All Forum Posts by: Eric Starks

Where are the rental property deals in the Central Flordia area?

@Jeff T. yes,  State Farm is doing policies in Florda again.  I was surprised at the rate I was able to get as well.  Now that desn't mean that they won't start jacking up the rate again after a couple of years, but if they do, I'll just drop them and move to someone else.  My home was built in 1999 by the way and I got the policy earlier this year. 

I live in Orlando and my primary home is worth a little over $300K.  I switched from Securities First this year.  They were jacking up my insurance a rediculous amount each year.  I switched from them to State Farm and I now pay $1,265 which is less than half what I was paying for Securities First.  Now I get this rate by getting as many discounts as possible like, bundling home and auto, getting a wind mitigation inspection, going paperless, etc.  I should point out I switched from State Farm to Securities First years ago because State Farm kept raising my rates.  I guess in Florida, you just have to shop around every 5+ years to see who is offering the best rate. 

Great advice @Christopher Abele

My advice which might not be popular is to take care of your student debt first.  You don't want that liability.  Then you will have more disposable income and she may feel better.  My wife and I also used Financial Peace University to get out of debt and start investing in the stock market.  I am now diversifying and also investing in real estate. @Tyler Gibson gave me some great advice.  Get your spouse on board before you buy a single property.  I try to slip my wife tidbits whenever I can.  She has only heard the real estate horror stories and none of the benefits of investing in real estate.  I am convincing her that I am educating myself, I plan to have experienced people around me, and I let her know that all the pod casts, YouTube videos and books talk about the mistakes people have made and how to avoid them.  The kicker for her was when I told her how much money we had in the stock market and letting her know that if she can trust me with X in the stock market, she can trust me with Y in real estate.  Good luck, try to build up her confidence and please realize that your marriage is more important. 

Thanks @Peter Walther and @Shawn McCormick.  CFRI seems to be mentioned a lot.  I'm going to try to attend their Orange County general counsel meeting tomorrow. I appreciate the help. 

Bernadeau, I am just starting with my investing carreer and have been looking for a meetup in the Orlando area.  This sounds like a great opportinating.  Thanks for posting it.  I will be there. 

Thanks Tyler.  I am willing to drive.  I'm all over Orlando sometimes anyway.  I did find some online, but wanted to see where others on BP are going. If you have any suggestions, please let me know. 

Are there any good REI groups in the east Orlando area?