While in the past the majority of international buyers were retirees, the current buyers from overseas are getting younger and younger. Many of them are trying to secure a piece in paradise with a clear investment strategy. Use the home for a couple of weeks each year for themselves and rent it out to vacationers in order to cover the expenses like insurance and taxes. Just a combination of 2^nd home and investment.

However they have to keep an eye on one thing: Long term rentals don’t work, as they want to use the home or condo several times per year for themselves. They could rent it to snowbirds, but many homes are just too high priced in order to rent for 3 months or more. And many retirees are locked with their pension portfolios right now and have to scale back on their winter plans.

So these foreigners are advertising their homes as extended vacation places for other people who prefer the amenities of living in a community against staying at hotels for stay between a few weeks to several months.  Many communities in the Bradenton/Sarasota area however show relatively tight rental restrictions regulating the number of times per year a property can be rented out and/or minimum leases terms. Some restrictions are manageable, but if you are limited to a minimum of 6 months or just once per year, or even no rentals at all, it’s a “No-Go” for every investor.

Recent calculations show a loss in usability of about 25% – 33% for an identical property with or without rental restrictions. That’s about $100,000 on a $300,000 property in usability loss. The stricter the restriction the higher the loss. Because not everybody is planning to rent at this point the loss in property value might be a little less dramatic. As – however – in future more and more people are living on tight budgets, condos and homes with higher restrictions will have a lower potential of possible gain in value.

 For the homeowner it’s a disaster, just imagine: If somebody from your neighborhood knocks on your door and asks for support of new rental restrictions, ask yourself why they want to take $100,000 from your money? And if your association already has strict rental restrictions in place, ask yourself what you would do with the $100,000 if they get rid of them.

And the community is suffering, too: You have foreclosures or unpaid dues in your community? Maybe the owners are just not able to rent / sell their place as fast as possible. By time, they get late in the HOA dues and the community is suffering.

A well-off investor from overseas with cash in a property will probably be the best add-on for your community. So watch out and make sure you stay attractive for this clientele!

For more information on how to market your property locally and internationally please contact:

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Homeaway.com has the largest and most diverse selection of homes around the world, with nearly 180,000 properties across 120 countries.

HomeAway is funded by Austin Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Technology Crossover Ventures and Trident Capital.  The company is based in Austin, Texas and has offices in London and Ashtead, England; Kassel, Germany; and Paris and Marseille, France.

“We are happy we could get homeaway.com on board”, says Axel Weiss, founder of Weiss International Realty. “Our clients deserve the very best advertising for their precious properties and we are providing that. Buying a second home in Florida is still a dream for many vacationers from all over the world. Being able to reduce the burden of ownership by renting it part time can make your dream come true. The good thing is, you enjoy it for your vacation now and you are building equity for the future.”
 

About Weiss International Realty
Weiss International Realty is the international Florida Real Estate Company. Founded by Axel Weiss who has been an active Real Estate investor in Europe and North America for over 20 years, Weiss International Realty brings the international touch into Florida’s Real Estate market.

Weiss International Realty is headquartered in Bradenton / Sarasota, Florida and currently covers  8 of the most attractive areas for the international clientele in Florida from the Key West to Daytona Beach and from Sarasota to Cape Coral. In addition, Weiss International Realty has local representatives in the European cities of Munich and London. For more information, visit www.weissinternational.com.

Weiss International Realty
Axel Weiss, Broker
Bradenton, FL 34280
Ph. (941) 866 1666
www.weissinternational.com

Flanked by business and real estate leaders, Crist put his name to HB 521. The bill lowers the burden of proof for owners who dispute property tax assessments to a preponderance of the evidence – a lower standard than the clear and convincing threshold they now must meet to overturn a property appraiser’s estimate.

Local governments had successfully scuttled earlier efforts to lower the standard. In the just-signed version, property appraisers still enjoy the presumption that their estimates are correct, but the legislative analysts say the bill will cost local governments $157 million during the current fiscal year, increasing to $693 million a year by 2013.