Miami, FL - Looking for my first multi-family deal...

[Joaquin Garuz]

Good evening BP Family, 

I'll jump right into it... is anyone finding multi-family deals in South FL? It feels almost impossible to find a deal that makes any sense. I've done some research and ran numbers on about 30 listed 2-4 units properties for sale and none of the numbers add up for me. Maybe I need to do more like 100 to find that 1...

[A brief back-story] I am mortgage banker (18 years) and I have 1 investment self-managed property and 1 that I sold in 11/2019. I had planned to 1031 exchange the proceeds of the sale, but had paralysis by analysis and didn't go through with it and needless to say, I had to eat the tax consequences! It will not happen again. 

In any case, I was sitting on cash ($150K +/-) thinking/hoping the real estate market was going to adjust (downward) to make room for me to make a move, when Covid hit and everything got out of control. I was able to make other great investments in the stock market, but I want to redirect my efforts to finding viable properties to buy. I am a hands on kind of guy, so I currently manage my 1 rental and take care of everything from marketing the property, screening the prospects, renovating the property, fixing minor issues, etc... I also managed my previous property for over 15 years before selling it. I mention all that because I would like to buy close to home (Miami), to still be hands on. I am concern about doing anything too far and have less/minimum control, but the current environment is forcing my hand. 

I guess my issue is finding a decent deal to dive into. Any suggestions? Should I consider a more passive investment? Syndicate? Turn key? I would rather own the asset as my goal is to build and grow a rental portfolio... so I looked at SFR and doing a BRRRR deal, but median home prices are over $400k and those properties still need over $100k in renovations. That price range is also now the sweet spot and properties are not on the market for too long. The inventory shortages and high demand given that we continue to hover near historic low interest rates continue to be one of the main issues. Is this just NOT the right time?

I've tapped into my realtor connections to try to find an off market/unlisted deal, but many of those have cash buyers waiting to pick them up above asking and down here even a little grandpa/ma knows to ask for top dollar as someone is crazy enough to pay it... I am not. Is my only option now to do drive buy and knock on doors to find a deal or do direct mailers and spend thousands on a list that may have been sold multiple times over? Suggestions? Thoughts? Anyone in the area successfully investing? 

I'm stuck! Any feedback/help is greatly appreciated.