It has been said that in real estate there are three things that count the most: location, location and location. I recently discovered how powerful this concept can be.
Not long ago, I wrote an article about owning a vacation rental and what to consider before making the plunge. Like every decision, there are pros and cons, and it also depends on an individual's temperament, comfort with risk and many other factors.
I asked a few dozen Florida villa owners why they had chosen villa ownership and what cautions or advice they would offer somebody considering a Florida vacation rental.
What struck me, however, was how most of the vacation rental owners I interviewed offered more comments on why they chose Florida as a location, than why they chose to be a villa owner.
In other words, the location more than the occupation inspired villa ownership, and that location is Orlando, Florida. Considering the battering Florida had recently taken by one hurricane after another, this struck me as kind of odd. So I picked up the phone and called the owner of another Florida listing site.
"It's late Fall and I'm sitting out here in my shorts. Do I need another reason?" he asked. "How are you doing up there?"
"Uh...let me just go get a sweater," was all I could respond.
To give you some idea of how important it for a vacation rental property owner to fall in love with the location, here are just two samples of what some villa owners told me:
"When we are driving back to the airport in Florida we never want to leave," says Michelle Prince, owner of Secret Key Villa in Kissimmee, Florida, adding "It was something we have always wanted to do since taking a Christmas break in Florida every year."
"I believe that to feel that you wish to buy property in Florida you must think further than 'Profit'," says Dave Gordon, owner of Lindisfarne Villa in Orlando. "I sincerely believe that most foreign villa owners have the 'feel good' factor themselves and buy because they want to return time and again…if they make a profit…what the heck!"
Of course, no business venture should be run on the off-chance of making a profit, but every business venture should be a labour of love, and few require as much love as the tender nurturing of vacation rental homes.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
David Leonhardt is a freelance writer for hire and author of a happiness self-help book.
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