How’s the multi family market in Florida?

[Matheu Santos]

I'm overseas and want to invest in Florida, where I plan to live. From what I've seen on Zillow, from Tampa to Orlando, none of the multi families (duplexes, triplexes) have a decent CoC return. It's mostly negative! I'll start working with an agent in the next few months. What is a good course of action for a foreign investor? Any tips? Thank you!

[Shawn McCormick]

@Matheu Santos Are you speaking of COC or ROI, they are different. Yes, with the sharp jump in prices since the pandemic, cash flow has been much harder to find, but it's there.

As a foreign investor, I would start learning what the requirements for getting loan approval would be, some lenders will be a little less stringent if it is a brokered product, but typically it will be 25% down (Canada is 30%). It is very common in our state as we have a huge foreign investor base here for people looking to invest or just park money. You will find that getting good financials and even access to the units will prove to be tough and also that many are charging below market rents still, so that may be something to consider when analyzing properties.

Tampa overall has many more multi family units than Orlando, but also more areas that would be considered C or below areas, just find an agent that is familiar with the specific area you are looking for. I would say to find one in Tampa and Orlando. Many will say the work both, but they usually won't know both well enough to keep you in/out of areas you may not be comfortable investing in.