6 Secrets of Successful Windsor Hills Resort Owners and How They Got There

This is a guest post by Rick Albert, a successful Windsor Hills vacation home owner. Rick Albert purchased his vacation from The Flamingo Group last year and is doing extremely well with it. Here he shares about his experiences on how you can also find success owning an Orlando vacation home. If you are interested renting Rick’s villa for your next trip to Orlando you can contact him directly here: Rick’s Windsor Hills Villa

So you’re considering purchasing a vacation rental property in the Windsor Hills Resort Kissimmee?  If so, you have done your homework and you’re on the right track.  The Windsor Hills resort is one of the most sought after short term rental communities in Central Florida.  With top notch amenities and close proximity to attractions, Windsor Hills is a global vacation destination with strong rental demand.

Despite being a global attraction and a premium vacation destination, there is a big difference between being an owner in Windsor Hills and being a successful owner in Windsor Hills.  Here are a few tips to set you apart from your competition and make your rental business a winning proposition for you.

1.)  Create a Business Plan:

This may seem like a simple idea:  Buy a Windsor Hills property, rent the property, make lots of money and all is well right?  Wrong!  Create both a short term and long term plan for your business.  Take care to see that you are sufficiently insured.  Determine if you need to incorporate or create an LLC.  Understand your tax benefits and liabilities.  Plan an exit strategy.  Will you retire to this Windsor Hills Resort property?  When will you sell?  How will your business respond to a catastrophic event?  These are just a few questions that should be addressed in your business plan.

Search All Windsor Hills Vacation Homes For Sale Here

2.)  Choosing a Windsor Hills Management Company:

If you’re like me, you don’t live in close proximity to your vacation rental and cannot be on site daily to address the needs of your Windsor Hills Resort property.  You will need to choose a management company.  At present, there are over 200 different management companies currently working in Windsor Hills.  There are large companies that will manage everything for you including booking your property to daily maintenance  to small companies who service a small group of owners with just daily maintenance and leave the bookings to you.  Shop for a quality management company that will fulfill your requirements.  Don’t hesitate to contact other owners and ask for their recommendations.  The success of your business depends on how well your Windsor Hills management company services your Kissimmee vacation property and guests.

3.)  Choosing Renters:

Who is your target customer?  Is your Windsor Hills rental property geared for executives or is it geared for families visiting Disney?  Determine who your target customer is and manage your vacation home business accordingly.  Decorate and appoint your Windsor Hills Resort property accordingly and then price your property to match your target customer.  Under pricing your property will put you out of business just as fast as over pricing your property which leads directly to the next topic…

4.)  Know your Competition:

Do your homework.  Who is your competition?  What amenities does your competition offer?  What does their rental calendar look like?  What do they charge?  Based on these factors, determine how you can make your Windsor Hills property more appealing to potential guests.

Search All Windsor Hills Vacation Homes For Sale Here

5.)  Effective Advertising:

I can’t stress enough how important effective advertising is to your success.  Would you wear sweat pants and a t-shirt to a job interview?  Of course not, so why would you present your Windsor Hills property in a boring, lack-luster manner?  This is your one shot to grab a potential customer’s attention and make yourself stand out above the thousands of other rental properties in Central Florida.

Start by choosing  an inviting name for your vacation home business.  Your potential guests are traveling a long way to Central Florida to enjoy the weather, the attractions and the amenities.  They have planned and saved all year for this trip and probably don’t want to stay at the “Smith Rental.”  It sounds much more appealing to stay at the “Windsor Hills Luxury Sunshine Escape.”  Be creative.  Choose a name that is befitting your property and amenities and entices renters to stay with you.

99.99% of your customers will come from online inquiries.  The other .01% will come from referrals and return customers.  All of whom will look at your online advertising before booking your property.

Whether you list your Windsor Hills property on a portal site such as Homeaway.com or VRBO.com, you need to make your listing stand out.  Hire a professional photographer/videographer to stage and shoot your property.  Quality photographs will set your property apart from the rest.  When potential customers are scrolling through properties on these sites, bright colorful photos are going to grab their attention and direct them to your listing.  Provide a complete, descriptive narrative for your property and amenities.  Consider hiring a professional to write a quality narrative for your listing.  Homeaway.com offers this service to its customers and may be worth the fee if it creates additional bookings for you.

Your vacation home business website is the final piece of the puzzle.  Again, don’t present your  Windsor Hills property in a boring, lack-luster manner.  Hire a web designer who can help you build a quality site.  A strong homepage that holds a visitors attention is key.  From there, make your site easy to navigate.  Display large quality photos of your property and amenities.  Have pages for your rates, availability and contact information.  A video or virtual tour will also set you apart from your competition.  Potential guests will want to examine all that you have to offer and a quality website will solidify your legitimacy as a quality business.

Search All Windsor Hills Vacation Homes For Sale Here

6.)  Time Spent

The last component to your success is the amount of time you personally spend on your business.  Unless you decide to hand your keys to a full service management company, your success depends on your personal involvement.  You can expect to spend at least one hour per day on activities directly related to your vacation home business.  Activities such as responding to inquiries, keeping in contact with your Windsor Hills property manager, speaking with guests and bookkeeping all require your attention.  Your vacation home business will not run itself and the property owners who exercise due diligence in daily operations tend to be the most successful.  And last but not least, don’t wait to block out time for you to stay throughout the year.  You’ll get a firsthand look at how things are going with your Windsor Hills property and your own vacation is probably a primary reason that you’re shopping for a rental property at all!

This is a guest post by Rick Albert, a successful Windsor Hills vacation home owner. Rick Albert purchased his vacation from The Flamingo Group last year and is doing extremely well with it. Here he shares about his experiences on how you can also find success owning an Orlando vacation home. If you are interested renting Rick’s villa for your next trip to Orlando you can contact him directly here: Rick’s Windsor Hill’s Villa

3 Ways Your Property Manager Could Be Keeping Your Vacation Home From Selling

When it comes time to sell your Orlando vacation home the last thing you want to deal with are those little hiccups that might prevent your property from selling or complicate the transaction. One of the biggest problems we often run into when selling a fully booked and turnkey vacation home is property managers who are not cooperative. Because they are the ones controlling most of the access and information about your home, they often have the power to make or break your sale. You can hire the most established, wonderful and highly recommended Realtor in the great town of Orlando but if your property manager isn’t on board with the sale than you can count on it sitting on the market a very long time. Over the years we have seemed to narrow down some of the reasons they might fight against this and what you can do about it in advance so you don’t run into issue:

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1. They are Worried They Will Be Losing the Home to a Different Management Company
It’s natural for a property manager to become insecure and concerned about losing your home from their portfolio and naturally so. They have bookings already in place that they will have to move around if your home is removed from their program after it closes. The best thing you can do is to ensure your property manager understands that you and your Realtor will provide an excellent recommendation to the future buyers and that your Realtor makes sure that the home is advertised as a turnkey property and all bookings stay as long as the management company stays. What sometimes happens is, in a desperate attempt to convince the current buyers to stay with them, the property managers will over promise and exaggerate the homes future bookings and past performance. This only misleads the buyer and causes problems later on during the transaction.

Top Five Most Common Complaints From Kissimmee Vacation Home Renters That Could Cost You Money 

2. They Are Offended You Didn’t Use Them To Sell Your Home
Most property managers also have a real estate license and are able to sell your home. If they don’t they are usually affiliated with someone who is. This doesn’t mean that it is the best choice for you to use. Because they are property managers and their main business is property management, not real estate, they usually do not have the facilities, experience or infrastructure in place to effectively market and sell your home. Any agent can slap your home on the MLS but a true vacation home Realtor will go 10 steps above that with a proven sales system that they have used time and again. Property managers should manage property and Realtors should sell property. To do both is to become half as effective and that is not fair to the customer, which is you. Sometimes, the property manager becomes non-communicative with the Realtor in hopes to prevent their efforts of selling the homes. It sounds crazy and unprofessional but we run into these road blocks all of the time! Be sure your property manager give 100% access to any and all marketing materials that your agent needs to place inside your home in order to help facilitate the sale. Sometimes they will not allow Realtors to advertise that the home is for sale both inside and outside of the home. Your home loses tons of exposure from this.

15 Quick Fix Tips For Getting More Bookings on Your Orlando Vacation Home

3. They Are Afraid of Being Exposed
This is the rough part that your Realtor faces when trying to sell your property. They cannot lie or exaggerate how many bookings are in place to try and attract potential buyers however, the only way they can know how much income is being brought in from that home or its past performance is by relying on what your property manager says. Your Realtor is going to have to provide documents that prove this income is actually coming in and has in the past. Without the booking history and future booking documents for your home most buyers, who want something turnkey, will walk away as your home has no credibility at that point. By not providing those documents your property manager can kill your sale during the due diligence period. If your property manager will not provide these documents to your Realtor or you that you than it might be time to question whether they really have as many bookings in place as they are claiming to. It’s also a great marketing tool for your agent to be able to quote how much income your home produced the past two years.

As much as it sounds like property managers are the bad guy, it’s not the case with all of them. There are hundreds of property management companies in the  Disney area and about a handful of them provide a high level of service, are professional and most important honest. Our job is to seek those companies out and align ourselves and our clients with the most honest and ethical companies. Not the companies who want to pay us to refer them homes. The Flamingo Group never accepts referral fees from any management company for sending them business as we feel it’s a conflict of interest. We’re also experienced in dealing with difficult property management companies and are prepared to do what it takes to get your home sold regardless of the road blocks that may pop up ahead. To find out more about how we can help sell your vacation home and our one of a kind marketing system, please contact us today for a no obligation consultation.

What You Need To Know About Buying a Booked Vacation Home in Orlando

Guest post by Stephen Walker, owner of Signature Villas Orlando

There are always advantages and disadvantages to buying an Orlando vacation rental home that is already under management with bookings in place, which we refer to as “turnkey”. Being in the business I get a first hand insight to what really goes on with booked properties and I want to share with you some of the most important things you should know before you buy one.

New vacation home owners don’t usually buy homes that don’t have a rental history though they should and the ones that do usually end up staying with the current property management because they are so lost in the buying process that they take the easy option. They figure, “Let’s stay and see how it goes”.  In today’s market a lot of the owners who are selling are doing so because they can’t afford their home and there are very few that have made a large profit for numerous reasons.  A couple of these reasons are that  a high percentage bought at a ridiculous price during the boom and have enormous mortgages. Then there are the owners who bought one and just left it up to the management companies to fill and took no active involvement at all.

Scratching Your Vacation Home Niche 

So what does all this have to do with changing management companies when you buy a turnkey property, you may be asking.  If the management company is reputable, they should have a complete history of the home that they can readily provide to you before you purchase so you can get an idea of the type of numbers the home was brining in. It’s just the same as asking another management company to do a rent comparison of an equivalent home in the same area. That’s exactly how realtors price homes. Be careful as it is very easy for the property manager  to put in what I like to call “ghost bookings”. What are ghost bookings? Well, they are false bookings that are made by the management company to entice the new owner to stay. This is a very dangerous game to play but there are many that do it, including a couple of large property management companies who shall remain unnamed.

Another common myth that new owners also believe is that keeping the old management company will be cheaper, but they’re often dead wrong! You’ve bought your first new vacation home and spent i.e. $300,000 on it and now want to save money? It’s one of the worst decisions I see new owners make.  The answer to the problem is so simple and so easy that you will kick yourself. . .  Ask your Realtor! Yes, it’s that easy (assuming your working with the right Realtor). Why is it that easy ? BECAUSE YOU MUST TRUST THEM OR YOU WOULDN’T HAVE SPENT $300,000.00 ON THEIR RECOMMENDATION!

How To Ditch Your Bad Florida Realtor 

If a realtor works for a property management company then they are obligated to their own company. But if you ask that same realtor who else they recommend I guarantee all they will say is ‘”We don’t really recommend other companies blah blah blah”.  So they’re not the best realtors to ask and you probably shouldn’t be working with a Realtor who is also working for a management company! There are some realtors that will give you four or five management companies and this alone is great but why that many?? Lack of faith maybe? Diversity?  Who knows. . .  So which realtor will direct you to the best management company? I would say the one who only recommends a couple that they are not working for. Why is that you may say? A truly honest management company will really only take on homes that they know they can book. I myself try to stick with certain areas and styles of homes like Windsor Hills and Reunion. Some others may deal with town homes and condos better, I myself turn down nearly all town homes and condos as I struggle to book them. So a Realtor who directs you to one good manager has a lot of confidence in that company (assuming it’s not because they are accepting an under the table kick back) and knows what their specialty is.To be honest, it’s in your Realtor’s best interest because they really don’t want you harping in their ear every month about how you’re not making money or how all the bookings that were there have canceled (GHOSTS).

Search Hundreds of Orlando Vacation Homes for Sale 

We hope you enjoyed this guest post by Stephen Walker, a local Orlando vacation home property manager. To learn more about Stephen and the services he provides please visit his website at www.SignatureVillasOrlando.com. 

We hope to earn the opportunity of helping you achieve your investment property goals this year in 2012. For a free, no obligation investment property consultation with our Director of Sales- Lisa Arcia,  please contact us directly at 866-422-6191 and if you have enjoyed this article please consider subscribing to our blog and stay updated on future information.

The Orlando Vacation Home Real Estate Trends of 2011- What To Expect in 2012

So 2012 is finally here to greet us all with some cold weather but that’s okay because the sun is still shining here in Orlando. If you’re like me, you’ve probably mapped out quite a few goals for the 2012 year that you’d like to try and accomplish if the world doesn’t end this December <joking>. . . I’m sure for many of you, owning a vacation home is probably somewhere on that list. Lets take a look at some of the 2011 trends we noticed and help use them to guide our investment plans for 2012.

Trend #1: Lots of Cash Flowing into Florida
In 2011 we noticed many foreign investors starting to move their money into US bank accounts and many domestic investors liquidating their non-performing assets and gearing up to move their money into Florida real estate. According to Jani Lowdell at Centerstate Bank in Davenport, of those foreign nationals who opened a US bank account last year, all purchased a vacation home within 90 days. Those who did jump into the market in 2011 got amazing deals but many held out in hopes the prices would drop in 2012. There have been so many rumors flying around that banks were going to release a ton of inventory and flood the market this year with homes causing prices to drop again.

What To Expect in 2012
I’m not an economist however, based on my hyper local knowledge of THIS real estate niche in Orlando (vacation rentals) I’m about 98% sure that prices are not going to drop at all in 2012, unless there is some terrible natural disaster which nobody can predict, except of course the Mayans (I couldn’t resist that one). Despite rumors, most professionals do not believe the banks are going to allow another real estate collapse by flooding the market with all of their inventory at once. We might see maybe a 5% increase in inventory this year but that’s not enough to cause prices to drop. Especially when the demand for vacation homes has never been higher.

Search Kissimmee Vacation Home Foreclosures

Trend #2: Tourists Staying in Vacation Homes vs. Hotels Has Increased
The amount of people traveling to Orlando this year was up about 20% according to Stephen Walker, owner of Signature Villas Orlando. A vacation rental management company in Kissimmee. He said they had their best year yet and they were so busy they needed to find more homes to accommodate all of the people wanting to book their homes. The really sweet part about that- they had more direct retail bookings this year than any other year.

What to Expect in 2012
Expect the tourism industry to continue to boom, mostly driven by countries like Brazil who are currently experience a booming economy and seem to have taken a specific liking to the Orlando area. Also expect to see more families that would normally be staying in a hotel start staying in a vacation home due to the growing awareness. We haven’t been able to nail down any specific reason for the rise in vacation home awareness in 2011 however due to the viral power of Facebook and the internet we only expect it to double in 2012. If you haven’t yet jumped in on vacation rental investment, 2012 might be your year to supply the growing demand.

Tips for Orlando Vacation Home Renting 

Trend #3: Tenanted and Turkey Properties Were a Hot Number This Year
Tenanted properties were always a hot seller for long term rental investors because they offer immediate income and very little, if any, hassle. The same for booked short term rentals. Many investors were willing to pay a premium this year to not have to deal with all of this hassle versus having to start from scratch, renovate, secure a tenant and place into management. At the end of the day, when you add up what your saving on a vacant property you usually end up the same as if you would have paid a bit extra for tenanted because of the vacancy time and renovation costs.

What to Expect In 2012
Expect an increase of tenanted properties hitting the market. Even the banks are starting to recognize the value in selling a tenanted property that they are letting tenants stay in the homes in hopes to attract an investor looking for immediate rental income. Also watch as the rental demand increases tremendously on long term rental properties causing rents to rise and making landlords very happy they own a rental property. You’ll notice more turnkey properties popping on the market in the vacation rental world also. They offer so much value to the investor who doesn’t have the time or want to deal with all the hassle of getting it up and running themselves.

Most Profitable Turnkey Vacation Home Community in Kissimmee

We hope to earn the opportunity of helping you achieve your investment property goals this year in 2012. For a free, no obligation investment property consultation with our Director of Sales- Lisa Arcia,  please contact us directly at 866-422-6191 and if you have enjoyed this article please consider subscribing to our blog and stay updated on future information.

 

Vacation Home of the Week- 916 Orange Cosmos

We’ve gone through dozens of applications and viewed numerous homes to bring you some of the best vacation homes and owners that Orlando has to offer. We’re proud to compile this list of unique vacation homes and outside-the-box thinking owners. We think each of these homes deserves to be recognized and certainly should be at the top of your list for those of you traveling to Orlando. Check out this week’s Vacation Home of the Week!!

 

916 Orange Cosmos Blvd

Location: Davenport, FL
Neighborhood: Watersong Resort
Owner Booking Weeks: 20
Management Booking Weeks: 4
Website: www.SunshineStateVacation.com

Why Owners Chose This Home:  “We liked the model home and decided to one built newly and just across from the club house. Watersong Resort is uniquely located in a preservation area with beautiful woodlands and lakes.”

What Makes This Home Unique: “Of course all houses are built Tuscany style. Our house difers, because we had the furniture and most decorations and paintings imported ourselves from the Netherlands. High quality and contemporary design. Makes it stand out in the crowd.”

Marketing Strategies: ” To cater for non-English speaking customers I not only translated the website in the respective language, but also reserved appropriate domain names, eg .de .nl .eu etc. I also created a communal website or owners in Watersong Resort to publish their property on for free: http://www.amsport.nl/site. Also installed a Family & Friends discount program and a kick-back referal program.”

The Pink Flamingo’s Review:
The outside the home is very nice but unassuming and upon walking into Bou’s home it was like walking into a model home.  Everything is so unique and I don’t use that word lightly!! I spent quite a bit of time just looking at little things like the wall decor, art work, furniture etc. I was absolutely enamored by all of the detail and work put into this home.  When they had the home decorated they had everything shipped over from the Netherlands, so it’ all authentic. No IKEA in this house! One of the coolest things in the home was the little city landscape that runs across the top of the wall meeting the hallway and the kitchen. How cool! It’s little things like that, that really make this house unique. It’s also very tastefully upgraded and clean.

The real thrill comes when you walk outside into the backyard and your whole backyard is overlooking the most beautiful conservation areas. This is one of Watersong Resort’s major focal points, its gorgeous conservation views. This home is located on one of those direct view lots and it’s walking distance to the clubhouse so you not only have privacy in the home but convenience! What I truly love about the Watersong Resort is that it’s one of the few communities in the area that has really captured the Tuscan style architecture.  The homes don’t look like any other community that you’ll see in the Disney areas and the clubhouse is very high end so you’ll get nothing but luxury here.  It’s also very close to the golf course at Providence which is a huge selling point to golfers. . As a matter of fact, their guests seem to like it so much that they have had two purchase a home in Watersong before they left to go home during their visit!!

Watersong Resort Davenport, FL

Bou and his wife are Dutch nationals and had visited Orlando before making this purchase. They both still work, Bou is a software salesman and has worked in both the Netherlands and Germany which opens up his market of renters tremendously. When they were in a position to purchase a vacation home, being in the Netherlands, they naturally considered places with a warm climate. They had friends that owned vacation properties in France, Spain and Portugal and had told them horror stories about security, and unreliable property management companies in those places. After alot of research Florida was their vacation home destination of choice and they started to explore the market in Orlando.

Owner’s like Bou who live overseas have such a huge advantage to tap into their network of travelers in their country. Bou is doing exactly that. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even have a HomeAway ad yet. He’s strictly doing most of this by word of mouth in Holland and Germany, which is very impressive! His homepage is also generating leads for him. What he did, that I thought was really unique and outside the box is he started an Orlando Forum in the Dutch language (http://www.sapg.nl/smf) and set up a content management system based website for Watersong Resort owners to publish their property for free. (http://www.amsport.nl/site). Owners can naturally swap referrals with each other on this site. They do advertise on Home Owner’s direct (UK) and VRBO.  Bou’s goal for 2012 is to target the German speaking market with over 90 million people!

If you’re looking to rent a home that’s truly unique, convenient and private than The Pink Flamingo highly recommends Bou’s Home Away from Home in the beautiful Watersong Resort.

Watersong Resort Vacation Homes For Sale

Enter Your Home Today in Our “Vacation Home of the Week”

 

Vacation Home of the Week- 640 Blue Jay Way

We’ve gone through dozens of applications and viewed numerous homes to bring you some of the best vacation homes and owners that Orlando has to offer. We’re proud to compile this list of unique vacation homes and outside-the-box thinking owners. We think each of these homes deserves to be recognized and certainly should be at the top of your list for those of you traveling to Orlando. Check out this week’s Vacation Home of the Week!!

640 Blue Jay Way

Location: Davenport, FL
Neighborhood: Sandy Ridge
Owner Booking Weeks: 18
Management Booking Weeks: 19
Website: www.OrlandoHouse.me

Why Owners Chose This Home:  “We wanted a home that was a bungalow (single floor), newly built, 4 bedrooms, and with a great floor plan. Two of the bedrooms had to have master suite amenities; with private baths and at least one had to have a walk-in closet. The pool area required a covered lanai overlooking the pool; with southern exposure to enjoy the sun!

We chose to buy in Sandy Ridge, Davenport because it is set within a lush conservation and is ideally situated within easy reach, 20 minutes,  of the popular Central Florida theme parks and attractions.  The community is very well landscaped and also has its own kiddies play area. Being close to great routes such as Interstate 4 and Hwy 192 makes planning those all important days out to parks or shopping that much easier. We also wanted Florida’s beautiful coastline within easy reach, from the quiet white sands of St Pete’s to the fast pace of Clearwater, and with one of the closest (Cocoa Beach) being just over an hour’s drive away.

We wanted renters to have easy access to golf. Golfers will be spoiled for choice when it comes to golf courses, Sandy Ridge is within a few minutes drive of the popular Champions Gate Golfing Resort.  It was very important to have close-by supermarkets, shopping strips and some fine restaurants within a few minutes.”

What Makes This Home Unique: “Our home provides a stunning single floor layout, with beautiful porcelain tile throughout the main living areas (soon to be shown on the web site). Each room in the house is professionally decorated.  A south facing backyard with a covered lanai overlooks the screen enclosed heated pool. The kids, young and old, will enjoy the farmers field seen from the backyard with horses.”

Marketing Strategies: ” Our house has what 99% of all rental homes don’t have, an iPhone/iPad application. This opens up a whole new marketing tool. Google “iPhone Orlando vacation home app” and our application will appear first in the search results. Search “Orlando Home” in Apple iTunes, and our application appears first in the list! We have had numerous inquiries and rentals through the application.”

The Pink Flamingo’s Review: I’ll start with the home itself.  I was in 640 Blue Jay Way  a couple of years ago when I sold Dave and Lois the home and back then it was a very nice home after they fixed it up. Nicely appointed, great location and awesome view but when I went to preview the home a couple of weeks ago I had a “WOW factor” experience when I walked in.  The entire home, except for the bedrooms had been updated with all beautiful 18×18 ceramic tile and it really made the house pop!  This is such a smart move on the owner’s part, especially  for a one story home as the living areas tend to get more traffic.  It’s really adds a more luxurious feel to the home.

Blue Jay way is such a cute home, it’s perfect for families traveling with kids because the floorplan is very cozy and no matter where you are in the house you can have a pretty good idea of where the kids are and what they’re up to.  There’s no getting lost in this home and you don’t have to worry about the family being disconnected by an upstairs.  In my opinion, it’s the perfect family retreat home or even for two couples traveling together as it has two masters.  This home is really great for just about anyone but I love the intimacy and convenience that it offers for families.

Sandy Ridge Properties

The backyard is really cool, it has a view of some farm land and you can see horses grazing and just hanging out. The whole community is very much like that. If you take a drive through Sandy Ridge you’ll see tons of trees and nature. That’s what I love about it. You don’t feel like you’re in some cookie cutter community where all the tress have been chopped down. There is plenty of nature for you to enjoy. The location of the home can’t be beat. It’s not even 5 minutes to a Publix shopping plaza and a short 15 minute drive to Disney.

The owners, Dave and Lois, are a really nice couple from Ottawa and are super laid back and down to earth. Great people to do business with and I’m positive that anyone renting out their home will have nothing but a first class experience working with them. Dave is extremely tech savvy and very sharp. He did something for his home that I have never seen anyone do before, he created an iphone app in his spare time that people can download to their phones. How cool is that? You can actually read reviews on the home, check out local attractions, shop car rentals, check the booking calendar, book the home and so much more!! In fact, based on my search in itunes I think Dave and Lois are the ONLY vacation home owners that have an app for their home. That is truly outside the box marketing and I love it!! If you haven’t already, go to Itunes and download their app here.  It’s free! Don’t forget to “Like” their page on Facebook too.

When traveling to Orlando, if you want to work with honest and ethical people, get a great deal on a cozy yet classy vacation home than I highly suggest renting out 640 Blue Jay Way from the Pollocks.  It gets our Pink Flamingo two thumbs up!

Sandy Ridge Vacation Homes For Sale

Enter Your Home Today in Our “Vacation Home of the Week”

Vacation Home of the Week- Platinum Key Villa

We’ve gone through dozens of applications and viewed numerous homes to bring you some of the best vacation homes and owners that Orlando has to offer. We’re proud to compile this list of unique vacation homes and outside-the-box thinking owners. We think each of these homes deserves to be recognized and certainly should be at the top of your list for those of you traveling to Orlando. Check out this week’s Vacation Home of the Week!!

 

Platinum Key Villa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Location: Kissimmee, FL
Neighborhood: Windsor Hills Resort
Owner Booking Weeks: 40
Management Booking Weeks: 10
Website: www.Keys2OurVacation.com

Why Owners Chose This Home:  “This home was strictly an investment and the numbers were the most important factor. Taking that into consideration, Windsor Hills seemed like the most obvious choice as it was pushing the standard to the next level on vacation homes. It was just an Orange Grove at the time and the home was purchased site unseen, not even built yet, but the location and amenities were what sold it it”

What Makes This Home Unique: “Platinum Key Villa has flat screen TVs in every bedroom, is professionally decorated by an interior designer and offers only the highest quality linens and towels. There is nothing low quality in this home. Many guests refer to it as home-only better”

Marketing Strategies: ” Word of mouth up in Toronto seems to be the biggest ticket for the homes but also VRBO and Homeaway have really helped. Having multiple homes is also a huge plus because you get six times the amount of inquiries and can shift them from one home to another if one is not available.”

The Pink Flamingo’s Review: John is a businessman, investor, real estate agent and now a professional vacation home owner.  He knew from day one that he was going to make this work. He owns five vacation homes in Kissimmee. All of them are in Windsor Hills except for his most recent purchase in the new community of Calabria. His business plan is only to specialize in high end vacation homes in the nicest communities in the area because the rents are so much higher on a high end home, making it possible to turn the vacation home into a very profitable investment.

Windsor Hills Resort

He purchased his first vacation home in Windsor Hills as a prototype and wanted to see how it would go. After having so much success he went on to purchase four more vacation homes and he’s not done yet! Because John does this for a business and an investment (this is in no way his full time business, this is more like his hobby!) the numbers have to work on the homes.  Being in real estate up in Toronto and understanding how property investments work, he analyzes the numbers on every property before making a purchase. His strategy of only buying new homes in upper end communities seems to be working out very well for him as all of his homes have been booked almost the entire year at top rates. When it comes up a luxury vacation home, renters don’t seem to have an issue paying more money to stay in the home as there is a market for those type of renters.

What I like about John’s marketing strategy is that, even though he owns five homes and it’s a profitable business for him, he still treats everyone of them like it’s his only home. John and his family travel to Orlando often and enjoy their luxuries of their homes. They will stay at what ever home is available at the time. Taking on their fifth home has offered them more vacation time as it’s just getting up and going and during the downtime they have been able to come down and enjoy it more. He also uses his homes for his business retreats with his business partner. Being able to vacation and write it off at the same time is such a perk!

One very smart tactic that he did to save time and marketing dollars is that he purchased two exact same homes, right next door to each other and decorated them both exactly the same way.  He did this so he can market them both under one ad and when guests inquired on one, if it’s booked he could just put them in the other without having to upsell or downsell them on a completely different home. Even the little things like the title of his website, Keys2OURvacation.com makes you feel like your discovering something new and exciting. He could have said Keys2YOURvacation but instead he wanted to make it all about the true meaning behind owning a vacation home, enjoying someone else’s private home! He very tastefully named each of his homes after the theme of his website, “The Key”. Each home unlocks a key to a different vacation, I love that he even went as far as having a logo created for his vacation home business.

All of John’s homes are gorgeous. They are all professionally decorated by an interior designer and located on great lots within Windsor Hills.  John seems to have a knack for choosing great locations, probably because of his real estate background, and offering everything in a home that a renter could ever want. The fact that he even uses the finest linens is impressive as many people get cheap with these things.  His homes offer a luxury vacation and convenience to everything. Disney is less than 3 miles away from his homes and you can get to just about everything you would need in less than 5 minutes.  The community itself has a movie theater, game room, water slide, convenience store and the list goes on. Windsor Hills has definitely raised the bar when it comes to vacation homes.  Because they are one of the newer communities in the vacation home niche, Pulte was able to see what worked and didn’t work in their previous communities and they made sure they got it all right the last time in Windsor Hills.

John’s vacation homes are a must stay in when visiting Orlando. Nothing has been overlooked and I think you’ll find his prices to be quite reasonable for a luxury resort.

Windsor Hills Resort Vacation Homes For Sale

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Vacation Home of the Week- Sunshine Villa Orlando

We’ve gone through dozens of applications and viewed numerous homes to bring you some of the best vacation homes and owners that Orlando has to offer. We’re proud to compile this list of unique vacation homes and outside-the-box thinking owners. We think each of these homes deserves to be recognized and certainly should be at the top of your list for those of you traveling to Orlando. Check out this week’s Vacation Home of the Week!!

 

Sunshine Villa Orlando

Location: Davenport, FL
Neighborhood: Westridge
Owner Booking Weeks: 48+ (WOW!)
Management Booking Weeks: 0
Website: www.SunshineVillaOrlando.com

Why Owners Chose This Home: “We chose this home because it has great structure – 4 roomy bedrooms, formal living room and dining rooms, plus an open concept kitchen, breakfast nook & family room.  Lots of windows that face the extra large southwest facing pool and lanai.  The biggest pool and lanai that we found on our house hunting trip! We chose Westridge Community on HWY 27 because it is centrally located – close to shopping, restaurants, golf courses, and major highways providing a quick trip to almost any attraction – especially Disney at only 10-15 minutes away.”
What Makes This Home Unique: “Our home is unique because we care, we provide personal service and always put our guests first.  We have refurbished and decorated the villa personally with all the upgrades and extra touches that each one of our guests takes notice of and appreciates.  We have an extra large southwest facing pool / spa and lanai.  The villa’s private and newly fenced lot provides privacy while enjoying the pool and lanai with views of greenery and plam trees.  The villa hosts a fully stocked kitchen with all new appliances, blender, cappaccino machine, pizza pan, and more … The games room is ready for action with a pool table, ping pong, darts, billards table, foos ball, darts, and a large chalk board wall !!  Provided is a Disney DVD library, board games, books, and playing cards.”

Marketing Strategies: “A host of marekting tactics and strategies enrich the bookings at our villa.  We like to tap into niche markets, use popular advertising websites like Homeaway and VRBO and by making the guest feel welcomed.”

The Pink Flamingo’s Review: First of all, anyone who can pull in 48+ weeks per year without a property manager deserves a standing ovation in my book! That alone is quite impressive. It doesn’t surprise me though, when I first met Lisa she had a vision of what she wanted her vacation home to be. She didn’t just want a rental house that she could put people in and generate income from, that seemed like more of a bonus to her. She wanted a home that she could pour her style, emotions and talents into and that she certainly did!

Sunshine Villa Orlando feels like a home not a house, it’s not your typical vacation rental that people get herded in and out of like a bunch of cattle.  You can tell this home is different from the minute you walk in. It’s the home of people who care about the type of experience their guests are going to have while staying here. One of the best features of the home (and believe me there are many) is the huge over sized pool in back. It’s one of those pools that makes you just want to jump in and lounge on a giant pink raft while sipping a mai tai. I also love the hot tub, it’s big and very inviting as well. What I also really liked was that there is a cabana bath leading out to the pool from the third bathroom which is probably one of the most convenient things a person could ever ask for!! The house will not let you down, it’s just not possible. I’ve seen so many vacation homes and this one has it all. That’s a fact!

Lets talk a little bit about the owners, Mark and Lisa, they purchased the home in 2010 and have completely renovated it. I know Lisa poured her heart and soul into this home to make it what it is. She was dedicated from day one to make Sunshine Villa Orlando a reflection of who she is and in my opinion, if I had to choose just one word for her and her home it would be quality. She’s a quality person who goes out of her way to make sure other people are taken care of. You can see by the guest reviews that I’m not the only person who thinks this!! I love that she incorporates niche marketing into her booking strategies and that she really leverages her website and Facebook page as well for marketing. She always updates her Facebook page when she is at the villa or leaves updates when she is running specials. Be sure to connect with Sunshine Villa Orlando on Facebook also!!

I highly recommend this vacation home to anyone looking to rent a nice property in the Davenport area. I think you’ll really like the community amenities and more importantly the home itself!

Westridge Vacation Homes For Sale

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5 Reasons Why Your Offers Keep Getting Rejected on an Orlando Investment Property

Perhaps you know this situation all too well, you’ve been trying to acquire an investment in the Orlando area for quite some time now and you’ve placed offer after offer after offer but still nothing. You start to question your Realtor and/or perhaps even yourself. You’re a cash buyer, who wouldn’t want to take an offer from a cash buyer, right? Wrong. Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons why your offer’s are getting rejected on not just bank owned properties but other hot ticket properties.

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The Market Is Stronger Than You Think
Maybe it’s you? . . . One of the biggest reasons I see investors losing out on fantastic houses everyday is because of their perception of the market. The have listened to too many friends or family members talking about how depressed the Florida real estate market is that they have formed this idea that they are going to fly down and have the prime selection at hundreds of houses that banks and residents are just desperate to unload.

Reality Check- This may have been true back in 2007 and 2008 but it’s now 2011 and the investment property market in Orlando (vacation homes and income properties) are the hottest commodity to the foreign group and just like you, they are also all cash buyers many of which are educated on what the market is really like. So when you place low ball cash offers on these properties your offer is sent in with about a dozen other cash offer by investors who are NOT lowballing.

Private Listings Not Available on MLS- Davenport Resort Townhouses from $103,000

Your Offers Are Weak. . . but Why?
Your offers are too weak and so is your investment strategy. If your goal is to actually secure a property sometime this year than you really need to evaluate your reasons as to why you keep lowballing on properties that are already undervalued. If you keep low-balling and missing out on amazing deals the only one who loses if you. The seller is going to get their asking price, if not more, and you’re not going to get a property. If you are low-balling because you can’t afford to pay full price in the budget you are looking in than you need to look at properties in a lower budget that you can afford to place full price, or higher, offers on and still be in your comfort zone.

Reality Check- If you now know that, on almost any given property that is in decent shape and in a decent location, you’ll be going up against at least a dozen other offers than you need to pony up your highest and best offer up front. If you’re trying to play the back and fourth game you missed the boat on that. You only get one shot to buy these homes in a multiple offer situation (which is usually always the case) so don’t fart around trying to play games. If you want to get something thousands under market value than you should consider buying directly from the courthouse. . . but remember you save money on the sale price but you inherit all the liens. Do your homework first.

Read Also: 5 Things to Consider Before Buying a Kissimmee Condo

Your Realtor is Not Presenting Your Offers
This is not a conspiracy theory, it really happens and it could be happening to you. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the market there are some Realtors who just don’t want to deal with the hassle of submitting your offer because they don’t think it will get accepted, you didn’t offer what they suggested, there was too much paperwork on the back end, they really want to buy it for themselves etc etc, . Not only is this unethical but it’s downright nasty and against the Realtor code of ethics. It’s so important in this market to be working with a Realtor you trust because it’s a cut throat market out there and Florida is full of wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Reality Check- If you suspect your Realtor isn’t submitting your offers you may have to do some legwork to find out but there is a way that you can find out for sure. You will need to track down the listing agent of the property and call to find out if your offer has truly been submitted. They will be able to verify for you if an offer was submitted matching your info. If you don’t want to have to take it that far, you can ask your agent for some type of email confirmation from the bank or listing agent that the offer was received. In all honesty, if you have to second guess your Realtor this much and go through this much effort to confirm suspicions than you probably aren’t working with the right agent to begin with.

Read Also: Six Signs You May Be Ready For An Orlando Vacation Rental Home Investment

Your Terms Are Not Attractive To The Sellers!
So maybe you are putting in full price, or over, cash offers and your Realtor is presenting them but you still keep getting outbid. It’s possible that the rest of the terms in your contract are just not attractive! Terms are things such as closings dates, inspection periods, seller concessions, home sale contingencies etc. All of these factors play a role in making your offer stronger or weaker. Cash is king but so is a quick closing, short inspection time frame and no requests for contributions from the seller.

Reality Check- From one investor to another, put your self in the sellers shoes every time you go to submit an offer. Pretend you have five contracts sitting in front of you and they are all 5 thousand over asking price. One can close in two weeks with a 5 day inspection time frame and the rest are 30-40 day closings with a 15 day inspection period. You know which one you would take. . . banks and sellers are no different. When buying from a bank, you are just a number to them. Your offer will get submitted into an automated system with dozens of others and the asset manager will select the highest and best and reject the others. It’s nothing personal so don’t ever take it personal if your offer gets rejected.

You Don’t Have All the Facts
This happens quite often and it’s usually not your fault. You’ve found a great house and you get so anxious to bid on it that you call your Realtor in a frenzy to get a contract typed up right away for full price. Your Realtor assumes you know the value of what you’re bidding on and gets it over to you. Lets stop right there; If you’re bidding on a house that is listed for 10% under what every other home in the neighborhood sold for, you need to know this because the home will sell for 10% more than the asking price!! The only way to know this is to make sure your review the comparable sales for the past six months in the community before settling on your offer price. Full price isn’t always full value and properties (unless they are trashed) are not selling under market value.

Reality Check- When reviewing comps and deciding what to offer, don’t offer the lowest amount of all the comps. You have no idea why that home sold for so much less, it could have been trashed, have mold, chinese drywall, who knows! Good properties in this market will sell for the highest market value and sellers (banks especially) are educated on what that value is. It’s not worth losing out on good deals because you’re too busy trying to be cheap. Cheap investors never win in the end because they miss the boat and end up buying high, when it’s too late. Listen to the advice of your Realtor, it’s their job to do everything possible to help your offers get accepted and pushed through. If you don’t listen to their advice than you have only one person to blame when you miss out on a great property.

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Top Five Most Common Complaints From Kissimmee Vacation Home Renters That Could Cost You Money

I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the reservations managers recently at Global Resort Homes and had a nice chat with her about the most commonly complained about items when renters get to their vacation rental home. Many owners lose bookings due to these factors and it costs them money.

Complaint #1. Pool Heat Not Working
This is the number one complaint by guests staying at Orlando vacation rental homes.  The pool heat issues seems to happen quite frequently and it upsets many guests as they were looking forward to jumping in that warm pool after their long flight to Orlando.  They will asked to be credited money back for the pool heat and in many cases if the issue cannot be resolved quickly they will want to switch houses.

Watch Video- Orlando Property Tip: Pool

Complaint #2. No Pool Cover (To Trap Heat)
This is one of those things that many owners don’t really think about but the guests certainly do.  They complain about the pool not having a cover to trap the pool heat and surprisingly it’s a common complaint. I know many owners don’t have a pool cover for their pool as they find it unnecessary because the pool is locate din a screened enclosure but if the money is in the budget it may be worth investing in one.

Watch Video- Orlando Property Tip: Hidden Fees

Complaint #3. Carpets are Stained
The simplest things in life are sometimes the most overlooked things.  If your carpets are stained and dirty your guests will request to be switched to another property almost immediately.  One of the biggest reasons that people rent a vacation home in Orlando is because they don’t like nasty hotels.  The last thing they want to do is walk into a nasty house.  Keep your carpets clean and as free of stains as possible. Ask your management company to have your carpets steam cleaned at least once per year. I recommend every six months if you have a busy property.

Watch Video- Orlando Property Tip: Furnishing

Complaint #4. Ugly Furnishings
For the love of all things vacation homes. . . DON’T GO CHEAP ON YOUR FURNISHINGS! The less you invest the less you get in return.  There are so many other properties in Orlando that owners have put in extra time and effort into the furnishings, this is your competition.  You property may still rent with cheap, ugly floral couches but you certainly won’t be getting the high rent on the street and what you will be attracting is discount renters.  If your goal is to make money at this whole vacation home thing than invest in your investment!

Watch Video- Orlando Property Tip: Gamesroom

Complaint #5. Too Far From Clubhouse
This can be a big deal for some communities. If you’re all the way back at the end of the neighborhood and you don’t supply any type of bikes at your rental property than people are going to get tire very quickly of walking back and fourth to the clubhouse, especially in the middle of summer when it’s blazing hot.  If you found a property and it’s an amazing deal but at the back of the neighborhood, don’t sweat it just supply your property with some bikes.  I personally am a big fan of Radio Flyer wagons!

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Legacy Dunes Condos- Expect To Pay More in Kissimmee’s Best Value Vacation Condo Resort

I’ve been getting a lot of inquiries on Legacy Dunes this past week from investors that are just looking for a solid, inexpensive investment in the Disney area.  Many of the investors who are buying property in here don’t have any intention of using it for short term.  Some plan on renting it for a year and then trying to flip it, some just want to rent it full time and live in it for retirement and some are just buying it because it’s cheap and they will figure out the details later.  Whatever the case may be there is one thing that is certain. . .

If you plan on investing in a Legacy Dunes condo in Kissimmee you can plan to pay above asking price!

The comps don’t lie.  I’ve comped out every sold condo recorded in the MLS for the past six months and 70% of them sold for over asking price.  Some were a mere thousand over asking and some were as much as $16,000 OVER ASKING PRICE! What this tells me is that if people are willing to continuously pay over asking price for these condos that our market has absolutely hit a rock bottom and the comps are reflecting that.  

Legacy Dunes Bank Owned Condos For Sale

Legacy Dunes used to be a place where the average investor who just wanted a cheap vacation rental condo in Orlando could get a great deal.  Now it’s turned into a feeding frenzy for investors looking to cash in on the rock bottom short term rental investment that is still in decent condition.

If you’re up for the challenge of trying to buy a condo in Legacy Dunes, here are the new rules of the game:

Rule #1: Don’t underbid or you won’t get the condo!

Rule #2: Submit your highest and best offer.  In most cases, you only get one shot of submitting your bid so make sure it’s the highest you’re willing to pay.

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Rule #3: Be ready to jump on the listing right away! Time is of the essence when you have 20 other hungry investors trying to buy the same condo.

Rule #4: Have your rental strategy mapped out ahead of time.  If you plan on renting it, make sure it’s rental ready asap so you don’t get stuck with it too long! Those condo fees are high and will start to eat a hole into your bottom line.

View All Condos For Sale in Legacy Dunes Kissimmee

Are Orlando Vacation Homeowner’s That Self Manage A Threat To Management Companies?

The vacation home industry is growing by leaps and bounds and was one of the most popular choice of accommodations for families traveling to Disney World and other Florida areas in 2009.  With the popularity of vacation homes and consumer awareness growing it’s starting to become a bit more competitive to market vacation rentals online than it used to be.  VRBO, a popular vacation rental by owner site,  is currently dominating the world of direct owner bookings and though there are management companies advertising on the site most of what’s available is listed directly by the owners.

Windsor Hills Resort Bank Owned Vacation Rental Homes For Sale

One of the trends I’m noticing with owners is that many think that if they cut the middle man out (management company) they can market their home at a discounted rate and still receive a larger portion of that money.  This works for many owners who utilize their vacation home rental as a full time business but what about the other owners who don’t want to make marketing and renting their vacation home a full time job and are dependent upon a property management company renting out their property?  These steeply discounted rates that owners are offering on VRBO are in direct competition with what your management company is trying to rent your vacation home for.  Any prospective renter who understands the internet is able to log on and check to see what rentals are going for in your neighborhood and will see these discounted rates being offered by owners.  If your management company is any good at securing retail bookings than they will be aware of this fact up front and know how to up-sell the renter on the benefits of working with a management company over booking directly with the owner (as will owners do the same).  I personally, do not have a preference as to which one is better but there are specific facts about both that should be brought to the renters attention before they make a decision.

Everything You Wish You Knew Before Buying a Florida Vacation Rental Home

Pros of Booking Directly With The Vacation Homeowner

• Homeowner will give a better rate.  Since the middle man is being cut out the homeowner can afford to offer a steeply discounted rate to the renter.
• Homeowner can be more accommodating. Since you are dealing directly with the owner you can ask specific questions about the property that a reservationist at a management company may not be able to answer in as much detail for you such the closest local Italian restaurant or the best view of the Disney fireworks in town.

Cons of Booking Directly With The Vacation Homeowner

• Time difference and emergencies. If the homeowner lives in another country and there is an emergency that requires immediate assistance than it is possible that you could be waiting for a response back for several hours as many homeowners do not have a full time on call maintenance staff to deal with these issues.
• No quality assurance. Some homeowners that manage their own vacation rental properties rely solely on a cleaning crew to maintain their home between guests which means there is more risk of the home not being cleaned to your standards when you arrive.  If you complain to the owner they cannot move you to a new property as most of the time they only own one.

Hidden Expenses Your Short Term Rental Management Company Doesn’t Want You To Know About

The Best of Both Worlds?
There are renters out there who will just always feel more comfortable renting a property that they know is being professionally managed.  With that being said, owners can still cash in on their own bookings while utilizing the assistance of a rental manager.  Many owners will list their properties for rent by owner and secure the booking themselves but have the management company handle the rental aspect of it and pay them a small owner booking fee.  This is a win-win for both the owner and the renter as the renter gets a peace of mind knowing that if something goes wrong with the property they will be accommodated immediately and the owner get their chunk on the booking revenue while doing a quarter of the work that a self managing owner would do.

What is your take on self-managing vacation homeowners offering competitive rates to undercut rental manager bookings?

Why Orlando is a Great Choice for Canadians to Own a Vacation Home

Guest Post by Dave Pollock, Davenport Vacation Homeowner

As a Canadian, living in Ottawa, Ontario, I can relate to many people wanting to escape to the warm climate of the southern United States. Having a young family, we were drawn to Florida because of its unique qualities: It is very easy to get there by a relatively short plane ride, or for the adventurer you can drive, and of course there is so much to see and do for all ages. We had been renting houses in the Orlando area for several years; and after a couple of years I said “Honey, we should look into buying a house in Orlando” – “Sure, dream on” my wife says with a smile.

We love Orlando; it has so much more to offer then just the well known theme parks, shopping, and restaurants. You could be in the countryside in less than 20 minutes, and on the beach in approximately 1.5 hours. It also has great neighborhoods with highway access nearby. Oh, and let’s not forget NHL hockey in Tampa, less than 1 hour away! We discussed buying a home more seriously, about a year ago, and while there on another 2 week vacation we hooked up with a Realtor from the Pink Flamingo Group, and went and looked at around 10 houses. Not only did we want to own “a piece of paradise”, in our own minds, this would also be a great location to rent out to people from all over. We had certain criteria in-mind, which the house had to meet. It had to be in a neighborhood that was under 5 years old, within 15 minutes to the theme parks, 4 bedrooms, south facing heated pool, reasonable HOA fees, and need little or no repairs. We thought it was crucial to have these qualities to help rent the house out as well as meet our own needs. We had experience with renting, so we knew what renters would want.

We finally found the perfect house in a great neighborhood named Sandy Ridge, which is in the city of Davenport. Davenport is a very attractive location for renters because of its close proximity to all that Orlando has to offer. It feels like a country retreat because of the undeveloped area and it’s just far enough away from all the hustle and bustle. Looking back…would we do it all again? Absolutely! Orlando has turned out to be a great location to own a rental home. Not only do we get to take our vacations with friends and family to our very own “Sun Retreat”, we help supplement the expenses of the home by renting it when we are not there.

About The Author: Dave Pollock and his wife Lois own a beautiful Davenport vacation home in Sandy Ridge. It’s the perfect retreat for anyone looking for an afforable vacation home with a private pool. The home is located  within a short 15 minute drive to Disney and other Orlando attractions. Consider renting the Pollock’s “Sun Retreat” next time you come to Orlando.  www.OrlandoHouse.me

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Celebration Homeowners Go All Out For Halloween!

As I was driving through the town of Celebration today I saw two houses that made me hit the brakes, pull out my phone and start snapping some photos.  These two homes, directly next door to each other on Celebration Blvd, were so incredibly decked out that they could give Disney’s Haunted Mansion a run for their money. It at first appeared that the neighbors were one upping each other but as I got closer it appeared they actually teamed up on this project!  Take a look at these photos (they were taken on my iphone so not the best quality) and remember, don’t be greedy with your thoughts, comment below! My favorite. . . the aliens disguised as Halloween decorations!

Top 20 Most Critical and Frequently Asked Questions About Buying and Owning an Orlando Vacation Home

View Celebration Home For Sale That Would Be Great To Decorate For The Holidays