All Forum Posts by: Darren Lenick

I’d definitely go with the builders risk policy. I purchase it quarterly for each property so that I’m not committed to an entire year upfront. Costs about $375 per quarter for me.

Keep in constant communication with the HOA as they can hold up a project based on rules for contractor access times, exterior paint color, driveways, fencing, etc. They can also hold you responsible for any changes made by previous owner that were against HOA rules and that can get expensive. Ask early and plan for it.

I’ve done it 3 times but since it’s your primary residence I would hesitate to call it a flip. Reason being is that it always takes much longer when you live in it and costs much more because you tend to put personal touches in that you wouldn’t do if you it was just a true flip.

Having very young kids at home just makes it harder.

That being said, it can still be a good investment too. I’ve made more money on the houses I lived in then on any pure investment property but that’s time playing a bigger part more then anything else even though I always bought the ugliest house in the nicest neighborhood.

Think of this; once you are done, are you willing to pack up and uproot your kids to the next property? People who hack it don’t always consider the cost of moving. Plus, you’ll be in a potentially stressful position to find a new house once yours sells.

Hi Vered.

My wife is from Israel and has family their still. My wife is a flight attendant and does the JFK to TLV route regularly.

We did several flips with the family here in Florida, mostly in the Orlando area. It’s tough being an investor from far unless you have local people you trust, like family, or have the ability to fly in regularly to check on the properties.

It’s quite easy to be taken advantage of if you’re not around.

If you ever have any specific questions, don’t hesitate to ask. If you’re looking for an investment group, maybe I can put you in touch with my family there as they work with other investors.

Best piece of advice I ever heard regarding Real Estate: “Buy land, because they aren’t making any more of it.”

Of course I apply it to properties in general and not just land.

Best reasons I have for investing in Real Estate:

- Everyone needs a place to live

- Everyone deserves an affordable and clean place to live

- It’s hard to lose money on Real Estate if you play the long game and are not looking for a get-rich-quick scheme

- It allows me the freedom to spend my time as I chose. I see my kids all the time, I’m available to them whenever they need me and we can take vacations when WE chose

- If done smart, Real Estate can provide solid passive income and can setup your children’s future. Our plan includes providing each of our 4 children with an income stream so they can pursue THEIR future and solid foundation.

Hi fellow Canucks.

I’m a Canadian living in South Florida. We have dual citizenship so have the privelege of being able to make the move.

I lived part time in Orlando from August 2016 until July 2017 flipping houses with family who don’t live here, where I was the Project Manager and Property Manager. I used this time to learn the market and make connections with Realtors, contractors, subs and insurance people.

We decided to make a permanent move and sold our Thornhill home in August 2017 and moved to West Palm Beach.

We’re currently working on flipping a house in Apopka, which is just north of Orlando, and a house here in West Palm Beach.

If you have any questions about the market here I would be more than happy to answer where possible.

If you’re looking to “get your feet wet”, we’re open to discuss partnerships and private investment.

Hi @Leo Jurado,

Market is right up here. Not a lot of great buys at the moment.

We’re planning on moving further south next summer. We’ve looked at Weston and Boca Raton but probably will end up in Boca. Both have great schools but my wife likes Boca more.

I’m always willing to meetup and discuss Real Estate. Just reach out whenever you want to meet and we can setup something.

Take care.

@Kathryn Bowden Here’s my take - your numbers are way too tight to be doing any serious changes to walls or structure. Between purchase price of $91,000 (did that include auction and buyers fees?), a $30k rehab (if furnace works and no other issues discovered) and estimated closing costs of $9k upon sale (rough estimate as I don’t know your market), at $150k ARV, you’re margins are really slim and don’t appear to account for holding costs (utilities, taxes, lawn maintenance), a price reduction if It sits too long or other unanticipated costs which come up most of the time. I wouldn’t touch any walls anywhere if they weren’t already included in your budget and live with the existing floor plan. You don’t have room in your budget for any surprises such as dry rot, termites, roof leak or heating/ac. Most unanticipated costs show up after you open walls. Since you bought at auction, I’m going to assume you didn’t get a home inspection and may not know what else is wrong. I also wouldn’t do the electrical yourselves unless one of you is a licensed electrician. If it’s done incorrectly and leads to a fire, insurance won’t cover it for you or the buyer.

@Sarah Torres thanks for the info on massagers. I had 2 herniated discs in my neck that got worse due to working on houses. I’ve already had surgery to replace both discs and feeling great again.

Right now I’m finishing a house in Apopka that I bought almost 2 years ago. Although the preference is to complete them within 3 months, many issues caused delays but in the end it didn’t affect me all that much as the property appreciated an additional $30k while sitting on it. Holding costs are taxes and insurance since I’m all cash.

Once that property is sold I’m planning on starting the renovations on a property I purchased in December here in West Palm Beach.  Another cash purchase so holding costs are taxes, insurance, yard maintenance and water as the city supplies the water and has a minumum $50/month bill.  The house was flagged a nuisance property by the city due to neglect by previous owners, so I pay a guy $70 per month to cut the grass and cleanup any trash.

I have that property listed off market in Market place forum currently as I’d never turn away any profit.

I looked at your listing on Zillow and have to say it looks beautiful in the pictures. Well done!

That being said, here’s my take:

- you were probably priced too high when you first listed in April. The fact that 2 neighbors are asking $395k and have been on the market for 61 and 117 days speaks volumes.

- you dropped the price 7 times since April. That makes you look desperate not motivated. You go too low and people begin to wonder “what’s wrong with the house?”

- I don’t know the area but you seem to have a lot of competition for sale and most have been on the market a while too, as per my first point. For example, there is a 5/3 3000sqft home on Baywood asking $249k in move-in condition and it’s been listed for 30 days.

- the schools aren’t rated the greatest and may be limiting your pool of buyers.

There is something with that area that is causing homes to sit in the market. Have you asked your Realtor what feedback has been from prospective buyers? It’s critical to hear that in order to know why it’s not selling.

If it was me, I’d look into making it a rental and refinance it as such ASAP.

It’s not so cut and dry with water heaters. A water heater can last upwards of 20 years but it depends a lot on water quality.

If the property has hard water, it can shorten the life of the unit due to build up of minerals on the interior. This can drastically reduce its efficiency.

Also, if the property has older galvanized plumbing, or had at one point, then there is likely a lot of soot at the bottom of the tank even if it had been replaced in the last 10 years.

From my perspective, if a tank was 10 years old or more, I’d replace it and avoid future issues.