- property manager

How to Keep Your Orlando Vacation Rental Safe and Secure

The most successful home investors know how to keep their Orlando holiday homes safe and secure all year round. Protecting your home at all times prevents the issues that lead to costly damages and other losses.

Keep Unwanted Visitors Out While You’re Away

Your holiday home should look occupied when it’s vacant. Maintaining its exterior, picking up incoming mail, and turning on lights keep would-be intruders away.

If you live too far away to manage your vacation rental property, ask a family member or neighbor to look after your home for you. Or consider hiring a professional property manager; they can help you secure rental guests too.

Store your valuable personal items in the home or a nearby storage facility. Many homeowners use safes in…

How to Hire a Property Manager for Your Vacation Rental

Many of today’s homeowners are getting more out of their investment by renting out their vacation homes in Orlando, FL. Although this provides a significant source of additional income, it can also require you to take on additional responsibilities.

Managing a vacation property takes time, energy, and money. Maintaining your property requires ongoing maintenance and repairs.

Hiring a property manager is the best way to meet the needs of your home and make it profitable over time.Knowing what to ask a vacation property manager ensures that you work with a knowledgeable and experienced professional.

What Services Does the Vacation Property Manager Provide?

You may have already received a price quote from a property manager. But you need to fully…

How to Hire a Cleaning Service for Your Orlando Vacation Rental

Keeping your Orlando vacation rental clean is essential to keep your property looking its best for holiday guests. House cleaning is a big chore, so it’s a wise investment to hire someone else to do the work for you – especially if you don’t live in the area. 

Hiring cleaning help for a short-term rental property is NOT the same as hiring someone to clean your own home. The biggest difference is that cleaning a vacation properly requires a keen attention to detail. The cleaner should notice whether anything has been damaged by a guest, or if anything is missing. It’s also helpful for them to ensure that everything is stocked up for the next renter. 

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when looking for a cleaning service that will set you up for…

How to Prepare Your Orlando FL Vacation Home for a Hurricane

Orlando is blessed with a temperate year-round climate that includes warm, sunny weather. However, much like the rest of the world, we can’t hide from Mother Nature. We do have an established hurricane season from June 1 to November 30th. 

Because Orlando is located right in the heart of Florida, storms are not as common, nor as severe as those that hit coastal cities. And since the hurricane forecasting ability has improved greatly due to advances in technology, we can be proactive instead of reactive if a storm is predicted.

If you own a second home in Orlando, it’s wise to seek a property management firm that takes preventative measures before a storm hits, and necessary actions after the storm to help protect your home.

When the state…

How to Know Your Property Manager is doing a Good Job

Have you decided to buy a vacation home in Orlando and rent it out to holiday visitors when you’re not using it? If you don’t live in Central Florida, you will need someone to look after your interests, so you can ensure that your property is generating positive cash flow by keeping it occupied and maintained properly. 

Your local realtor should be able to recommend a rental and property manager for you when purchasing a single family home.  However, if you purchase a unit in a condominium-style resort, these services may be included, so you won’t have to hire a separate management company. 

Regardless of whether you hire a team or one is provided for you, here are some of the responsibilities that a rental and property manager should handle for…

Options for Renting Out Your Vacation Home in Orlando

Many people purchase vacation homes in Orlando for investment purposes. This is particularly the case with homes that are located near the theme parks. There is a big demand from holiday travelers for affordable accommodations. Renting your home to vacationers is a popular way to supplement your income.   

You can hire a property manager or vacation rental agency to find rental guests for your home. Or you can save the extra cost and do it yourself.  There are a number of vacation rental websites that will allow you to rent your home directly to guests. This will help save the expense of hiring someone else to do the job for you.  Some of the most popular vacation rental websites include Airbnb, HomeAway, VRBO and FlipKey. 

If your primary residence…

Why You Need Expert Help to Buy a Second Home

Thinking about buying a second home in Orlando? You’re not alone. People buy a second home in Central Florida for a variety of reasons. Some buy a home as an investment, and rent it out as a vacation property. Others buy a second home prior to retirement, with the goal of living there once they finish working full-time.

Whatever your reasons for wanting to buy a second home, it’s worth the investment to hire a real estate agent to help you locate and purchase a property. Here are a few reasons why:

Fiduciary responsibility. When you hire a real estate agent, that person will look out for your best financial interests. This is especially important when you’re buying a second home. As with your primary residence, there are a lot of costs that go into…