So why did we decide to buy a villa in Orlando?… We had been thinking for some time about buying a vacation home and had considered Spain and the Florida Gulf Coast, as well as Orlando.  We decided on Orlando because of the value for money of the properties, the buoyant rental market (they say Orlando is the most visited city in the World!), the year-round sunshine and because there is so much do there!

We contacted a number of organisations that market to UK-based buyers through the internet. After speaking to a few organisations, we found one that seemed very ‘customer-friendly’ - they sent us regular photographs and all of the emails that we sent them were replied to within a matter of hours. We were sent some details on a number of new developments and resales and arranged a trip to look at possible properties, combined with a two-week

vacation in Orlando over Christmas. We were shown round various developments and resales and we settled on a new development at Watersong (which is where we were also staying at the time, in a lovely 5-bed villa). Watersong is a gated community in the Davenport area, which is about 15 minutes’ drive from Disney World.  The property we bought is a five-bedroom, 4½-bathroom pool home, backing onto a conservation area.  It also benefits from a fabulous clubhouse, including a large swimming pool, gym and internet café - all of which are free of charge for us and our guests.

We bought an executive furniture package which was provided by the same interior designer who furnished the villa we were staying in.  She did a fantastic job and everyone who stays there absolutely loves it!

One amusing anecdote of our purchase was when we completed on our new home….we were presented with a nicely packaged gift, tied with ribbons, on behalf of the builders. However, rather than the Champagne etc. that we imagined it would contain, instead it was a set of items including a pack of toilet rolls, some kitchen towels, soap, screwdrivers and a hammer. Well, as least it was practical!

We completed on the villa in late June 2008 and stayed there for a vacation in August.  We adore the house and are back again this Christmas.  In between we have had six rentals (which helps cover the cost) and are really pleased that all our guests have provided great feedback and seemed to have loved the villa as much as we do!

If you are thinking of buying a villa in Orlando, we’d definitely recommend doing what we did - stay in a similar villa first and get a really good feel of what it will be like to own your own dream vacation home! If you want to support the cost of running your home advertsise on villa rental sites such as Wannavilla.com