All Forum Posts by: Lucas LeBlanc

@Keith C. - The laws are posted by every municipality in both Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. If you don't like going through the muni-codes, the friendly people at the public office have been very knowledgeable in answering all the questions I have had. 

Basically it is mostly illegal in all of Pinellas county to rent for less than 30 days. Some of the municipalities even have a minimum 90 days with. Others have a limit of 4 for the number of renters in a given calendar year. There are a few areas that have specific properties that are grandfathered in, but there are strict guidelines to qualify (one such example is Madeira Beach where you are grandfathered in if the property has had a continuous license and quarterly business taxes paid since 2006).

Hillsborough county doesn't have quite as strict rules, and things basically default to the Florida laws. 

The general consensus in this area is that these rules are only enforced by complaint. The counties don't have the manpower to do proactive targeting for all the listings, but if you have a grumpy neighbor that didn't like the way your AirBnB guest looked at them then you might get in trouble. Hope this helps!

This free event is a great opportunity to network with other real estate investors in the Tampa area as well as a chance learn a thing or two about tax deeds from the speaker, Wendy Heagey. It will be hosted by Eric Odum and Steven Silverman, who run the podcast The Invest Florida Show, and co-hosted by Advanta IRA.

6pm - Networking

6:30pm - Presentation and Q&A with Wendy Heagey

7:30pm - Wrap up and additional networking

A little about Wendy:

Wendy is the Senior Title Examiner at Tax Deed Closings LLC. She has been a paralegal since 1986, working exclusively in the area of real estate law, with an emphasis on title issues and insurance. Since 2008, Wendy's sole area of focus has been title related to tax deed sales. Wendy has reviewed thousands of title search reports, ownership and encumbrance reports, and clerk's documents, making her intimately familiar with the documents required in order to conduct a thorough, efficient, and accurate review to confirm the validity of a tax deed sale.

Has anyone had any experience with Unit Dash? They seem to be a good free option but hardly get mentioned anywhere. We just bought our first property (5 units) and are looking to start with the best free software. Right now leaning towards Cozy or Unit Dash.

@Tamara Smith Short term rentals can be a great way to increase your cash flow, but be careful about the specific locations you choose as the laws for each municipality are different. For example, almost everywhere in Pinellas county it is illegal to have short term rentals. Most municipalities require a minimum 30 day rental period, and some even limit the number of renters a year to 4. 

These laws are only enforced via complaints though, which means that a ton of people get away with it. But if you have a mean neighbor or a guest throws a beer can on someone elses lawn then your operation could get shut down and they will fine you. These fines can be back dated to every day they can verify you were out of compliance. 

So short term rentals can be a great strategy, but be sure to weigh the risks with the rewards based upon the location you choose. Hope this helps.

I have to agree with the other comments. I've been looking for quite some time in the Tampa market for buy/hold investments, and it is difficult to find anything that reaches the 1% rule. The only properties I've seen for $89k are in absolute war zones (which don't command that level of rent). This screams too good to be true. 

@Prashant Sharma, I have to disagree with @Jennifer Moore on this one. Ybor is definitely considered an "up and coming" area, but people have been saying that for over a decade. There have been some developments recently that are helping move this along (potential new Tampa Bay Rays stadium being the biggest one), but the majority of Ybor is closer to a D (I personally wouldn't walk there at night). The best part of Ybor is right around 7th Ave, but as soon as you go north of I-4 things start to get pretty sketchy. Ybor Heights is similar, but it varies block to block. Investors have been improving some of the houses there, but it is a slow moving process.

Seminole Heights is much more of an actual up and coming area. It is a pretty large area though, so there are still some rougher pockets, but the majority of Seminole Heights is a decent area at this time.

While SOHO (South Howard) has a few bars that are popular with the college crowd, it is one of the more desirable areas of Tampa. There are a ton of condos around there and you'd be hard pressed to find a good deal for anything as prices have been pushed way up.

Hope this helps!

Rob Stein I would love to hear what you found. I’m in Florida, so I don’t know if you found a national lender or not, but maybe I can learn from your experience. I’ll send you a PM.

Hi Jeremy, Contact Jeff Copeland . He is the guy you are looking for.

My designer fiancée says you can’t go wrong with white or grey. In this case a warm grey would probably be best.

@Veronica Zayas my fiancee and I would definitely be interested in joining. We moved to Tampa about a month ago and already have a couple properties under contract, but would love to meet more real estate professionals in the area.