All Forum Posts by: Christopher Holt

Christopher sounds like you'll be great! Jonathan Greene, is so correct about being more interested, than interesting! LOL, it seems us introverts always windup in occupations that demand we speak to people'!

Also, the hearing loss is not the great, have it checked out. May be an easy fix and even if you need a hearing-aid at your age it might be surprising how many people connect even more and feel more comfortable with you.

I’m dyslexic and an educator/public speaking. Many times, I feel people project their own public speaking anxiety on me. I find using humor, directed at myself, always eases the tension.

Good luck and have fun!

Best

Roy

To be fair, judging by the “ask about the guru” posts on here, many people might not realize this. The gurus tell you that you can do anything with nearly no money at all. But sometimes it’s just plain old luck and good manners that can get you most deals. 

I’ll tell my story though. 

2019 I was living check to check pretty much. I was on BP and soaked up everything I could. I did a lot of side work to gain some money but it was taking time. I came on a MHP that was a good deal. Smoking deal. I didn’t have the down payment but I had a vacant lot in Galveston county. Most of the people on here told me it wouldn’t refi because it was vacant. I kept trying and one person on here told me that it could. Maybe. He gave me a few pointers on how and it did actually finance. I got 80k off of 100k value. Even though I was cash poor, I had good credit that I had been working on since I’ve been a member of BP. 

Getting the park under contract was the next hurdle. We had competition and they had bucks. I didn’t. We sent one of those “love letters” through our agent and he sold to us for the same price as the other guys offer because he liked us. If fact, he is still in our lives today because he is a valuable resource and now a friend. 

The park should have been a slam dunk at the bank. It was 230,000 with 26 units. But the previous owner only collected cash so we didn’t have an income to draw off of for appraisal. Bank said the land was only worth 200k and that’s all they would loan. They wanted 60k down on that. That only left me with 20k left over that I wanted to use for fixing stuff right away. So how do I get the park now? Was it over?

Went with hat in hand to the owner and asked if he would O/F the 30k. Our goal was to sell the houses and rent the lots. As we sold the houses we would pay on the side note and he would release the title one by one. He agreed. The houses that sold paid off the side note in 8 months or so.

Now, the hardest part was the double close. The bank doing the park kept asking where the money was for the down. I told them it was coming soon. The bank doing the refi was slow slow slow. It was the most aggravating part and I thought it would cost us our deal. We closed on the refi that morning and closed on the park that afternoon. It was that close. 

14 months later and a lot of work, we had it appraised. It was worth 750k and cash flowed nicely from day one. Still does. 

For me, I would say don’t pay a guru when you have thousands of them right here. They don’t always give you the answer you want but they usually give the one need. But also, never give up on your dream. I have more now but the first one is hard to forget. I learned more on that one than any other. 

1. Have her move in with you. 

2. Get her a nice place in Mexico on the ocean. A few minutes drive from the border. 

3. Bring her to San Diego put her on section 8.

Good Luck.

Rezoning can be quite a journey, but it’s not out of reach, especially with your goal of enhancing affordable housing options. In Seminole Heights, seeing those small PDs around does show that there's some room for zoning flexibility. I’d suggest starting with a chat with the local zoning department to see what’s possible and look into similar rezoning efforts. Positioning your project as a boon for affordable housing might really help sway the city in your favor. Plus, rallying support from the community and linking up with housing advocacy groups could strengthen your case. Consider roping in a zoning lawyer too, to smooth out the process. It sounds like a worthwhile venture, so best of luck!

Christopher,

Just go to Tampa. gov and fill out a rezoning application and list your proposed improvements in detail. Follow "All" of the steps on the form and the website which they list and map out in detail. You can also call and talk to one of the planners or get an inspector on the phone - might take a few attempts. I have had several offices in Tampa but now in Pinellas and these get submitted and approved every day.