|
Some vacationers on the lookout for rental property
Some Southwest Florida vacationers are skipping the souvenirs this year, and are shopping for vacation rental property.
With mortgage rates hovering near all-time lows, and tourism hitting new highs, it’s tempting to lock in a comfortable vacation home that provides some revenue. “March just went wild. It’s been one of the strongest months we’ve ever seen,” said Lynda Traverso of VIP Realty on Sanibel. Properties that languished for two years are being snapped up, Traverso said. “The buyer of today wants to get their foot in the market before prices get higher,” noted Karen Bell, director of Captiva Island sales for VIP Realty. Condo hotels, like the one Pink Shell Beach Resort & Spa opened last month, are proving to be wildly popular, especially on Fort Myers Beach. But so are regular condos, cottages and houses in beach areas or on golf courses. Sales agents said some buyers are looking to secure a second home while it’s more affordable, for seasonal use in retirement one day. Others just want a reliable vacation nest for a few years, and then expect to cash out far ahead. That’s a realistic expectation. Properties on- and off-water on Estero Island are appreciating by at least 20 percent yearly, said Bob Bunting of Century 21 TriPower Realty. Most of those seeking vacation rental properties own primary homes outside Florida, and typically are in the 40- to 55-year-old age range. A lot buy on the spur of the moment. “Often, they have to mail a check for the deposit when they get home,” Bunting said. Earning rental income isn’t the main motivator, according to Bunting: “They want some income, but they’re more interested in the property being something they’ll enjoy themselves.”
That was the case for Joe and Colleen Jansen, Indianapolis retirees who bought a condo unit in Lexington south of Fort Myers last July. Pictures on the Internet drew them to the community, where they first rented for a month; a strong tennis program and friendly residents enticed them to buy. As for winter and early spring rentals: “demand is unbelievable,” Joe Jansen said, although he said he couldn’t find a taker for his condo in January. New property owners listing with WeNeedaVacation.com, a Web-based broker for Florida Gulf Coast vacation rentals, tend to be “Baby Boomers with money, not quite ready for retirement,” said Kathy Jones, the St. James City-based coordinator. They’re people like WeNeedAVacation client Michelle Simmons-Brown, 40. She’s an attorney from Angola, Ind., who’s had various vacation properties in Southwest Florida for about five years. Her condo unit on Bonita Beach is “doing very well. We’re booked through May, and have some bookings already for the summer.” Simmons-Brown handles the rental contracts and taxes. She has a local person handle urgent repairs. “My husband and I come down here about four times a year. We can fix the non-emergency stuff ourselves,” Simmons-Brown said, adding that they enjoy working together, and saving some money. Buying does take money. How much hinges largely on that old saw in real estate: location, location... Two examples: • On Estero Island, Bunting sees one-bedroom condo units selling in the low $200,000s — to as high as the mid-$500,000s, for units on prime beachfront. Two-bedroom units start in the high $200,000s and go up to $1 million or more. • On Captiva Island, an off-waterfront “little home on the lane” ranges between $1 million and $1.5 million, said Bell with VIP. Land values alone go from $750,000 to $1 million — off the water. Armed with occupancy rates and gross rental statistics from the property or from comparable properties, Bell said she can give shoppers a feel for what kind of rental income they can expect. For a $2 million home on Captiva, that can be as much as $6,500 a week. Still, rental demand softens after Easter and really wilts by September; although beachfront dwellings are the big exception, Traverso said. She added that savvy buyers understand rental income won’t defray all of their costs of owning vacation property: “Where you come out ahead is when you sell it.” |
