Category Archives: Buy a Florida Villa

Buying a Florida villa as a holiday rental can be a daunting task. We have put together a group of posts that highlight the types of things you will have to consider. Purchasing, real estate, taxes, running costs, and general maintenance are some examples. These are all based on over five years of running our own villa.

Hints and Tips – How to find the perfect villa to rent

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One thing is certain when you are looking for a Villa to rent in Florida – there are a lot to choose from. So how to choose? What to look for? Here are some tips to make sure you get the best accommodation out there.

A pool to start with, that’s a must-have. After a hot day in the sun then it’s great to come back and dip your toes in a pool. It’s ten times better than a games room and children love splashing about with inflatables and beach balls.

The pool should definitely be south facing if you’re staying during any months apart from the middle of summer. Arriving home to a shaded pool that inevitably has a damp feel to it isn’t a great way to enjoy the mornings or evenings.

A hip roof leading on to each edge of the pool is a nice-to-have. A hip roof means that the slope of the roof is at it’s lowest point all along each edge, and it rises into the middle of the house. Sounds picky, but these types of roof maximise the amount of sun by blocking out the least amount of light.

Large shaded lanai / patio to eat on and drink out of the sun and in the shade, everyone hates the feeling when they can’t get out of the sun without hiding inside the villa.

Large pool area, who wants to be crammed into a space that can hardly fit any sun loungers in?

Spa. Not a must-have, but if you had a choice would you rather be relaxing in a spa or sinking into a pool with your beer floating away?

Not overlooked. Plants and orientation of neighbour’s pools shouldn’t make you feel like you’re being watched – you want to be able to let your hair down!

A double bedroom for each adult couple, with a private en-suite. You’re on holiday, why should you settle for anything less?

Centrally located open plan Kitchen. The adults shouldn’t be left out of the fun whilst preparing meals and drinks.

Air conditioning – need I say any more?

Wireless internet for free Skype and finding the best bargains and planning your trip day by day.

Cable TV! Just in case you switch the telly on. Really?!

As luck would have it, it just so happens that Dave’s Florida Villa has all of these, and more, so no need to keep searching for every possible variable. Book your stay today to avoid disappointment.

Lesson One – don’t gamble with FX rates

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Today I learnt a lesson in FX trading. Don’t try your luck. I’d been holding out to see if the rate will increase over the last few days. It did. But when do you stop holding out? Reading the news suggests one thing, the market does another. I put a nice buy point in at which to book a trade, missed by about 0.001, and then the market has slipped continually since. So I waited and rebooked at a much lower rate, only to miss out by an equally small amount as the GBP USD fell again.

Brilliant.

I ended up simply ringing the broker and booking it, fed up of gambling and guessing. This is a house purchase after all.

Total difference in the rates and the amount I was transferring came to about 1,500 dollars.

Consider this a lesson learnt, Mr FX. Ouch.

 

GBP USD house buying thoughts, oh and some Florida golf

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As we move nearer to our closing date at the end of this year, everything heats up. We move our deposit to the wrong account and end up chasing it halfway across the world, the GBP USD rate is volatile due to decisions that the bank of England and the US fiscal cliff looming, but we look to be in a strong position. I’m not a betting man so we’re due to book a trade in the next 24hrs. After which I will never look at the rates again!

We’ve been window shopping for the house; new TV, some furniture, and sheets will help a lot. The rest of the villa is in great condition so we will see how it goes. We’re only really dipping toes at the moment.

I’ll definitely have to take up golf. There are numerous world class courses near us in Florida and it would be a waste not to go for a round or three.

Tuscan Ridge Community

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Our villa is tucked away at the bottom of the Tuscan Ridge community. There are two sides to Tuscan Ridge – the Village and Countryside. We’re on the Countryside side, which sounds nice but we never ventured to the other side!

 

The community boasts a scenic entrance; perfect after a long flight to Orlando airport and battling against customs and their strange double bag drop effort. You drop down hill to a roundabout (!) and hang a left into Countryside. A couple of turns past palm trees and the community tennis court gets you on to Barbera Drive (not pronounced like Barbara). Past some more palm trees and other lovely houses brings you to our villa.

It’s a cosy, friendly, neighbourly community. A nice mix of people and houses that are all well maintained. Tucked away, our villa looks out across to some huge old pine trees, with only one other villa to impede the view to the trees. It’s very open and a fantastic wide plot, and the east and south facing pool mean that in the winter months you still get all the sun – especially since there’s no gable end roof to block the light. This makes all the difference.

Book now and you won’t be disappointed!

GBP strong against USD

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As we wait for the villa survey to complete, inspecting for pesky woodworm, rogue pests, and various structural problems, I can’t help notice that the GBP is nice and strong against the USD. Of course, now that I have written this it will plummet.  Once the survey says “yes you have bought a wonderful house that will last for years and has an indestructible self cleaning pool” then I can look forward to booking a trade with the FX Firm close to the 1.62 point. Strangely, the cash will fly over all the way to the USA only to come wheeling back a month later. The middle men won’t complain.

At least the banks with their huge markup (FX spread) won’t get their grubby hands on my hard earned (read remortgaged) money. 1.55 is a good rate? That would lose me over 9,000 USD!