Need advice on Jacksonville area.

[Eduardo Nuri]

I currently own 6 condos near Miami area, I paid cash for all of them, the cash flow that I am having i think its low, I did a balance on this year, and the overall 6 condos are rented for about 7400 monthly and my net profit its about 40% of that rent (annualized), I think that I can do better due HOA fees mainly.

Today I took advantage of the appreciation of 2 of them that raised about 55% (-8% sales fees) in the last 6 years, and I am wanting to purchase a better cashflow properties with that money.

I want to get my first single family, because I think that I am not even over 50% rule on rent because HoA fees. But I feel more cons that pros while watching Jacksonville houses when I proposed the idea to my realtor.

Miami area

Pros.

- Appreciation, steady 6-12% in the last 6 years in 80% of my condos.
- Concrete builds, I don't have to get afraid of major repairs like roofs. the building can last 100 years without severe structural issues. 6 years with hurricanes not a single penny in damages.
- I forget about common spaces and the outside of the apartment.
- Low maintenance, the most expensive one that you maybe will have is the AC unit that could cost 3-4k a brand new one. 

Cons.

- Low cash flow, with 40% of the rent and my purchase prices I am nearly 8%. ( I purchased them at 2015)
- High HoA fees
- Subject to whatever the association wants, for example, I was forced to invest 6k in one of my condos a few years ago to put on anti hurricane windows with the contractor that they want. The window lasts 50 years and maybe adds some value to the property but I was forced to regret 2 months of income to waste on this thing during a period that maybe I wanted to waste that money somewhere else.

Jacksonville houses.

Cons

- Houses are made from wood, not great deals on concrete houses. this doubles your maintenance and insurance costs.
- Termites.
- Mostly of houses are 50+ years old.
- High crime compared to near Miami, forget about good appreciation.
- Highest eviction rate in the state, about 5%. And with covid thing evictions is a nightmare.
- This city has all weather stations, so you have AC and heating costs on it (not only AC like in near Miami).
- Take care of the roof and the exterior of the building compared to a condo.
- Pray if another hurricane like 1874 hits on wood houses.
- 250% more vandalism on properties compared to the rest of the country.

Pros

- Really tempting price to rent ratios. I saw houses for 50-65k ready to move on that could be rented for 850-950 bucks. Hard to see a 2% rule nowadays.
- No HoAs. I can make the tenant take care of their lawn and manage my expenses when I want to invest in a new roof.
- I could expect an 11% cap rate plus revalorization, maybe a 5% in a good year?.


Anyone that already invested in condos and single families in Jacksonville that could share their experience?

I've been purchasing properties since 2012 but I am still afraid of buying a single-family in Florida, still purchasing condos but I see everyone here saying that there is no money on condos so I feel like I am missing a big piece of the cake lol.