All Forum Posts by: Gavin Welch

Lakeland is a competitive market.  But its no South Florida, Tampa or Orlando.  

You can still find some deals but you must be ready to buy and know what you are looking for.  

No matter where you look you are going to pay more and be competing against other investors and have slimmer margins on the back side on the flips.  There are lots of great rental properties in this area that gives you a better return than you'd see in a metro area.

I'm with Manny.. I the Lakeland/Winter Haven/Bartow markets have not hit their ceilings yet.

@blaine gravitt  

Hey Blane, I'm an investor and agent here in lakeland.  Let's connect sometime.  I'd like to see some of your work.  I always have flips or rentals that need work.  

Thanks

Gavin

Mallory, your old broker sounds desperate and you should run.  I am an agent and investor and my brokerage only wants the best for me and my family, besides missing on a commission split it is not going to run them out-of-business.  

You are better off.  Don't get discouraged, there are a lot of unscrupulous and greedy brokers that would do anything for a couple of bucks.. Thankfully, we (agents/brokers) are not all like that and there are some amazing brokers out there also...

Just discuss this upfront when looking for a new brokerage..

Good Luck

Gavin

@Aaron Poppell @Adrian Smude  I'd be glad to jump in on lunch.. [post edited to remove contact info, by admin]

Just let me know when and I'll see if I can make it fit.. 

Anil, I'm a lakeland investor/agent.  I handle mostly investors.  Lets connect sometime. 

Thanks

Gavin

Welcome Ben,

Find an area you like and know.  That way you know the market, property values and incomes and rents.  When you know an area well you also know when a real 'deal' comes along and when a property is not a deal.

FYI.. That's how I got started in real estate.. I downloaded every real estate podcast I could find.. Today, I'm full time investor/agent and have my own podcast.  

I'll help you anyway I can.. Just email me.. 

Gavin

@Tim McHaffie  Tim I'm an investor and agent here in Lakeland.  My partners and I do about 30-50 homes a year.  We do a little in Tampa but it's a very different market than Polk Co.

I'd love to connect with you sometime. Maybe we'd be a good fit to work together.

Gavin

I'm from Lakeland and I love the market here. Sleeper community between Tampa and Orlando.. Low cost housing with good rent returns..  Also decent fix and flips here.

Message me and I'll send you the market data, you can decide for yourself

I have not seen many of these types of properties on the court house steps. Typically, they are owned by larger and smarter investors and the foreclosure chances are less. There are some commercial brokers and wholesalers that specialize on these properties. I have been looking for this type of properties as well and it seems like the price of these properties has inflated in the last couple of years. The value-add investors have purchased most of them. I would try to market private owners of these properties directly, so you can find a better deal than an advertised property. Good luck. Gavin

I have a great rental property.  Its a 3/2 that I paid $40,000 cash for and rents for $800 per month.  It's worth about $70-75K.  The problem is that my property is on a corner and on the other corner is the neighborhood drug dealer that has run off my third tenant.  This is not a 'war zone' neighborhood, but its not the best either.  Any suggestions about how to get rid of the drug dealer that is running off my tenants?