchased something else instead.  Do you think the management company went back and reported that to the seller during their weekly feedback session? Probably not.

As you can see these are just some of the most common sense reasons why it does not make sense to list your property with a vacation home management company in the Kissimmee, Davenport or Clermont areas.  It’s vital to the sales process to stick with a specialized firm who has a website with excellent Google placement, specialized marketing techniques, a steady flow of vacation home buyers and is specifically trained in the sales and marketing process for Disney area vacation homes.

The Bimini Bay Resort in Davenport is on Fire. . . LITERALLY!!

Source

The Bimini Bay 11,000 Sq Ft Clubhouse was set to flames last month.  The Bimini Bay resort was not known for it’s amenities, or lack thereof, and now the one good thing it had going for it has been burnt to smithereens.  The police suspect arson as the main cause of this fire and thankfully there were no injuries reported.  According to the Fire Marshall, the damages are totaling around $1,000,000.  I wouldn’t hold your breathe on this being renovated anytime soon.

Bimini Bay Foreclosures For Sale

While we’re on the topic of crime in Bimini Bay, earlier that week Bimini Bay served as the meeting place for four men planning a robbery.  Two unsuspecting men who were hanging out at the local Kissimmee Denny’s wandered to a party at the Bimini Bay Resort with two random women that they met (probably over a romantic platter of moons over my hammy) only to be forced into a vacant townhouse where they were held at gun point.  Talk about a good day gone bad.  They probably should have just stuck with Denny’s and a romantic walk down I-drive in rush hour.

Bimini Bay appears to be taking alot of heat over the past month. . . no pun intended.  From arson to robberies that would be enough to make me look at the properties up the street instead.  With all this bad press surrounding the Bimini Bay resort this may be a time to get a cheap townhouse in there as many owners will probably be deciding it’s time for a move!

Bimini Bay Townhouses For Sale

Who Does This!!!

As a mother, this is a touchy subject for me and as I’m writing this I’m half ready to contact these “guardians” (if that’s what you want to call them) and just try to understand what the heck was going through their minds when they did this!

According to a story published yesterday on ClickOrlando.com two foster parents were found lounging at the Caribbean Beach Club Resort in Disney World while their two and four year old children were left alone upstairs in the hotel room on the second floor of the building. These are toddlers, children not even old enough in most cases, to tie their own shoes let alone babysit each other while their foster Mommy and Daddy work on their tan! WHO DOES THIS!!

According to the story, The house keeper walked in to clean the room and found the two toddlers, one in just a diaper and the other in only underwear, wondering the room alone.  The housekeeper waited five minutes for someone to return and when they never did she contacted her superisor to report the situation.  There was no food and water available to the children, the bathroom door was left unlocked and accessible and I don’t even want to think what could have happened if the children wandered out of the room onto the balcony or started roaming the premesis unattended.

The guardians were finally tracked down at the swimming pool and asked to return to their room where they had to explain themselves to the police.  The female guardian told police she was completely aware that the children were left alone and she does this all the time. The male stated that he was perfectly okay with them being left unattended.  The worst part about this is that the woman works as a counselor at a school in Michigan!! A school, as in a place where children go on a daily basis.

This whole act is just a pure example of 100% selfishness and carelessness on the legal guardian’s ends.  Those children could have been hurt while they were at the pool playing honeymoon.  It’s not even like they were in their vacation home laying out back by their private pool while the kids played inside. . .  If they wanted to vacation alone, they should have brought a nanny or went on a Disney Cruise where the kids could have been left under supervision.  Shame on them and I really hope the state finds some responsible, loving foster parents for those children.

The Villages at Legacy Park Homeowners Association in Davenport Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy

“Hi Comcast? This is the The Villages at Legacy Park HOA and um, we just wanted to know why you shut off the cable to the entire community?”

How would you like to owe your cable company $105,305? That’s how much the Legacy Park Town homes Homeowners Association owed to Comcast for an unpaid cable bill before they filed chapter 11 on June 16. Back in the boom the developers had to use whatever advantage they could to try and compete with other communities selling short term rental properties in the Davenport area and including cable as part of the HOA seemed like a good sales pitch at the time. Fast forward to the dreary days of the foreclosure epidemic and now what we have is alot of people with no cable and a broke HOA.

This is not an uncommon practice in this market.  So many Orlando Homeowner’s Associations are facing bankruptcy due to thousands of dollars of unpaid assessments from owners and high default rates due to foreclosures.  There’s no guarantee that filing chapter 11 will solve all their financial problems though, if the delinquency ratio stays the same or gets worse problems can still arise in the future.

Legacy Park Bank Owned Properties For Sale

How does this affect the homeowner? With less money in the HOA pot for things like community maintenance and paying bills owners can expect cutbacks such as the lawns being mowed less frequently, sidewalks and the clubhouse being pressure cleaned less frequently and even higher assessments for structural things like roofing.  This could result in the community not looking as polished and maintained and in turn could affect bookings or possibly even sales.  It appears the worst is over for The Villages at Legacy Park however owners now have to pay for their own cable.

Del Webb-The Dead Beat Dad of Builders?

WFTV just broke the story on the latest Davenport community, La Cresta a 55+ active adult community, to be abandoned by its builder.  “A homeowner called Eyewitness News after he bought a house in what was promised to be a sprawling retirement community in Davenport, but it turned into nothing but a ghost town.”

No sooner than residents could say “I worked my whole life to finally retire and now I’m stuck in a ghost town with no pool, half-built homes and vacant lots” did Del Webb show up and peel the signs off all the buildings, lock the doors to the sales office and board up the windows.

Search Davenport Resort Neighborhoods

According to their official statement that they issued on July 10, 2009 they said, “The decision was a direct result of the Company being unable to resolve the claims of a breach of contract, among others, against JL Land entities, with whom Pulte contracted to purchase developed lots, and the Estate of Joe Lewo.” For as long as Del Webb knew about these on going issues they continued to sell homes to prospective homeowners without even so much as a “heads up” on the situation.  Quality.

This is starting to sound familiar. . . Bimini Bay, Bella Colina, Notting Hill.  So many communities are getting left high and dry by the builders due to financial problems.  The homeowners are getting stuck owning properties in what they thought was going to be a resort paradise and turns out to be nothing more than a pile of bricks with a fancy entrance and angry neighbors.  What’s really sad is that homeowners can’t even sell their home because who wants to purchase in a unfinished community?  Even if they are lucky enough to find  buyer for it they most certainly will not be able to get the price they paid to the builder, therefore losing more money.

Del Webb is a subsidiary company of Pulte Homes, a large home builder in the United States.  This makes me wonder if other Del-Webb communities, like Bella Trae in Champions Gate, could potentially be in danger of a situation like this occurring.  My advice to any prospective home buyer who wants to buy new is to stick with the communities that are already finished and are trying to unload their final inventory (completed) homes.  You still get all the benefits of buying new like the home warranty and that “never been lived in, fresh paint smell” but you get the security of knowing that all the amenities have been completed so even if the builder went bankrupt tomorrow you’re not stuck owning in a ghost town with unfinished homes and amenities.

In closing to this not so shocking news, at least Pulte has noted in their statement that ” Pulte remains committed to honoring any customer service or warranty related needs under the Pulte Protection Plan.” How nice of them.  Maybe we should send them a bottle of wine for their kindness.

How NOT To Furnish Your Orlando Vacation Home If You Want Bookings

What are people saying about your vacation home when they walk into it? Better yet, what are they thinking when they DON’T book it after looking at the pictures online? I have a pretty good idea of what is going through their minds and I feel that I owe it to my readers to share it with you so you can avoid the mistake.  If you want to double your bookings this year then here is what your home should NOT look like! These are real pictures from real Orlando vacation villas.

Floral Upholstery with matching carpet and pictures is NEVER okay! Stick this furniture on Craigslist immediately! People do not like outdated homes, especially when on holiday.

Here is a simple equation for this ensemble:
White walls + off white table / ugly gold light fixture + gold frames with pictures of egrets – broken plastic verticals = NO BOOKINGS!!!!!!

I have a feeling Barbara Eden would not appreciate the use of those lamps as furniture and your guests certainly will not appreciate this room. . .  NEXT!

The angry, naked birds called, they would like their feathers back. . .

After a long flight on a plane to get to my dream holiday I was so excited when I opened the door and realized that I just died and went to NIK-NACK HELL! Definitely going to book it again next year. . . definitely.

One of the coolest things about this is that the shower curtain doubles as an optical illusion.  Let me know when you figure out what it is. . .

I personally think the peach sponge paint ads a touch of class to the hanging broom on the window BUT probably not your best photo to be posting on vacation home sites.  Just a thought.

One of my favorite parts of a vacation is soaking in the huge roman tub covered in fluorescent chachkis and lace window treatments. . .   if you stare long enough it even looks like magical, pink butterflies are coming to take all of your bookings away!

I don’t know about you but these beds look about as uncomfortable as poor Nemo does crammed in that corner.  Not something I would look forward to sleeping on after walking in a theme park for 10 hours but then again us locals just like to complain.

This home happens to be one of the Easter Bunny’s favorite places to stay when he comes to Disney.  He especially loves how the fake flowers match the wall and plastic place mats.

Kids, please do not fight over the mismatched dish towels!  You can take turns with the clean one.

One of the nicest features of still having linoleum flooring in your vacation home is that the rolling chairs don’t go bump-bump-bump like they do on the tile.  It makes for a more enjoyable breakfast in the outdated eat in kitchen.

It doesn’t have a gamesroom BUT the garage door does double as a giant magnetic checker board. . . Checkmate.

Sandy Ridge Bank Owned Vacation Home Testimonial

A Pink Flamingo vacation home testimonial.  This lovely Canadian couple recently closed on their bank owned vacation home in Sandy Ridge.  They had the entire house furnished and put under management within in days of closing.  The property is already booked out for the summer and they are as happy as can be.  If you are interested in renting this Sandy Ridge beauty for a holiday visit to Orlando you can visit their site at: www.orlandohouse.me

Sandy Ridge Bank Owned Properties For Sale in Davenport, FL

Top 5 Kissimmee Vacation Home Neighborhoods and How Their Booking Revenue Compares

When thinking about investing in a vacation home in Kissimmee close to Disney World one of the most important factors to consider, if you want to offset your expense as much as possible, is which neighborhoods generate the most income.  As a vacation home specialist my recommendation to you is to work backwards. Don’t be like so many Orlando vacation home buyers that just  jump into this process, pick random houses to view and then worry about the revenue later.  Start backwards to achieve the income goals you desire.  The first backward step is to compile a list of  Kissimmee neighborhoods in your price range that earn top dollar on bookings and have a stable booking history and start focusing on those communities.  There are really two main ways to obtain a list like this.  The first is the easiest and that would be to hook up with a qualified, vacation home specialist Realtor who works the Kissimmmee/Davenport market and monitors this activity.  The second would be to shop vacation home management companies and ask them for booking records but management companies are not so keen on divulging their property information to potential owners as this information often contradicts what they quote you in terms of rates.  Lets take a look at average revenue in five of Kissimmee’s most popular vacation villa neighborhoods.

All information compiled is based on a standard single family 4 bedroom pool home.

Windsor Palms
Location To Disney: 3.5 Miles
Average Nightly Rate Low Season:   $145
Average Nightly Rate High Season:  $173
Average Weekly Rate Low Season:   $931
Average Weekly Rate High Season:  $1193
Windsor Palms Homes For Sale

Lindfields
Location To Disney: 4.4 Miles
Average Nightly Rate Low Season:   $115
Average Nightly Rate High Season:  $133
Average Weekly Rate Low Season:   $763
Average Weekly Rate High Season:  $911
Lindfields Homes For Sale

Emerald Island
Location To Disney: 3 Miles
Average Nightly Rate Low Season:   $163
Average Nightly Rate High Season:  $194
Average Weekly Rate Low Season:   $963
Average Weekly Rate High Season:  $1194
Emerald Island Homes For Sale

Read Also: The 9 Best Kissimmee Gated Communities to Own a Vacation Home In

Windsor Hills
Location To Disney: 2.1 Miles
Average Nightly Rate Low Season:   $193
Average Nightly Rate High Season:  $270
Average Weekly Rate Low Season:   $1201
Average Weekly Rate High Season:  $1445
Windsor Hills Homes For Sale

Lake Berkley
Location To Disney: 6 Miles
Average Nightly Rate Low Season:   $106
Average Nightly Rate High Season:  $125
Average Weekly Rate Low Season:   $825
Average Weekly Rate High Season:  $973
Lake Berkley Homes For Sale

For a free one on one over the phone vacation home consultation please Contact The Flamingo today!