Looking to Invest in South Florida STR

[Zachary Franklin]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post here so please excuse me if I do not cover everything super in-depth. 

My name is Zach, I'm 20 yrs old, and located in Maryland. I have been interested in real estate and investing in stocks since I was about 15, when I opened a Roth IRA with the help of my dad. Ever since, I have been putting most of my money into that IRA, so do not have a ton of cash saved up . However, I plan to use some cash from close family as well as a really good friend. We plan to come up with a contract on how to pay it back, how to split profits, etc. I have been researching for a few weeks now for properties in Florida, and that research has helped me narrow down where I would like to buy a property.

My thinking is that I would like a condo on the East Coast of Florida for no more than 450k with 2bed/2bath and 1000 sq ft+ and that is very close to the beach, maybe with an ocean view. Off the bat, I know that this is a bit of a stretch, but I think that this criteria will help me to be successful if I can do enough research. I am mainly looking at Fort Lauderdale for this criteria, although I have looked up and down the coast of Florida -- even the Gulf Coast. My sister lives in Delray Beach, and says to consider that area as well. 

As for financing, I would have about $30k cash between myself and a buddy, and I would have about $50k (maybe more) from someone else that would just want principle+interest back over whatever term we agree on. So, with only ~$80k cash, I know I am hoping for a lot, but am just looking for some feedback as I am VERY new to the STR space and RE investing as a whole. I am just looking for something that will profit about $2k/month or even less is alright and I want to do this because I think it would be a lot of fun to run/have a place to stay in the off-season. I am looking into DSCR loans because I have spotty tax returns from going to college while working, so any feedback on that would be helpful as well. I know there is a lot that I did not include, but don't want to make this any longer.

Should I even try to do it with such little cash? Should I consider something other than a condo? Should I consider other locations within Florida? Does it have to be right on the beach? Any feedback is extremely appreciated, thank you so much!

[Josh Green]

@Zachary Franklin

Financing is going to be your first constraint. You're looking at 25-30% down for a DSCR more than likely and rates for those are probably around 10%. In addition, expect higher closing costs so for a $450k purchase you're closing costs could be as high as $18k. Not including your furnishing budget or emergency funds you're looking at at least $120k to close in that price range. My advice? Consider a house-hack that you can short term rent to get into a deal much cheaper and on your own money rather than borrowed money and gain that experience.