All Forum Posts by: Elenis Camargo

@Benjamin Emery Thanks for the feedback! I took out my HELOC with PenFed in pre-COVID. The only restriction they had when I took it out was that you couldn't have more than 3 investment properties in your name. But with COVID and higher rates I know a lot of banks/credit unions have cut back on some of their products, so I guess PenFed did too.

If you are based in FL you can try Space Coast Credit Union. They only offer their products to FL residents and we also took out a HELOC with them last summer. Good luck on your HELOC search!

@Deanne Castro We actually own a duplex in the Springfield neighborhood and through our PM business we manage several other properties in the Springfield neighborhood. They always get a lot of demand. With regards to "red tape" I'll tell you that the week after we closed on our property we received a letter from the historical society welcoming us as new owners, but they also informed us that any work done to the exterior needs to be approved by them first. So in these historical areas you not only have to work with the city but also the historical societies.

I don't think that any construction that the city approves they will later shut down while in progress. What I can tell you is that if you drive around Springfield you will see a lot road construction going on. My take from it is that the city is investing there by improving roads and utility lines. With the new public and private investments in and around downtown our view is that Springfield has a lot of upside potential.

Hope this helps!
Elenis

@Daniel Dass I would agree with Erica that the best way to truly learn anything is to jump in. That is of course once you felt you've learned what you can, done your due diligence on the property and area, and fell comfortable going in. Personally, we spent about a year and a half listening to podcasts, reading a bunch of REI books, and talking to experienced investors before we felt the time is right. Then we started putting in offers and that was a learning experience on its own. Once we got our first rental property locked up we bought 2 more in one year, all site unseen because we were living in NYC while investing in Florida. During that year we learned a ton! I know people that have spent money on courses and workshops, but personally I would rather put that money towards an investment. There are a lot of cheaper and even free resources out there that if you put in the effort you can get a lot out of them.

If you are looking at any cities in Florida and specifically Jacksonville please let me know. I can share which areas we like to invest in based on price to rent ratios, etc.

Elenis

@Ekaterina Smirnova Nice, we actually own a rental in that neighborhood and has done really well so far! I'll send you a DM so we can chat offline.

@Ramiro Rodriguez We have experience in Airbnb arbitrage. Through our property management business, we had a single family home for rent and was contacted about renting it to use it for Airbnb arbitrage. We contacted our client/owner and asked him if he was open to it, which he was. We looked into what was required from the owners standpoint and it turned out he needed a slightly different insurance to cover the property's use for short term rental purposes, even though he wasn't the one actually renting it out. Also, we vetted the renter/Airbnb arbitrager and it turned out they were successfully doing it with about 6 other homes in FL. We verified their income from those properties and discussed their renting policies. Ultimately we decided to proceed with them and signed a 1 year lease as normal. We requested 1.5x deposit and they would cover all maintenance expenses under $500. It turned out to do very well for us and the owner, as there were no maintenance issues except for one larger issue that had to deal with old pipes. I would recommend going that route but just make sure you do your due diligence first, ask for referrals and understand their renting policy.

Hope this helps!
Elenis

@Ekaterina Smirnova I would absolutely agree with Ken regarding Jacksonville is the last affordable large city left in FL. As a Floridian originally from Miami we've seen how Miami, Orlando and Tampa have grown substantially. We truly believe Jacksonville is next on the list as those three cities have become very populated and expensive. The upside for Jacksonville is there with home affordability making it a desirable place for residents to relocate to. If you need any help pinpointing zip codes or neighborhoods please let me know. What sort of investments are you planning... fix and flip, buy and hold, etc.?

Elenis

@Alana Reynolds, as with most said above it would be difficult to get based on your current LTV ratio on this specific property. To give you some lenders who can explain their terms to you try reaching out PenFed.org or TD Bank. I have used both of them in the past for HELOCs on investment properties and the process was pretty straight forward just like taking out a HELOC on a primary residence.

Also, to give you an idea of how the math works here is an example based on your home's values:

If the lender lends up to 80% of the home's value, the maximum loan amount based on 80% LTV would be $392,000 = ($490,000 * 0.80).

With your existing mortgage balance of $390,000, the remaining available equity for the HELOC would be $2,000 = ($392,000 - $390,000).

Hope this helps!

Hi Steve,

We've had great experiences using Michael DeFurio. Here is his contact info:

DeFurio Home Inspection
https://www.defuriohomeinspection.com 

Hi Dane,

We work with Section 8 in Jacksonville quite a bit with our property management business. We have 50+ houses that we manage with tenants with section 8 HUD vouchers. The program has had an overhaul recently and they are much more responsive now. You can only get the FMR listed on the HUD site if the tenant moving in has a voucher that meets that amount. HUD does not let the tenant pay the difference and as a landlord you cannot accept it. So even if the tenant offers do not accept it because you can't list that amount on the lease since HUD will want to see the lease. And if you get caught you can get kicked off of the program. The voucher amount is based on factors such as the applicant's income and dependents so not everyone has the same voucher amount. Also, they are usually approved for a max number of bedrooms and if they want a home with more bedrooms you'll need confirmation from their caseworker.

Are you self managing your home and I assume you are interested in a tenant with a HUD voucher?

Any other questions let me know!
Elenis

I appreciate the kind words, Jonathan!

Hi Farman, please let me know how I can help. Feel free to DM me so we can connect.