All Forum Posts by: David Algava

Rick - thanks for pointing that out.  I embarrassingly assumed it was a survey not plat that was provided. I'll be sure to call out the lane for the survey.

Tom - also good idea.  Will follow up once I get some more info. 

So the seller provided this survey in advance of closing.  As you can see in the image, there is a note stating "15 ft wide unimproved lane as referenced in deed, dated Dec 1818."

My agent and title aren't sure what this is. They say, probably just the HOA owns some land back there in the yard.

The whole complex was built in 1988. An unimproved lane almost sounds like a road or walkway could be allowed in the backyard. Anyone ever seen this before?  I'm sure it's not a deal killer, but still seems worth verifying.

Welcome John.

I am a beginner investor in St Pete with one property and looking for a second.

I've been living here and watching the market since 2016.

Things have gotten a lot more expensive. Great rental areas such as the north kenwood, historic uptown, allendale, etc have gotten to the point where average houses will only rent for ~0.75% purchase price.

I see 2b/1b houses needing extensive rehab asking $110k, and they only rent for $1300.  Not enough meat on the bone.

That said, rents have been steadily climbing over the years.  Something that rents for $1300 today could be $1600 in 2025.  But its hard to predict that type of thing and i personally don't like to count on it.

So you may want to find ways to look off market to find a decent deal.  Good luck finding a property!

Matt - I think this is a great way to build some relationships.  Good idea.

I am curious your thoughts on the St. Ann suburbs right by the airport?  Lots of sfh in the 900sqft range. Is it 1.) safe? 2.) practical to live there and commute to jobs?

Not a good property. IMO, it should be priced closer to $120k from a purely cash flow perspective.

Who will mow the lawn? That can be another $60 a month

Who pays water/sewer/trash? That can add $80 a month

We just closed on a house for $110k that will rent at about the same to give you some perspective (and found it right off the MLS, though it took about a year of searching.

Zana - It's possible the seller would agree to that. Although would ideally not want to back out of the deal because it does make for a good rental. 

Closing on our first SFH next week. The plan was to live in it for a year as owner occupants, then rent it out. (We wanted to do this to take advantage of the lower borrowing rates offered to owner occupants, plus we needed a place to live anyway so it was win/win!)

Anyway, what we weren't planning on was that my fiance was offered a job across the country with a pretty nice salary increase. So we may not be able to live in it for 1 year as planned and the terms of our loan will not allow us to rent it out until 1 year has passed.

Wondering if anyone has experience with this? We don't want the house to sit idle for a year. Is it perhaps possible to refinance this as a commercial loan so that we can rent it out?

I don't have a property yet, so maybe someone with more experience can correct me if I'm wrong. 

Tenant leases are usually unaffected by a change in ownership. So if the tenant is 3 months into a one year lease with the old owner, you can't just kick them out when you take over.

Buyers sometimes prefer to purchase a property with month-to-month leases in place, as it allows them more flexibility to remove a potentially problematic tenant (that they never personally screened).

I have a house under contract that has sheathing rot (underneath asbestos siding) due to an improperly built room addition that left exposure to moisture. Inspector took a look at it and said it needed a demolition. It was maybe 50-100sqft of rotted sheathing with possible rot to the frame.

Do you have any ballpark idea of what that would cost to fix? 

I would be concerned about the sheer volume of vacant land available in nearby Las Vegas area. If you drive 15 - 20 miles out, you can buy land at like $10k - $30k an acre. If house prices / rents ever get too high in Las Vegas, what's stopping people from moving 15 miles away?