Any Vacation Condo Owners?

[DaJoker]

Thinking about investing in a beachfront condo in Destin or Panama City FL. Anybody on here own any similar properties? Is the return worth it? How much of a headache is it? Its either that or some home rental property but I think the return would be better with a condo. What ya got SVTP?

 

[Gravik]

My grandparents have a condo in Maui, Hawaii they rent out year round. It's a pretty decent $$$ maker.

 

[GeorgiaSnake]

We have a 2 bed room Condo in Panama City and we love it. Its a townhouse style with the bedrooms upstairs. Its about 2 blocks off the beach. We rent it out and have no problem doing that and using ourselves or our family using it as well. Right now we have some Canadian Snowbirds renting it until Spring. Only problem there is that this particular couple can be a bit picky on some complaints but we deal with that. Its a good investment for us so far.

The Snake

 

[03 KB Sonic Blue]

I'm curious as well as I've been thinking about doing either another rental property local or rental property/getaway place.

My wife's parents have a condo in destin they rent out. I'm not sure how they do money wise as I don't want to intrude. But it seems like the monthly dues and fees would eat up a lot of the potential profit.

 

[george.arnold]

My aunt has a few places in Belize. The management dues and fees are high, but her place is rented solid during the high-traffic months (Nov-Jan) and those 3 months pay for her whole year's dues. The rest is all just profit. She says it will take her about 2 more years than expected to pay them off, but she is probably there 12 weeks out of the year, meaning she is getting less income off them.

 

[03 KB Sonic Blue]

Bump. Anyone else?

On a side not I asked my wife's dad about his condo. His condo is in sand destin and the fees are like 15-20k a year (maintenance, electric, water, insurances, etc) property taxes are just over 2k. So need to rent condo out for 17-22k a year just to cover fees. That doesn't include a mortgage. Lets just say that's another 1k per month. So now need 29-34k a year to break even.
At 200 a night on average need it rented 150-180 days out of the year and after that you start making money.

 

[CobraKid04]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't flood insurance going up big time in Florida?

Also is this Panama City Florida as in the spring break destination for college kids? If so, that place was a shit box when I went 3 years ago.

My parents have a beach front condo on Palm island resort in Florida. It's a beautiful place to vacation or live, but it is very expensive with the fees and such to live on the water. He losses money on it even renting it out. He has one on the inter coastal in the same area, which is considerably less expensive and it pays for itself and more with renters.

Look into the flood insurance though.

 

[11GT50]

Destin and PCB aren't exactly the high rent district compared to other parts of Florida and location is key. If the condo isn't right on the beach, you're probably not going to make your money back.

We rented out my grandparents' condo after they died and it was a huge money loser as the real estate market in Florida is shit and we couldn't command enough to cover taxes and fees, even though we owned it free and clear(no mortgage). I would think of it as a vacation home first and an investment second, because you're probably not going to completely cover your costs or turn a profit.

 

[98chromesvt]

Destin and PCB aren't exactly the high rent district compared to other parts of Florida and location is key. If the condo isn't right on the beach, you're probably not going to make your money back.

We rented out my grandparents' condo after they died and it was a huge money loser as the real estate market in Florida is shit and we couldn't command enough to cover taxes and fees, even though we owned it free and clear(no mortgage). I would think of it as a vacation home first and an investment second, because you're probably not going to completely cover your costs or turn a profit.

This.. We now rent my grandparents home in Daytona, since my grandmother has passed. Even with a property management company we can barely keep it rented year round. Most months after the management company takes their cut, we are usually in the negative.

The Florida economy has slightly came back, but it still has a long way to go.

 

[silverstang23]

A lot of people don't make their money back. You have to hope the property appreciates to make your money when it's sold. Association dues and flood insurance is killer. Most places also have a cleanin fee you have to pay when rentors change. Something to also keep in mind is the cost of the property compared to the rent value. In CO the cost of condos Aries dramatically from one resort to the next. (Up to double for comparable property). The amount you can rent the various condos for is about the same. So it makes it much harder to turn a profit on a profit on the higher valued property's. But you also stand a chance of them appreciating more. If you aren't comfortable paying for half maybe even more then it's not for you.