All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

Hey @Bill Cole welcome to Florida! @Tyler Gibson is right, we have a pretty active RE community here in Orlando. Are you looking to get into property management here too? What do you specialize in LTR, STR, commericial?

One great place would be CFRI (Central Florida Realty Investors), the local chapter of the National REIA. I am on the board and can get you a guest pass for your first meeting. We cover 6 counties and have meetings all month long in different areas. We have specialty meeting focused towards REI 101, flipping, landlording etc and about 300 vendors that you can network with too.

Reach out if I can help with anything. Best of luck

Hey @Derek Burke Welcome (Go Blue!) I specialize in STR here in Orlando, not sure if that is the market you want to purchase in or back in Ann Arbor. I wouldn't be much help in other markets, but happy to help with Orlando if thats what you are looking for.

Check my profile, I have YouTube videos on STR's here and have some info that might be useful. Reach out if I can help in any other way.

Best of Luck

@Bobbie Russell Welcome and congrats! We have a pretty active community here in Orlando both in person and online and we're always here to help. 

I might suggest looking into to CFRI, the local chapter of the National REIA. I am on the board and could provide a guest pass for you to come check it out. We have about 15+ meetings a month all over Central Florida. It would be a great place to meet other local investors and network with them and business members/trades of all kinds.

Let me know if I can be of any help and Best of Luck!

Most home inspectors have websites that you can evaluate what is included in their reports and what services they provide as standard and/or ala carte. I will always provide 3 home inspectors to my customers that I have personally used and am familar with how thorough they are. Some of the ones I use cause headaches for the sellers agent as they know how detailed the reports are and sometimes will scare off the buyer and the deal falls apart. 

If your goal is only to go back to the seller and try and get more concessions or for them to lower the price, keep in mind that the overwhelming number of contracts written are on the Florida "As-Is" contract, so the seller does not even have to respond to your requests for repairs or concessions. That doesn' mean you can't try and negotiate, but it may lead to nothing, especially if you are in a 'sellers market' and they have choices. The number of defects will likely be proportionate to the age of the home and how well it was cared for, along with location, builder etc. You should be looking for obvious defects during your initial tour of the home and using the inspector to find the things that aren't obvious or known. Your due diligence is important in the process too. 

Try VE Builders, ask for Eliot Grime.

@Murtuza Khoja what size house do you have? Is it two story or have a detached garage or something? I have a great painter and have used him personally and so have my clients and collegues...houses ranging from 1800-2600 sqft and it has never been more than $3,000 and this is just in the last few months. So, not sure who you are getting quotes from or if your property manager insists you use their painter and getting a cut, but $11,000 is ridiculous!!

If you still need roof quotes, I have a couple great contacts there as well, roofers can really take advantage of people too. Let me know if I can help, but I would pressure wash, fill the cracks in with elastomeric and then touch up to see if that will get them off your back. 

Best of luck

 They tend to overinflate the closing costs compared to a 'regular' title company. They offer the incentive to pay for most/all of the costs, but charge so much to do it that you still may have to come out of pocket for closing costs. 

@Aliya Alexander-May Congrats on getting started. I would suggest going to REI meet ups to meet people and get to know them and how they work, what level of experience they have and if they can actually provide value to what you are looking for.

I would also suggest you come to CFRI (Central Florida Realty Investors) meetings. We have trades that cater to investors, investors and educational meetups that will be a huge help in getting started. We have a "Flipping 101" and "Woman in Real Estate" specialty meetings as well as several others each month. 

Let me know if you'd like to come to a meeting and I can send a pass. 

Best of Luck

@James McGovern That will depend on when you are looking to buy and more specifically when you can close. Builder typically base the incentives on how soon the home will be ready to close. If you can close quickly on an inventory home (one that is almost complete or complete), they will offer more aggressive incentives. If the home is still in the building phase and not ready to be completed for several months, they may wait to offer incentives on those. 

This is builder to builder and community to community. I get some price sheets from many of the builders weekly/bi-weekly letting me know what homes are quick close and what incentive that they are offering. So the list changes all the time, there is no blanket answer on who has the best deals. The incentives are also tied to using the builders title company and in-house lender, so you have to be on board with that too. 

@Noelle Maine One of the big reasons buying a STR out of state is buying one in an are where you enjoy going. If you come to Orlando alot and will get good use out of the unit, that checks a big box. And being involved in your unit (maintenance, decor, repairs, guest experience) goes a long way to ensuring your success.

Orlando sees (currently) over 70 million visitors a year and with EPIC theme park just opening last week, next years numbers are sure to increase. So we do have more units than anywhere for good reason. You do have to be better than hotels and other units to stand out, get the reviews you need and offer what your competitors can't/won't. Other markets seem to be dwindling and over regulating, where Kissimmee/Davenport embrace STR. We are literally built for it.

I would second @John Underwood in saying to stay away from condos. They are too plentiful, the HOA will eat up all profit and you are directly competing with thousand of other small units and thens of thousands of hotel rooms.

You can cash flow here, but you make your money when you buy. Buy a unit in a great community and close to the parks, either commit to being the best host or hire the best PM and you can do it. 

Best of luck