Chalk another one on the board for the sale list. As I get off the phone with a popular wedding venue that informs me that they are selling their property and the new owner has no interest in doing weddings there, I started to see a recent trend happening. 

See, In Monroe County, Houses that wish to use themselves as Vacation Rentals must abide by strict rules and laws. First, they must list their property for a 28 day vacation rental. Now, there are certain ways that you can get around to this , such as zoning, size, or grandfathered in, but for the most part you need to rent your house for a month. 

Popularity for private houses started rising over the last couple years with places like the Key Largo Lighthouse which sold their property in 2012, and the Butterfly House which sold in 2015 and most recently, H20. Couples found that renting a private house for the week seemed to offer more of a private atmosphere then your resort style venue. Couples could build a wedding from the ground up with their own ideas, and transform the property using just a blank canvas. 

Buying a private home and renting out for weddings or vacation rentals seems like a great idea at first until other complications get involved. If you own a private home, a wedding here and there or maybe once a month seems like it would be ok. But to do a wedding every single weekend can cause neighbors to get upset and make complaints to Monroe County officials leaving you behind with fines. 

Now, some properties are properly zoned to have a wedding in the Florida Keys. Some properties are grandfathered in to have a wedding, and some properties require you to have an onsite duty police officer at the gate to make sure noise complaints aren’t called in.  For what seemed to be a huge rise in the market for private houses seems to be slowing down for these complications. There are still some beautiful properties that still and can rent for a wedding down here in the Florida Keys.  Just make sure you they are legit and not up for sale and that clause is in any contract that you sign. If a property does sell, most likely, the new homeowner is not willing to grant your wedding.  

What I see trending is more towards cottages in the future. I still think private houses will have their niche and you will always have a couple that is geared towards renting a private house for the week and we will absolutely help you out in this process if you are having trouble or concerned.  Feel free to contact us as we stay up to date on Private wedding homes in the Florida Keys!