All Forum Posts by: Alex J.

@Liron Burrack

Liron,

Welcome to the area! I’m in the St. Petersburg area. The KPIs you’re targeting are achievable in certain areas here On the Pinellas side of the bridge.



The hottest parts of St. Pete have become very difficult to cash flow and hit cash-on-cash metrics. However, secondary spots in South Pinellas still cash flow. The northeast corner of St. Pete still has cash flow potential (4th St & Gandy area).

On the west side/beach side of Pinellas, we are finding great success generating cash flow in Seminole & Largo. The rent to price is stronger here than in the downtown St. Pete area and the beaches. The property taxes are lower there & there is no flood insurance required (many St. Pete areas require flood).



Hope This helps!

@Andrea D. 

This type of piping could definitely be an insurance issue. If there is a significant amount of this throughout the property, it would be an expensive job for sure. Especially if you are looking to get in with a low down payment & minimal cash out of pocket. On the note of insurance, I encourage you to get a flood insurance quote on this property as well. Flood insurance in this area (and HOI for that matter) have gone absolutely nuts. It is also rising massively year over year, so something to consider in your underwriting. 

For your first deal I would certainly lean more towards a property that needs cosmetic work only. Major reno's, especially right now, can be a major cash killer. 

Your mortgage broker sounds like he is unfamiliar with owner occupied lending on 2-4 unit properties. I have seen/heard nothing saying they have done away with low down payment loans for owner occupied multi's. on 3-4 units FHA is likely your best bet. Conventional on 3-4 units is going to require 20% down. On 2 units you can do 5% down conventional. I prefer conventional to FHA for PMI purposes, if conventional is available on the specific property.

25% down is only required on 2-4 unit multifamily investment loans. Owner occupying, 3.5-5% is widely available. 

Alex 

Andrea, 

First off, excellent choice with St. Pete Beach! I am about 1 mile from this 4plex as I type this lol, I know the property you are discussing. Cannot beat the location and St. Pete Beach is as hot as ever, and only improving with the removal of the development moratorium. Think you have a winner here!

On the funds to acquire... One obvious answer is to house hack if that's an option for you. Alternatively, if you have significant equity in other properties, you could borrow against the equity in those (cross-collateralize) and show funds down for the 4plex. This is not always easy, but one of the few options I believe lenders will allow for borrowed funds to be used as investment down payment. They'll want significant reserves on top of this as well, likely 6-12 months of PITI.

Hope this helps. 

Alex 

Hey Steven! 

Lifelong resident of the St. Pete area here. Now an investor & Realtor as well! 

Alex 

St. Pete Beach rules require a 30 day minimum. Even with that rule in place, the demand there is shockingly high. I was amazed to to see the level of business these properties in SPB are doing with monthly minimums. 

Indian Rocks I see a lot of different things honestly, so I don't want to give you definitive info I am not 100% on. Certainly check with the city for both Indian Shores and Indian Rocks Beach (separate towns... to make it extra confusing). 

Many condo listings on the MLS will detail the rental rules or attach the HOA docs. But yes calling the condo association is your best bet in learning the rules for any individual condo complex. Some have VERY high management fees, so be wary of that. In towns that require 3-6 month minimums, these condos are a great option for people really interested in vacation rentals in locations that don't really allow it. The condos also provide a lower priced option to get exposure to the STRs too, since most free standing properties along the beaches are very expensive and are hard to make money on.

Hey Nicholas! 

I see you have looked into St. Pete as a potential market for your rental property investment. There is major growth happening here in St. Pete. Starting with the demographic shift we are seeing in the US, Florida and St. Pete specifically are major beneficiaries of what is happening. St. Pete is experiencing a development boom in the Downtown St. Pete area. Thousands of new Class A Apartment units have been built in the last 1-2 years in massive complexes 100+ units each. 

There is significant job growth here as well. All of this can really be attributed to the fact that St. Pete is simply an awesome place to live. Surrounded by beaches, excellent weather, friendly tax laws and affordable real estate & cost of living. On a national level and within Florida, St. Pete truly stands out as a great little pocket of economic tailwinds that make it intriguing for investment. 

Alex 

Hey Zach! 

You are spot on about the laws being confusing here in the St. Pete area and along the beaches. Every town is different. I have found that St. Pete Beach & Indian Rocks Beach have the friendliest short term rental rules along the Pinellas County beaches. St. Pete Beach was just named #1 beach in the US by TripAdvisor, so there is plenty of short term rental demand there. We just helped a couple get a great vacation rental triplex in St. Pete Beach and can speak with first hand experience that the demand there is excellent. 

Also, many beach front condos allow nightly and weekly rentals. Some even have reasonably priced on site management. 

Alex 

Vito, 

The St. Petersburg area is a very high growth city in FL that is still affordable and can still cash flow. St. Pete was actually #1 in the US in rent growth in a BiggerPockets study from Q1 2020. There is very strong population and job growth in the area. St. Pete Beach was also just names the #1 beach in the US by TripAdvisor. So clearly there are some great things happening here in St. Pete! 

Downtown St. Petersburg is experiencing a massive boom right now. There is enormous development happening here and multiple class A apartment complexes getting built, in addition to high rise condos with 100+ units that are all $1M+. As I mentioned, major growth here. 

Even with all these development, there is still major demand for affordable housing. All of this high end development is creating supply at the high end of the price range, and creating opportunity for small landlords like us to provide median-rent level housing. The demand for median-priced housing is ever-growing and the supply is dwindling. 

I have lived here my whole life so I am certainly biased, but all the great things happening in St. Pete speak for themselves. Plus, this place is just absolutely beautiful and an amazing place to live. 

Hi @Precious Luster ! 

I am here in the Tampa Bay area, specifically on the beach-side of town in St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg area is a phenomenal place to live and undergoing massive growth right now. There are also a good amount of small multifamily properties that make excellent house hacks in good neighborhoods. The whole Tampa Bay area provides a great opportunity to house hack in a growing region with affordable property prices. In my (admittedly biased) opinion, St. Pete is a sweet spot of real estate market opportunity plus an amazing place to live and work. 

Best of luck!

Alex

Hi Alexis! 

I am also here in St. Pete. There is a great local lender I work with that has told me he is writing a lot of FHA loans lately. I will reach out to you