BUYING GUIDE FLORIDA
the city of Orlando itself, preferring to live in one of the housing estates outside Orlando that make up one of the world’s largest holiday communities. Year-round sun, plentiful fl ights and a
massive amount to do catapults Orlando into the number one spot for British property buyers. Many like the mix of holiday home and investment, using their overseas purchase for vacations, and renting it out the rest of the time to cover running costs. Just beware of optimistic rental yield promises when it comes to short-term rentals in the Disney area – breaking even might be a realistic goal rather than a regular income. Many of the short sales and forecloses of
the downturn years have been snapped up, yet there are still great deals to be had in Florida. T e trick is to check out the location and state of the property, and to be in a position to move quickly on the best homes that you’re likely to be battling for with other interested buyers. In desirable areas where any surplus inventory has dried up, such as Winter Garden, bidding wars have long returned. Also, it’s worth noting that Orlando’s
not just about outlying communities near theme parks. Over recent years, the historic downtown area’s been spruced up, with small boutique shops, cafes and restaurants within walking distance of rejuvenated historic and new homes. Prices are generally higher than in a less characterful
You get a lot of bang for your buck, especially with the current strong pound to the weaker American dollar. Five-bed luxury villa for £250k anyone?
housing estate outside the city, but they’re still reasonable. Even in the luxury development of
ChampionsGate – well-positioned near Disney and zoned for short-term rentals – you can buy a fi ve-bedroom, fi ve-bath pool home for £250,000. T at’s a lot of bang for your buck.
EAST COAST Daytona, Flagler, the Space Coast T e nearest beaches to the popular Orlando area described above are to be found on the East Coast - around Daytona, Flagler Beach and also the so-called Space Coast around Cape Canaveral Space Station. Property not too far from the beach can be very aff ordable in all these area, when compared with the Miami area further south; or some of the Gulf coast hotspots. In the world-famous but very well-
connected Daytona Beach area you can get a new two-bed, two-bath condo
with water views for $195,900 (£115k). Flagler Beach a little further north has
been voted one of the “Best Small Towns of America” and is more expensive – the median price of a property is $216,200 (£133k), over double that of Daytona Beach (source:
zillow.com, August 2014). T e main hotspot of the Space Coast
(Brevard County) is the six-mile long barrier island of Cocoa Beach where you can buy an ocean-front condo for around $399,000 (£240k) or a one-bed condo a few blocks inland for less than $100,000 (£60k). T e other barrier islands are a little more expensive.
St Augustine and Jacksonville It’s hard to fathom why the largest city in Florida and largest by area in the US has remained the Sunshine State’s best-kept secret. However, Jacksonville in North Florida, about 25 miles south of the Georgian border and 340 miles north of Miami, is being discovered by British buyers keen to invest, relocate or simply enjoy their overseas holiday homes. Property bargain hunters are realising
the potential of affl uent Jacksonville, one of the fastest growing American regions with a major deep-sea port, US navy bases, banking, insurance, healthcare, education and logistics sectors. A typical model is to invest in a home that can be let fulltime to skilled workers in the area, or to use it for about six weeks of the year and rent it out the rest of the time. Here in the north-east there are established neighbourhoods with fewer rental risks attached, as tourism isn’t the main revenue stream. Although there have been foreclosures
and price drops, Jacksonville wasn’t as hard- hit as southern and central Florida where there’s a great deal more surplus property. Jacksonville’s property sales have been booming, going up 10 per cent in the year to August 2014 (
zillow.com). Not surprisingly, you’ll probably have
to pay that bit more to be on the Atlantic, St Johns River, or an intercoastal waterway. You’ll get a smaller home for your money, but you can’t go wrong in terms of retaining value and being able to sell on the property easily to others. St Augustine, America’s Oldest City,
manages to charm visitors from around the world for its historic feel, its superb golf courses (like Sawgrass) and 42 miles of
aplaceinthesun.com | 127
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156