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.