Looking for neighborhoods to invest in the Greater Tampa Area

[Solomon Stavis]

Hello! My name is Solomon and I'm interested in buying SFHs in the Tampa and surrounding areas. Any ideas of good neighborhoods in the Greater Tampa Area for SFH for under 150K value?

My goal is to purchase my first SFH in an area that demonstrates both some upside as well as cashflow. Since this would be my first purchase (hopefully more to come), I'm not trying to do anything to fancy regarding rehab.  For my first purchase, I'm mostly interested in something that is near turnkey ready (maybe it needs a coat of paint) so I can learn, build relationships and then launch into more complicated structures such as BRRR. 

Thanks for your help!! 

[Doug Smith]

Hi @Solomon Stavis, We're based in Tampa and I was a banker in Tampa since 1996, so I've been around the block or two in the area. Although I run a fund that does a lot of non-performing loans and flips in the Midwest and Southeastern US, my wife is in a partnership with someone else that will probably do more than 50 flips in the Tampa Bay area this year. We also have a real estate practice here that, among other things, works with investors. We know the area. 

That being said, the Tampa Bay area is probably a lot like other cities with different pockets that you would want to focus on. Also, there are many different areas of the Tampa Bay area, like South Tampa, Brandon, Seminole Heights, Westchase, Palm Harbor, Downtown St Pete, and the list goes on. Many areas you won't be able to touch for $150K. Others you can easily buy property for that. 

Brandon is a good possibility for you as you can get property for about that price (the average ARV there is about $220K). It's just to the East of Downtown Tampa. The reason I mention that area is that it is right off of I75 and the Crosstown Expressway. MacDill Air Force Base is at the Southern Tip of the South Tampa Peninsular and serves as US Central Command with many, many military families and civilian contractors. The home values in the South Tampa area tend to be very high priced with the average home values going for over $500K in most areas of South Tampa, so rank and file military members often prefer to go out a bit to purchase. The Crosstown Expressway is a toll road that doesn't back up that often that will take a person from Brandon to the Base in under 30 minutes on most days, so Brandon might be a good spot.

Let me know if there is anything you need help with in the Tampa area. I'm happy to guide you in the right direction. Good Luck to you!