Seeking rental advice from those with experience
 

Hopefully I'm seeking advice in the right forum...

My better half and I recently began thinking about buying a patio villa and renting it as much as possible, then we'd move into it when we retire. Owning a rental property would be completely new for us and frankly we're both nervous about taking that plunge. We're looking for those with experience in this area to tell us the truth about the rental market in TV.

We spoke with two Villages real estate agents at open houses last week and while they were nice we got the impression they were telling us what they probably thought we wanted to hear--"the demand exceeds the number of available homes in the winter" and "you'll have no problem renting it for most of the year", "plenty of long term renters are looking there", etc. But we can see that there are maybe 1000+ homes advertised for rent at any given time and we're concerned because if our villa was vacant most of the time we'd have negative cash flow. We're not rich so we can't have that.

We'd appreciate any "real world" experiences any of you would be willing to share if you've owned rental properties in TV. Did you have difficulty finding long or short-term renters? Was your home vacant more than you expected or wanted it to be? Any advice would be appreciated.

Also, does anyone have any experience, positive or negative, with Hometown Property Management in TV? I get the impression working through them can be somewhat of a hassle. Are there any other local property management companies worth considering?

Many thanks!
JandB2015

Real world is January February March sometimes April. Year round will get you little more $$' and they pay utilities. Long term usually want something larger. Go to thevillages4rent. Do search on any home model for other than high season. And you will find lots of people looking for renters in off season.

My husband and I bought 2 years ago and used Down home property for rental management and home watch. I was very pleased with their service. I just terminated with them this year as my husband retired this spring so we are no longer going to be renting our home. In the 2 years of rental there was never a problem renting the prime months of Jan, Feb, March and April. Did get a few weeks in the summer and fall. I would recommend Down Home property. Working with Vicky Joy and her daughter was very easy and they are were available whenever I needed them.