All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I'm looking at a property in Auburndale. Had my realtor go there. She says by browsing the area it's mostly low income. Anyone invest in the 33823 zip area ?

Bought a property in Lakeland Florida a few months ago, had it rehabbed and added a new central AC unit. It's a 900 sqft brick house.

Tenant recently started complaining that the ac doesn't drop below 74 (for me thats pretty cold). The AC guy under warranty came to check out the AC and said all is good, went to the attic and saw insulation was low so I had another company come in this week to blow insulation R30.

A couple of days pass and the tenant talks to the PM and tells them that it's still pretty hot and that the temp was 79 until 10 PM! 

At this point I have no clue what could be going wrong. All windows have blinds. They are older style windows but that shouldn't be an issue as they were sealed. 

My biggest roadblock is the Tampa bay and Lakeland areas being over-priced. The market is TOO HOT.

Found an interesting duplex in Lakeland that was published Friday. Wanted to check it out tomorrow - today the seller already agreed to take an offer. What the heck ?

Hey Shannon. Would love to connect to hear if you have more of these types of deals. 

So I went with my realtor a couple months back to check out a house in Lakeland. While I was walking the property I offered we call the contractor I work with to come check out the property and give us a rough estimate. I met him earlier that day so I thought it would be a good idea to check if he's still around the area. After we took a walk in the property, the contractor was heading off but before he did the realtor asked him for a business card. The guy goes into his car and starts looking for a business card - couldn't find one, I told the realtor "no worries, I'll send you his contact info" and that was it.

Recently he told me he has his birthday this week. So a couple weeks back I custom made him some business cards. I haven't had a chance to give it to him this week yet but he'll probably get it next week when I go check out a project he's working on for me.

What do you guys think ? This guy worked on about 4 houses for me, he does a good job and seemingly he's pretty fair with the pricing. I think it's a good idea because these gestures build better relationships. What do you guys think ? 

Share your story of what you do to build better relationships!

Before everybody packs their stuff and start the ride to Florida, let me give you an example of things that are extremely expensive down here:
1. Health insurance is very expensive here. More expensive than most states.

2. Car Insurance is the #2 most expensive in the country, just right after New York.

3. Property insurance is very expensive here. We have hurricanes and tornados right ?

Nothing is for free. Everything has a price. 

I think you have your steps confused a little and I think you need to revisit how your buying and renovating process goes. This is mine:

1. I visit the property, I see if I like it. Write down notes on things I can instantly see that are going to need repairs: AC's, Roofs, Paint, Walls, I even turn on the water in the shower to see if I'm getting hot water. 

2. I go online and research the approximate cost of these repairs. Research also comps to have an idea what I'm going to offer.

3. I make the offer. Put in a contingency for inspection. Always use inspection.

4. If the seller accepts the offer, the first person I call is my inspector to lock a date for the inspection, ideally as soon as possible. If he can do it today I want it today, I sometimes even ask him to try to move around his schedule to fit me in ASAP, I can have the inspection results the same day the inspection is done. Note: You can look up inspectors on Google and check out the ones that have good reviews or you can take a recommendation here.

5. I submit the deposit (usually $1000) same day as offer is accepted.

6. Inspection report comes back I start preparing a list of repairs I will need. I now can estimate more accurately how much the repairs are going to cost me.

7. I submit this repair list to my contractor or meet my contractor on site to get a quote. This will usually happen after closing. 

with #7 you can basically have multiple contractors on site to give you an offer. If you can fit #7 after you locked in the contract and before the contingency expires you're in an awesome position because you can determine pretty accurately if you got a deal in your hands or not before actually going through with the purchase. In my case it rarely happens so this the risk I take as an investor. 

You know winter doesn't really exist in Florida right ?

I've found tenants multiple times during the "winter" here in Tampa. Only time I had a long vacancy was when the lease ended mid-December when nobody is looking to a home. Worst case scenario you get it rented in Jan.

Roofs are one in every 25 years. I'd just keep holding to the property and wait for better times to come. 

Just note that Condos/55+ community houses/apartments have HOA and/or CDD. So maybe your buying cost is low but your operating costs can potentially be high.