All Forum Posts by: Robert Bowser

@James Cerenzie

How hard was it to obtain financing? I'm looking at an industrial property for my first deal, with a very solid LTV and new lease being signed as part of the deal, with tenant willing to escrow a year's rent at lender's bank, but I'm not getting any traction with any lender. Any advice is much appreciated. Plenty of upside on this one if I can just get it funded. Thanks!

I'm a lawyer, and as such my favorite answer is "it depends." Like stated above, there could be jurisdictional differences. Here in Florida most people when buying a house just handle closing and escrow through the title company.  That's great, so long as there is nothing wrong on title and you've confirmed that your property isn't in violation of any local ordinances, etc. I've seen brand new homes in platted neighborhoods with HOAs have a massive easement covering almost the entire property, I've seen new homes built in violation of local approvals (size, or setback, etc.). 

There is a whole parade of horribles which you can encounter if you don't have either a lawyer, a ton of experience, or both.  Will you encounter them? Likely no. Will your house catch on fire?  Also, likely no. But insurance is still a good idea just in case.  Also, I'm not a small-firm real estate lawyer with a title shop who closes home sales so I have no dog in this fight--I work with big developers and builders to develop large communities, I've just seen so many issues large and small that needed a lawyer to either discover, recognize or correct. 

A personal favorite was on a smaller parcel with some RV's on it that was ultimately going to get redeveloped: seller didn't know, and title didn't show, that there was an old private railroad line bisecting the property. The company that owned the line went out of business years ago, and the track was gone. It didn't show up in title because it was so old that the 30 plus year old legal description for the property actually carved out the track, but the property appraiser's office didn't show that carve-out. The deal died because seller couldn't fix the problem, which they kept insisting wasn't a problem. If my client would have bought the site they could have never built on it. 

I'm learning something new every day here.  Great stuff!

@Kazi R. Great post I was just thinking this. I’m looking online at three mobile homes on three lots in an industrial area near me...but I don’t want to go looking at them. I only have one car and it’s a full size, six figure Range Rover. Its obnoxious but I like cars and make a good living, so I’d never buy something else to pretend I’m someone other than who I am. However driving a car that literally costs more than the tenants house is just offensive. I’ve never thought about it until today since I’ve always dealt with people who frankly are a lot more successful than I am, but if I get into rentals I can’t pull up on something like this.

@Ekaterina Stepanova I look for the experience and expertise of the group. When everyone who has HGTV and a real estate agents license thinks they’re an expert there is just too much white noise you have to block out, everyone is asking for money and promising good returns. I look at the team and see if they’re people I would take seriously.

@Christine Smith while I agree that a financial advisor is a good idea if you’re talking about anything over a few million, I’d also suggested an estate planning and tax attorney if number is higher than that. Happy to make recommendations if you’d like (outside of my own firm, so you know I’m not biased). For a CPA in Orlando I recommend Alden Baker at Baker, Hyatt. He handles my taxes and those of a number of successful lawyers I know. He’s done a great job for me over the years.

I second the vote for ULI. They have a great library of books to buy as well which can really be helpful. If you ever want to talk real estate development law I'm happy to chat with you, just let me know. Best of luck with your studies. 

Loving this thread already. I'm in Orlando but my father-in-law just built a vacation ranch/home in Whitefish and I've spent the last 3 Octobers hunting elk in Emigrant, MT south of Bozeman.  Love it out there and have been toying with the idea of building for rent housing there. Absolutely agree on doing 5 lots or less to begin with. If you can get infill, do them attached, a row of 5 townhomes with back yards for dogs and 2 car garages. Construction cost will be lower, infill means you're likely close to city utilities because like Michael wisely said above, septic can be an issue. I'm a development lawyer for several national publicly traded homebuilders as well as a several apartment and commercial developers and consultant fees are no joke when doing a big subdivision--legal alone can be eye-watering, but of course nowhere near as bad as NOT getting good legal advice. Good luck and please keep me posted, I'd love to hear more.

@Misty Syts the Kissimmee area, which is south of Orlando near Disney, is solid for short term and long term rentals. Prices aren’t bad but keep in mind if you’re thinking long term rentals the income in that area is relatively low, as it is based on tourism.

@Misty Syts welcome! I’m a big fan of the Florida market. If you have any questions let me know!