Hollywood FL | Airbnb | Commercial Zoned | 5 Unit | Questions

[Jennie Berger]

1. Hi Y'all!
2. I used to live in South Florida and have been to Hollywood many times, but I am unfamiliar with this specific area. My cousin is selling his 5-unit townhome complex about 2.5 miles from the beach. It is zoned commercial and set up currently as a 5-unit with long term renters. I'm considering buying it and turning all 5 units into Airbnbs. It feels to me that it would be a great area for this, seeing as there are many other Airbnbs in the immediate vicinity, it's located 15 mins from FLL, close to Downtown and the beach, and of course, well, it's Florida. :)
3. He told me the following:
4. 1. Taxes are 10k/yr
5. 2. Insurance is 3k/yr (withOUT windstorm, which would add an additional 10k)
6. 3. Garbage is #4,500/yr.
7. 3. Permits are very difficult to obtain (we build homes in Chicago, so that may be a non-issue for us considering what we have to deal with here LOL :)
8. 4. It needs a lot of work. (We are GC's, so estimating repairs (and managing contractors) will not be hard)
9. 5. (1) Efficiency | (1) 2 bed, 2 bath | (1) 2 bed, 1 bath | (2) 1 bed, 1 bath
10. 6. Zoned commercially for a 4-story building, currently a 2-story building

I'm not so concerned about the pricing here, rather just looking to get local, hands-on knowledge and expert insight into the area. Seeing as my cousin is NOT a real estate investor (he and his wife were living in one of the units and the maintenance and expenses just became too much of a headache), I'm looking for your help. If you have experience investing in this area of the country and can shed some light and insight into taxes, insurance, Airbnb options (easy/hard/impossible), permits, flooding, other potential issues, etc., I'd be most grateful!

LOCATION OF PROPERTY: Vicinity of 17th St. and Dewey, near the Parkside area.

[Jean H.]

@Jennie Berger I actually have a triplex on Rodman St (so, close to Dewey)!that I renovated and rent out all the units (3/2, 1/1, 1/1). It is very popular. The closer you are to the beaches and to the restaurants the better.

The regulations are friendly. We have to apply for Airbnb permits annually where the city sends an inspector to make sure you’ve checked all the boxes.

The downside to Hollywood being Airbnb-friendly is that Airbnb investors have flocked there so you have a lot of competition. You will need to do something to make you stand out. Since we didn’t have a pool and are not walking distance to the Broadwalk, we focused on interior design and that has helped, but we consistently lose out to Airbnbs with a pool, so we are working on maybe getting an above-ground pool and/or hot tub.

Hope that helps. DM me if you have more questions I can help you with.