Looking for some guidance in Jacksonville, FL

[Addison Perez]

Looking to start out soon by buying my first home in about 6 months here in Jacksonville, FL. I have my eyes on a couple of homes in the East Arlington (where I currently live off Kernan). The first place is the easy part, but I want to start looking at the future. Does anybody have any experience with some condos in the surrounding area, other neighborhoods around Jacksonville, that are good for buy and hold? I wanted to just pick up maybe 1 or 2 properties a year and only looking to profit ~200/month on places in the 100-150k range. The MLS is tough to use for this area and wondering if there are other ways to find out some potential foreclosures before they hit the MLS. I've been driving around and found a few, but looking for other options.

My end goal is to either move into current place to stay for 2 years and pick up properties on the side, or move in a year to 2nd home and rent the house out.

[Aaron Thivierge]

One piece of advice: Stay AWAY from condos and townhouses for investments. Yes, they can be had cheap, but cash flowing them is the challenge: HOA fees and special assessments are only a few of the costs…let alone the PITI, repairs, vacancies, and less than predictable appreciation. My .02 but that's what I've learned… Welcome to BP. Make sure you are checking out the podcasts. TONS of information and answers to SO many questions!