Orlando Florida Property Choices

By: Colin Stafford

If you're in the market for a piece of, you should understand first of all that Orlando is a sprawling city bisected by Interstate 4 running from the north-east to the south west. It has many different suburbs so, to begin with, you should consider which location matches your requirements the best. Some of the main areas are:

- Sea World, Disney World and other theme parks are to the south west of Orlando. These are obviously tourist "hot spots" - which inevitably means traffic jams on the surrounding roads at peak times such as Easter and Christmas! Clermont, Kissimmee and Davenport are areas close to the theme parks that have expanded during the past ten years with the construction of thousands of vacation homes and condos. A high proportion of these are used as either second homes or investment properties which the owners rent out on a weekly basis to them park visitors. Local and specialized property management companies support this short-term rental industry as it becomes increasingly popular.

- The more expensive residential areas are to the north of the city - Longwood and Winter Park for example. Windermere and Isleworth boast a high proportion of good quality, above-average sized properties and are well-know for local celebrity property owners such as Shaquille O'Neal and Tiger Woods. Nevertheless, you can also find many lower-priced remodeled apartments and condos, if that's what your budget demands: look at Metrowest, which is close to the upscale Millennia Mall and convenient for downtown.

- To the east is the university area. This has grown enormously during the past 5 years and it contains many new sub-divisions with competitively priced homes. The not-too-far-away Atlantic coast and the attraction of Space Shuttle launches make this a highly popular area.

- Orlando has two main airports - Orlando International Airport to the south of the city and Sanford Airport to the north (the one used by many UK charter flight companies). If air travel is a key part of your lifestyle, you might want to focus your property search in or around those two locations.

But even when you've selected one particular geographical area in your search, what next?

You will undoubtedly have a mountain of conflicting and probably inaccurate information:

- By all means use the internet: most buyers now start out that way, and it's a great place to begin. However, do remember that many websites are out of date. Some of the main sites with searchable databases are zillow.com, realtor.com and trulia.com. One word of advice: be very skeptical of any property valuations on these sites because however sophisticated they are, market complexities and anomalies are just too great for the sites to keep pace with!

- Check out local newspapers to find the latest data about property for sale, both new and resale homes. The Orlando Sentinel has an extensive property section.

- Try to find a Realtor you can work with. They cost you nothing because fees are paid by the seller, but look for one who is experienced and with whom you can build a rapport. Look for one also who builds a clear picture of your requirements before zooming in on a particular property or even sub-division.

- Finally, you will need to make an in-person visit. Buying Orlando Florida property is just as demanding as any other, even in the as it is of any other area, despite the growth of computer age of computer technology. So find out for yourself, take nothing at face value and your Orlando Florida property experience should be as enjoyable as possible.