All Forum Posts by: Jin Zhang

Hi everyone, 

I am new to Phoenix and thinking about buying a single family rental near the downtown Phoenix area, since I would like to rent it out to traveling nurses. It seems like all the hospitals are around that area. However, the crime rate seems be very high according to the crime map. My questions are the following: 

1) Is phoenix a good city to rent to traveling nurses? 

2) Should I avoid buying in the downtown area (the square circle the word Phoenix on google map) due to high crime or other factors? 

Thanks! Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

3) Do you have any recommendations on where to invest in Phoenix, especially for traveling nurses? 

Thanks, 

Jin 

Hi everyone,

I am trying to understand more about the cost of investment in Tampa FL. From research, I have gathered the following information. I would like to understand more from experts in the forum if my understanding is correct and what I am missing.

Other than the monthly mortgage, I have to consider the following costs.

• Property tax: it is likely to be around 2%. If I use 2% in my calculation, would this be a safe bet? Or I should increase it further to 2.1% or more?
• Home insurance: maybe a safe number would be $300 per month.
  • If in the flood zone, need to add $100 per month flood insurance on top of it.
  • No insurance would be given if the roof is more than 10 years old?
  • 4 points: HVAC, Electric, plumbing, roof: need to be relative new and in good shape
• CDD – added cost - how much per month? 
• HOA: added cost
• Property management fee: 10%
• Capex: 10%
• Maintenance: 10%

Anything else?

Thanks,

Jin

Quote from @Daniel A. Abreu:

@Jin Zhang, Kristina and Zach hit the nail on head. I've seen a couple of duplexes around $300k price point. Rents are super high, but STR will usually get you a higher NOI, Cap Rate, and CoCR. Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns, I am always happy to talk shop. I am a realtor, investor, and title.

 Thank you! I will definitely reach out!

Quote from @Kristina Kuba:

@Jin Zhang

I echo the above post. Look in uptown Tampa. There is a plethora of development occurring around north Tampa / University of South Florida. There are lots of duplexes there that will cash flow minimally but with the high growth of Tampa, appreciation is the play here.

Hi Kristina, thank you for your input! I have seen you in other posts. You definitely know the market a lot! I understand how single family could ride the appreciation. Does this also work the same for the duplexes? With the rise of the property price, would investors still be interested in buying duplexes in the future when it could not make positive cash flow or even make negative cash flow? Would it become harder to sale in the future? 

Quote from @Zachary Bliss:

Hello @Jin Zhang

With the rising prices is Tampa, it is very hard to find long term rentals that cash flow. Tampa is more suited for appreciation with single family homes in the nicer areas of Tampa. Short Term Rentals can be very profitable as well but there are certain areas of Tampa that have restrictions on them.

- Long term rentals can still generate cash flow if you can find them around $120-130k a door, but those are quite hard to find unless they are in a really bad area.
- Single Family would be best for either an STR or rental with appreciation.
- Most duplexes in Tampa are around $280k+
- I would recommend trying some other areas outside of Tampa if your main goal is cash flow. Lakeland/Winterhaven is a great area for cash flow, as well as Bradenton/Sarasota.

Hope that helped!

 Hi Zachary, This is very helpful! It confirms what I think about the Tampa market. Thank you for the suggestion on the new direction. I will do more market research of these areas. 

Hi everyone,

I am starting to invest out of State and are considering the Tampa area. I originally thought about buying a 2 to 4 units property in the area. After running some numbers, I found it is hard to cash flow. I would like to get some advice on the best strategy to get cash flow on long term properties.

• Could long term still generate positive cash flow? If so, how much per door?
• Single family or 2-4 units?
• For a duplex, what is a reasonable purchase price for two units (2B1B each)? Would around $200k still achievable or mostly around $300k?
• Which area to buy to get cash flow?

Any advice or input would be highly appreciated! Thanks!

Quote from @Karl Denton:

Are you looking to search posts from a specific area? Because that is still available. However if there’s nothing from that area I noticed it wouldn’t populate. Not sure if this helps or not. 

For example, I choose San Jose Real Estate Forum. I see no posts under this forum. With the old forum layout, I could see all the posts. With the new format, I could not see any. As shown in the photo below, no post showing up under the San Jose Real Estate Forum. How could I see all the posts? 

Hi everyone, 

Is it just me or it is becoming harder to navigate the bigger pocket forum. I used to be able to go to different local forums to see all the posts there. Now, I could not find any local forums anymore here. I used google to search the local forum on bigger pockets. Once I get in, there is no pockets! or very few pockets! I tried all kinds of ways to navigate it but seems to not able to find the solution. Could someone tell me how I could review all the posts from a local forum? 

Thanks, 

Jin 

Hi everyone,

I am thinking about renting my empty unit to traveling nurses. I have some questions about the background check. Since it is a relatively short term stay (3 months) compared to long term tenants.

Do you still perform a background check? I saw people say that they would not go with any rental with a background check.

If you do background check, what information do you request from the traveling nurses?

Is it okay to request a copy of their contract to verify their employment?

Thank you! I would appreciate any advise or comment!

Hi everyone, 

I am thinking about renting my empty unit to traveling nurses. I have some questions about the background check. Since it is a relatively short term stay (3 months) compared to long term tenants.

Do you still perform a background check? I saw people say that they would not go with any rental with a background check.

If you do background check, what information do you request from the traveling nurses?

Is it okay to request a copy of their contract to verify their employment?

Thank you! I would appreciate any advise or comment!