All Forum Posts by: Adam Schooley

@Daniel Jodrey I would stay close to where you work or where family is.  If you house hack a duplex in Palm Beach and have to drive to Miami everyday for work you would probably want to shoot yourself! Also if your agent has an insurance guy he can call when you find a property where the numbers are lining up. Have the insurance guy give you a quote for that property. The quote will be a little high because they need an inspection report to give you credits for things like hurricane windows, and roof straps.  But you will have a good ballpark number to use.  Make sure you not only check for separate FPL meters but also for separate water meters. I've been chatting with several newbies by phone and email and I think the biggest thing, is taking action! There is a real danger in the "Analysis Paralysis" term.  Iv'e also worked with a few new investors recently and even with me eyeballing the numbers right next to them and showing them properties and telling them what was good or bad with the properties they still were afraid to take action.  Guess what!  They will still be sitting there in 2018, 2019, 2020 running numbers through there cool calculators online and will not own a single investment property. PM me if you would like to talk some time.

@Daniel Jodrey you are doing the right things! If you have the time you should start analyzing 5 - 10 properties a week to really get a feel for your numbers. I agree with @Robert G. about the location being everything.  As soon as I read the price I assumed right away that it was a bad area.  Since you want to house hack the property I would pick a nice safe neighborhood to live in.  I'm not sure what you qualify for as far as the loan amount goes but I would say to find a decent duplex in a decent neighborhood you are looking in the $300K - $400K range.  I house hacked a duplex in Fort Lauderdale in 2015 and it was a great experience for me.  You're on the right track just don't get discouraged.  It takes time to find good deals but they are out there.  Good Luck

@Felipe Hofstatter same as a normal home inspection. The only difference is for you to look to make sure the units have separate FPL and water meters. Good Luck. 

@Kayla Johnson send me a message and let me know what you're looking for.

@Brandon Blessed If you're doing an FHA loan you a buying the property as your primary residence which means you have to move in within 60 days like Jeff said. Just make sure to check the leases that are in place before you buy. If the tenant is month to month they will need notice that they will need to move out. If it is an annual lease you might be able to get the tenant to break the lease if you offer them a free month of rent or help them with moving expenses. Hope this helps and good luck.

@Anthony Adkins I'm a Florida native also. What you're referring to is what everyone calls "house hacking". It's a great way to buy investment properties with little money down. I did this myself in 2015 with a duplex in East Fort Lauderdale. I'm currently helping a few members on BP to try to buy their first MF property. The major things I have found is that as a newbie most people get analysis paralysis and never make a move. There is rarely going to be a "Perfect Property" I find most people spend all their time punching in numbers in every calculator known to man and the return isn't what they're expecting or the cap rate is a little less then they want and two years later they're still looking for that "Perfect Property". Meanwhile prices and rents have all gone up every year. Another issue is that the pool of properties you are going after is very small. In Broward County there are only 276 MF properties for sale. Only 89 MF's for sale if your price range is under $300k. Compared to thousands of single family and townhouse/condos. These numbers are from the MLS only. You really need to figure out what areas you are willing to live in. There are a lot of neighborhoods where you would not be willing or want to live in that have MF properties. Go look at properties and educate yourself on what you're looking at when you get inside and outside the property. Last but certainly not least is get your financing in place. Know what your price range is. Know how much your downpayment will be. Know what your closing cost will be. When you do find a good property be ready to make an offer on it that day because it will not be on the market long if it is priced right. All these things will get easier and faster with time. Just keep learning and go out there and check out some properties!

My duplex in Fort Lauderdale is 1250 sqft per side.  Each side has its own meter.  My tenants told me the average bill through out the year is $150 a month. It's also a flat roof and faces east.  Its about 3 miles from the beach also.  I've been contemplating this for quite some time if you can tell! 

@Kyle Bronstein this is a very interesting topic to me.  I think most investors would want to verify all the tax benefits in their particular state.  I have to ask because your example was for one unit.  Most of the landlords I know own properties that have multiple units. My question to you is. Do I need a separate system for each unit of a multifamily property?  So I assume it would cost me $40,000 for one duplex? Thats a huge up front cost in my opinion.  I live in South Florida and there has been a lot of talk about solar energy in the last couple years.  Let me know your thoughts.  Thanks

@A.R. Coningsby If you need help please feel free to contact me.  I'm an investor and an agent and know the market very well.  I'm currently helping a few BP members who are new to the multifamily market here in Broward county.  I house hacked a duplex in 2015 in Fort Lauderdale and know what to look out for. Good Luck regardless and I hope you get the deal done. 

@Daniel Roman Send me a PM with your contact info.