Advice on Owning a Short Term Rental in the Villages

[May5zip]

Have a 2/2 with a 2 car garage on the golf course. Considering renting on a short term rental arrangement. Looking for feedback or advice from those that are doing this. Is it profitable? What are the pitfalls? The home is stick built, not manufactured.

[retiredguy123]

Because it is on the golf course, you won't be able to get a high enough rent compared to the value of the house. It would probably be more profitable to sell the house and buy a 3 bedroom for less money and more rental income.

[rjm1cc]

Do you have experience in screening tenants? Even if you do you can get a bad one. Can you afford a bad tenant? Will you be local to check on the property and handle problems or will you have to hire someone?

[dalecrenshaw]

You need to get a business license from the Florida State and the county that you live in. Then you have collect and pay sale's tax with the State and County every month (even if it is not rented that month). There are large fines/penalties if you don't. It is just like if you were to rent a hotel room - you pay for the room, plus sale's tax.

[borjo]

You need to get a business license from the Florida State and the county that you live in. Then you have collect and pay sale's tax with the State and County every month (even if it is not rented that month). There are large fines/penalties if you don't. It is just like if you were to rent a hotel room - you pay for the room, plus sale's tax.

I don't know where you got your information from but I disagree. Granted, I sold my rental 3 years ago and things may have changed. In Florida in this county you pay either 7 or 9% tax on the rental price, forget the exact amount. Some landlords included that in the rent. You only paid the tax when you had renters but had to send in only the coupon ticket every month, no money unless it was rented.
There's no business license license but you do need to check with FL DOR in Leesburg to start getting your "coupon book" so you can pay taxes. The tax is like the hotel tax but called a transient rental tax. If it's rented more than 6 months to one person, no taxes are due.
It's quite easy. You do need to have it rented more than 6-7 months in order to make a profit.

[Mleeja]

Get a good accountant , a tax ID to collect sales tax, and a good property manager to screen clients.

[Fraugoofy]

You need to get a business license from the Florida State and the county that you live in. Then you have collect and pay sale's tax with the State and County every month (even if it is not rented that month). There are large fines/penalties if you don't. It is just like if you were to rent a hotel room - you pay for the room, plus sale's tax.
You do NOT need a business license to rent out your home. You DO need to file with the State of Florida to pay the required transient rental tax on the monthly income you make unless you rent for 6 months or longer to one person or one couple. You still need to register with the State of Florida if you plan on renting out your home. You also need to inform your home insurance company that your home is now a rental.

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[ditka41]

Considering the hassle that the 9% tax is, and conforming to the attendant details, I found owning a rental was not enjoyable at all. Recognize that for all the many months that there is no rental income you still have all the insurance, utility bills, taxes, bond, lawn care, pest prevention, upkeep, etc. You can depend on renting it for four months a year. Anything more is a bonus. The only way I would consider purchasing another property for rental purposes would be on a long-term lease basis for a minimum of 6 months. Some will believe they are making money on rentals until they actually do it correctly with the input of an attorney and CPA. All of a sudden the disappointment sets in. Those who supply a golf cart with their rental are, as my attorney puts it, "Simply Fools". Discuss that point with your attorney before listening to some "clever ways" around the liability issue. They won't work in case of an accident with the cart. There are much better investments if that is your goal. Be very careful. Just my opinion based upon experience here.

[Mleeja]

Also, another thing one needs to be aware. If you have a mortgage on the home, the interest rate you are paying may prohibit rental. If you sign your mortgage documents that you will not rent the house, then do so, the mortgage company could call the loan, or at a minimum, increase your interest rate. And double on renting a home with a golf cart. You are just asking for trouble....

[retiredguy123]

If you let a real estate company manage the rentals, it will be very profitable - for them. They will make a lot of money without taking any risk. The best way to make money as a landlord is to manage your own property, and buy cheap houses. In my opinion, a house on the golf course is not a good rental property because much of the value is in the lot premium for which you will not get enough return in rental income.

[Greg Nelson]

We're renting a golf villa w/pool that the rent goes from 2k to 3800 the first of the year..owner lives next door