SFH Investment Strategy (Florida)

[Cody Benedetto]

Florida is an interesting market. I own a SFH in Florida (out of state buy and hold investor) and hunting for more properties. Insurance rates have risen and I always look for flood zone X as a requirement to avoid flood insurance, block construction or stone/brick to avoid termites, no pool, construction 1980+ to avoid costly capex, greater Tampa Bay Area, No HOA or HOA less than $175 per month, $150k-$225k SFH with no more than $15k in repairs, 2+ beds 1+ bath, minimum 1000sqft, cash on cash return for year 1 minimum 7%, 20% down, 30 year fixed mortgage long term buy and hold.

This fits my needs but I’m fascinated by other investor “niches.” What’s your strategy? I’d love to hear how other investors control their parameters and analyze properties with controlled criteria. What’s your niche? How do you filter through listing and limit yourself? I understand that some people don’t want to share insight with other competitive investors so please feel free to hide your location based criteria.

[Josh Shaughnessy]

Currently looking at moving into the Florida market, so I really appreciate the info in your post. 

Here in Colorado, it's almost impossible to get into a property that cash flows right away without ridiculous money down, so my main criteria is breakeven post management fees or at least not so negative I can't offset it with income from another property that does have cash flow. I also don't like HOAs but that's getting harder and harder to find. I go for dated properties needing updating/updgrades (floors, paint, kitchens, bathrooms, ocasionally knocking out a), no structural issues.

As for my niche, I prefer a version of house hacking. I buy non-updated properties minimum 2 bed in areas with strong rental stats (love university towns). I get owner-occupied financing, and do the needed upgrades (doing as much of the work myself as possible) while living in the property, then after the mandatory year or two is up, rent it out. I do this strategy for a couple reasons. 1.) It lets me access cheaper financing with less down payment. 2.) I can usually get a higher rate than I could have when I purchased, due to either natural rent increase, the upgrades I've done, or both. Meanwhile, my payment is locked in at a 30 yr fixed rate.