Renting a beachfront condo in SE Florida

[Scuba]

DH and I decided we want to escape the winter in Southern CA next season, at least for a month or two. We've never spent time in Southeastern FL in the winter and would like to try it and check out the diving there. We're thinking of 45-60 days, and will bring our small indoor dog.

I looked on VRBO, Homeaway and Trip Advisor for rentals, and the pickings are already fairly slim. Any other suggestions of good websites for SE FL rentals?

The condo I liked the best is located in Sunny Isles. Is that a good area to stay? I searched the area from Delray Beach down to Miami.

 

[Meadbh]

DH and I decided we want to escape the winter in Southern CA next season, at least for a month or two.

As a Canadian who has many friends who travel to Southern California to escape winter, this made me chuckle!

 

[Richard4444]

The condo I liked the best is located in Sunny Isles. Is that a good area to stay? I searched the area from Delray Beach down to Miami.

I live in Palm Beach County: the reef system (it is a three parallel reef system) is basically all of SE Florida. There are dive ops from Fort Lauderdale and up (that I personally am familiar with) and they all bring you to similar dive sites. I'd rather not live in Broward or Miami / Dade Counties as they both are way over populated and congested (YMMV of course), so I'd look Delray and North even up to 1.5 hours north.

But for a month or two, many places will do just fine.

Rich

 

[gauss]

After 10 days or so of vacation in southern Florida last July, I was ready to come home.

The humidity for me was quite uncomfortable. Very different than southern CA where I once lived back in the day.

You might want to do an exploratory trip first before committing to multiple months.

-gauss

 

[Lagniappe]

July and August are the worse possible times to visit south Florida - hot, humid, and buggy. Scuba is planning to come in the winter, which tends to be sunny, warm, and not humid.

 

[Aerides]

The thing about "winter" in SE Fla, is the weather can be very hit and miss, but over a 6 week period, a good chunk of it should be lovely.

But it's still humid compared to everywhere else. Right now it's showing 68% and it feels lovely and non-humid to me having been down here for decades.

I would also echo north" vs. south. Broward and Dade counties are hella congested. I wouldn't go south of Boca Raton. Some really nice property up through Highland Beach area. Delray has a very nice walkable restaurant/shopping district along Atlantic Ave so it makes for a nice spot for beaches to dinners. You'll want to make sure you actually have beach access in anything you rent, as huge swaths of the beach have no parking access, and/or are private to the condos directly on them.

Jupiter to Vero, that stretch is also quite nice.

 

[Jerry1]

Winter is basically Jan - March. Given that you’re trying for less than those full three months, that could be part of the reason you’re not seeing much to choose from. Many will want a min of those three months.

 

[Freedom56]

DH and I decided we want to escape the winter in Southern CA next season, at least for a month or two. We've never spent time in Southeastern FL in the winter and would like to try it and check out the diving there. We're thinking of 45-60 days, and will bring our small indoor dog.

I looked on VRBO, Homeaway and Trip Advisor for rentals, and the pickings are already fairly slim. Any other suggestions of good websites for SE FL rentals?

The condo I liked the best is located in Sunny Isles. Is that a good area to stay? I searched the area from Delray Beach down to Miami.

If you are talking about one of the new condos on Collins Avenue, It's a good area if you want to spend most of the time on the beach. You need to drive or take public transportation for some night life. There really is nothing walking distance other than more condos. You can take a cab, Uber, bus, or drive to South Beach which has some great restaurants and night life. Some of the condos there are really nice. You won't find anything like that in Southern California. We travel a few times per year to our condo in SE Florida. Since retirement three years ago, we leave Southern California and spend December and January in Florida. From there we sometimes travel to the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, or Aruba. I wanted to flip our condo to a snowbird, but my wife likes spending the winter months in Florida.

 

[gauss]

July and August are the worse possible times to visit south Florida - hot, humid, and buggy. Scuba is planning to come in the winter, which tends to be sunny, warm, and not humid.

Good catch! Thanks. Not sure how I read the thread to think he was coming in the summer.

-gauss

 

[marko]

Winter is basically Jan - March. Given that you’re trying for less than those full three months, that could be part of the reason you’re not seeing much to choose from. Many will want a min of those three months.

We've been wintering in Fort Lauderdale since the 50's.

Your main challenge will be finding a place. Beachfront rentals generally require a 3 month minimum and, because they're hard to find, most people re-up for the next year before they leave in the spring. There's rentals around but I'd find a realtor rather than go online.

As someone noted Delray Beach is a great town with longer term renters and not so many long-weekend transients.

If you're looking at beachfront be prepared for a 3 month minimum but I'd avoid anything less than $3500 a month. There can be some 'challenging' places if you're not careful but usually along the beach will be good stuff. Stay away from anything west of the railroad tracks.

Maybe we're used to it but in the winter we don't find the humidity a problem. Mornings can be 50's but last week we hit 90 during the day.

 

[folivier]

As far as the diving in Florida. It is very dependent on the winds. Visibility varies daily. The fish life and corals are nice in most areas but we've seldom been there when the visibility is nice. There are some deep wreck dives that are usually nice. The keys area is very popular with new divers but with the winter winds the sites are often blown out.
OTOH you are a very short flight or ferry ride over to the Bahamas. Or T&C.

 

[Dash man]

We have a beachfront condo about 20 minutes north of Ft Lauderdale and have a beautiful ocean view. We’re fortunate to not have our view blocked by other condos and overlook a series of seriously expensive mansions owned by people with a billion or more in net worth. Our condo association does require a minimum three month lease and requires association approval of tenants after background checks and interviews.
I disagree with avoiding Broward County. I find the traffic very bearable compared to the Tampa or Sarasota areas, and a pleasure compared to Philadelphia traffic. Being retired, you can pick your travel times to avoid rush hours and to coordinate with drawbridge schedules.

 

[Meadbh]

Good catch! Thanks. Not sure how I read the thread to think he was coming in the summer.

-gauss

Not sure you you also read the thread to think Scuba is a man. She refers to “DH” and her profile says she is female.

 

[kcowan]

I would try contacting the owner of a desirable property and booking 3 months for Jan-Mar 2020. All the good places will be gone for 2019.

 

[Scuba]

As a Canadian who has many friends who travel to Southern California to escape winter, this made me chuckle!

I thought someone would comment on that. Yes, as we age, we’re getting to where we more and more prefer temps at or above 75 degrees. The heat doesn’t bother us but damp and cold does.

 

[bearkeley]

We started traveling the ICW on our Trawler from Maryland to the Keys in October and now starting our way back north. We have looked at real estate all the way down and decided to buy a condo on Hutchinson Island, just south of Vero Beach. We plan to rent it out for the next year then move into it after we sell our primary home, renting it out for the ‘season’ when we travel, so here’s what we learned:

Season is usually winter, starting January. I would suggest looking at December if you have issues finding something. Winter rates are also usually 2-3 times higher than the summer. Most are booked a year in advance by snowbirds who winter in the same condo each year....so book now.

VRBO is where we would advertise for seasonal (same company as homeaway).

Most condos have a 60 day minimum per HOA rules and unfortunately, many don’t allow tenants to have pets, even if they allow owner occupied units to have them, so this might make it a little more challenging.

For those considering Florida in the future, here are some reasons why we chose Hutchinson Island / Treasure Coast:

*Probably one of the last Oceanfront areas in The East Coast of Florida that hasn’t been developed and has development restrictions at an affordable price ($400k for beachfront condo surrounded by State Parks and only 10 mins drive from Vero or Ft Pierce restaurants/shops)

* Boater friendly....afraid not the same for southern waterways. Also just a short trip to the Bahamas

* Diving ok...lobster, lion fish and treasure hunting nearby and shore; 1 hour from Palm Beach reef sites

* Water color is amazing!

 

[Scuba]

We started traveling the ICW on our Trawler from Maryland to the Keys in October and now starting our way back north. We have looked at real estate all the way down and decided to buy a condo on Hutchinson Island, just south of Vero Beach. We plan to rent it out for the next year then move into it after we sell our primary home, renting it out for the ‘season’ when we travel, so here’s what we learned:

Season is usually winter, starting January. I would suggest looking at December if you have issues finding something. Winter rates are also usually 2-3 times higher than the summer. Most are booked a year in advance by snowbirds who winter in the same condo each year....so book now.

VRBO is where we would advertise for seasonal (same company as homeaway).

Most condos have a 60 day minimum per HOA rules and unfortunately, many don’t allow tenants to have pets, even if they allow owner occupied units to have them, so this might make it a little more challenging.

For those considering Florida in the future, here are some reasons why we chose Hutchinson Island / Treasure Coast:

*Probably one of the last Oceanfront areas in The East Coast of Florida that hasn’t been developed and has development restrictions at an affordable price ($400k for beachfront condo surrounded by State Parks and only 10 mins drive from Vero or Ft Pierce restaurants/shops)

* Boater friendly....afraid not the same for southern waterways. Also just a short trip to the Bahamas

* Diving ok...lobster, lion fish and treasure hunting nearby and shore; 1 hour from Palm Beach reef sites

* Water color is amazing!

Thank you for this information. We would be ok with 60 days, but don’t want to leave our dog with his pet sitter for that long. VRBO has pretty slim pickings, probably because the snowbirds have rented the good ones. Another ER poster recommended a realtor who looked for us but unfortunately she learned that the building we liked would be doing major construction next winter. Still looking.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When I looked a few months ago no one wanted pets. Not even a small dog.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

East coast of FL has few if any rentals that accept pets. In fact for the last decade or so at least in terms of beachfront, which is all I'm really interested in, I've stopped visiting the area for that reason. The most pet friendly location I'm aware of is St George Island, off the panhandle, so its the gulf, not the ocean. I have no idea what if any diving opportunities exist in that area. I do know it was a wonderful place for walking the beach, good dining in all price ranges (even beachfront where pets are allowed on the restaurant patio), and plenty of both home and condo rentals, from very simple to relatively luxurious. My German Shepard I had for my last visit, and my friend's schnauzer were welcome everywhere.

 

[Scuba]

I’ve now heard from multiple sources that most buildings don’t allow pets even for owners, let alone renters. This really surprises me. I can’t believe condos that are that restrictive sell in a country where pets, especially dogs, are highly valued. And I would have thought that many snowbirds have dogs. I guess if they do, they don’t go to SE Florida.

Based on all the advice and our own experiences looking, I think we’re going to spend less time in the area, just go down for 4-6 weeks, and leave our dog at home with his pet sitter. We will just stay in hotels so we can move around from area to area and experience more than we could with one home base.

Does anyone know if hotels in SE FL are fully booked in January/February? Or should we be able to find them on short notice? We’d rather be more flexible vs booking everything up front, but if it’s going to be hard to get a room, we’ll reconsider that. Thanks for all of the advice!

 

[bearkeley]

I’ve now heard from multiple sources that most buildings don’t allow pets even for owners, let alone renters. This really surprises me. I can’t believe condos that are that restrictive sell in a country where pets, especially dogs, are highly valued. And I would have thought that many snowbirds have dogs. I guess if they do, they don’t go to SE Florida.

Based on all the advice and our own experiences looking, I think we’re going to spend less time in the area, just go down for 4-6 weeks, and leave our dog at home with his pet sitter. We will just stay in hotels so we can move around from area to area and experience more than we could with one home base.

Does anyone know if hotels in SE FL are fully booked in January/February? Or should we be able to find them on short notice? We’d rather be more flexible vs booking everything up front, but if it’s going to be hard to get a room, we’ll reconsider that. Thanks for all of the advice!

Have you tried AirBNB? Looks like there are a few in Sunny Isles that allow pets. As long as it’s not a holiday, short term hotels or lodging are available but like anywhere else, higher demand as the time dears result in higher rates. Good luck with the search!

 

[Scuba]

Thanks, yes we tried Airbnb, Craigslist, & VRBO. What we found is even if a property showed as available for our dates, many owners responded that they prefer 3 month rentals that time of year. Or there was something else negative about the property (reviews, no view, high price, etc.).

I think the option of moving around without our dog will suit us better for this trip. Maybe we will make some hotel reservations and make sure we book properties that allow short notice changes so we can maintain some flexibility.