All Forum Posts by: Forest Owen

Hi BP FL Realtors and STR owners in FL,

I received an email this morning, see below. 

"Lawmakers in the Florida House of Representatives are considering Senate Bill 280, which infringes on the rights of private property owners who wish to rent their homes on a short-term basis. If this bill passes, local governments will have no limit to what they can charge for the registration and inspection of short-term rentals. They will also be able to use minor infractions as a way to suspend short-term rentals, revoke their registration and prevent them from gaining that registration back without enduring a lengthy and costly judicial process.

TAKE ACTION TODAY! We need your help in urging lawmakers to vote NO on this harmful bill!

On behalf of your Leadership Team, we thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Gia Arvin
2024 President
Florida Realtors"

https://www.votervoice.net/FLRealtors/Campaigns/112823/Respo...

Thank you for the reply @Andrew Steffens! All of that is good information and things for us to keep tabs on... we will be attending the meeting and will update on here how it goes. 

Dear Cocoa Beach Residents and STR owners,

The City of Cocoa Beach will be voting on Thursday to enact new restrictions targeting vacation rental owners in our city with new fines, fees, and restrictions ultimately aimed at putting short-term rental owners out of business. Please TAKE ACTION NOW to ask the Commission to vote NO on these mandates!

This proposal targets all short-term rental owners, including the vast majority who responsibly manage their properties and have never had a single complaint from neighbors. The City of Cocoa Beach does not track vacation rental property noise violations, so it would appear the City is considering this proposal not based on data but based on anecdotal evidence, speculation, and the whims of the Commission and Mayor.

Among other provisions, this ordinance would implement a $525 registration and $325 renewal fee, the highest in the state of Florida. (for comparison, Miami-Dade charges $136 and Collier County charges $50).

However, the most extreme provision is a new noise regulation for short-term rentals only. A neighbor reporting "any noise or sound at any time" from a short-term rental can be a violation. Three such violations within a calendar year would result in a property being deemed a "noise nuisance property" with fines up to $500, required hand delivery of the noise ordinance to all guests, and would require the owner to impose a $1,000 deposit on all future guests which would be forfeited if there is a violation. This means a visiting family having a bar-b-que in the backyard of their vacation rental, or two children playing baseball would be in violation should any noise or sound be heard by a neighbor from inside their house.

This is a new noise standard and punishment unlike anything seen in the State of Florida and shows a blatant disregard for property rights. 

The meeting is being held at Cocoa Beach Country Club, at 5000 Tom Warriner Boulevard in Cocoa Beach at 7:00 PM.

Thank you for your support!

*Parts of message have been copied from Space Coast Association of REALTORS®*

@Eliott Elias its going to be a short term rental. We have to take out old cast iron pipes which leads to bathroom and kitchen Reno regardless. 

@John Clark thanks for the insight! Well crunch some numbers.

@Marty Boardman we have old cast iron pipes that need to be replaced which leads into bathrooms and kitchen remodel. We thought since we're starting the process might as well have a shot at the whole thing. The property has great potential to be a hot Aribnb which is our goal. We started planning and one add on leads to the next so currently finding that cut off point where its to much of an investment for the returns. Example: Pool, expanding garage and adding an ADU above it. Mudd room/laundry add on. Were leaning towards doing the inside basics of the house to get it bnb ready and tackling the bigger add ones later on due to the supply and costs. Thanks for the help!

@Fernando Sosa Thanks. it would be a rehab. the home equity loan is something were going to look into... 

@Marty Boardman good to know on those loans! currently working on the "not over improving" part. its to easy to get carried away with it all. 

First time investor here and new to BP. I am currently house hacking a 3/2 here in Cocoa Beach, Fl area. My initial goal was to rehab the house after saving up some money. Since buying the house the property valve in my area has gone up substantially (~80k ish) in the past year. My question is, should I refinance the house and use that extra money to rehab the house and then refinance again when it's finished, or should I continue to save money and just pay out of pocket to rehab the house and then refinance. Long term goal with the house is to hold. Thank you in advance!