Canadian Ready To Buy Tampa / Orlando Up To $2M

[Al Pereira]

Hello! I'm an experienced (20+ years) Canadian real estate investor that wants to broaden our portfolio with some US holdings. I've done a fair bit of research and like the Tampa / Orlando areas for our first multi-family US investment. I plan to fly down in the next 2 months.

I have 25% down and I'm pre-qualified with BMO Canada and I'm told that BMOHarris can handle the financing. Hopefully that will smooth out some of the financing wrinkles.

As a foreign buyer what specific challenges should I expect?

Can anyone shed any light on some potential pitfalls of investing in these areas?

Can anyone recommend a top multi-family agent?

Any advice from locals and investors would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance 

[Joel Owens]

Are you buying completely vacant, 50% occupied, full but has rents below market and other cost savers to boost returns, or fully stabilized mainly for cash flow and hold long term with limited upside?

Key is look at crime rate for the area and utility costs. You can improve a crappy building to good in a bad to marginal area and it will go right back down again as only the crappy tenants will want to live there and the good tenants forced to live there will want to get out of the area as soon as they financially can. So non-payees,high crime, and turnover will make the property a loser.

You being overseas look for a high quality area with improving median incomes, low crime, and chance for rent growth to push yield over time.