Florida condo purchase?

I am think of buying a condo in Florida in the Orlando/Daytona area. Something with shared pool and facilities.

Having never bought a house in the US before what should I be looking for.

My aim is to spend the winter in Florida and perhaps rent out during the rest of the year.

Are there any pitfalls to consider and anyone with any advice. Prices seem very good compared to UK. What about taxes etc?

Comments

  • Make sure you can afford the Condo payments without relying on the rental income. The Florida in-season is basically the same time when you want to be using the condo. No one is going to rent for the entire time you are not there, so you are looking at weekly rentals to vacationers - which is not in summer due to the heat/humidity.

    Prices are good due to the real estate market crash - just don't expect the condo to appreciate in price anytime soon, so don't be buying it as an investment. And remember, a condo is not a house - it is an apartment you own. There are condo associations that operate in order to maintain the grounds, etc., so you will have a condo fee - if you can talk to people at the condos to see what type of condo boards have been elected in the past (listen to both the complaints and the compliments). Some condo associations are very heavy-handed, others more laid-back.

  • The total cost of the condo is not just the price of the purchase. Insurance, taxes and the condo fees are all going to cost you. With that said, prices themselves are very low. Renting might be problematic but you can check with some property management firms to see if your idea is feasible in the area that you choose. I am not sure of what you have in mind to spend, but it took me about three trips of several days each to find one of the cheaper homes in Florida. The extra trips were because the real estate market is very fluid. Short sales, foreclosures and the larger discounted properties are not also easy to obtain as there are multiple bidders and sometimes deals fall thru or it takes a long time to get an answer.

  • If the homestead is going for the same fee and that is largely interior the same region, then something could be up -- there will be a fantastic probability that the homestead is in adequate disrepair that its fee has diminshed to equivalent that of a house. if so, except you're an investor who's more advantageous in contact contained in the land (per chance with a view to construct 2 homes on the valuables) than the advancements already made to it (e.g., the construction itself), you'd be more advantageous acceptable off going with the homestead.

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