All Forum Posts by: Lori Buffington

I've heard no evictions til end of April. The news story said HUD is suspending evictions and foreclosures - no info on private party restrictions. One of my property managers is telling me 'federal guidelines' aren't allowing them to evict any tenant through end of April. Has anyone heard what current law is?

I bought a handful of houses from Brian Scrone and company.  Pros: good returns, management and in some cases tenants already in place.  Daniela is great to work with, very responsive.  Cons: property management has been unimpressive to date. not terrible but definitely not great. Condition of property wasn't as updated as I expected. Repairs requested were agreed to but not always finished.  No additional information was offered -- you have to ask all that is important to you.  I recommend not just home inspection but also roof, well and septic inspection if applicable.  I'm sure price was higher than market but I didnt' have time to find homes and do a bunch of due diligence on my own.

If you have specific questions, feel free to message me.

Sorry for your loss.  :(

Has the property gone through probate or actually been transferred from your parents' names to you and your siblings?

You most likely own an equal but undivided Interest in the property. But you will need your name on title (deed from your parent's estate to you and your siblings recorded publicly with recorder's office) before you can get a loan. Your other siblings may have to sign on the loan as well-depends on the entity you get the loan from.

Just a heads up -if a family member is moving in, discuss terms and get s signed written lease before they move in. Let them know they can be evicted if they don't pay agreed upon rent and or taxes, or if they don't take care of the property. Discuss with siblings payment of any mortgage,  taxes, insurance,  utilities,  maintenance etc.

Its usually easier on family relationships to just sell and divide proceeds.

contact John Seybert of Patriot Home Funding. They just gave me a great rate and closed in 30 days or less. They only lend in Florida.  

myphf.com

Suncoast has admin fees if maintenance is hired or there is a problem reported by tenant. I have not been impressed with maintenance and follow up.  They have a 2 year PM agreement that automatically renews. There is a large penalty if you end the agreement early.  I think they're currently experiencing growing pains, but they have plans to grow more soon, so buyer beware...  Also, I've talked to a couple of PM companies with long turn times - ask about that when interviewing property managers. Suncoast recently told me they wait for current tenant to move out, then they do walk thru, make list of work, then they bid out work, then work happens, then they accept potential applications for people to see home and market for re-rental. Sounds to me like turn will be well over 30-45 days.  If you find a good PM company, please let me know. ;)

I have not been impressed to date with Suncoast PM and if nothing improves I'll be looking for a new PM when agreement term expires.  I get the impression they were once a better company but are experiencing growing pains.  Last I heard, they were planning to expand - as far as I can tell they cannot handle their current workload.

The tenant can complain about a problem for months before it is fixed. I have to pressure them to take care of it.  Maintenance and admins fees are high. No one checks the maintenance crew to see if the did a good job (as far as I can tell, their in house folks miss stuff).  Termination fee on PM agreement is very high. PM agreement is for 2 years and automatically renews if you don't cancel.

SI homes seem to be built ok. I bought one home in JAX a year ago.  No major issues so far.  Disappointed they put the septic tank relatively close to the house, even though the lot is over an acre.

Neither Suncoast nor SI disclosed they were building other homes and marketing them for rent at the same time -- at a lower rate.

I went under contract to buy a home in Ocala from SI in Summer 2018. Construction didn't start until Fall/winter 2019. They blamed Ocala govt for delay on permits.  House still under construction. Should be complete February 2020.

I haven't been impressed with Suncoast either. They came along with my purchase in Jacksonville.  If things don't improve, I'll look for new PM at end of agreement.  

If anyone has recommendations for good property managers in Jacksonville and Ocala areas, please message me! :)

@Mark Fries I'll check out Valiant. Thanks for the recommendation!  P.S. do you work on residential homes? Could always use a good contractor. :)

I'm looking in Huntsville too. I've been talking to folks at ROI Turnkey. Does anyone have experience with them? Can anyone recommend local realtor that works with investors? contractor? property management team?

I'd like to fly out and check things out in the next month or so. Any advice is appreciated. :) I'm looking for buy & hold with cash flow. Not picky about whether that's SFR or MF.