New & Moving to Florida ! Insurance Question

[Kirsten Tarcza]

Hi !

My name is Kirsten. I'm new to real estate investing but have read ~10 books in the past month and decided my market of choice will be Florida. (I am not restricted to where I move, as I work from home.) I originally was going West (Las Vegas or Seattle) but my investment style of choice is BRRRR. I'm not scared of rehabs as I watched my parents do them my entire life. My initial research showed that trying to do that in the West wouldn't work because the homes are too steeply priced and cash flow was minimal. I want warm weather, so here I am!

A few questions for all you seasoned investors/agents -

1. Any areas that seem particularly great or particularly bad for BRRRR? (or rentals in general)?

2. Is there a specific area that there is a great need for rentals and the supply is low?

3. I understand this would change by region, but what additional insurance costs should I count on?

- Are there additional requirements beyond getting Home and Flood insurance (for renting, or otherwise) ?

- How should I calculate the approximate monthly/yearly cost for insurance in Florida?

4. What “upgrades” do you put into a home in Florida that wouldn’t be required in a non hurricane prone state?

(I’m from upstate NY so I know a lot more about snow than hurricanes!)

Can’t wait to get there once all the coronavirus craziness has passed. Please introduce yourself even if you don’t have an answer to any of those questions, I know I’ll be a rockstar at this and want to meet all the other rockstars too !!

[Kyle Funnell]

Hey @Kirsten Tarcza,

I am an investor/realtor from Palm Beach County. Great choice to move to Florida!

I know Tampa is hot investment area right now however, may be a bit biased because I live there, but Palm Beach is definitely a place that you would want to look into. With no where to expand east or west (everglades and the ocean) and an increase of demand (people moving down from up north) we project home prices and rents to continue to increase. 

There is no other insurance that you will need other than Home or flood insurance. I do recommend putting every rental property as an LLC to limit your liability. (about $150/year)

Home insurance you will need to make sure you have a good roof (probably the number one thing insurances look at). Also another big thing is making sure it is a CBS (Construction Block/Stucco) home. It is safer during hurricanes than frame and insurance is much cheaper. My first investment was a frame house a mile frame the beach and was shocked by the amount the insurance was. Finally, getting hurricane window and doors are big as well. I got them on my personal residence and haven't had to worry about any storm that came our way. It is hard to give you an accurate monthly or yearly cost but these three things are the biggest factors.  

For flood insurance, you can look at FEMA flood maps to see what kind of area you are in, to see how much it will be or if you need it at all.

Hope I answered a few of your questions.