Fabulous Florida Is Our Family Fortune

Mar 2 2008 Laura Davidson

Place In The Sun The Pauls Snap Up 4-Bedroom Home With Pool For £130,000

With three kids at home, Liz and Ken Paul didn't want to take a massive financial gamble when buying their place in the sun.

Luckily their villa in Florida ticks all the right boxes - it gives them plenty of space for their brood and it didn't cost the earth.

Classroom assistant Liz and IT manager Ken picked up their four-bed luxury property in Orlando for the amazing bargain basement price of £130,000.

Liz said: "When I went out on our inspection trip, Ken couldn't get the time off work to come with me, so I felt a little under pressure making the decision on my own without him seeing it.

"I told him all about the place, though, and we decided between us that it was an opportunity we couldn't pass up. It was an amazing house.

"I can't imagine many areas of Scotland where you'd be able to buy a four-bedroom house for £130,000." Liz, 43, and Ken, 45, live in Bearsden, near Glasgow with kids Graeme, 13, Cameron, 11, and seven-year-old Katherine.

The couple had gone on holiday to Florida themselves before their kids arrived and were hooked on the sunshine state. They fell in love with the place even more when they visited with their family.

Liz said: "It's just the ideal destination for a family holiday because there's something for everyone.

"The Magic Kingdom theme park is really suited to Katherine and the boys like the more adventurous ones like Universal Studios and MGM Studios.

"We all like the scary rides, except Ken, but that's all right because we need someone to wait and hold our bags! The shopping in Florida is amazing as well and there's a fantastic choice when it comes to eating out. We really love it."

The family hooked up with Hazel Kirkland of Florida Select Villas four years ago when they were looking for a property to rent for their holidays.

As well as helping Brits buy property abroad, the company also help owners rent out their villas to holidaymakers.

After renting accommodation on a couple of trips, Ken and Liz began to think they might like a place of their own.

Liz explained: "It was really last summer that we began to consider it seriously. With the pound so strong against the dollar, we knew there were bargains to be had and it was a 'now or never' scenario for us."

Liz went on her inspection trip last November and, with Hazel's help, hunted down a fantastic villa in the Highgate Park development in Orlando.

The property was built in 2004 and was on the market as a resale. The price had been dropped just before Liz arrived on US soil because a previous sale had fallen through and the owners wanted a quick sale.

Liz said: "It was one of those once-in-a-lifetime opportunities - we just had to go for it."

The four-bedroom, threebathroom villa has a large openplan living/dining/kitchen area and a large south-facing screened pool at the back.

They're within a short drive of all Orlando's major tourist attractions as well as the two main airports.

The family put down a 25 per cent deposit from savings and will pay off the balance with a second mortgage. They plan to rent out the villa when they're not using it and will take their first family trip to their new home later this year.

Liz said: "The kids are really excited about it and so are we.

We'd love to spend Christmas out there this year, it would be really different to enjoy the holidays in America.

"We're looking on this as a long-term investment and in the meantime, we've got a great place to enjoy family holidays."

FACTFILE

More than 50,000 Brits own holiday homes/investment property in Florida and new developments are underway all the time.

If you're buying an older property, be sure that the seller is using a standard Contract for Purchase and Sale of Real Estate. This is produced by the Florida Association of Real Estate and Florida Bar Association, and can be tailored to individual needs.

Confirm everything important in writing - verbal agreements are not valid under US law.

Hire a US real estate attorney to review the closing papers and, if you're buying a house still under construction, to draft or review the purchase contract.

Since completion on your property purchase will require all outstanding balances to be paid, factor in enough time to allow for mortgage approval, which generally takes 2-3 weeks in the UK.

For a personal consultation or to find out more about buying property in Florida, contact Hazel Kirkland at Florida Select Villas on 01505 613603 or see www.floridaselectvillas.com