All Forum Posts by: Andrew Royce

@Zach Kidd Just saw this, thanks for all the info! 

Yeah i'm hoping to see a decent dip in the next few years, and am not against buying foreclosures or short sales which I have done in the past here in Cincinnati. But you are right, there seems to be a lot of gotchas that I will need to learn. Also plan on coming down in May and spending a few weeks traveling down the coast staying at different places here and there.

Appreciate the info, especially on the short term regulations. Something I will look into more as I continue my research.

As for financing, it shouldn't be an issue as I'll have 50% or more to put down. Both my properties here were either foreclosure or purchased without realtors. Because there are more costs associated with an out of state rental, I'm inclined to go the foreclosure route as the purchase price is really the only large variable that can determine if I'm going to be cash flow positive or not.

@Tyler Work Thanks for the offer, Im going to do some more research but will hopefully be in touch soon

I currently live just outside Cincinnati Ohio and have 2 rental property condos. Im looking at buying my first vacation rental condo and am leaning towards St. Pete, specifically the stretch between Madeira and St. Pete Beach. 

So first question would be any advice on those areas? Hoping to be walking distance to beach, restaurants, safe, etc.

I'm also struggling with cost analysis for these properties. With my long term rentals here it's fairly simple, you have taxes, HOA fees and insurance but with a short term rental i'm not sure how to handle VRBO fees, vacancy with a short term rental, out of state taxes, etc..

Still fairly early in the planning phase but have to start somewhere so any help is appreciated!

@James Galla Thats a good question. The 2 units I currently own are in the same complex, and they have always been rent friendly. But I would assume, and could be wrong, that if the bylaws did get amended that there would have to be some sort of grandfathering. If not and in the extreme unlikeliness that did happen and there was no grandfather clause I would most likely sell. Which would be ok since I bought substantially under market value. 

Thanks!

Have lurked on BP for quite a while now, and finally thought I would share my thoughts, strategy, and overall plan on the future. Any advice, feedback positive or negative is appreciated!

I've always considered myself an entrepreneur, someone who wanted to work for himself, do things his own way. So I started my own software development company 7 years ago, this allowed me to work from home and stock away a decent savings, but I knew I didn't want that long term, and rentals was always the end goal. Finally 2 years ago I decided to dive in, so I bought my first condo.

Let me rant about the condo and why its the best for beginners..

The condo to me is a perfect beginner rental. Minimal liability, you pay an HOA fee and most everything is taken care of for you. Roof is leaking? They'll fix it. Snow Removal, landscaping, garbage, pool without the maintenance, all taken care of. So after renovations its just basic interior maintenance from time to time. This to me is THE ideal passive income stream. Also condos are relatively inexpensive, I got mine in foreclosure for $30k, put $10k into it and they sell for $50k - $60k. On top of that they are relatively easy to sell, where something like a multi family has a smaller buyer pool.

So back to the details..

Purchasing my first condo with $30k cash, then another $10k, puts me at $40k total investment, I rent out for $800 a month, after all my costs I'm looking at $450 cash flow per month. This turns out to be around %12 cash on cash return. I'm also hitting the 2% rule with $800 rent and feel I have room to raise it as I am on the lower end in the area.

Since I bought my first condo with cash I was able to leverage that equity with a HELOC (5/3 Bank), they appraised my property at $58k and gave me $37,500 (65% LTV). With this and $10k more of my own money I just bought my 2nd condo and have it rented as of yesterday. Now I have $900 cashflow per month to pay off the HELOC plus some personal funds to get it paid off in 2 years.

My ultimate goal..

I might have listened to Dave Ramsey too much when I was young, but my goal is to pay off each property before moving onto the next one. So once this HELOC is paid off. I'll go find another condo and do it again. This way every condo I own outright will pay off the one condo I have a loan on. Once I have 4 condos paid off, they will pay for a 5th condo by themselves in 2 years (assuming purchase price of $45k).

Thats it for me, just wanted to share as this community and forums have helped me out through these last 2 years.

Have lurked on BP for quite a while now, and finally thought I would share my thoughts, strategy, and overall plan on the future. Any advice, feedback positive or negative is appreciated!

I've always considered myself an entrepreneur, someone who wanted to work for himself, do things his own way. So I started my own software development company 7 years ago, this allowed me to work from home and stock away a decent savings, but I knew I didn't want that long term, and rentals was always the end goal. Finally 2 years ago I decided to dive in, so I bought my first condo. 

Let me rant about the condo and why its the best for beginners..

The condo to me is a perfect beginner rental. Minimal liability, you pay an HOA fee and most everything is taken care of for you. Roof is leaking? They'll fix it. Snow Removal, landscaping, garbage, pool without the maintenance, all taken care of. So after renovations its just basic interior maintenance from time to time. This to me is THE ideal passive income stream. Also condos are relatively inexpensive, I got mine in foreclosure for $30k, put $10k into it and they sell for $50k - $60k. On top of that they are relatively easy to sell, where something like a multi family has a smaller buyer pool.

So back to the details..

Purchasing my first condo with $30k cash, then another $10k, puts me at $40k total investment, I rent out for $800 a month, after all my costs I'm looking at $450 cash flow per month. This turns out to be around %12 cash on cash return. I'm also hitting the 2% rule with $800 rent and feel I have room to raise it as I am on the lower end in the area.

Since I bought my first condo with cash I was able to leverage that equity with a HELOC (5/3 Bank), they appraised my property at $58k and gave me $37,500 (65% LTV). With this and $10k more of my own money I just bought my 2nd condo and have it rented as of yesterday. Now I have $900 cashflow per month to pay off the HELOC plus some personal funds to get it paid off in 2 years.

My ultimate goal..

I might have listened to Dave Ramsey too much when I was young, but my goal is to pay off each property before moving onto the next one. So once this HELOC is paid off. I'll go find another condo and do it again. This way every condo I own outright will pay off the one condo I have a loan on. Once I have 4 condos paid off, they will pay for a 5th condo by themselves in 2 years (assuming purchase price of $45k).

Thats it for me, just wanted to share as this community and forums have helped me out through these last 2 years.

So I own a rental property condo outright, it would probably appraise at around $50k. Im looking to purchase another in the next year and would like to borrow on my paid off rental. The condos I am targeting can be had for around $30-$35k in foreclosure and I will have around 10k cash to put down. 

So my question is what would you suggest the best way of going about this? Cash out refinance, HELOC, Home equity loan, Dont do it!??? Open to any advice or words of wisdom, thanks!