It’s not news that Florida is one of the best places to buy a vacation home. As a matter of fact, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2014 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, vacation-home sales jumped 29.7 percent to an estimated 717,000 vacation homes sold in Florida in 2013.

If you’re looking to buy a vacation home in Central Florida, it has just about everything you could look for: beaches, theme parks, wildlife parks and trails, museums, shows and last but not least, the great people. Whether you’ve been here before or are looking to come here for the first time to purchase a vacation home, the Sunshine State might just be the perfect place for you to start your investment. Home values in the Florida market have remained on a healthy rise despite a once slow housing market in other areas of the country. If you’re looking to purchase, here are some keys to getting started.

If you’re considering buying a new home, it is important to know what loan is best for you so you can begin your home search with the end in mind. To help show just how accessible a new or first home really is, we wanted to offer a rundown of some of the very affordable loan options available to buyers today. Buying a home for the first time comes with many new terms to learn and steps to conquer, with figuring out the type of loan you'll need being just one of them.

Conventional Loans

In my opinion, obtaining a conventional loan with a fixed interest rate for 15 years is always the ideal option. Key benefits are having stable payments for a shortened period of time and, with a 20% down payment, avoiding the added costs associated with private mortgage insurance. However, many people do not have 20% of the purchase price to use as a down payment, so you should know you can actually obtain a conventional loan with as little as 5% down. Also, most Buyers obtain a 30-year loan to keep their monthly payments lower. *Minimum Conventional Down Payment - $7,075.00

Congratulations! You’ve decided to buy a vacation home, but now you are left wondering where the best place to buy might be. With a wide variety of vacationing spots across the country, finding the perfect location for you and your family is key. Here are seven reasons why buying a vacation home in Florida is where it's at.

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• Low property taxes. This speaks for itself. We all love to save money. As a property owner, you pay property taxes for every property you own annually. It is cheaper to own a home in Florida than most states.

• Tourism. Aside from being one of the FEW states without a state income tax, Central Florida is home to world-class attractions, destinations and beaches. With Florida's nearly 100 million visitors per year, there is no shortage of people looking for short-term rentals while enjoying all Central Florida has to offer. This could create income opportunities for you when you aren't using for your vacation home for personal use by renting it out (see our FAQs on Property Investment in Central Florida for more information on that!).