LF FHA Multi-Family in Florida - Any suggestions on area?

Question

Hello everyone,I'm currently making the move to go to Florida from New York and want to purchase my first home with an FHA 203K loan, I'm looking particularly for multi-family homes for long-term/short-term rentals in a nice area. I had Orlando, Naples, and Jacksonville in mind just not sure what communities people are currently looking out for during the pandemic? How does the vacancy rate look like in the neighborhood that you invested in? I'm curious to hear some input on this as I search for more properties in Florida.Thank you, everyone, happy investing!

Kristin Kiddy · Answer

I live and invest in Ormond Beach (Daytona Beach, Port Orange).  Vacancy is almost non-existent here and rents are very good.  The biggest challenge is locating a property at a price that will make your numbers work.  Multi family is few and far between and not available in most of the A neighborhoods (or B for that matter) and they are even more overpriced.  I have had the best success with single family or single family attached (town homes), if you can get a reasonably priced HOA (a few areas have no HOA).  Short term rental is extremely difficult to do here (legally).

Mark Rawls · Answer

@Michael Muniak Florida is a great place to live with many advantages. I've done lots of research in the Jacksonville market down through south of Daytona and there are very few 2, 3, & 4 unit multifamily properties in good areas as a general rule. @Gregg Cohen & @Kristin Kiddy are both very knowledgeable and 100% correct as far as the markets they reference. I will say there a quite a few duplexes in Palm Coast in B areas. However they are priced fairly high and go fast. Palm coast is also more of a commuter town and the rents are low compared to St. Augustine (North) or Ormond (South). Happy hunting!

Gregg Cohen · Answer

I love living and investing in Jacksonville.  Vacancy rates are very low here.  From an investment perspective, you can get positive cash flow and above average home price appreciation which is very rare in a market.  However, there aren't a lot of multi family properties A,B and C neighborhoods.  If single family is an option, Jacksonville is a great place.  You may also want to consider buying a townhome building.  There are many townhomes that make great investments in Jacksonville and you can get many of the advantages of multi family properties (and some additional ones as well.)

Tyler Gibson · Answer

Orlando is a great long term rental market with high demand and an increasing population. Multi-units are hard to come by but they pop up from time to time. That being said most of the multi-unit properties that come on the market are a little overpriced and with the demand for these units being high I think it would be hard to get one using an FHA 203k loan. If you need to go FHA I would just do normal FHA.

Marc Rice · Answer

@Michael Muniak

203K loan can be quite the difficult process when just starting out. There are some good 1-5% down owner occupied loans that could be an easier foot in the door.

Valentina Naumenko · Answer

Happy Investing, @Michael Muniak

I love the idea about multi family for long term, but not sure about the short term. With short term rental condos you will have to compete with all the hotels that Orlando can only offer. Orlando visitors who bring their families prefer single family homes or townhouses with the private pool. Something that hotel does not offer.

Stetson Miller · Answer

Hi @Michael Muniak,

I would definitely consider areas a little bit further North from Naples, where returns are potentially significantly higher. These areas would include Fort Myers, Cape Coral, and Lehigh Acres, depending on what exactly you're looking for. Each of these has their own unique benefits to offer, let me know if you have any additional questions!

Kristin Kiddy · Answer

@Mark Rawls Thanks Mark!

Alvin Taveras · Answer

Within Naples, you'll have very few options. Mostly in Golden Gate and that's just if one is available when you decide to look. You will find some great options a little future north in San Carlos Park, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. It doesn't seem like you are looking for new construction but if you are Cape Coral & Lehigh, will be your best bet.

Honestly, most places in Florida have a low vacancy and rental rates going up. The reason why I confidently recommend SWFL is due to it's lower cost and the age that you can buy them at. This place will be completely different in a few years.

@Michael Muniak have you had a chance to visit Florida before?

LF FHA Multi-Family in Florida - Any suggestions on area?

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