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If you own a rental property in Orlando, you’ve probably heard this pitch before:
“Just buy a home, hire a property manager, and enjoy passive income.”
We wish it were that simple.
At Verandah, we manage homes across Greater Orlando and we need to say this plainly:
Your rental property is a decaying physical asset, not a vending machine.
Even with excellent professional management, it still needs ongoing investment, updates, and full “turns” between tenants if you want to attract well-qualified renters and protect your long-term return.
This isn’t bad news—it’s the real math of successful rental ownership in today’s market. Let’s break it down.
1. Orlando’s New Reality: Your Competition Is Fierce
Orlando’s rental market is no longer the “list it and lease it in a weekend” environment many owners remember.
Orlando has seen strong rental construction since 2019 as builders responded to population growth and earlier low vacancy rates.
Florida is in the middle of a build-to-rent boom, with over 13,000+ single-family rental homes in various stages of construction—many of them highly “Instagram-ready” communities along the I-4 corridor, including around Orlando.
Nationally, a rising wave of “accidental landlords” (owners who couldn’t sell at their desired price) is adding even more rentals into the pool, especially in Sunbelt markets. That extra supply is slowing rent growth and giving tenants more choices.
What does that mean for you?
Well-qualified tenants can choose. They’re comparing your home with brand-new build-to-rent communities, professionally staged resales that didn’t sell, and other updated rentals.
They’re not just asking: “Is it affordable?”
They’re asking: “Is this property worth this price compared to everything else out there?”
If your home looks tired while the competition looks fresh and modern, your days-on-market go up and your rent goes down.
2. “I Pay for Management, So Isn’t This Passive?”
Short answer: No.
A good property manager (like our team at Verandah) is your:
Shield from day-to-day headaches,
Navigator for laws, processes, and tenant relations, and
Project manager for maintenance and turns.
But we can’t change one key fact:
Residential real estate is a physical product. Physical products wear out.
Even with respectful tenants, your property experiences:
Normal wear and tear on paint, flooring, and fixtures
Aging systems (ACs, water heaters, roofs, appliances)
Style and finish fatigue—what looked “updated” in 2014 can feel dated in 2025
Industry guidance consistently recommends that owners budget:
Around 1–3% of the property’s value per year for maintenance and capital items, or
Roughly 10–15% of gross rental income (especially for older homes)
That’s before we even talk about turnover costs when a tenant moves out.
Hiring us does not erase those costs.
What it does is help you:
Spend that money strategically,
Avoid surprises, and
Make sure every dollar invested helps your property compete in the current Orlando market.
3. The True Cost of a Rental “Turn” (Why You Need the Checkbook Ready)
When a tenant moves out, a proper “turn” is not just a quick vacuum and a Magic Eraser on the walls.
National data shows the average cost of a tenant turnover (including lost rent, cleaning, repairs, and marketing) typically lands between $1,000 and $5,000, with many estimates clustering around $3,000–$4,000 per move-out.
Here’s what usually goes into that:
Baseline Turn Costs (typical ranges, not Orlando-specific):
Deep cleaning: $250–$550
Kitchens, baths, inside cabinets, baseboards, light fixtures, window tracks, etc.
Paint touch-ups or full repaint: $1,000–$4,000+ for a typical single-family home, depending on size and condition
Carpet cleaning or replacement / hard-surface refresh: $500–$4,500
Minor repairs & deferred maintenance: outlet covers, caulk, door hardware, blinds, screens, small drywall repairs, etc.
Utilities and lawn care during vacancy: money going out with no rent coming in.
And that’s just the physical make-ready—not counting:
Lost rent during vacancy
Leasing fees / advertising / showings
Your time and mental bandwidth
If you own multiple properties, or if your home is older and needs more frequent updating, these numbers add up fast. That’s why we constantly push for proactive maintenance—because small fixes now usually cost less than big ones later.
4. What Today’s Well-Qualified Tenant Actually Wants
Here’s the part many owners underestimate.
Tenant feedback data consistently shows that property condition and maintenance responsiveness are top drivers of satisfaction and renewal. In tenant satisfaction surveys, renters highlight things like:
Cleanliness and condition of the unit
Quality of fixtures and finishes
Speed and quality of maintenance responses
Overall appearance of the property and grounds
In plain language:
The tenants you want—high income, solid credit, stable jobs—are “shopping with their eyes.”
They’re demanding:
Fresh, neutral paint (no scuffed walls and mismatched touch-ups)
Clean, modern flooring (or at least well-maintained, stain-free carpet)
Working, attractive fixtures and hardware (not 20-year-old gold faucets and yellowed plastic blinds)
Squeaky-clean kitchens and bathrooms
They have other options in Orlando. Newly built communities are offering:
Stylish finishes
Clubhouse, pool, fitness centers
Professionally maintained landscaping and common areas
If your home doesn’t show like it deserves its rent price, the best tenants simply move on. The ones who are willing to accept poor conditions often bring exactly the kind of risk you were hoping to avoid.
5. “Set It and Forget It” vs. “Maintain It and Profit”
Here’s the mindset shift we want every current and future Verandah owner to have:
❌ Myth:
“I’m paying a professional management company, so the property should take care of itself. It’s passive. Rents go up, and I just collect.”
✅ Reality:
“I own a business asset that wears out over time. My property manager helps me operate it efficiently—but I still need to invest in maintenance, turns, and periodic upgrades to protect returns.”
Think of your rental more like:
A fleet vehicle that needs regular service, detailing, and eventual replacement parts
Or a small hospitality asset, not just a house
If you stopped maintaining a restaurant, hotel room, or company car, you’d expect:
Worse customers
Lower revenue
Bigger repair bills later
The same is true for rentals.
Owners who treat their home as “set it and forget it” often experience:
Longer vacancies (because good tenants pass it by)
Lower rent (because the only people willing to lease it are price-driven or less qualified)
More friction over repairs (because everything feels like a surprise and an unwelcome bill)
Owners who view their property as a living, aging asset and invest steadily in it tend to see:
Shorter vacancy times
Stronger tenant applications
Longer tenancies
Better long-term appreciation and resale value
6. What This Means for You as an Orlando Owner
Whether your property is in Lake Nona, St. Cloud, Winter Garden, or anywhere else in Greater Orlando, the core truths are the same:
Your property is competing with a lot of good inventory.
New construction rentals, build-to-rent communities, and accidental landlords are all in the mix.Turn costs are real and recurring.
Plan on thousands, not hundreds, when a tenant moves out—especially if it’s been a few years and you haven’t done much more than patchwork.Maintenance is not optional.
Budgeting 1–3% of property value per year (or ~10–15% of rent) for maintenance and CapEx is not “excessive”—it’s responsible.Quality attracts quality.
Well-qualified tenants are not “desperate.” They’re choosy. They pick the clean, updated, well-maintained homes and walk away from the rest.Professional management is a partnership, not a substitute.
At Verandah, we bring systems, vendors, legal knowledge, and communication.
You bring the willingness to invest in your asset when it’s time to:Repaint
Replace tired carpet
Upgrade failing appliances
Handle roof, AC, plumbing, and other big-ticket items
Together, we can position your home as one of the best choices in its price range—not the “last resort” that only rents when everything else is gone.
7. How Verandah Helps You Navigate All This
We can’t make real estate truly passive.
But we can make it:
More predictable
Less stressful
More aligned with your long-term goals
Here’s how we approach turns and maintenance with our owners:
Proactive inspections and documentation so you see issues early
Transparent turn estimates so you know what to expect before work starts
Vendor relationships to keep work moving and standards high
Rent-ready guidance: what’s truly necessary vs. what’s optional, based on your target tenant and submarket
Data-driven pricing: aligning your rent with the current condition of the property and the current competition
Final Thought
Owning a rental in Orlando is still one of the most powerful ways to build long-term wealth. But it’s not a “buy it, hand it off, and never think about it again” proposition.
Your property is a decaying asset that can either be actively maintained… or slowly devalue itself.
If you’re willing to:
Budget for maintenance and turns, and
Trust us when we say “it’s time to refresh this if you want the right tenant at the right rent,”
then professional management is the lever that can turn a demanding asset into a well-run, income-producing business.
If you’re a current Verandah owner and want a custom plan for your property’s next turn or long-term maintenance roadmap, we’re happy to walk through it with you.
If you’re a potential new owner—or an “accidental landlord” trying to figure this out—we’d love to show you what realistic, smart, Orlando-appropriate rental ownership looks like in 2025 and beyond.