All Forum Posts by: Caleb Richardson

The DBPR has a search function that would allow you to search for all licensed real estate professionals by county or city here: https://www.myfloridalicense.com/wl11.asp?mode=0&S...

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help,

Among many others in the Emerald Coast area, I took my class through local real estate attorney Bryan Keifer. I am not aware of any classes or offerings that focus only on the Florida portion of the exam, but if you reached out to Bryan, I'm sure he could quickly let you know which chapters are Florida specific. 

http://www.kieferseminarsfl.com/class-schedules-an...

Here is a schedule of his upcoming classes if you felt the need to take the full 4-day class. It's relatively easy, which is partially why there are so many folks around here with their real estate license. Also, the exam wasn't too difficult, but there are approximately 7 different versions of the test you can receive, I think I got one of the easier ones. Luck of the draw.  

Bryan participates in helping generate questions for the exam and has been teaching classes in this area for many years. He also has a title company here.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help!

@Christopher Brainard Sorry, forgot to mention the HOA does not allow estate sales! Another wrench in the plans. I need to figure out what sort of professional I need to be trying to contact. Are there companies or antique shop owners who handle this sort of thing regularly?

Trying to help another advisor with their listing. 

Owners were wealthy Germans who built the property in 1994, the last parent passed away recently, and the kids inherited the property. The children live in Germany and aren't interested in anything, they just want everything sold individually, or with the home.

Most of the parts of the home, including an intricate 3 story spiral staircase, were shipped or flown in. The staircase had to be installed with a crane before the roof was built. Marble from Lombardy throughout. A unique property, to say the least.

Any advice on how I might go about identifying these furniture & other pieces and/or getting them appraised?

Dressers, chairs, dining table set, coffee tables, nightstands, bedroom sets, elephant riding seat thingy, ancient looking stone sharpening wheel, large rugs, mostly European looking with a bit of Asian flair on some of the pieces.

I'm fairly confident that most of the contents left in the home should be valuable. If anything, it is evident they are all well made.

Not really sure if this is necessarily the best place to post this, I've just been reaching out to a few different resources. 

I figured someone here may have some relevant experience with this.

Thanks!

I don't know any wholesale investment groups outside of the one @Arianne L. runs called Glastheim, but I would definitely take a look at the emerald coast area since the 3 main airports (Pensacola, Destin/Ft. Walton, and Panama City Beach) offer round-trip flights to Chattanooga for under $200. What amenities are most important to you when you plan on using the property? I'm going to take a wild guess and say fishing, based upon your profile picture...

@Dave Kirby To answer your marketplace question more specifically, I do not know of such a marketplace. I could put together a list of every vacation rental property available in ECARs MLS (emerald coast association of realtors) but that would be an incredibly extensive list (1000+?) so it depends on what exactly you’re trying to do.

@Dave Kirby Tyler and Andy both make great points about Destin. Short-Term Vacation Rentals here are a big business. There are options in almost every price range, from Condos around 200k all the way up to massive “mini hotels” with 9+ bedrooms in the multi-million category. Cap rate can vary, but it takes patience and diligence to find the right property here.

I took the live course here in Destin with Bryan Kiefer, a local real estate attorney. The exam was much easier than I anticipated. He explained to us that there are multiple versions of the exam, I think maybe 7? He said 1 is very heavy on mortgage-related questions, 1 is incredibly easy, and the other 5 are about average in difficulty. I feel like the exam I received was relatively average.

He definitely encouraged the live class, because based on numbers alone, about 75% of their online course sign-ups never actually finish the course. 

An all day cram course was also offered for only $50, and it was extremely helpful to have a quick refresher a few days before the exam itself.

Like Marc Middleton said, it's only 10% Math, so memorize those numbers and you will knock those out of the park. Chapters 5 & 7 along with 13 should definitely be a focus as well.

Good luck!

Jeff is a neighbor of mine in Destin, he's with Murphy's Home Services - http://www.murphyshomeservices.com/about-us/

He helped with updating our system and installing a mini split, did a fantastic job.

I have a client based in Toronto looking to buy property in Destin, Florida. I am unfamiliar with lending practices for lending to foreign nationals/Canadians, and I would love any good recommendations for information relating to financing a Florida property from Canada.

I have made contact with a great Ottowa based CPA/CGA that has educated me on a lot of the details for the most tax efficient options for purchasing a property, but any additional information on possibly avoiding FIRPTA withholding or general cross-border tax-related resources would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

-Caleb