All Forum Posts by: Alacia Mahnken

Quote from @Calvin Alardo:

Quote from @Alacia Mahnken:

Quote from @Calvin Alardo:

Hi,

I recently bought a townhome in temple terrace Tampa in 2022. I am looking to rent it out but the mortgage including the HOA is 2,000. The market in the area seems pretty competitive with some nice apartments costing around 2,000 for rent so I am considering renting it out for cheaper maybe 1.8/1.9 so it doesn't sit too long on the market. The townhome itself is decent but nothing high end. Hoping to get some insight from some more experienced investors?

What is your goal? Are you currently living there and you want to move somewhere else but you can’t sell it?

Negative cash flow is not something I’d be okay with, but I know there are some instances where people are okay with taking a small hit for a big pay off with the appreciation (and hopes that the rent will go up). Unfortunately, you also need to  account for expenditures other than your debt service…I.e. repairs, vacancy, etc. usually people assume these as a percentage into their calculation. It would be a no-go for me. 

Is it more than one bedroom? If so, you could consider renting by the room to increase your gross monthly rent. Just a thought of other ways to make this deal viable. 

Thank you for your response! 


it’s a 3 bedroom and about a mile away from USF so we considered that but the rooms are different sizes so I didn’t know if that would be a deal breaker for renting to college kids? 

long term I’d simply be okay with owning a few rentals for passive income and retirement. We are actually planning on moving in a couple months so we are trying to decide what to do with the property. I mentioned the temple terrace area because there are plans to expand similar to downtown Tampa. They are going to call it “uptown tampa” so I feel like the equity will increase in the long term that will pay off the negative cash flow I might have ibeginning. 

 I would rent by room for positive cash flow. Rooms don’t have to be the same size. You could adjust the price based on size. 
Tampa is definitely an appreciating market, but why not take both the appreciation and the cash flow? 

I think to better answer this question for your specific situation, I would like to know where you'd plan to live and the cost you'd acquire monthly for your new living expenses. Are you going to rent or do you have enough money saved up for DP and closing cost to buy a new property?

Quote from @Sophia Boro:

There are obvious benefits to acquiring properties that have permitted work, but I want to see if anyone can explain why some folks allow unpermitted work. My curiosity includes how timeframes are affected, the listing price of the home, quality of work etc. 

Anyone have any insight?

I am uncertain if you are wondering why people would buy property with (known) unpermitted work or if you are asking why they would choose to not permit work they do after they buy the property.  

If it's the former, then I assume the purchase price reflects a discount great enough to overcome the headache of getting retroactive permits.  This would mean that they have also done their due diligence in knowing it could get permitted by having a GC and/or inspector come out and look at the property to make sure it is up to code. In some cases, the price may justify redoing the work up to code.

If it's the latter, then I believe that was answered above.  Permitting takes time and time is money.  You can get unpermitted work for much cheaper through specialty subcontractors that are unlicensed (usually because of immigration status).  Their work can be quality work, or it can look like quality work but not meet code, you roll the dice. We haven't even touched on the safety and liability concerns.  This is where a licensed GC who will pull permits pays for itself in peace of mind alone.

Quote from @Calvin Alardo:

Hi,

I recently bought a townhome in temple terrace Tampa in 2022. I am looking to rent it out but the mortgage including the HOA is 2,000. The market in the area seems pretty competitive with some nice apartments costing around 2,000 for rent so I am considering renting it out for cheaper maybe 1.8/1.9 so it doesn't sit too long on the market. The townhome itself is decent but nothing high end. Hoping to get some insight from some more experienced investors?

What is your goal? Are you currently living there and you want to move somewhere else but you can’t sell it?

Negative cash flow is not something I’d be okay with, but I know there are some instances where people are okay with taking a small hit for a big pay off with the appreciation (and hopes that the rent will go up). Unfortunately, you also need to  account for expenditures other than your debt service…I.e. repairs, vacancy, etc. usually people assume these as a percentage into their calculation. It would be a no-go for me. 

Is it more than one bedroom? If so, you could consider renting by the room to increase your gross monthly rent. Just a thought of other ways to make this deal viable. 

Quote from @Mariangela Ciciarelli:

Anyone with experience of success in Clearwater with STR? I'm interested to invest in the area, my husband and I are exploring all different options!
I appreciate any insight! 😊

Clearwater is an attractive spot for vacationers, but even as a local, we stay out there several times a year…fishing, riding bikes, beach bar hopping and playing some vball. So many fun things to do! 

Living in your home the next 2 years to avoid capital gains tax only applies if you are planning to sell it within the next 5. Is that your plan? If so, I don't see any benefit in putting it in an LLC.

Interested! 

@Jack Lander  Interested in your subto in Tampa. 

Quote from @Chris Seveney:

Quote from @Alacia Mahnken:

Thoughts? Anyone have experience with this in Florida?

Details:

-Property currently under contract with a wholesaler at 76% of ARV.

-Rehab included new driveway, addition of bathroom and converting a room to bedroom as well as new roof and HVAC. Increased sq footage.

-My husband is a licensed GC and we reviewed 4-point inspection and nothing major found. He estimated about 10k if this report is accurate.

Our goal is to get permits and do last fixes and flip it.

 If you are licensed then getting the permits to get it resolved should not be an issue as long as the property does not have any setback or coverage ratio areas. I would get it pending and pull the permits now to confirm they can be pulled. Then close and complete the work.

Thank you! 

Now to find the short term funds for the flip!

I have often thought about this strategy as well.  The part that keeps stopping me is this- even though we would cash flow on our current home, it would get eaten up in the higher mortgage cost of the new property we'd be moving into (simply because of the higher cost of the current market).