Vacation home + STR in SW FLorida

[Andrei Zharov]

Hey fellow BiggerPocket investors! I would appreciate your help identifying the best short-term rental property acquisition strategy in southwest Florida. I am particularly interested in properties located within 1 hour of Southwest Florida International Airport and within 30 mins walking distance to the beach. Ideally, the property should have a private pool and no HOA. The areas that I am considering are Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples Park, and Marco Island. However, I am open to any other suggestions that you may have.

I would also like to know if it is safe to buy a home that has been refurbished from the hurricane. Or, would it be better to buy a rehab property and connect with local contractors to restore the house from the damage?

My budget is between $600K and $1M. I will be traveling to Fort Myers in mid-April to see the houses. I should also mention that I am not handy regarding property condition assessment and the local cost of repairs (everything is expensive in Mass, but I've heard in Florida it costs much less). So, I would like to know how much it would cost to repair one of those houses with drywall cut off from the walls after flood damage.

My goal is to use the property as a vacation house and use short-term rentals to help it pay for itself. Any advice or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[Robert Alpizar]

Quote from @Andrei Zharov:

Hey fellow BiggerPocket investors! I would appreciate your help identifying the best short-term rental property acquisition strategy in southwest Florida. I am particularly interested in properties located within 1 hour of Southwest Florida International Airport and within 30 mins walking distance to the beach. Ideally, the property should have a private pool and no HOA. The areas that I am considering are Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Naples Park, and Marco Island. However, I am open to any other suggestions that you may have.

I would also like to know if it is safe to buy a home that has been refurbished from the hurricane. Or, would it be better to buy a rehab property and connect with local contractors to restore the house from the damage?

My budget is between $600K and $1M. I will be traveling to Fort Myers in mid-April to see the houses. I should also mention that I am not handy regarding property condition assessment and the local cost of repairs (everything is expensive in Mass, but I've heard in Florida it costs much less). So, I would like to know how much it would cost to repair one of those houses with drywall cut off from the walls after flood damage.

My goal is to use the property as a vacation house and use short-term rentals to help it pay for itself. Any advice or suggestions you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

I'm in the Naples, Bonita and Marco market - a lot of options here within your budget that do not need any rehab and withstood Hurricane Ian well. Which would be my main concern... a lot of these hurricane homes are being renovated but not elevated to survive the next flood. My house, 3.5 Miles from Naples beach and Naples Park had 2' of water outside my door and about 6" got inside. If it would have been 6-8' like some these homes (mostly in Fort Myers or West of 41 near the Gulf in Naples) I would have sold my home and moved. Another concern is insurance rates on a house that was previously seriously damaged. When looking for STR's, I would also consider areas that are a 15-20 minute drive the beach... 30 minute walk to the beach sounds good but in the hot Florida heat, I can't imagine dragging my stuff 30 minutes to the beach and back. I do property management in Naples and most tenants are content being nearby and driving there. Naples Park is great but has become pricey.... come mid-April season is coming to an end and you may be able to snatch up a deal. Other areas to consider nearby are Willoughby Acres, Palm River, Bonita Shores... Marco is also amazing but even more seasonal than Naples so booking off-season may be slow. Hope this helps!