An income property in Cape Coral or Orlando, FL?

[Michelle Gao]

Hi everyone, I'm new to BP and have been reading and learning. But I didn't find a direct answer for the "action" I'm going to take.

I'm looking to purchase a rental property in the price range of $100K to $200K. I narrowed my area to Cape Coral and Orlando after some homework. I plan to buy a SFH for the reason of better appreciation and easier management (I'm out of ares so would need a PM). Now for a house on the water in Cape Coral of 20-year old, 1800sf; and a new construction in Orlando, 2500sf; they are both around $200K, rents for $1500/month. Can somebody give me some suggestion on which area is better in terms of appreciation / maintenance cost/ taxes and insurance fees?

Or those numbers don't make sense at all that I need to replan the whole thing?

BP is such a warm community that I'm even not afraid to bring out my "low return" investment plan. My goal is to slowly build a stable income. Am I looking at the right areas/houses?

[Elizabeth Colegrove]

Welcome to Biggerpockets!

We are buy and hold investors. It looks like we both invest in the same class A properties, with an eye towards appreciation. While I can't answer your question about those houses I can comment on your needing a pm due to being out of the area. We live over 3,000 miles from our rentals and travel frequently. While it has had some "Stress" moments, we have been very successful. It has allowed us to save alot of property management fee.

This is an amazing place because the only thing everyone agree with is real estate. Other than that everyone has their own niche. So look around the blogs, forums and listen to the podcasts. If you see a post you enjoy check out the persons signature. Many of us including myself talk about our strategies, styles, niches and business model on our website. So definitely check that out as it is an amazing additional resource. For example, my blog is about while working full time, buy and hold investing, 0% Down Rentals, Personal Properties turned rentals, Long distancing investing, self-managing 3,000+ miles away. Definitely list your blog or website in your signature, if you have one. Its a great additional networking source.

Look forward to seeing you around! Let me know if I can help!