Last Minute Villas

One of the Last Minute Villas staff visited the near completion Lake Buena Vista Spa and Resort on February 6, 2008 and can report that this condo-hotel resort complex is near completion. Even in a flat condo market their are still investors willing to purchase, perhaps a little more cautiously, but none the less, they realize the wisdom of buying in a area, so near to Disney World, which is always going to generate vacation traffic. Hard hat and construction restrictions have been recently removed so it is only final fitting out which is occurring.

In the centerpiece building, which will house the lobby, there will be a spa on the top floor of over 25000 square feet which is scheduled to open later in the month. Find out more about the Orlando condo-hotel scene in this story

In the state of Florida, there is a statute for what is called the Florida land trust. This enables you to set up a trust, administered by a trustee. This trust can then be used to purchase land. On the public record, the only person mentioned as “owning” the property, is the trustee, though their powers are usually limited by the agreement that they have with the real owner, who is called the beneficiary of the trust. This agreement is not usually held on the public record, so the government and any other interested parties will not know who the true owner is. The agreement also usually binds the trustee to not revealing the identity of the beneficiary, or the real property owner. Even the courts cannot compel the trustee to reveal the owner, as the agreement between trustee and beneficiary is a legal contract that the courts cannot overturn, and that would include the privacy clause.

Walt Disney and his associated companies were able to buy land using Florida land trusts, so no one was able to trace the purchases back to him. This secrecy was essential for the following reasons:

1. it meant that buyers were unaware that there was someone with deep pockets and a goal of obtaining large contiguous tracts purchasing their land. If they had known that, then they would have held out for more, especially knowing that Disney may have really needed that last piece of land to complete his objectives.

2. if all the land is owned by one Disney entity or related entities, then those entities could control local government. For example the city of Lake Buena Vista, FL, is controlled by Disney, and the population of the city is about 15 people. You can bet that they are all Disney employees and if some sort of vote is needed, they are going to follow the company line.

Property investors in Florida should take advantage of the Florida Land Trust if possible, especially if they are renting homes. Having that layer of privacy may make it hard for a predatory attorney to uncover who the owner is, and what their worth is. That means that they may pass on a case rather than have to do lots of research and then maybe find that the owner is leveraged to the hilt on their vacation home.

One of the most difficult tasks for a vacation home owner in Florida is finding a company with the right skilled and licensed people to perform specific work or do repairs to their home when it needs to be done.

Owners ask themselves “can I trust them” then its “are they over charging?”or “will the work be finished on time before the guests arrive?”

We have directly employed skilled and versatile workers that can take care of most of the work that homeowners require. These workers are tried and trusted individuals with a wide variety and range of skills that we are pleased to offer to home owners.

The team is led by Carey, our Licensed and skilled manager, who heads the maintenance, repair and home improvement team. He quotes the price, monitors the work and makes a final inspection once the work is complete.

We will not quote for any work our staff are not licensed to carry out, neither will we do work that contravenes Vacation Home licensing regulations. If you require references please ask, you are welcome to view work completed by our team on our own homes and on customers homes.

The list of work we are licensed and insured to do is quite extensive. However if there is something you would like to have done and you do not see it on the list, please do not hesitate to contact us.

SCOPE OF WORK

Basically if you need it done we will do it! If we cannot do it we will tell you.

This is not an exhaustive list, please telephone or e.mail if you cannot see the work you need doing listed.

Interior and exterior painting.
Dry walling repairs and new walls.
Floor and Wall tiling
Fence installation or repair.
Pool decks repaired,and painted.
Screen material replaced.
Pressure washing.
Bathrooms re modelled
Kitchens re modelled
Garage interiors and floors painted
Closets re modelled
Irrigation systems repaired
Gutters cleaned or installed
Minor plumbing changes
Dispose of unwanted furniture
Change windows
Change doors and locks
Install combination front door locks
Installation of Ceiling fans
Carpets cleaned

Our Florida Vacation Home Owners love the Last Minute Handyman Services

Read some of their testimonials below.

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I have just returned to the UK from Florida today. We were staying at our home in Bailey Circle. I noticed Last Minute Handymen were working on a home diagonally across from our home.

I would like to say that I would have no hesitation on using there services, they worked exceptionally hard and were there from early morning until after five in the evening you could not ask for better than that.

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Dear Stewart,

We would like to congratulate you, as in our opinion you have achieved exactly what you set out to provide honest, hard working, and skilled staff, who provide an excellent professional service at a time to suit owners - thank you for a job extremely well done!

Carey

Andy

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Hello Stewart….. We would just like to say we have had your Handyman/Electrician at our home today to do some work for us.

Thank you for your help.

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Hi Carey,

I will be in touch with regards to the exterior painting – we will probably leave it until after the summer, we have so many other jobs to do as we only got the house in October and are still trying to ‘get it right’. If we need any other work done we would have no hesitation in contacting you – great service, very efficient.

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Dear Stewart

Thanks again and please pass these thanks on to Carrey and his team

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Hello Stewart

Justin and Laura

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The new “strict” enquiries have had to be changed to a pink(ish) colour this is because the colour we originally chose has an effect on M-S sufferers so my sincere apologies to those who were affected.

Over 100 owners are now using the calendar but I notice that there are still some owners with rentors.org links please remove these as soon as possible.

I have decided yet again to close the site to any new Orlando/Kissimmee owners with immediate effect we will once again start a waiting list for homes. This is to ensure you have the same ratio of enquiries to owners as before, (in fact because of the recent changes I think it is even greater).

Existing owners will be able to list extra homes that they purchase. This will of course be continually reviewed. The Last Minute Villas site continues to gain exposure, and climb even higher in the searches.

Last Minute Handyman services also continues to grow,we now have 6 staff. Our range of work is also growing so I have now dedicated pages for each job we complete so that you can see the range,this last month we have been responsible for building screens,extending pool decks and screens,planting trees,painting homes,caring for gardens,repairing doors,installing fans,installing Florida glass etc.

We are also getting so many requests for games rooms that we have put a package together that does the whole job including supplying the games all the information is on the site.

Click here to view Handyman Services

We received this wonderful testimonial from a happy customer, so I thought I’d post it here.

Here’s what she says.

Your website was recommended to me and I made an enquiry about a villa near Disneyworld for the last week of July. I received numerous replies. I was spoiled for choice. Three villa owners actually telephoned me. One from England!

I liked the fact that a shopper could click onto the villa to see various rooms for comparison purposes. I also found that the rental prices listed were negotiable. I ended up choosing a 4 bedroom, 2 bath villa with a swimming pool in Sunset Lake for 6 nights for only $595 including all taxes and fees.

Each bedroom had a TV with DVD player. There was also a Playstation 2 in the lounge with a Dvd player. There was also a game room with Air Hockey and FoosBall and it was within 5 miles of Disneyworld. This should keep the teenagers entertained.

I also liked the fact that it was a gated community. I have never rented a villa before and it was less expensive to rent a villa than a hotel room. There are 4 of us traveling. Myself, my adult daughter and two 14 year old grandchildren (a girl and a boy). Each of us will have our own bedroom.

I did check various hotels. The least expensive room that I could find near Disneyworld was a 1 bedroom suite with a King bed and a hideaway sofa for $109 a night plus a rollaway bed would have been an additional $20 a night not including taxes. A medium range room with two double beds at a Disney resort would have been $149 a night not including taxes and I still needed a rollaway bed.

If we had rented a hotel, we would have all been in the same room with one bathroom and one television. It would have been a little crowded. Needless to say, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and a private swimming pool in a villa vs all of us in one room at $46-$68 per night cheaper! No brainer!

I also liked the fact that there was a grocery store nearby so that we could have most of our meals at the villa thus avoiding the high costs of eating in restaurants or at the amusement parks. We can go to the parks, come back to the Villa during the heat of the day and have lunch, swim, maybe nap and then return to the park later in the day.

We travel next week so I’ll know more then. I’m sure that I will be satisfied. The villa owner e-mailed me most of the information and booking the villa was easy. I know that if we have a nice holiday that I’ll always book a villa vs a hotel room in the future. Thank you for your website.

Every villa owner that contacted me was gracious. I really had a lot of choices. It was a joy shopping for a villa on your website. Thanks again!

Mary Osborne

Its been a long time since you have been subjected to a general newsletter. OH NO - I hear you cry!!

I have felt the need for quite a considerable time to document my feelings as to where the rental market and Vacation Home sale market is at present.

Its very easy - in my opinion ITS UNSUSTAINABLE.

Property prices are still rising by really silly amounts. Yes that’s great on the surface, but match today’s house prices with what people are quoting for rentals, anybody seen a 20 or 30% rise in their income from guests?

Anybody seen flight prices coming down?
Anybody seen car rentals coming down?
Anybody seen attraction prices coming down?

It seems obvious to me that any form of economics will show that if you have a home and have a mortgage of anything in excess of $1000 with all the associated costs like utilities, management, taxes, replacement and upgrades, and if a home is being rented for anything less than $80 a night based on 35 weeks rentals that home is being run at a loss.

I have seen evidence that homes are being rented for less than that. Fortunately I have seen more evidence that owners are sticking to their guns and getting what their home is really worth.

This is not a Last Minute syndrome. In fact I have been told by many owners that because we are so popular its easier to stick out for the rates but yes there are other sites that lead owners to desperate measures.

I am not for one minute suggesting that a market economy is wrong but I feel for the people that have been left in desperate situations by false promises by a whole myriad of people over here,in fact I suppose to cut prices is the first reaction!

Unfortunately I think all that does is delay the final sad outcome.

I enjoy speaking to owners when they come to visit their homes. It’s a fascinating insight as to how people operate their homes interestingly, and I think surprisingly, its usually owners of less than 18 months who offer low prices. (I would have thought the high property prices would preclude this!)

The long term owners, even though they could afford it in the main, are not lowering their rates unless its a special one off deal.

The long term people, I think, say to themselves, we have seen all this before - potentially supply outstripping demand, and these long term owners wait until all the other homes are filled with cheap rentals and then they know they can get the price they need to survive. A good strategy?? That’s your decision!

I see Florida being full this year probably one of the best years for the past 5 years yet I do not see too many owners taking advantage of this. And when we are already getting enquiries for 2006 and 2007 I find it difficult to understand the panic.

Yes, I hear you say, but what about the other sites?

Unfortunately I have no control over them, but you can at least have your say and try to have some sort of influence over other owners.

I am not advocating a price cartel or anything like it but I can see disaster ahead and the only winners??

Realtors!! The very people that probably got many owners in to the situation they are in now.

DO NOT BLAME internet sites for this, or for owners not getting bookings. With sites like ours, you, the owners are in control!

If the enquiries come through, its your skill to convert them to bookings, its your decision as to the pricing, its your web site that is the brochure for the guests to view, its your techniques for making sure converted bookings are satisfied.

Our job is to have the most popular site , getting visitors, getting enquiries and not having too many owners competing for the same enquiries. This I am proud to say I think we do well.

Vacation rentals are a business and like everything its supply and demand but it only takes one owner to drop the price below realistic levels to create a precedent.

Hence the “I have been quoted XXXX can you beat it?”

As always its your decision you know what works for you.

That’s it. I just felt that maybe this might help to try to clarify a situation which unless it improves as far as rental rates are concerned will cause a lot of heartache for people in the future.

Hence my “UNSUSTAINABLE” comment.