All Forum Posts by: Colby D Hollins

@Jorge Vazquez Thanks for the 20 years of insight. I am new to the Florida area and a lot of people have been telling me to steer clear of wood frame. I am glad to get someone on the other end of the spectrum saying to go for it. I think there are different factors to consider, but overall I think if you do the proper due diligence before purchasing the property there could be major upsides. 

@Kristina Kuba Thank you for the heads up. Definitely something to watch out for. It seems to me the biggest issue is the unknowns that could potentially happen when you start "peeling back the layers". 

Sean Ruggiero Thanks for the advice. I will definitely make sure that if I do move forward I get a full termite inspection/history. So I don't end up shooting myself in the foot later.

Alvin Taveras I would say overall it was a sweat equity play. I do believe that the overall midtown redevelopment projects are key areas of interest for me. I would be more skeptical on a wood frame house built more recently; however, the wood used back then  was much more dense than it is today. With that being said I am still very hesitant on wood frame as I have been lead to believe it is a bad investment.

@Jill F.

The house is really old, made in the 30s. However, I don't know if it's made from old cypress wood.

@Wendy Vaidic

Awesome thanks a lot that helps

@Jordan Williamson what do you mean you would want a premium? Like a great price? Good advice though I will look into cost of insurance.

@Kenny Dahill

Mold, wood rot, being on softer ground (there is a lot of sand in florida), and overall higher maintenance. It's an older house 30s so that could be an issue. On the plus side it's already at the 1% rule (with room to increase rents). If I rehabbed the property I could get a little sweat equity out of it. This would make it a big project but it's zoned for a duplex and was thinking of adding an addition to make it a duplex. That obviously would require a lot more work though.

In your opinion is wood frame construction a complete no no for a rental in fort myers, florida?

View report

*This link comes directly from our calculators, based on information input by the member who posted.

I have been looking for a deal for a while now and trying to make the right first move. With the market as crazy hot as it is right now this seems to be the closest thing to a good deal I have come across. Could anybody share their input?