Best rental property prospects in Florida?

[Shawn Bhatti]

Hi all,

Just a quick background about me: 

My name is Shawn and I am 26 years of age with about 100K saved up in investments (stocks/mutual funds). I recently purchased a brand new townhouse to "house hack" with my girlfriend using a 30-year fixed VA loan (no funding fee) in South Florida. We live in the master bedroom and rent out the other two rooms to paying tenants. I am looking to expand my portfolio by purchasing a property in Florida, preferably something that needs work. I have been researching in an attempt to identify the county/region in Florida that is ideal for an investment property purchase. Ideally, I am seeking a post 1970s property that needs some work before it is livable for tenants. I feel that I have narrowed my search down to two regions:

Melbourne, FL: It appears millennials are moving here with Space X, NASA and other STEM jobs growing aplenty. Seems to be a good prospect area for appreciation. Mortgage payment to rent ratio seems suffient.

Tampa, FL: Similar to Melbourne, it seems many millennials are also migrating here. There is a large military presence, which could be beneficial as well. 

So there could certainly be better areas in Florida to rent out, but based on research using Niche and Zillow, these seem to check most of the boxes. Does anyone have any experience in either or these markets, or have recommendations for a different Florida region? I live in South Florida, so if I needed to inspect anything in-person, this would make it more suitable for me. I would say assuming a 15-20% down payment, my price range is about 150k, not including all the costs for contractors that would need to come in to fix up the property. I have already identified some niche properties, but wanted to know what to look for as far as newer roofing, plumbing, HVAC etc. Any general advice (ideally from Florida real-estate investors) would be greatly appreciated!