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Updated about 10 years ago, 11/25/2014
New Member invested Lake Worth Florida and living in Washington DC
Hi BP, I discovered the podcast recently and decided to check out the community.
I'm a lawyer in DC, but most of my family is in Florida, which is why I invested down there. I come from a family of contractors and know about construction, which is why I bought and renovated a 100 year old townhome in DC, which I live in. I also own two 2BR condos in Palm Beach County, which I hope to hold onto forever (or until I move down there and live in it).
My Dad and I successfully flipped a house in florida, and unsuccessfully did another.
We also started a eco-friendly plastic moving boxes rental company in South Florida.
In the next year, I hope to sell my townhome, buy something smaller with the cash in DC and use the rest to buy another couple of properties in Florida.
Looking forward to reading up on all your successes and meeting some of you in person if we are nearby. Cheers!
Welcome to BP! You've come to the right place to network and learn more about REI. But you obviously know that if you're already listening to the podcasts!
I live in Arlington, but also invest out of state mostly due to the strong returns I can get in other markets like Cleveland or Indianapolis that I have yet to find in DC. I look forward to hearing how your live in flip goes with your current townhouse and about your Florida flips! Did you have to rely on your Dad to manage the flips locally? I've stuck to buy and holds that need minimal rehabbing because I haven't been comfortable managing a rehab from a distance, but hope to do more of it soon. Any recommendations or tips?
Happy investing!
Jacob
Thanks, @Jacob Elbe , honestly I wouldn't do another rehab out of state. Even with my Dad, a retired contractor, handling it. He put too much work into it, which was unnecessary. Something that needs minimal work, not a total gut job, would be okay to do again.
I have two condos in the same community, one of them I bought as a bank REO and I had the carpet torn out and replaced with tile (very common in florida homes) so for $5k + the $20k I paid for it, I got a place that appraised at $40k a year later. I bought another one in the same complex for $45k (by now the 2BR condos were selling about 55k), but I know that's it's going to keep going up from there, and even if it doesn't, it's still going to be a way to generate cash without burning a lot of calories.
I like the idea of condos from out of state because a lot of the bigger stuff is the responsibility of the condo association, and condos sell quickly if i need to cash out.
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welcome to the site.
Yeah, I'm in a contract now to purchase a property that needs updating, but it just needs a new kitchen and some painting. I felt comfortable enough with that to start, but we'll see how the actual rehab part goes!
I've looked at condos before (mostly in college towns) but they never came out with positive cash flow by the time I added in the condo fee. Are the fees lower on your FL units? Or is the rent just high enough to compensate?
A cash flowing condo in FL sound pretty good! And not a bad option as a fall back property either!
@Jacob Elbe in central florida, from my experience, the Condo fees usually range from the high 100s to 400. It is just a ball park figure but generally from what I see it falls in that range. I don't mess really mess with condos unless it is a hell of a deal. Because if you want to be hands off you can simply just hire a property management company and they will charge you like 10% a month or some even do flat fees like $75 a month. I think homes are easier to rent and the families usually don't like to leave once they move in. Just my 2 cents...well 1 cent.
@Jacob Elbe I'm in no hurry so I can wait until I find one that makes sense. Most of the time I see a promising one, it doesn't work out because there are restrictions on renting (owners only, or 50+ etc), but I have a brother who is a broker so if another one comes up that makes sense I can jump on it quickly.
@James Wise thanks!
@Jaime Penix mine are in Palm Beach County, I think the closer you get Miami, the more condos are available, especially since a lot of out of state buyers got wiped out and had to give them up. I agree houses can be better, but I can get into a condo cheaper and diversify my exposure for the same amount of money.
Peter Sanchez welcome to bp! I have a question about the 100 year old rehab that you bought and flipped. I'm about to buy a property in Dallas built in 1925 and am wondering if you had to replace piping and all the electrical?
Jacob Elbe e are you living a and investing in Arlington Texas?
- Jeffrey McKee
@Jeffrey McKee No the pipes were okay, and the electrical had been updated in the 80s, but the rest of the place needed serious work. Plaster and lathe walls, but no insulation (several dumpsters of debris to get rid of it). Windows with no headers. A sagging kitchen floor because plumbers had cut the beams. And the old hardwood under the carpet was ruined b/c when they ran new electrical they cut a foot wide, 20 foot long hole in the floor and just put plywood and carpet over it.
So, i'm still living in it, and it's 100x better now, but if you're going to live in it, don't buy an old house unless you love old houses.
Hi Peter! Welcome, I'm from just down the street! My brother lives in Royal Palm Beach. My brother flipped quite a few properties but is mostly just buy and hold now.
A lot of the awesome foreclosure opportunities are being gobbled by big time investors that are over bidding on the properties. There's still deals to be had for sure though.
@Peter Sanchez undefined
I will keep that in mind. My intention would be to live in fix and flip, but because of the age and unknown required repairs I am thinking of wholesaling it. Do you know any investors in DFW that specialize in duplex to single family rehabs?
- Jeffrey McKee
Hi Peter,
Like you, I also live in Washington, DC. Although I am new to Bigger Pockets, I am in no way new to real estate. Have been investing in real estate since 2001. Have been through the upswing and downturn. No matter what ... our company is still in the game.
My name is Uniqca V. Powell, and I am a licensed Realtor in DC and in MD. I am affiliated with Bradford Real Estate Group, LLC. Thus, if you need area comps or marketing information surrounding your home in DC, I would be happy to help you with that. Also, your Florida investments seem very interesting. In what way were those deals profitable for you? That was surprising to hear since I always hear that Florida is a distressed market and jobs are few ... well, I guess you can not always believe what you hear.
We also have a separate company called: Farmershi Consultant. Through this entity, we manage residential homes (1 to 4 units) in Washington, DC. Thus, if or when you decide to relocate to Florida and need property management for your home in DC, we will be happy to help you with managing your DC home. We give the personal touch and truly take pride in our work.
Additionally, we design/build homes in DC. Like you, my husband loves to design and build, and as he says, and I quote: "he loves to see a deal go through.". Moreover, we are also residential redevelopers (aka wholesalers) with hopes to get back into investing in real estate and rebuilding our portfolio. For now, I am helping other cash buyers/investors/landlords to build their portfolio both in the wholesale and retail marketplace.
Thus, if you have any questions or need assistance in the Washington, DC, or the Maryland (PG County or Montgomery County) marketplace, we would be happy to help you. To this end, I found this link on BiggePockets, and you may find it helpful as you analyze your property portfolio. Click here --> http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/88/topics/2551...
Now, let's close some deals!!!
Uniqca V. Powell,