Hello from the Panhandle!

[Chris Odell]

Hello BP Community,

My name is Chris and I am originally from Sacramento, CA but currently living in Panama City, FL with my wife and 2 crazy Aussiedoodle puppies. I am currently on my 12th year of active duty service which has been quite an adventure! 

I purchased my first property in Virginia Beach almost 6 years ago with the intentions of living in it while being stationed there and then converting it to a Long-Term Rental. Unfortunately, I overestimated how much this property would rent for monthly and learned my lesson on doing the appropriate research on local rental values before committing. Luckily, I was able to break even and gain some equity in the home over the last couple of years. 

The second property I purchased was a single family home here in Panama City. I had the same intentions of LTR and would have been able to cash flow on the home but, with the housing market being the way that it currently is, we decided to cash out on both properties and relocate to a more desirable location with intentions of also purchasing a STR condo.

My interest and goals in real estate are Short Term Vacation Rentals, Rental Arbitrage, and possibly the occasional BRRRR in the Panama City Beach/Destin area. I am also interested in retirement account investment strategies such as through Self-Directed IRA's and Solo 401K's.

I look forward to learning from you all!

Chris

[Amanda Ferguson]

@Chris Odell Thanks so much for connecting!  Please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly if I can ever help with a revenue potential analysis on any properties you are considering purchasing here in the Florida Panhandle.  Or any area for that matter, I cover this area, but have colleagues in over 80 markets across the US who can provide the same.  

If you haven't already connected with a local realtor, I would definitely recommend connecting with @Avery Carl and/or @Matt "Roar" Gardner. Both are awesome to work with and really have a great understanding of the short term rental space here. You can combine the information they provide on HOA and ownership costs combined with my analysis on rental revenue and rental related costs to make sure you are making informed decisions before putting in offers.

I also offer Vacation Rental 101 consultations.  I've been working here in the Panhandle for over 15 years and love connecting with vacation rental investors. 

Best of luck on your search!