After decades of family holidays staying in rented vacation homes, in April 2021 British couple the Chaters decided it was time to buy their own place in Orlando. And while Covid travel restrictions prevented them from flying to Florida, virtual technology meant they were still able to choose their Disney home from their sofa in the UK!
September 2021 couldn’t come soon enough for retirees Howard and Vanessa Chater from Bishop’s Stortford – it’s when they’re due to fly out to Orlando to visit their new Disney home for the first time.
The couple have purchased a townhouse in the Davenport area of central Florida, just south of Orlando and a short drive from the world-famous theme parks. The transaction completed – or ‘closed’, to use US terminology – on 7th May, while they were back home in the UK. Lockdown meant they hadn’t been able to step inside their new home before deciding
to buy it, let alone be there to collect the keys, at least not physically!
But it’s not like the couple, who have two adult children as well as grandchildren, weren’t already familiar with Orlando and the best areas to buy
a lettable Disney home. They have visited Florida and the US many times and had entertained the idea of buying across the pond for some time.
Seasoned Florida fans!
“We’ve visited Florida and the USA together
29 times but had never done anything like buy
a property there,” said Howard in May 2021.
“We didn’t seriously consider doing it until after
I had retired. That time came in April 2021, following Vanessa’s retirement from teaching during lockdown. Actually, we were inspired to
do it after watching episodes of A Place in the Sun!”
Typically, the Chaters rented villas during their family holidays in the Sunshine State. From their experience, they knew they wanted their own home to be in the Orlando area, where there is plenty to do and a strong vacation rental market. What they also decided was that they wanted a townhouse style property in a gated community, which they felt was more suitable for them as second homeowners based in the UK, compared to a detached villa.
They began their property-hunt in April 2021 when they contacted a realtor, but they soon realised they would need to look elsewhere.
“We had a bad time to begin with but after coming across Garry [the realtor who helped us buy], well,
it was like chalk and cheese,” said Howard, who worked as a counter-fraud specialist in insurance. “He was as good as his predecessor was bad!
I consider it is extremely important to use the right person when purchasing, especially remotely.”
3D viewing
Key to the success of the Chaters’ purchase was the use of 3D viewing technology. Continued Howard: “Garry sent us a list of suitable properties we could view from the UK using a 3D video platform. After being outbid on one property, on 12th April we did a virtual viewing of another one that we really liked. So we quickly made an offer, which was accepted a day or two later. The property was advertised at $302,000 but we agreed a purchase price of $305,000, which included all the furniture. It was a fast moving market and it helped we were cash buyers.”
Offer accepted, their realtor organised a surveyor
to inspect the property. “Once the necessary rectification work had been completed, he personally re-inspected the property for us and supplied photographs,” added Vanessa, a former primary school teacher.
“At one stage, his wife even popped into the property to check one or two things and provide some additional photographs. Meanwhile, I had been researching the rentability of the property
and by looking at its rental history saw quickly
that it had a high occupancy level.”
All that is left is for the Chaters to visit their
new vacation home in person! Part of a gated community called Festival, located on the
edge of ChampionsGate, a large community with two championship golf courses, their four-bedroom 3.5-bathroom townhouse comes with a private pool at the rear. Conveniently close to Interstate 4, Disney World is just 15 minutes away by car and Universal 25 minutes. “Our plan is visit for a month at a time, but not during high season when we want to optimise rental income,” said Howard. “We’ve already appointed a home management agency to look after the property and take care of rentals for us. We just can’t wait to spend September there!”
To visit the rental listing for the Chaters’ property, click here.
The Chaters also featured on Rightmove Overseas
