All Forum Posts by: Terry Fox

@Miles Viant

Hi Miles, I love the SW Cape Coral

area. Congrats! Are those insurance numbers from an actual quote you received? That amount seems much lower than my premiums.

Considering a roof replacement for rental property.  There are solar panels on roof to heat the pool.  The panels and roof are 20 years old.  The roofing company says they won’t touch the panels.  Local solar company also says they will only do complete replacement due to age.  This adds $3500-$4000 to job.  Anyone been through something similar?  Any good ideas on best way to handle this?

Hi @Ron Fletcher, thanks for the heads up.  I’ve done 1031’s before, and am familiar with 1031 rules.  I just need a qualified intermediary in FL.

Hi, I’m in the process of selling a rental property and may want to take the proceeds and do a 1031 exchange.  Any recommendations of companies to use?  Will they all charge basically the same amount?  Any ideas what the cost should be?

Thanks,

Terry

Hi BP, 

I am in process of turning over one of my rentals in SW Cape Coral as the current tenant is moving out to buy a new home (also in Cape Coral).  

The basics: The home is a 3/2/2 built in 2000 in SW Cape Coral.  It is 1700+ square feet, no pool, and has a fenced in backyard.  Asking $1,695/month for rent.

I went through my usual process of listing the home for rent on Zillow (which gets my listing on their partners as well like hotpads.com). I listed it on Saturday morning. In the past, it was a good day if I had 6-10 inquiries in the first day.  This time I had 85 inquiries by Sunday night. I had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of them all when in the past I had just used pen and paper.

My Observations:

Many inquiries were from renters where their current landlord was selling the current house.  The amount of appreciation for landlords who bought 5 or 10 or 20 years ago is a big temptation to cash out.

Many Inquiries were from people moving into Cape Coral from out of state. Plenty of people from up north.

Many inquires were from people who were building a new house, and needed somewhere to rent until their house was built.  Many sold their current house in order to pay for their new build.  They have to rent in the interim as there is an extended waiting period before their new house was ready due to demand and supply constraints.

In the end I wish I had 10 more houses to rent, but those currently on the market are priced so high, $1,695/month generally won't cash flow. I suppose if I had 85 inquiries at $1,695. I wonder how many I would have had at $1,795 or higher.

That's my update. I hope some of you find it useful.

Thanks everyone for the quick and detailed answers!

Hi @Kim Meredith Hampton, this neighborhood is not subject to an HOA. So it would be the town ordinances I am concerned about.

Per my understanding, my tenant can keep his boat and trailer in the backyard of our fully fenced in property in SW Cape Coral.  Does anyone know of any zoning ordinance to the contrary?

Hi @Peter Davis, can you send me information on that builder?  Does that price include the lot?  Thank you.

Hi @Will Moor, Once they were looking at being 3 months behind, I told them, I can't keep this house and lose money, and I'm going to have to sell.  They were in the middle of getting rent assistance from the government and eventually got caught up and even paid on time for a few months.  Now, they are behind again two months.  When their lease did expire I did put them on month-to-month instead of 1 year to get that obstacle out of the way if I ever had to evict them (whenever that would be allowed).  I believe they want to pay, but are having problems, which may be different from a tenant that thinks they won't have to.