Where to invest in Pinellas county florida or around?

Question

We are new and are trying to house hacking but can't find anything that make sense in a decent neighborhood. Where should we invest in Pinellas county or around?  is Oldsmar or  St Petersburg a good market? Thanks!

Alex J. · Answer

Mishelle,

St.Petersburg in an EXCELLENT place to house hack! There are a good amount of small multifamily properties that make perfect house hacks. St. Pete is really the hub of all the major economic development & growth in Pinellas county.

St. Pete is also experiencing very strong rent growth & appreciation, which are factors that will drive the success of your investment over time. Much of the St. Pete area is close to downtown and also close to the beaches, so the quality of life is excellent here. I am a lifelong resident of the St. Pete area and love it here!

One interesting factor in St. Pete is that most of the major development happening in Downtown St. Pete is high end apartment complexes. On one hand this shows that there is major institutional money investing in multifamily housing here in St. Pete. On the other hand, all of the new apartment supply in St. Pete is at the high end of the price range and is Class A. This is an opportunity for smaller landlords with normal properties. There is growing supply for mid level median rent price housing, and the supply is shrinking - great for small landlords!

Alex

Benjamin Aaker · Answer

Hi Michelle and Floridians, I've been looking at Pinellas County for a while. I'm just looking for commercial loans and that is difficult. Since you are house hacking it'll be a lot easier. I love the location and am looking forward to my first purchase down there as well. Good luck!

Edwin Epperson · Answer

Being a Tampa FL resident I completely agree with @Alex J. McGathey's post above.  Tampa and Sarasota have pockets but St. Pete is unique in that there are plenty of opportunities to get Du/ Tri/ QUad plexes and house hack at a pretty affordable rate.

Erwin F. · Answer

@Mishelle Osorio, it's awesome that you'll be living for free (or really cheap) soon!  Per specific locations I like.  I like the Historic Kenwood area in St Pete.  I also like Pinellas Park (zip code 33781 and 33782).  These two areas are close to good jobs.  There's a small pocket of duplexes in Seminole, but I rarely see them for sale in Seminole.

Good luck!

Dan Maciejewski · Answer

I agree with @Alex J. McGathey above.  The fact that BIG money is investing in housing shows that there is a lot of projected growth in the future.  It is also high-end, so it doesn't really cannibalize anyone renting at the 1200-1500 price point.

A house hack is really the best way to get into real estate while saving your biggest expense -- housing!

For rentals, all of the Tampa Metro is good.  Look where rents are where you want them.  That's your customer base.  Then find where you want to live where rents match that.  Then look for a place for sale where the rents are lower -- that's your value-add property!  Or you can pay market for a good turnkey.  There's not a lot of good deals that sit on the market right now.  You need to be ready (know what you are looking for and ready to purchase as soon as it comes on the market) to go when you see the right property.

It takes a lot of looking at garbage properties to know when you see the right one, so don't get discouraged.  Keep on looking and running numbers and when the right deal comes in front of you, you'll recognize it.

And you don't always need a home run -- base hits get the game won in the long run!

Good luck!

Mishelle Osorio · Answer

@Erwin F. Thank you so much for your recommendations. I hope this works out.

Mishelle Osorio · Answer

Thanks, everyone for your responses!

Where to invest in Pinellas county florida or around?

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