How attractive is this house for sale in Florida? - Posted by Alex

Posted by Alex on March 03, 2002 at 24:57:24:

Here’s the situation:
I asked this question before but now I have a lot more details about the deal.
I have a relative who owns a house in Kissimee, Florida but he lives abroad and because of the currency exchange is unable to afford the monthly payments. So far he’s OK with payments but wants to sell ASAP.
He purchased the house for $ 199,000 in July 1999 and has a 8.75% fixed mortgage for 30 years, so he’s paying $ 1,564 per month PITI (Principal, Interest, Tax, Insurance). The current balance on the mortgage is $ 156,000 (he has therefore 43,000 dollars equity in it). I’m not sure if the mortgage is assumable, but my feeling is that it’s not!
Even though Kissimee is a tourist area, because of the after-effects of September 11, it’s been really hard to even rent it part-time (he also had a lot of trouble with the people managing the property who rented the house on their own and made money, but this really is another story).
I’m seriously considering purchasing the property as an investment opportunity NO MONEY DOWN (I’m of course new in REI) but because of the lack of a clear “tourist picture” don’t know if this is a really good idea. I suppose I could afford a couple of months rent but if no tenant comes after that, I would really be in trouble… I don’t even live in Florida but in the Northeast.
Any ideas out there? Thanks in advance.