All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

@Thomas Casella there are several meet-ups in Orlando. I've been a member of the local chapter of the National REIA since 2014 and have made some great connections and learned alot over the years. The one here (CFRI) has 6 counties in its chapter and has meeting throughout the month all over Central Florida.

There are others that hold meet ups for different niches like STR, Multi family etc, you can go to the 'network' tab at the top of this page, search on meetup dotcom website, search for cfri to help you get started here.

Best of luck!

Welcome to BP and investing @Jarvae Everett. Thank you for your service. You've gotten some good advice already, but can you tell us a little more about where you are thinking? Generally if you are looking OOS, it is somewhere you have some sort of connection to, grew up there, served there, have family in the area or just somewhere you've always dreamed of living and owning something there will help you achieve that.

There are great connections to be had all over the country on the forums here, so knowing a little more about you and your 'buy box' and budget will help us help you!

Best of luck!

@Lenny Reinstein congrats on finding BP and getting started on your journey. I've read thru the comments and there is good practical advise here. Based on your original post, sounds like condos would be about all that is in your price range in the Orlando market. That will bring up the issues of cash flow due to high HOA fees that are associated with them and another hurdle will be finding a condo that is warrantable in that price range.

If you have a rent analyzer tool (BP has one at the top of the page), you can find properties that match your budget and criteria and practice the numbers. You can get the help from a Realtor or find most of the info on the big home search sites. Make sure to factor in the 10% of rent for a property manager, always go a little higher on taxes and insurance than you think too (especially in Fl). 

One thought would be if you could bump up your budget to mid 300's, new construction homes would be a good way to go for you...new home with warranties, tenants willing to pay for a new home, little to no repairs/maintenance for years to come. Easy to manage.

Hope this helps, best of luck!

@Eric DePoto I'll send you a PM.

That area is quite commercial, you are only a few blocks from the County sheriffs office, not super desirable. If it is cosmetic, what do you need permits for? Orange county is experiencing very long delays in permits if you do need them. Just be careful of your timeline and ARV.

@Krystie Buena  Are you looking to Flip or hold it?

Yes, it is still considered 'crime hills'. Not all of it is bad, it would be better in 32818, but this will depend on where it is. For the most part, the closer you are to Pine Hills rd and HWY 50, the worse you will be. I do this for most of my flips no matter where they are, but if you do flip there, protect everything inside..tools, appliances, a/c. Invest in a portable security system. 

Your end buyer will likely be an investor, or FHA so take that in consideration when running your ARV and build in some closing cost assistance or plan on a lower cash offer and if the numbers still work, go for it.

Best of luck!

@Lorena Bermudez Have them reach out to HBI..Harding Bell International, this is exactly what they do and its a one stop shop. 

Best of luck!

@Josiah Earl

I'm right here in Orlando too, happy to meet up or have a call to discuss. I add my two cents in many of the posts regarding STR if you want to dig thru some of my answers. There are a lot of nuances that you will want to be aware of and questions from you that I would want to make sure you understand well enough before advising you on where to invest specifically. I have a map of my top recommendations for communities to start with, but depending on your budget, we could look elsewhere.

One thing I might suggest is to consider speaking directly with a local PM that has real data from actual homes being rented rather than relying just on an algorithm site. 

Happy to have a call or zoom if you like, best of luck!

 Not sure where you heard families are losing interest in Disney, it is literally sold out every day. Keep in mind, this is a Global destination that everyone, everywhere has heard of and wants to experience. Not just for Americans with a small family coming here. Disney, Universal Studios, Lego Land, SeaWorld and the beaches are not far away and just the weather, so even if that were true, there are many other options. 

@kevin

@Kevin G. I'm in Orlando and deal with a large number of out of state investors that buy both STR and LTR here. I can attest that the overwhelming majority of the STR here are owned by out of state or out of country investors. As far as boots on the ground, depending on if you plan to self manage or not. If you align yourself with a full service PM, you should be all set. We have 10's of thousands of units here so the workforce for cleaners, handymen etc are in high demand, finding, trusting and scheduling them could be daunting on your own, especially since when you need them, it is usually crunch time and don't have the luxury of waiting as you have guests inside or coming in.

I would advise to stay in some of the resort style communities for the best cash flow, if you are looking for a 4 bed with a pool, there are plenty, but we have quite a few communities that are literally built to be STR so no worry about a random HOA changing the rules, the neighborhood not being impressive with upkeep and/or amenities.

All of the homes (besides new construction) in the resort communities will come fully furnished and will have a pool/spa. There is a value add aspect to some homes that have owners that don't know how to theme or attract guests, but as far as a fixer-upper, that is going to be much more difficult. Most of the homes are less than 10 years old. They have wear and tear, but not fixers. 

Happy to dive deeper into this if you like.

Best of luck!