All Forum Posts by: Audrey Johnson

Looking for insurance advice-

I am due for insurance renewal next month, and between homeowner’s and flood it will be more than double what I was paying. I have a 4 unit building that is older but roof, electric and plumbing/piping have all been updated in the last ten years. Has anyone else renewed recently? I knew it would be more with the recent hurricanes, but the premiums they are wanting to charge are insane. Looking to see how other landlords are dealing with insurance increases, I know some have mentioned citizens. Thank you in advance!

Hi everyone!

Does anyone have a recommendation for a CPA in Jacksonville, Fl that works with real estate investors? I currently work a full time W2 job, and purchased a fourplex in 2021 and invested quite a bit in rehab costs by the end of the year.  I’m hoping to find someone who can dive into my expenses, rehab costs and rent collected with me to better understand and accurately file my returns. Any suggestions or advice are greatly appreciated!

Hi Jacksonville investors!

We recently purchased a fourplex in the San Marco area. We are looking for a small contractor who can finish a bathroom and kitchen remodel. We will purchase all materials, and we have a plumber already lined up for replumbing and repiping. If anyone has recommendations or someone they have used before, especially for tiling and drywall, please comment with their info! Thank you in advance!

We used Mike Ossman (Mossman inspections) for a 1950s fourplex that had some pretty extensive repairs and updates needed. He was very thorough and reasonably priced!

We use Innago!

Thank you! 

Hi everyone! I am looking for some guidance on inherited tenants in Florida and would love to hear back from anyone who has any experience with inherited tenants.

I am getting ready to close on a fourplex in Jacksonville, Fl that I have been living in for the past year while waiting for the current owners to sort everything out with their lender. I am set to close on the 25th of June and would like to get everything sorted out beforehand. Two of the units are vacant, and there are currently two girls living in the 4th unit on a month to month lease (not sure if it is a verbal agreement or they have one in writing at this point, I am waiting to hear back from the sellers). They have been nice neighbors and stay relatively quiet, however they are only paying 1k/mo for a 1500 sf 2/2 waterfront apartment, which is what the tenants I have set to move into the downstairs 1/1 units will be paying. I am by no means looking to get top dollar from them, especially as we will be replacing the roof and doing quite a few other rehab projects around the property to update it, which I anticipate will be inconvenient for a short time for those living in the property. I still feel that at minimum 1,200/mo is a very fair price- below market value here in Jacksonville, and will be necessary for me to make the mortgage, insurance and taxes payments while we are working on updating the property. Has anyone dealt with inherited tenants before, especially when looking to increase the rent? I have not found a clear answer online on the process of going about it. Should I have them sign a new month to month lease agreement with myself on the closing date, and let them know then that I would be increasing rent to 1,200/mo on the first of August? (This would give them over 30 days notice) If they do have a written month to month lease with the current owners- does mine have to look the same for the first 30 days with a notice that the terms of the lease will change in a month? Any and all input and experiences are welcomed, this is my first property and I want to make sure I do everything correctly while being fair to the current tenants and protecting myself.

Thank you in advance!

Hi Nathaniel! Did you find it to be worth it to have a waterfront rental? And did you have better rental income because of it? We have a vision to put in an outdoor fire pit and second story dock with seating to watch out over the water. I like to think that having a small, private lot on the water would attract higher paying tenants and leave lots of extra income possibilities on the table. Did you ever do anything with your waterfront?

And thank you for the tips! How do you typically work out paying the contractor/setting a schedule with them? 

Hi Erik!

I was originally in contract a year ago, and due to the seller financing set up on their portfolio (international bank with a balloon loan) they were not able to piece apart their properties under the loan. This information was not disclosed to us and I had a lease ending soon, so they offered to move me in to one of the units rent free for a year. Now their lender is allowing a breakdown of their portfolio. 

When we were originally in contract the insurance provider we chose to go with requested that roof, wiring and plumbing was all redone- cast iron pipes, cloth wiring and a slightly damaged roof would prevent us from being covered. We have estimates for those three projects panning out around 40k. The reason we are estimating around another 40k for the rest of the upgrades is that we plan to do most of the renovations ourselves (we as in my fiance and I). He has worked with a friend to renovate several houses and has the tools to complete most of the upgrades we plan on. 

The price of the property is definitely lofty compared to the rental potential in the current market. However, we are mostly interested in appreciation with enough rental income to float us through rather than monthly income production. Jacksonville has grown about 60k citizens in the past five years, and continues to grow as multiple businesses relocate their headquarters here and local hospitals expand continuously. We are also located close to two colleges here in town and rents have increased quite a bit in recent years. It is on a quiet dead-end street and one of the few multifamily opportunities on the river without purchasing a large complex. My goal is to have enough rental income to cover monthly expenses with some overhead to save up in case of larger repairs. I expect appreciation go kick in pretty quickly!

Hi Basit! I will be putting 20% down. I am fortunate enough to have a lender I am close to that I can get the cash for repairs from at about 1% interest with no payments for one year.

Do you have any tips on making sure repairs are done within a reasonable timeline? I have heard about offering 1/3 of the project cost to a contractor upfront and then paying the rest as they finish. Do you have a certain method you use to work with contractors?

Thank you so much!