2017 Updates

It's been a long time since we posted and it's time we fixed that!  So lets get right to it. Continuous improvement is the name of the game and here is what has been done this year:

• Games Room overhaul (this is the big one)

• A new larger fridge to make big group vacations easier!

New outdoor clock and thermometer (F and C).

• We added a new clock in our African room that has USB plug to charge your phone.  
• Paint touch ups throughout.
• A new hidden Mickey for our youngest guests to find.
• New pool cues for the table.
• New games, cards and shelf in the games room.
• New linens, mats

Checking-In at Mickey's Garden Villa

Planning a vacation is a lot of fun.  If it is your first time staying in a vacation rental you may have a lot of questions.  One thing that is important to understand is what happens on your check-in day.  At least one week prior to your arrival we will send out written instructions that you can print out and keep for reference.

Check-in time is 4:00 pm.  We have guests request early check-in times and if our schedule allows we will accommodate.  During peak vacation times such as summer this may not be possible. 

We have a keyless entry system at the house. We provide all guests with the opportunity to choose their own code. If there is not a preferred code we randomly assign one for the duration of your stay. The code that you use during your stay will work on all doors with an electronic lock. 

When you arrive at Windsor Palms you will need to register your vehicle at the gatehouse. Our resort is a 24hr manned gated community. After the first time you stop at the gate and receive your pass you will not need to stop and register again, just make sure that your permit is visible when you pull up to the gate.

You are almost there!! We have parking for 2 cars in the driveway and if needed one car can be parked on the street.  If you have more vehicles than this we would appreciate if they were parked up at the clubhouse where there is ample parking. Please make sure that no cars are parked on the lawn, the grass and sprinkler system will appreciate it!

Once at the house you can proceed to the front door.  To unlock the door follow the instructions in the video posted below:

Welcome to your vacation! We hope that you have a wonderful time and feel free to contact us with any questions.

What's New at Windsor Palms?

It has been way to long since I put up a new post and thought it was about time, so here I am.  Things are moving along well down in the land of sunshine.  Since my last update we've made a few more improvements.  We have replace the child safety fence by the pool,  the blinds going out to the pool and purchased some additional pool cues for family fun.  Not big changes but every little bit helps.
Some big changes have arrived at Windsor Palms thought.  Just this month the new Tiki Bar has opened by the pool at the clubhouse.  The sundry shop has also been enlarged and totally renovated, it looks amazing. 

 

The sundry shop has basic food items, souvenir items and even popcorn for the movies.  Right now the Tiki Bar is serving food and non-alcoholic beverages. The liquor license should be in place anytime now. Check out the menu below, pretty reasonable and some nice options for a nice snack or meal by the pool. 

 

 

 

I think that this is a great addition to the community and we can't wait to check it out on our next visit!  What do you think, is this a good addition to the resort? Would you take advantage of it if you were vacationing? Thanks for stopping by. 



From the Longest Short Sale, to the Quickest close!

Things have finally settled down after a very crazy week.  Our involvement in a very long short sale left us disappointed and drained, but we bounced back and found an even better home!  Our closing actually happened this time. The house is still located in the amazing Windsor Palms Resort, it is 1.5 storeys, with an amazing open concept design, soaring ceilings and lots of room for everyone to spread out.  Outside we still have a large private pool with waterfall spa, and lots of space to relax!

The closing was a whirlwind experience. I don't know if we could have done it if we hadn't been prepared to close on the other house.  What was different about this closing though was that we had existing rental bookings that would carry over with the house sale. We ended up closing on Thursday, to give us a bit more time to prepare for guests arriving on Saturday.  Everything fell into place before guests arrive and by the end of the weekend we had most of our advertising in place.

With guests arriving each Saturday for the rest of the month, I've been fielding calls and emails all week.  Today we made our first booking through Home Away.  Now we have a booking for July as well.  I have to admit I was/am concerned about being able to get people into the house, when we took possession during peak season.  Getting the reservation today and having our listing live on VRBO and Dwellable, is easing my fears.

I have to admit that I am getting excited about our trip in July. I am a big kid at heart and can't wait to go to Disney and check out New Fantasyland!  There are so many things I would like to do at Disney World, but I don't know if we will be able to do it all this trip.  Our just turned 7 year old son is a Lego fanatic and LEGOLAND is a must this trip.  We will be arriving not long after the opening of the new Lego World of Chima area, this is fitting as we just had a Lego Chima birthday party for him.

Our "to do" list is still long and we have lots to do before we leave to head south. For the moment though I'm going to work on getting more sleep than I have been.  Have a great week everyone!

And the Drama Continues!

It was a beautiful day today. Although, between work and getting some phone calls in for the house in Florida we didn't get to enjoy much of it.  Today brought another element of drama to this process. Let me set up the situation for you....

• Thursday we finally get the call that the banks have said yes to our offer and we need to pick a closing date and get the inspector organized. We ask that our Realtor find out if there is anyone renting the home or scheduled to rent the home.
• Friday we get the word that the house is vacant and we can close anytime between now and June 7th. Fair enough, and we settle on the 22nd. Inspector called and agreeable to do the inspection Monday morning.
• Late Friday we find out there are actually guests in the home right now.  Some organizing is going to have to happen to get the inspector in.
• Saturday-the powers that be have agreed to the inspection on Tuesday at 9:30am. Woo Hoo! Now we are still hesitant to finalize to many things until we get the inspection report, but we move forward with a few things.
• Monday-not a lot of action.
• Tuesday-inspection completed and lots of little things. And some things that really should be taken care of or compensated for by the seller as they were in working order when we put the offer in on the house.
• Wednesday, now this is things start to get interesting (if you want to call it that).  We talk with our Realtor about the inspection and the outcome and the issues we would like to be compensated for or fixed. But here comes the unexpected news.  The current property manager for the home, calls and demands that we honour a booking he has for the house starting on the 24th for 2 weeks.  As much as I feel for the guests, at this point I'm thinking this isn't my problem. Harsh maybe but it's the way I feel.

So where do we go from here, do we end up changing our plans, does this guy back down and just find his guests a different home to rent. I don't know, but we need it decided by Friday. If we are going to change our plans then it would be nice to have a little notice. Not to mention that we have to deal with bank transfers and that needs some planning.  Such is the story of this house purchase.  Just when you think things are going smoothly, you hit a bump along the way.

On the bright side, we've at least gotten the inspection done, we've talked to the soon to be new property managers (who seem great, nice, easy to talk to!) and we've made our to do list. Tomorrow I'll work on the insurance policy, already quoted, I just need to get pictures to the agent and clarify the policy.  Phew! I'll be glad when we get all this stuff done and we can just get down to business. We are excited to open up our new home to vacationers looking to relax and enjoy all that Florida has to offer.

May 22nd Sounds Like a Good Day to Close on a House

So the 2-3 days it would take to get written approval turned into 12 days.  Our Realtor received a copy of the written approval from the second bank this past Tuesday. We only heard about it last night! I think our Realtor was more excited than we were.  We are excited, it is just that it's taken so long that it's almost surreal.  So, you might be wondering why we only got the news last night that we finally had approval.  Before giving us the news, our Realtor wanted to see the approval letter from the first bank. So with both letters in hand we got our good news!

So many things were running through our heads. First we had to pick a closing date, we have family coming to visit later in the month and we didn't want to miss their visit entirely. We have to close before June 7th.  So after some discussion we settled on May 22nd. It gives us about 2 weeks to get everything in order to close.  I am scheduled to work on the long weekend and I may need to do some scrambling to get all my work in order in time to leave, I'm not worried though.

Today, I had to get the inspection of the house organised.  First though I had to check with the Insurance company to see if it would be advantageous to us to have a wind mitigation inspection. The answer was a big no, so we won't waste our money on that one.  I gave a call to the inspector we had decided on previously. Unfortunately he is going on vacation today, until next Saturday and we need the inspection done in 7 days. So onto our second choice! All is now settled, money paid, info for the Realtor provided so the inspector can gain access to the house on Monday. We'll have our inspection report by Monday evening.  When we have that report and we make sure we're okay with any potential issues, then we can celebrate! It will be official then.

We are so ready for this to happen. So as of today our closing date is May 22 and then we will be open for business. We now have to update our web page, Facebook, Twitter, Pintrest and Google+. We are excited to be close to welcoming our first guests. Stay tuned for more updates. Thanks for following our journey so far. 

I'm Speechless!

For anyone who knows me personally, speechless is not something I ever am!  This week there were A LOT of emails and phone calls flying around in central Florida.  Frustration is mounting for all parties in this transaction.

We understand the Short Sale process, as much as anybody can. But what I don't understand is why the banks sit on these offers so long. It makes no sense.  They aren't getting any money from the seller because they can't afford it and they're not making any money on the sale because they won't sign the darn paperwork approving it. Arrgh!  Since the seller is dealing with 2 banks it is more complicated but this is verging on ridiculous!

Our Realtor was on Fire this week, trying to get the attorney negotiating the sale to try and escalate things. As I understand it if this goes on much longer then more costs will be incurred and then one or both of the banks will need to make some adjustments. This could drag things on even longer.

Honestly other than stating the facts of what's going on I don't know what else to say.  I have no urgency to do anything else related to this purchase, other than wish it would come to a conclusion.  We are all in need of a vacation, and 30C in Kissimmee, is much more inviting than the 3C and snow we have here this morning.

Enjoy your weekend!

One Year Later.....

So a year has passed since we put the offer in on this house. Yes a year, I can hardly believe it.  When we embarked on this journey we expected that we would have the house withing 3-6 months. Even though we new longer was a possibility I don't thing we actually believed that it would take this long!

As of today the status is this: all paperwork is in and we now wait for the investor to make a decision. If they come back with a different offer than what they said they wanted before Christmas I will pull my hair out and tell them to stuff it! (Well unless they decide they want less money, but I doubt that will happen). This process has certainly had it's ups and downs and has frustrated me on more than one occasion.

Our potential House Hunter's appearance also hangs in the balance.  It would be such a fun experience, but all things have to fall into place. Only time will tell at this point. So with a little luck and some more patience on our part maybe we will see this purchase through to the end.

Although this part of the journey is hopefully coming to a close, it will be just the beginning of our journey.

Enjoy the rest of the week!!

Frustrated!

Frustrated is definitely the word I would use to describe how I feel about this process this week.  It's been weeks since we decided to accept the banks price on the house.  We have some friends going to Florida next month and we're taking bets on who will get there first.  The seller's law firm felt that this go around the process could be as quick as one month, start to finish. I can't see that happening. This week the update, such as it was told us that the lawyer/negotiator was having difficulty with the equator system processing the short sale. What that means, I don't really know. Your guess is as good as mine!

What I can tell you is that another set of friends of ours went to Florida over the holidays and happened to stay with some relatives in the same resort where our home could be. Since it's been almost a year since our offer went in they were gracious enough to stop in (with the help of our amazing Realtor-Shaun Reed) and take a look and some pictures. We've had some brief discussions with them, but I'll tell you more about that later and maybe share a few pictures.

We also got some more information from the seller: new pool pump in the last 3 months-that's a bonus and I think the HVAC unit inside was new in 2004.  Nothing earth shattering but it's something. That's it for my update. I'm hoping the next one will be more exciting. Have a great weekend!

A New Kind of Waiting

Well it's done. We've countered the bank's counter offer. 

It's a new kind of waiting now.  Our Realtor, who incidentally has been great over the last 10 months, spoke with the negotiator this morning. It seems the bank is not giving us only one shot at accepting their counter. So we went in with a counter offer that felt right to us and it gives us room to move one more time if need be.  One of the questions we had was "how long do we have to wait now?", the negotiator appears to think that we should hear back with in a week. Hopefully.  At this point I'll take a week, we've waited this long why not a little longer.

If we can get past this hurdle and the bank accepts our offer, there's only one thing that has to be resolved and it has nothing to do with us.  The Second Bank...although any negotiation with this bank will not affect our offer, it could certainly stop it from happening.  From what I understand the second mortgage holder is not going to let the seller get away without paying them back some money.  This may be the sticking point.  I understand from previous conversations that she-the seller, is willing to pay back something but how much, I don't know.

More waiting, that's what it all comes down to.  We should be used to it by now, but I'm not. So I will continue waiting, and waiting and hope that our answers come sooner rather than later.  Have a great day everyone!

Negotiation

We got news....FINALLY! Something new to actually tell you about.

For those of you who don't know I work in health care and do home visits and have been slowly increasing the number of people I see each week since both kids are now in school full days. Today was busy and just as I was getting ready to head out the door the phone rang. Long distance, which really isn't all that all unusual in our house so I picked it up. I noticed it was a 407 area code, but honestly I didn't think much of it as I was focusing on going to work!

It was, as I'm sure you've guessed, our Realtor.  He was calling to tell us that we've now moved onto the next phase of the short sale process.  NEGOTIATION. Eek, initially my mind was racing but it came to a halt pretty fast when I realised what we being told. So are you wondering what he told us? Well the bank has come back to us with a counter offer.  I won't bore you with numbers, but I will tell you this, we have to answer their counter on Monday.

What we need to do now,  is decide where to meet the bank. We move, don't move, meet them half way. Decisions, decisions.  Whatever we go back to them with is by no means a guarantee that the deal will go through.  The way it was explained to us is that this is the only negotiating we will do about the price. That is what the first bank has control over. The second bank still has the right to reject the offer. Why they would do this, is beyond me. I cannot imagine why they would do this but I'm not a bank.

We've already reviewed the properties around the house that we know have sold in the last year. What I don't know is which ones have sold in the last 6 months. Tomorrow our Realtor is going to send us the most recent ones so we can make an informed decision. I think we already know what we're going to do but it doesn't hurt to do some additional research.

When Monday comes our Realtor will speak with the negotiator and get a feel for what they think the bank will go for. Now we wait for Monday to come. It's a good thing we have a lot to keep us occupied this weekend. Thanks for dropping by and have a great weekend!

Another School Year Begins!

Happy September Everyone! 

I can't believe that school starts in just 2 days. My youngest is getting ready for his first year of all day school, Grade 1 already.  There are a lot of mixed feelings from the kids about going back. We'll see how it all goes this week.  With my daughter's birthday party out of the way (our sorting hat cake turned out well, will post about it later) and school preparations almost done. I'm going to have to turn my attention back to this darn house in Kissimmee.

Things seem to be happening in the background. The lawyer communicates regularly with the seller. We've been getting more regular updates than previously. Honestly we'd just like to get it done, so we've been told it's not like starting over with the seller having hired a new lawyer, but it does feel like it's been going on forever! We didn't see an update this past Friday as people had scheduled an extra long weekend, but I'm looking forward to hearing something on Tuesday.

One of the things I'm going to turn my attention to in the next month is putting together lists of things to do, near the house.  Shopping, theme parks, golf are a few things that would be included. What things would you like to know about if you were staying in a vacation home?  Places to find good mini-golf? Near-by restaurants?  Please let me know!  If you've rented a home before your input would be appreciated as to what would be good to know and if you've never rented before, what would you like to know.

Thanks in advance for your comments and you can also let us know if there is anything you would like to know about as well!

Another Snag in the Plans...

Well tomorrow is the day we will sign yet another extension on this house purchase.  Next Wednesday will mark 7 months since we had our offer accepted on the house in Kissimmee.

So you're wondering what happened to it's getting close! Well we obviously are thinking the same thing. Well stuff happens right. So I think that I'll give up on thinking we're close until we see an acceptance letter from the bank! This is what's happening as best as I can explain.  As I think I've explained before the owner of the house basically has 2 mortgages.  The second mortgage lender is being insistent that they get all their money and the seller wants to make sure she gets the best deal out of this and has the least amount of money to pay back. 

The bank assesses the value of the property, the BPO, this was originally done back in February I believe.  The appraisal was higher than anyone thinks is fair (including our agent, and frankly based on what I've seen, Me). In order to try and rectify this differing opinion another BPO (brokers price opinion) has been ordered. In addition to that the owner has to resubmit some paperwork with updated numbers and I believe that was done yesterday.

At this point since no one has a crystal ball we have no idea how long this will take!  If there was some other property in the area we wanted at the price we are willing to pay then maybe we'd jump ship but right now there just isn't anything.

Tomorrow I will fax off our extension and get some things squared away at the bank so we can do a timely money transfer when the time comes. It gives me something to do. Thank goodness it's summer and I have lots to keep me busy.  Unfortunately all these ups and downs mess up my plans sometimes.

So we wait....some more...

What Else is there to do when You go to Florida?

We are approaching 6 months since our offer was accepted by the seller on the house. While I patiently wait for an update this week I thought I'd put down some of the great things to do in Florida. We missed getting to see Star Wars weekends (maybe next year), so I need to have a list of other things we can do this time we visit.  Just about everyone knows about Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando, Busch Gardens and more recently LEGOland Florida but what else can you do to fill some time while on vacation. Below I'll list some things I've come across or know of through friends and family.

1. Gatorland (www.gatorland.com)
    My nephews had a blast here and where else can you sit on a gator and get your picture taken?
    They also have a nice water play area for the kids.
    It's about 17 miles and 25-30 mins from Windsor Palms.

2. Lets go to the BEACH
    Coco Beach (www.cityofcocobeach.com), about 90 minutes (75 miles) from Windsor Palms. This
    beach is very near NASA (another great destination) and Cape Canaveral.
    Clearwater Beach (www.clearwaterflorida.com), beautiful white sand beach and among other
    things, you can visit the Clearwater aquarium to visit Winter the dolpin -of Dolphin     Tale fame
    (www.seewinter.com). About 90 minutes and 87 miles from Windsor Palms.

3.  One of my favourite things to do is MINI GOLF.
     Florida has some of the most amazing mini-golf courses I've ever seen (although I'm sure there
     others elsewhere). Here are a few to check out: Winter Summerland and Fantasia at Disney
     www.disneyworld.com, Hollywood Drive-in golf at Universal Orlando,                                           
     www.universalorlando.com;  Pirates Island Golf in Kissimmee is fun with 2 different courses, find
     them at www.piratesislandgolf.com; finally there is Congo River Golf, www.congoriver.com.

4.  OLD TOWN (www.myoldtownusa.com)
     Kind of like a year round amusement park there is quite a bit to do. There is a ferris wheel and one
     amazing looking go-kart track. A good way to spend a couple of hours if you want to get out but
     don't want to make a whole day of it. About 15 mins and 8 miles from Windsor Palms.

5.  ECO Safaris (www.floridaecosafaris.com)
     I think I've mentioned this one before, but I think it looks like a lot of fun. (About an hour away
     from Windsor Palms.

I think that gives you a few more things to mull over when planning your trip.  There are tons of things you can do. I remember as a teenager going to Sarasota and visiting the Barnum and Bailey museum....maybe you'd see Nick Wallenda while you're there! 

Hopefully I'll have another entry later this week with an update on the house. Until then have a great week!

So you're Renting a Vacation Home, Now what?

I've been struggling to decide what I would write about next.  I started this blog to chronicle our journey into the world of vacation home ownership, but what I didn't know at the time was that there would be so much waiting involve.  How boring would it be if I blogged weekly about how we're still waiting (which we are and my regular Friday update confirmed this). So today I thought I'd let everyone know what their options are for groceries when staying at a vacation home, at the Windsor Palms Resort specifically.

Even prior to jumping into this crazy process I was aware of Garden Grocer (www.gardengrocer.com). They do deliveries to the theme park hotels, private homes and vacation homes in the Kissimmee/Orlando area.  I know people personally that have used their service and have been very pleased with it.  When you visit their website you will need to set up an account, they have many payment options which will make most people happy. They have plenty of items to select from and even label organic, gluten free and kosher items. You can select your delivery date and time. It would be great to arrive at your vacation home and have your groceries arrive just after you. It certainly would make your first day or two less hectic. I will be posting a link to their website on the blog and the website so you can go directly there at anytime.

If you, like me look forward to the stroll through an American grocery store to check out all the different stuff then there are plenty of options nearby Windsor Palms. All within 10-15 minutes from the house. There is a Grocery store, a 24 hr Walgreens and numerous restaurants within 2 miles (3.2km ).  You can also head to a Super Target which is 3.8 miles (6km ), 10 minutes away, Walmart Supercentre 10.2 miles (16km) or the Publix Supermarket which is 4 miles (6.5km) away.

It is great that the Resort is so close to so many places.  Since it is self-catering only minimal supplies of toilet paper and soap will be provided by the management company. If we had to drive really far (us included) it wouldn't be quite as much fun.  Getting settled in and being able to enjoy a simple meal (BBQ anyone) by the pool sounds like a great way to start a vacation, I can't wait to do it myself.

Have a great weekend Everyone!

Social Media and What I've learned so far!

We are now almost 3 months into our Vacation Home journey! It's been a fun journey so far, I've learned a lot about an industry I knew nothing about before. Hopefully at the end we'll be rewarded with a beautiful home. I just want to get down to Kissimmee and get the house ready and have some fun!

So far I've learned a lot,  but I think the thing I've learned the most about is social media. Most of us have been exposed to facebook or twitter. I was surprised though by how far reaching it all is.  One of the first thing I did when we started this journey was this blog!  It has been a great place to tell our story and share some information that I've learned over the years.

During my research before we put the offer on the house,  I came across some other rental properties on facebook. I loved the thought of utilising social media to find people to rent our home to and have a place to post pictures and keep people up to date. I made the page about the same time as I started the blog but I held of publishing it. In the end I decided to do it and get the word out, it's been great and I enjoy keeping everyone who follows our page up to date on some of the goings on in the orlando/kissimmee area!

Twitter came next (@mickeygrdnvilla), we now have an amazing 79 followers now.  It is an amazing way to connect with people and keep up to date with news. I've also connected with some other vacation home owners. I enjoy re-tweeting their specials or information. It is great to build a network of other people in the area who have homes. I've learned a lot by watching what they tweet about and how they reach out to people in the twitterverse (hysterical I know, the words amaze me). 

Next I found Pinterest.  To me it's like having access to everyone's bulletin boards! And they post anything from how they want to decorate their houses, to places they want to visit or food/recipes they find!  This is the one I don't think I've mastered yet. So come by and visit us! It is a lot of fun and I'm working on making it even better.

I think the most fun I had was getting our own web address and website! mickeysgardenvilla.com I'm still working on the website but it's coming along and I think it's looking good.  I think I changed what it looked like about 10 times before I settled on a look for the site.  I finally know what html is and how to use it (well sort of, I can add it to a page but that's about it). It's been a learning experience.

Overall I've enjoyed the experience of learning how to use social media! There are many other places I have yet to venture (or like google +, just trying to figure out).  I've seen or heard of tumblr, 4 square and I have instagram on my phone but haven't used it.  It's been a wild ride and I've loved exploring all these different types of media but most of all, I've loved connecting with all of you in these different areas.  So thanks again for reading and visiting, and I hope to connect with you all at some point!

Travel Planning

Happy Monday everyone! I hope that everyone had a nice weekend and that anyone celebrating a holiday was able to do so with family or friends. 

I've not posted anything in awhile so I had to think about what I should share with everyone.  We're still waiting on the final bank decision and I'm hoping it's soon. Plans are still moving along though and you can find us at www.mickeysgardenvilla.com as well.

Whenever I start thinking about travelling to Florida I get into planning mode. I'm not a rigid traveller once I'm at my destination but I like to know what I can do or want to do when I get there. Over the years I've used a few sources quite a bit. It's amazing what you can find on the Internet these days and I'm often searching for new sources of information. I'll break down my favourites for you below.

Books

For Disney my favourite is The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World

If you'd like a souvenir when you're done PassPorter has the following:

PassPorter's Walt Disney World 2012: The Unique Travel Guide, Planner, Organizer, Journal, and Keepsake! by Jennifer Marx, Dave Marx and Allison Cerel Marx (Spiral-bound - Dec 13 2011)

Frommer's also has an excellent guide to Florida that we have purchased and it shows all the different areas in the state and where to go, see, do in each place.

Web

I personally love having a book to flip through when planning but using the Internet to do your research is amazing. The information you can find is great.  From dedicated websites of the place you are visiting, to discussion boards and blogs you can find professional opinions and feedback from travellers just like yourself. I've listed some of my favourites below.

www.mousesavers.com  (you'll find some info about other attractions as well, but mostly about Disney)

www.undercovertourist.com (Great prices on tickets, even better if you sign up for the mousesavers newsletter. And I think their apps for iPhone and android, and on facebook are great planning tools)

www.orlandoinformer.com (this one if for Universal Orlando and they also have a crowd calender to help with planning, as well as great information on the parks)

www.chipandco.com (for park news, planning and more)

www.allears.net

www.visitkissimmee.com

These are just some. We follow some great resources on twitter, so look us up (@mickeygrdnvilla). And we follow some amazing pages on Facebook (so check us out and LIKE our page).  We would love to answer any vacation questions or point you in the right direction.  Thanks again for taking the time to read.