Orlando To Be Hit Hard-Good Opportunity For a Vacation Rental Investment

Good article from CNNMoney.com. This guys predicts what markets are to be hit hard in foreclosures. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A tidal wave of foreclosures may be heading toward Florida, if you judge by the number of homeowners looking to get rid of their homes as fast as they can. Duane LeGate, president of House Buyer Network, arranges quick sales for home owners in distress. He claims he can predict where markets will go bad by looking at the traffic on his Web site. "We can tell you what's going to happen nine months from now," he said. His most endangered market right now is Orange County, Florida, home of Disney World.
"Orlando has blown up. There's been a 700 percent increase in traffic of people filling out our forms," he said. "I could put a bull's-eye on Orlando and write the headline for what will be going on in January and February." "There are tax issues that are depressing the market," said Lee, Property taxes jump when houses change hands. "And insurance rates spiked after the hurricane season of a couple of years ago," he said.

Some markets are turning positive, according to LeGate. The number of client contacts from Maricopa County, Arizona - the Phoenix area - dropped this year by about 38 percent. You can catch the rest of this article at http://money.cnn.com/2007/07/05/real_estate/futureshock_Florida_housing_will_fall/index.htm?postversion=2007070612

However Orlando is a big place with lots of micro markets. If you can find a deal on a property close to the theme parks I would say you have great investment property. Orlando supports vacation home rentals but does require you to have a certificate of compliance. Nothing beats the volume of travel to Orlando every year. From personal experience I can say nothing beats a vacation home while at the parks. Gotta love the comment about Arizona.

Owing a Rental House: A Good Investment

Here is a great short article that details some of the benefits of owning a rental property. With all the "gloom & doom" about real estate all I can say is I wish I had more money and time to put into my business and pick up additional rental properties.

Here's what Bob Bruss a real estate expert has to say: What is the best investment you ever made? Common stocks? Bonds? A small business? Your house? Other real estate?
Chances are your most profitable investment has been your personal residence. If you have yet to purchase your own home, today's "buyer's market" is an excellent time to do so.
However, if you already own your house, why not take advantage of current market conditions to buy one or more houses as rental investments? Let your tenants buy those houses for you by using their rent payments to pay the mortgage and other expenses...you can access the rest of the article at the Arizona Real Estate Notebook http://www.inman.com/InmanINF/homesmart/story.aspx?ID=63784

Summer Rentals: It’s Not Too Late-NY TIMES Article

The times recently had an article indicating that its tough going for some in the vacation rnetal biz. Note: “Availability is out there in key destinations where historically it hasn’t been,” said Justin Halloran, a vice president at HomeAway.com, which specializes in vacation rentals by owners. He cited such destinations as Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, Traverse City and Petoskey, Mich., and Hawaii, better known as the Big Island, and Maui. As of mid-June, nearly 20 percent of United States vacation rentals listed on the site had yet to be booked for the Fourth of July holiday, while Labor Day was still wide open with more than 70 percent of rental properties showing availability.

We have been blessed with a strong rental season at our Martha's vineyard property although we do have week unrented in July. However we have had more weeks in June, & September over last year. You can catch the times article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/29/travel/escapes/29rental.html

How To Rent By Owner

One of the great resources I used to start the vacation rental business was a book by Christine Kapinski called how to "rent by owner". Its filled with great advice that really helps to give you a boost when you decide to rent by owner. You get Christine's book at http://www.howtorentbyowner.com/ .