All Forum Posts by: Nat C.

You are correct in steering clear of the condos. The HOA fees on paper are only one reason to avoid condos. I like to be the lord of my own land rather than at the mercy of someone's else's conventions. You never know when they are going to pull a special assessment or up and change the CC&R's.

You will need to be prepared to put in substantial sweat equity if you want to get a decent return in Miami now days. I recommend Driving for Dollars to find off market deals because the market price is quite high.

Welcome to Miami. I have been buying in Miami since 2011 and the era of buying property under 100k is long gone. 

Recently I have been buying in Daytona Beach, which is still affordable and cap rates are decent. 

I have always said that I won't invest unless I can achieve a 20% cap rate, otherwise it's not worth my time and I might as well just do notes. I have been able to reach this goal in Daytona Beach, although I know the appreciation will be only moderate as it's population is only 70,000 and growing at around 1.8% per annum. 

I haven't done recent research into other cities but I am certain you can find other cities in Florida where you can buy for under 100k and get a decent ROI and appreciation. I've always felt that Florida is a good state to invest in because people continue to migrate here for the warner weather.

If you decide to venture into Daytona Beach, let me know as my company headquarters is there.

My company does leasing, maintenance, repairs and cleaning, so we provide all of the services of a property management company BUT we don't charge ongoing monthly fees. We only charge for the tangible services which are actually provided to the client. 

As long as the numbers make sense, the best time to invest in real estate is always now.

The sooner you get into the market, the better. It may be worthwhile for you to post the details and numbers here on BP for more in depth feedback.

Miami is so oversaturated with investors now. I believe it is difficult to find deals which make sense. For buy and hold investments, it's hard to get a decent cap rate if you are buying at market value. For flipping, I believe there is potential money to be made. 

For years I was saying Overtown and Little Haiti were the place to buy for massive appreciation but now they have already exploded in price. Anywhere in Miami, East of I-95 is going to be a good place to buy.

Although I just read an article saying Liberty City is now a great investment location and I was like 'Say, what!?'

I highly recommend for you to try Driving for Dollars and to track the owners down and speak to them in person if you have nice manners and a pleasant demeanor. This is the best way for you to secure properties at below market value.

Good luck with your endeavors.

First, type in the county name + 'property appraiser'. There you input the address and you will see the current owner and their mailing address.

Sometimes owners don't keep their mailing address current. There are plenty more ways to find people 

Type in the county name + 'clerk of courts'. The sites vary by county but generally you want to look for something along the lines of Official Records. There you input the owners name and can find out half their life story; deeds, mortgages, divorces, mortgages, liens, release of mortgage. 

You can often find their current address if the property appraiser one was inaccurate. 

Lastly, door knocking often leads to vital information. Just make sure you look and act friendly when knocking on strangers doors!

@Rory Kinnear

The second part of my reply was cut off. Continuing....

Why should Jill be required to sponsor John?

Jill and John were born into the same country, with the same privileges and both have good health.

However Jill worked harder than John. Jill worked so hard that she was able to buy a rental property. She also paid significantly higher state and federal taxes due to her hard work.

And now the state is telling Jill that she must sponsor John, despite all the taxes she’s paid.

It seems like a pretty strange and unfair system to me; involuntary sponsorship.

@Rory Kinnear

Sorry Rory but I find your remarks to be absolute baloney.

I completely concur with your comments that RE is an industry that carries risk. I always tell people not to become a landlord unless you are fully prepared for the pitfalls that are part and parcel of the job.

However, this pandemic is a black swan event and is discluded from the regular inherent risks.

Your post assumes that all landlords have a healthy portfolio of investment properties with years worth of reserves. Perhaps this fits your situation but it’s certainly not everyone’s case.

What about retirees whose sole source of income is their investment property. Their ‘portfolio’ may consist of one or two properties.

There are investors who are new to the game and invested everything they had into their first property.

 Does everyone else find these discussions on title issues as fascinating as me?

I think @Tom Gimer and @Peter Walther should start their own podcast about title matters. You can interview people who have crazy stories about fraud, easements and mechanics liens that were uncovered after-the-fact. I know I would love to listen to this podcast.

 That is unreal!