Anyone renting condos seasonally in FL?

[Wonka]

Our MIL's condo in Florida is centrally located (near Bee Ridge & Tuttle), but certainly not on the beach. It's a 2BR with balcony. We just furnished it with new appliances and furniture, repainted, etc. with the intent to try to develop an income stream. She left us when we're 99.9% done. We had thought about a seasonal rental. The complex has a small pool and I would just say it's ok...nothing special. It also has a covered parking space.

Any ideas? Now, I'm wondering if we should just sell it. The HOA fee is about $450 month.

 

[ronparise]

Im a real estate agent in Ft Myers Fl...and yes there are a lot of folks renting their condos seasonally here. I would think it would be no different in the area near Sarasota.

Consider however that the season here (and in Sarasota) is Jan Feb and March, you might get someone that wants Dec and/or April too, but I wouldnt count on it. So you need to make all your money in just 3 months to carry the years expenses. and as far inland as you are, you wont be able to get top dollar

Also consider that to rent seasonally, you will have to furnish the place, and pay the utilities

I have clients that do better with annual leases rather than seasonal rentals

 

[Wonka]

Thanks for the response. We also furnished the unit with new furniture, so it sleeps six. But, you're correct I'm not sure it's worth it. Another person suggested also offering it weekly during the season. It's very close to SIesta beach as the crow flies. I'm just not sure it'll be worth the effort especially if I have to provide cable Internet & utilities... That'd add another $150 mo in expense, so the net profit would be minimal.

 

[rrsafety]

Thanks for the response. We also furnished the unit with new furniture, so it sleeps six. But, you're correct I'm not sure it's worth it. Another person suggested also offering it weekly during the season. It's very close to SIesta beach as the crow flies. I'm just not sure it'll be worth the effort especially if I have to provide cable Internet & utilities... That'd add another $150 mo in expense, so the net profit would be minimal.

I'd sell it.

 

[rapmarks]

will the condo assc let you rent weekly?
You can rent for one month or more, no more than 4 times a year in our subdivision. we are not on the beach, but do have a golf course, and the rentals go from 300 to 3300 in Jan, Feb March.

 

[Wonka]

Yes, there are no rent restrictions. I'm sure it's marketable on a year-round basis since I had another tenant ask while we were renovating the unit. However, this was before my MIL died and we were simply getting it ready. Unfortunately, she has her own furniture. I guess ours is much larger than the unit she's renting (also in the complex). It is a very large unit, probably 1800 sq feet, or maybe more. We thought we might use it on a occasional weekend, but what for? My home is a whole lot nicer and also here in FL about 1/2 north of Sarasota.

 

[wcfr1]

I am in the St. Pete/Clearwater area and annual rental rates here are currently very strong.

Few are (or can) buying.
Not much new being built.
But people still want to live here.

Thus, they rent.

 

[moonstone]

We rent our Florida condo out by the year unfurnished. That way we avoid the vacation tax (or whatever its called), have less wear & tear on the place (cuz we may want to use it in retirement) and less headaches trying to rent it. (Our unit was rented within 20 mins of posting it on Craigslist)

When we were looking for a condo to rent last summer (no timeshare weeks avail at that time in St Augustine) we saw probably hundreds of available units for the week we wanted. Many owners had only rented their condos for a few weeks that year & thats in St Augustine Florida right at the beach! We couldnt guarantee that our unit would be rented 50 weeks a year but even though we earn less income than renting by the week we know its a steady one and it covers all our costs & more.
YMMV
~Diane

 

[sandkastle4966]

I am in Sarasota - our neighborhoods' rentals are 3 months if you are lucky, 4 months if the stars are alligned right. 2 is usually not tough.

We are on the bay with a harbor, and a huge amount of community activities. Our rental population is 65+ and they all want it cheap.

 

[Dori]

I would be very leery about weekly rentals. You would have to consider the extra cleaning fees after each tenant departs. A multiple month rental or a year-round tenant would be much better, IMHO.

Dori

 

[kjsgrammy]

Condos are selling! Our HOA has had 16 sold since January 2012 - more than twice what was sold in 2011, unfortunately, the average price was $160,000 for a 2 bed/2 bath unit (they were selling for close to $300,000 before the economy tanked back in 2007). Our HOA is very close to where yours is. If you price it right, especially if you sell it furnished, you should have no problem selling it.

 

[Gramma5]

We live about 30 minutes south of your condo and rented ours for several years until we retired.Now we live there Oct-May. Previous posters have it correct. The rental season is Jan thru Mar. with occassionally getting Dec. or April. We were able to always cover our costs but not much more (we had no mortgage). Now, as previously mentioned, sales have picked up in condos but about 40-50% less than during the "boom". We have friends that also bought in Venice and are doing rentals until they retire. Another couple own 2 condos on Manasota Key right on the beach and they have more of a problem keeping both fully rented during the season...perhaps its the higher rental because they are right on the beach. All of our friends have remodelled condos. Your association fees are pretty high for off the beach. Our friends on the beach pay $500/mo and that includes cable. Ours is 320 and that includes cable also. Yo might seriously consider selling it or at least test the market. If you plan to retire to fl. for winters ..that is a different story. We used VRBO to advertise and had no problems.

 

[Wonka]

Again...thanks for all the replies. Yes, the condo fees are very high for the location. The complex is small with only four buildings three level building. So, I suppose that explains the high maintenance.

The cleaning costs of weekly rentals is a good point. At this point, I'm thinking we should simply finish the few remaining refurbishment tasks (new balcony/lanai screen) and a few touch-ups and see if we can find a seasonal renter for January - March. If that doesn't go well, I'll "stage" the unit and ready it to sell.

One of the poster's mentioned everyone wants a "cheap" rental. I'm sure that's true. If I can't squeeze out enough cash-flow to help with the maintenance fees, it isn't worth the wear & tear and headaches involved.

ksgrammy-The complex is over 30 years old, so it's showing it's age. The grounds aren't nearly as nice as they used to be. At the top of the market, my guess is the condo was worth about $180, or so. As such, it's most likely only worth about $80,000 today. Don't get me wrong...it's still very nice & affordable. But the grounds and looks of the building have lost their "luster".

Thanks to everyone for the responses.

 

[carl2591]

i heard a lady calling in to clark howard show about Home Owners insurance rates going up in florida.. hers almost doubled to 3000.000 a year..

I was looking at placed in Englewood, Rotonda area and found some real nice deals on the palms golf course.. after trying to figure cost and rentals for 2to months max i get insurance cost.. that did it for me.. they can average from $1200 to$ 3000 depending on how close to water and in flood zone, which is most of Florida around that area it seems.

You might be better off selling especially with you living just north. who needs 2 houses in Florida??

 

[frenchieinme]

We rent our Florida condo out by the year unfurnished. That way we avoid the vacation tax (or whatever its called), have less wear & tear on the place (cuz we may want to use it in retirement) and less headaches trying to rent it. (Our unit was rented within 20 mins of posting it on Craigslist)

When we were looking for a condo to rent last summer (no timeshare weeks avail at that time in St Augustine) we saw probably hundreds of available units for the week we wanted. Many owners had only rented their condos for a few weeks that year & thats in St Augustine Florida right at the beach! We couldnt guarantee that our unit would be rented 50 weeks a year but even though we earn less income than renting by the week we know its a steady one and it covers all our costs & more.
YMMV
~Diane

This is also known as A BIRD IN HAND IS WORTH 2 IN THE BUSH.

frenchieinme

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

Another thing to consider in Florida... home owners have a Save Our Homes tax cap, which means if the city raises homeowners' taxes, existing homeowners' taxes will not go up that much. But, that does not apply to rentals. So, if your city raises taxes 6%, rentals will go up. But, "homesteaders" (primary home) will only get 3%.

You also may want to have a good accountant. Filing the rental as an LLC, and accounting for all the upgrades/taxes/fees as a business expense, will help out during tax time.

TS

 

[rapmarks]

i heard a lady calling in to clark howard show about Home Owners insurance rates going up in florida.. hers almost doubled to 3000.000 a year..

I was looking at placed in Englewood, Rotonda area and found some real nice deals on the palms golf course.. after trying to figure cost and rentals for 2to months max i get insurance cost.. that did it for me.. they can average from $1200 to$ 3000 depending on how close to water and in flood zone, which is most of Florida around that area it seems.

You might be better off selling especially with you living just north. who needs 2 houses in Florida??

My home owners insurance went up to $3000 back in 2006 or 2007 on a $200000 house. Then Gov. Scott passed some legislation requiring the insurance companies to give discounts for windstorm mitigation, and my insurance went down to $700. Of course they dropped me after that, and i expect a really big bill this year.