All Forum Posts by: David DuCille

I'm not sure if the prices you guys are throwing around for granite are including fabrication costs or not because down here in florida, granite is dirt cheap and if I had to redo a kitchen, I would put granite in even if the home was 50k it can be found that cheap! there was a time when stainless appliances were only seen as commercial grade, now it seems like everyone and their brother has them or expects them. The same for granite. The other thing I've noticed that really adds the wow factor for people is glass tile backsplash. I just scored some on clearance at lowes for $2.16 and put it up in my rental property along with new stainless appliances. Every single woman that looked at renting the place wow'ed at the backsplash. if you can get it cheap enough go for it.

I agree with others but at the same time, the list price is very low as well. It doesn't sound like it would make much sense to restore to a single family if you say the comps put the price around $129k. 2700 sqft is a lot of house and with the age of it and the issues you describe it sounds like rehabbing it could run into 6 figure range.

As for estimating costs, it's going to vary depending on where you are. in New York City where I lived for the last 12 years, new construction can run around $300 sq ft. Here in Tampa where I now reside, new construction can be done for $80-$100 sq ft.

is the community college solely a commuter school or do kids live there and need housing? keeping it a triple and marketing it as a student rental means you don't have to be as extravagant with your renovation. keep everything pretty barebones and that can keep renovation costs down. Sounds like buy, renovate, and hold would be best option.

One last thing, do you know if it was LEGALLY split into 3 units and when? last thing you want to do is buy it planning to keep it 3 units and then go to city hall and find out it's not permitted as a triplex and you have to shell out tons of cash just to get plans drawn up to do so.

one last thing, you said you own the house in ocala outright. So I guess $750 a month income is very solid, but depending on what the house is actually worth, I'm wondering if selling it to invest the proceeds here in tampa proper wouldn't be a better option for you. perhaps not now because you finally got a tenant but maybe when the lease turns over.

hey Jason, sorry I never answered you back. We closed on a property on 2/21 and I went to work aggressively getting it cleaned up and ready for rent. IT's in the forest hills section of tampa off of Busch Blvd. its a 3 bd 1 bath 1200 sq ft Single family home with a quarter acre lot http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9409-N-Albany-Ave-Tampa-FL-33612/45034605_zpid/

The house had been vacant for the better part of 3 years and there were some busted casement windows that didn't close properly so ants and spiders had invaded a couple of areas. Everything cleaned up well, we replaced the windows, added new stainless appliances, installed a new glass tile backsplash and fresh paint throughout along with new ceiling fans and VOILA, we got it rented effective 3/15 for $1295/mo which is without a doubt the very top end considering this unit only has 1 bedroom. We are very excited to be off to a good start.

We paid 92,500 with the seller paying $1500 of our closing costs because of the windows and lack of attic insulation. After 20% downpayment, $2500 in closing costs, $5200 in renovations, our initial investment is $26760. The monthly mortgage including insurance and taxes is $594 so this baby is cashflowing us $700 a month!!!

I just found out that the house directly behind it is going on the market tomorrow for $119k it's a 4 bedroom 2 bath that totals 2200 sq ft but about 750 of that is an old commercial space that was the families gunsmithing business. It had an actual shooting range in it! it's a long rectangular structure about 75 feet by 10 that doesn't have any windows in it. it is prime to be made into an inlaw apt. The problem is this house does need some work, most notably a roof so it would have to be an all cash offer. I'm talking to my realtor and some other individuals I know who are money people. I'm starting to make friends and family members believers now that they have seen the numbers on this first property. IT's exciting stuff!

Looking to stay in Hillsborough. We live in Carrollwood now so trying to keep it to things within a 30 minute drive that will cash flow in the here and now

to the original poster, you should seek the advice of experience investors from the NYC area. NYC was in a shambles in the 70's and early 80's. the city was bankrupt, crime was high, it was a dump in a LOT of places. Somehow NYC weathered the storm and came back stronger than ever. I don't see why Detroit couldn't do the same.

newbie here also in tampa and I just stumbled on your post. My thoughts from my limited experience in just getting into the game are that the expenses on the house you own outright seem awfully high to me. Down here in Tampa proper there are homes where the taxes are between $350-1200 dollars and the homeowners insurance $800-$1200. These properties will also easily fetch at least $750 a month and in many cases $1000 + in rent. sounds like you have some decent $$$ and resources at your disposal, have you made any moves in the past couple of months since you posted?

Hello

Stumbled on this site in my Real Estate investing research. Looking forward to seeing everything it has to offer. Just recently moved to Tampa, Fl from NYC where I had been working as a personal trainer the past dozen years. I'm looking to get out of the fitness business and transition into real estate. My fiancee and I closed on our primary home back in November and subsequently did some substantial renovations. We presently have our 1st investment property under contract. We had a great Realtor throughout the process of buying our primary home and he has helped us buy this investment. He has several properties of his own using a buy and hold strategy so he can clear monthly income in addition to his sometimes up and down commissions as a licensed real estate broker. I am not currently working since we moved down here for my fiancee's job so initially I was doing a lot of the renovation work on our home and now I'm educating myself on real estate. I'm considering going back to working in a gym to just add some income for us to put towards investments but my goal is to do this as my main job full time. To that end, I am also interested in any type of jobs that may be available related to real estate. I'm thinking working for a propety management company or even as sort of a secretary for a real estate agency could be a decent start to earn a few dollars but more importantly build first hand on the job knowledge of the industry. I'm open to any advice and feedback anyone has to give. Heck, I'll even trade my skills as a fitness trainer and golfer (3 HCP) for your real estate wisdom!

too funny, my name is also Dave and I'm new to this site and I just moved out of NYC to Tampa, Fl. Perhaps we may be able to do some business together because lord knows the market is VERY favorable downhere! We are closing on our first investment property at the end of this month after having bought our primary residence back in November and renovated it. I'm excited to start a new life in real estate investing