Geez I am going to be 50 soon:( second home in florida rented sometimes?

A friend has done this with a lake house and made out like a bandit on the sale of the first one. The second isn't doing as well. A couple of factors that have influenced it over the years are the pace of the economy and the glut of these properties on the market. They have had to deal with damage done by tenants, traveling for hearings against tenants, added charges and demands for additional services by the managing realtors and a few that I don't recall right nowl. It's not a cake walk but it can be pretty profitable if you have the right temperment and know what is possible in the future.

You'd pay the thing off about 4 times as fast if you rented it out in the winter, instead....

Would that also hold true in the Orlando area? I would think that other than maybe Christmas-New Years and Spring Break, it would be less seasonal than the rest of FL. One of the major concerns with FL is being able to get insurance. Allstate, for instance, isn't writing hurricane insurance any more and they are getting REAL picky even on plain vanilla homeowners. Plus the price increases when available. Plus, at least when I looked into it a couple of years ago, something like 20% deductibles. Even Condos are seeing the pinch of the increasing costs.

orlandos BUSY time is june july august thanksgiving christmas thru new years easter break. prime $$$ times none of which interest me.

I am a off peak person, january is ideal.

peak times are no fun for me.

so having a house rented when you DONT want to be there is ideal.

Talked to a park employee once he retired as a CFO chief fiancial officer of a company.

sold everything and bought a big motor home, winters in florida summers at yosemite. said it paid OK had little stress.

dsont know I would want to do THAT but he was interesting guy to talk too.

Will you stay there year round at some point? I've heard complaints about traffic at many places in Florida, especailly when the old fold inch their way tot he doffee shop in the AM. Of course, once you are one of the old folks, you may not car to go above 15 mph anyway.

If you are going to have weekly rentals for tourists, you need an agent that is there all the time and they handle the stressful stuff for you. Will it work for you? It can, depending on what your wants and needs are. If you build your "dream home", it may not be such a dream home to retire to after it has been used by renters for 15 years. If it is an interim vacation in winter home, it can work very well.

BTW, if you think 50 is bad, what will you do at 60? I figure those decade does give me some "rights" and "seniority" to be a PITA to anyone younger. Age has some advantages.

clipped

I would be very leery of renting out a property far from home. Florida, at least near me, is turning into a buyers market because all the flippers ran up prices and can't unload them. If you buy a Fl property owned for some time as a homestead, you may have a shock when you see your first tax bill, and you won't get a homestead exemption if you don't live there. Another rising concern is insurance. Elec. going sky high. Our taxes are around $1500/year. Another unit in our building, exactly the same but on second floor, is over $7,000 because the taxes can't go up more than ?3%/year but when it is sold the sky is the limit. The other unit is a rental, so doesn't qualify for homestead.

There is a highrise condo, across the street from where we go out to eat often. About 12 story building, full city block. Noticed that after dark there are never more than 3 or 4 apts. with lights on. Went to the county tax website to look up owners' addresses, and found almost all of those I looked at live out of town or out of state. Nobody LIVES there, apparently :o)

People have been tearing down older condos left and right, three within two blocks of us. All of a sudden, the building boom seems to have ground to a halt. The lots are growing green stuff, but it isn't money :o)

When the folks who bought into $2,000,000 condos on the beach find out they can't get out on weekends because of traffic, they'll probably be adding heliports :o) City sold 500 public parking places to make the beach prettier (losing $1,000,000/year in revenue) and even with those spaces there isn't enough parking. Duh?

I would look about 50 miles south of Orlando, down towards Sebring. The housing is cheaper and trhe traffic a lot easier. I wouldn't go to Orlando if they were giving away $100 bills at the 7-11

I LOVE DISNEY my dream is to retire around there someday, I was a landlord before and didnt mind, the long distance from pittsburgh may have issues:(

It would be a vacation home and give us a chance to try it out on someone elses $

I think they housing bubble may go completely BUST given the governments decision that credit card interest was no longer tax deductible. that got too many to move all their debt into their home decreasing their equity. if housing prices drop a little the deliquency rate will skyrocket people owing more than its worth.

major government screw up if you ask me.

our fairly nice 3 bedroom house in pittsburgh worth about a 100 grand property and school tax near 3 grand a year:( tax rate is insane.

ofddly kissimee is a pretty affordable area its cost of living is about the same as pittsburgh according to on line info. perhaps people dont want to live in a tourist area?

appears a 3 bedroom house can rent for about 800 to a grand a week less all expenses.

i would be thrilled if the rent just covered the operating expense house would be kinda free.

need lots more info on this from people who have done it.

nice thinbg about 2 homes if hurricane flattens florida one i still have a place to live:(

just this month a customer of mine retired and moved to florida for winters, he is keeping pittsburgh home. I will try and get his phone number perhaps see him hope to go to florida in january.

why work all year to vacation at a place you could live year round?

florida is hot in the summer

That won't take long to get over. A few hours stuck in traffic on I-4 or International Drive and you won't care if you ever come back.

This summer people were coming here from the North East to cool off.

clipped

Other than doing my parental duty and taking kids to d-world, it is the last place on the planet (other than the desert) that I would want to live.

how come you don't like the desert?

Just recently bought my vacation home. But I went backwards from Florida to Pa. Home prices, taxes and insurance are through the roof in Fl as was said here. PA is now a bargain at all levels.

I'm thinking of doing a hurricane tourism thing at my Fla home since it got hit with 3 in the last 2 years with more on the way.. 'Ride The Hurricane'.!! 1500 a week during Sept. and Oct..!

Renters can be a hugh PITA though..

I can tell you where I'm at in Fl, it is not uncommon to see people getting locked up for road rage (the traffic and heat don't mix well). Seemingly 'normal' people just lose it..!

And like the other poster said taxes are real bad unless you've been there a number of years. Mine are sub 1100 a year..

Because of the income taxes in Pa (vs. none in Fla), I'll keep my FL home (and residency) just for the tax bene's..And it does get kind cold here in Pa..

Better to get a class C motor home and invest the rest in your PA house..