Longwood Property Management

Why Longwood Owners Hire Us

The jurisdiction question is the first thing we settle, and it is the thing national rollups and lead matching directories never ask. A portal treats Longwood as a map pin with a radius. In practice the city limits are drawn tightly around the historic core along County Road 427 and the State Road 434 corridor, while the large lot neighborhoods on Markham Woods Road and Wekiva Springs Road carry Longwood mailing addresses and answer to Seminole County instead. Different code enforcement office, different permitting counter. We confirm the parcel before quoting, because an owner told the wrong answer finds out during a repair.

The second thing is age. The median Longwood home was built around 1983 according to the 2019 to 2023 American Community Survey, and much of the city predates that. That changes where the money leaks. In a market of ten year old houses the risk sits in leasing: price it wrong and you carry a vacancy. In Longwood the risk sits in the systems. Roofs, air handlers, water heaters, and supply lines are at or past ordinary service life, and a manager who treats maintenance as an afterthought hands you a year of surprise invoices and a tenant who does not renew.

What We Handle for Longwood Rentals

On an older house the renewal conversation starts earlier, because a tenant who has sat through two repair visits decides in month nine whether to stay. We begin lease preparation and renewals well ahead of expiration. Owners can review what management costs.

The Longwood Rental Market

Sources: population and median household income from World Population Review, 2026 estimates. Average apartment rent and unit size from RentCafe and Yardi Matrix, data as of October 2, 2026. Rental vacancy rate for the U.S. South region from the U.S. Census Bureau Housing Vacancy Survey, second quarter 2026.

Average apartment rent reached $2,022 as of October 2, 2026, up 3.68 percent from $1,950 a year earlier. Note what that describes: the average Longwood apartment runs about 1,112 square feet, large for this county, reflecting garden style two and three bedroom stock. By floorplan the same source puts a one bedroom near $1,718 at about 780 square feet, a two bedroom near $2,069 at about 1,222 square feet, and a three bedroom near $2,551 at about 1,479 square feet. Watch that three bedroom figure: it is the closest apartment comparable a tenant weighs against a rental house.

About 30.6 percent of occupied Longwood housing units are renter occupied against 69.4 percent owner occupied, across roughly 6,757 units, per the 2019 to 2023 American Community Survey. That places Longwood between the apartment heavy south end of the county and the owner dominated east side: enough rental activity that tenants know the market, enough owner occupancy that a well kept house does not vanish into a sea of listings. The same survey period put median property value near $354,300. Price against the houses genuinely available in your corridor, and read how long it takes to fill a vacancy before setting a move in date.

Longwood Neighborhoods We Manage

• The Historic District, around Church Avenue and County Road 427. Roughly 190 acres and 37 contributing structures, listed on the National Register in October 1990. Inside the city, walkable to the SunRail platform, and the one pocket where exterior work needs city sign off first.
• The Ronald Reagan Boulevard and US 17-92 corridor. The older eastern spine, close to Lyman High School and the rail line. Smaller lots and earlier construction, with short marketing windows because the price points reach the widest applicant pool.
• Rolling Hills, south of State Road 434 and east of Interstate 4. About 800 homes inside the city, deep enough to give you a live comparable set most months, and the one place citywide averages actually mean something.
• The Springs, off State Road 434. A gated community of more than 1,100 homes built around a natural spring. Association approval and gate access both add days to a move in, so build them into the timeline.
• Sweetwater Oaks and Wekiva, off Wekiva Springs Road. Two master planned communities of more than 2,500 homes each, carrying Longwood addresses in ZIP 32779 while sitting outside the city limits. Confirm jurisdiction before filing anything.
• Sabal Point, off Wekiva Springs Road north of State Road 434. A master planned community of over 1,000 homes on wooded lots near the Wekiva basin. Turnover is low and the applicant pool narrow, so allow a longer marketing window.
• The Markham Woods Road corridor. Alaqua, Alaqua Lakes, Wingfield North, Wingfield Reserve, Springs Landing, Markham Glen, and Markham Meadows run north from State Road 434 on large and often gated lots. Almost all of it is unincorporated county with a Longwood address, governed by an association with its own tenant approval.

Rules Longwood Landlords Should Know

Residential tenancies here are governed by Chapter 83, Part II of the Florida Statutes. A few provisions cause most of the avoidable problems, and Longwood adds two of its own.

• Security deposit deadlines. To keep any part of a deposit you must send written notice of the claim to the tenant’s last known address within 30 days of the tenancy ending. Miss it and you forfeit the claim. With no claim, the deposit is due back within 15 days, and the tenant then has 15 days to object in writing.
• Counting a three day notice. The statutory notice for unpaid rent gives three days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. Counting calendar days is the most common defect that gets a case dismissed.
• Local rent regulation is preempted. Florida reserves rent control to the state, so neither Longwood nor Seminole County can impose rent caps.
• Managing for others requires a license. Leasing or managing property for an owner for compensation requires a Florida real estate license under Chapter 475.
• Know which government you answer to. A Longwood mailing address does not settle it. ZIP 32779 and much of the Markham Woods corridor are unincorporated Seminole County, so permits, code enforcement, and inspections run through the county rather than the city.
• The historic district carries extra review. If your rental sits inside the district near Church Avenue and County Road 427, check with the City of Longwood before any exterior change. Historic districts carry review steps ordinary zoning does not, and a roof or window replacement is exactly the work that triggers them.
• Association approval still applies. The Springs, Sabal Point, Sweetwater Oaks, and the Markham Woods communities each run their own tenant approval, plus rules on lease term minimums and rental caps.

This is general information, not legal advice. For advice on your property, consult a Florida attorney.

About Longwood

Longwood began as a railroad town. E.W. Henck opened the Longwood post office on May 19, 1876 and named the settlement after a Boston suburb. He then led the group that built the South Florida Railroad, which opened regular service between Orlando and Sanford on November 15, 1880. The Longwood Hotel was finished in 1886, and the Bradlee-McIntyre House of 1885 still stands nearby with the 1873 Inside-Outside House. The Great Freeze of 1894 and 1895 cut the population from about a thousand to 325 by 1900, and the modern city took shape only after the 1960s.

The city covers roughly 5.6 square miles, with Interstate 4 along its western edge and one interchange at State Road 434, which crosses east to US Highway 17-92. SunRail opened its Longwood station on May 1, 2014 on East Church Avenue beside the historic district, its depot styled to match the older buildings around it. Seminole County Public Schools operates Lyman High School on South Ronald Reagan Boulevard, open since September 1924, plus Milwee Middle and Longwood and Woodlands elementary schools. Big Tree Park holds the memorial to The Senator, a bald cypress estimated at about 3,500 years old destroyed by fire on January 16, 2012; it reopened on March 2, 2014 with a clone of the original called The Phoenix. Residents commute an average of about 25.7 minutes, and the largest local employment sectors are retail trade, health care and social assistance, and transportation and warehousing, per the 2024 American Community Survey.

Frequently Asked Questions About Longwood Property Management

Is my Longwood rental actually inside Longwood city limits?

Often it is not. The postal service applies a Longwood address to ZIP 32779 as well as 32750, and 32779 covers unincorporated Seminole County around Wekiva Springs Road and Markham Woods Road. If your property is there, permits and code enforcement run through the county, not the city. Send us the address and we will confirm it.

What does a rental cost in Longwood right now?

RentCafe and Yardi Matrix put the Longwood apartment average at $2,022 as of October 2, 2026, up 3.68 percent year over year, on an average unit of about 1,112 square feet. Three bedrooms average near $2,551. Those are apartment figures, not houses, but the three bedroom number is the comparable a tenant weighs against a rental home. See how we market a rental.

My Longwood rental is an older house. What should I expect on repairs?

Plan for systems rather than surprises. The median Longwood home dates to about 1983 per the 2019 to 2023 American Community Survey, so roofs, air handlers, water heaters, and supply lines are commonly at or past ordinary service life. Normal wear and tear and the systems that keep the home habitable are the owner’s responsibility under Florida law; damage beyond ordinary use is the tenant’s. We set an approval threshold so routine items move without a call. See who pays for repairs and how maintenance is handled.

How do you screen tenants for a Longwood rental?

We apply written criteria identically to every applicant: verified income, rental history with prior landlord contact, credit, and a background check. In the association governed communities off Wekiva Springs Road and Markham Woods Road the community runs its own approval after ours, so we start that packet in parallel. See how property managers screen tenants and our screening and placement process.

Is a property manager worth it for one rental house in Longwood?

Here it turns on maintenance rather than leasing. An older house generates more vendor calls, and each one is a decision about scope, cost, and who pays. Add a jurisdiction question on permits and, in much of the area, an association approval step. Owners nearby who can take a Saturday call often do fine alone. Owners out of state, owning a house built before 1990, or coming off a bad placement usually find the math works. Both sides in is a property manager worth it and what a property manager does. See also pricing, fees, and rent collection.

Areas We Serve in Seminole County

Longwood is one of twelve Seminole County markets we cover. The Seminole County property management hub has more on each. We also manage in Volusia County and Orlando.

Managing a rental in one of these cities? Call (407) 907-2933 or request a rental analysis.