Purchase Florida rentals; Jacksonville, Tampa or Orlando?

[Aleejandro Dela Vega]

Hi everyone, I joined BP a month or so ago and was able to find some great info on here. 

I'm an investor from Las Vegas, looking to move my investments out East, and Florida seems to be a good place, that pops up positively in the news as it relates to appreciation and rental returns.

I'll be heading to FL in a couple weeks and will check out Orlando, Jacksonville and Tampa/St Pete area. 

I'm looking for property that has good potential for appreciation and that has a good cap rate of say 8+. 

Could anyone give me some input on these three cities and what differences they might have...

Thank you in advance!

[Benjamin Pekarek]

Just have to chime in here and add my $.02

I agree 100% with @David Dey, Jacksonville is almost a market you have to live in for a year to find the "safe" places to invest - one side of the street is okay, but on the other side of the pavement - look out! That being said, I picked up a 4 plex for $15K per unit ($60K) last year, 100% occupied at $500 per unit. You just have to complete a risk assessment and see what market you like the best.

For the immediate moment, I personally like the Sarasota/Manatee markets for appreciation, Hillsborough/Pinellas/Polk markets for cash flow, and Osceola/Brevard/Orange county markets for a mix of the both. 

I am a Broker, REALTOR, and property manager, and am happy to sit down for coffee and go over the mixed markets of Florida. We (our agents) either personally own, or manage properties in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Tampa/St. Pete, Sarasota/Bradenton, Ft. Myers, and Orlando, and would be more than happy to assist you in setting up shop here in Florida.