All Forum Posts by: Brian S.

@Lance Lvovsky Thanks! I'll send you a DM later today.

@Jennifer Gligoric  I'm open to outside of Florida, but my first preference is an attorney in Florida with experience in asset protection.

Hello BP

Can anyone recommend a Real Estate Lawyer in Florida? I'm in the middle of purchasing a home in St Pete / Gulfport area and looking for options on handling a rather complex situation. In particular, I'm looking at options including a will, land trust, Florida land trust, or life estate deed. 

Much appreciated!

Brian 

Was the sink clogged when they moved in? If no, then its the tenants responsibility.

@Bob Romano What I do with my rentals is in my lease it states we provide a washer/dryer but if one of them breaks, they are responsible for fixing them. We will take a broken one out of the property if needed, but we do not handle any repairs. Maybe too late with your current lease, but something to consider going forward.

If people are looking for good places for long term rentals (and maybe even STR), I'd suggest looking into Dunedin, near Clearwater. I was there last year and checked out the city. I was impressed and almost purchased a SFH for long term rentals. I didn't end up buying and never made any offers but I will be going back next week to look around again.

Other than that, St Pete is a good place to look for STR's. You have to be careful because some areas of St Petersburg and surrounding areas do not allow STR's. I am finalizing a purchase in Gulfport next week of a SFH for a possible AirBnB rental. It will take me some time to complete the cosmetic work inside but I'm excited to get into my first STR.

@Jon Hill I think most people agreed, nice topic and goals!

My goals so far for 2020:

1. Return back to the USA. I've been in China for the past 2.5 years for work. Looking forward to getting back in the States and more involved with RE. Its been an experience over here but you just can't beat the USA. No place in the world like it. I'm sure my lungs will also appreciate me being out of this horribly polluted air.

2. Start managing my properties again myself.

3. Buying at least 2 properties. One property being finalized is in Gulfport / St Pete Florida. I also have another property in Cleveland that I'm preparing for a possible purchase when I'm back in the States next month.

4. Spending more time with my family and friends.

Wish you all a prosperous New Year in 2020!

@Sean H. You may be able to submit a FOIA request to get the owners phone number. I was in a similar situation and needed the owner of a duplex next to mine to sign off on a fencing permit. When I contacted the city, they suggested a FOIA request to get the owners info. I never went through with it, but that may be an option for getting a contact number. 

@Amandeep H.

I'm also in China and I can answer some of your questions.

1. I think foreigners investing in RE in China is a big mistake. Property values have gone through the roof for many years. We are just now seeing prices start to fall, especially in the big cities. Besides this, China makes it extremely difficult for foreigners to buy. I mean, I am sure you've had experience at a Chinese bank for simple tasks such as transferring money or opening a bank account. In my experience, even these simple tasks are quite complicated. Can you imagine trying to get a loan for an apartment?

2. I don't have many sources for this, but this leads to another problem. China is not transparent about their RE market. Compare that to the US market and its information overload. 

3. There are no property rights for foreigners OR Chinese citizens. You technically lease the home from the government for up to 75 years-ish. You can sell it and do with it what you want, but this reason alone would forever keep me away from investing in Chinese RE.

4. Not sure about how to get a loan, but you'll need a large down payment at minimum. Chinese pay 30% I'm fairly certain, so I am assuming it would be at least this amount for a foreigner and probably much higher.

5. I cannot answer this one.

Another point to mention is that the rent rarely (if ever) covers you mortgage. You will typically just be relying on appreciation. China has the largest home vacancy rate in the world at over 25%. With the stress of the trade war and a bad economy in China, and I think there will be a bubble busting in the next few years. 

@Dean Peterson It is possible to invest from abroad but not easy. Easier of course if you have boots on the ground near where you want to invest. Being that your from Chicago, you could invest in cities that aren't so far away like Detroit or Cleveland, where your 150-200k would go quite far.

I am in a similar position as you (I'm in China) and I have not bought a property in the past two years that I've been abroad. For me, I need to physically check the properties I want to buy. But there are people who do buy properties from China like @Troy Williams He could probably give you more insight into how its done.

Good luck!