Winter break in the Florida sunshine: Location dilemmas

With the financial gains that come with owning a home in Florida, many British property owners in the Sunshine State are choosing to let their house out when they are not staying in it. However, this presents a dilemma when choosing where to make the investment. “You tend to find that Brits looking for a winter hideaway will want to buy on the West Coast rather than, for example, in Orlando”, observes Suzanne Morrill of World of Florida. “I think the reason for this is that Brits look at Orlando as being the main vacation area whereas on the Gulf coast there is more of a community feel for them to integrate into over a period of time.”

This poses the question of whether buyers should follow the holiday crowd and purchase in Orlando, which may afford a higher chance of drawing in more vacationers and potentially net more income but possibly won’t offer the feel of a community, or on the Gulf Coast, where the opposite is the case. “In my opinion the key is to remember that if you are a snowbird you are not on holiday but in your second home, so it’s critical to chose an appropriate location which reflects your interests”, answers Andrew Bartlett of Andrew Bartlett Florida. “Some people make the mistake of being talked into a great looking house by a local realtor rather than talking through all the options first from a British perspective, looking at property taxes, any insurance implications, the social life, visa implications, etcetera.”

Peter Stanhope, a Brit from York who invested in Florida property, agrees that any property selection should come down to that individual’s wants and needs. “If people want to have access to interests, activities, sports, shows, events and cultural things, in addition to all the attractions for when the family visits, then the Orlando area is very good”, Stanhope offers. “If you like the beaches more then the beautiful Gulf of Mexico has some wonderful places. Sarasota, Fort Myers and Naples are some of our favourites destinations where we spend short breaks away from Orlando. We also like Fort Lauderdale on the Atlantic Coast. It has a very upmarket lifestyle where there are high rise condominium blocks, waterside mansions and expensive boats on the intracoastal waterways.”

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Winter break in the Florida sunshine: Location dilemmas

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