All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

@Shannon Currin you have many option here in Orlando. We have many resort communities that have similar amenties/guest experiences as Reunion. as @Jay Breitlow you will have to expect the extra membership fees associated with some communities in order for your guests to enjoy everything they offer.

There are about a dozen, large, high quality resorts that you can self manage or use any property manager you wish. This gives you more control over fees they charge and services offered for you to pick your own PM. Whether you choose to do it yourself or use a PM will provide very different ROI. If you don't have experience doing it in a particular market, I would strongly suggest using a PM at first so you don't lose out on revenue/bookings in the first year, the learning curve is steep. However, I would always keep the 15-20% that a PM charges in your proforma just in case you find out you don't like it or don't have the time, that way the profits will still fit within your buy box.

Hope this helps, best of luck!

try Barry Miller Law (407) 423-1700

@Salwa Arafa What are you looking for..eviction attorney, closing attorney, probate, trust, contract.....

@Adam Belal Congrats on making a move! Several things come to mind here that I'd like to point out or just comment on. In no particular order. 

Since you are using an FHA loan, make sure that the condo is on the approved list or this idea will go nowhere fast. Your lender should be able to provide a list or you can do a simple search, just make sure its up to date. Is the condo warrantable or non?

Second...who's still paying 3%..just kidding..I don't see many at 3% anymore! 

Third, what makes you believe there will be a crash? Inventory is less than a month, interest rates are going up, new construction is behind about 6 years nationally. You can find 100 different opinions on this if you ask 100 people. IMO, any big correction is likely very far off in the future.

Depending on what part of town the condo is in may determine rents. Are you by UCF, Disney, Valencia or something else that would attract younger people that you would want as roommates and need a situation like that? There are tons of people out there getting rent increases of 15-20% year after year, so as long as your unit is convenient to what they need, affordable, clean and safe, $625 sounds quite reasonable.

I would also have at least one exit strategy to calm your fears if the market does something wonky. With FHA, you must live in it for at least one year. Can you airbnb it after that, can you rent it out for $1500-1800 after that year is up? You said if you can't get $500 a month for the other rooms, you are in hot water, so if you can't afford the property on your own, this may not be a good move for you. People that rent by the rooms (I'm speculating) are not going to stay forever, you will have gaps and turnover, that is part of being a landlord, accounting vacancies is generally 10%, with renting by the room, I might double that.

Probably more to dig into here, but Good luck.

@Ethan O. Are you using a PM for your property? Labor shortages have hit that industry just like everything else, so finding reliable, trustworthy, quality cleaners is a challenge everyone is facing. I don't have any specific contacts, but I do see several people posting on a few STR facebook groups local to Orlando, you might try there.

@Tiffany Kho I have been in and out of dozens of these and yes, there are damages/wear that you should expect. Most of the bedrooms are upstairs, so all the luggage gets dragged up and the walls get scuffed. Most owners don't invest in other flooring types besides carpet, so that gets dirty and wears quickly as it is usually just builder grade. I recommend that as one of the upgrades to consider as a one time cost rather than cleaning and replacing carpet every few years and your cleaners will love you too.

You also have to consider these are spec built homes from large National builders like Lennar, Pulte and DR Horton (for the most part), so they don't have high end finishes so you will see things like the grout in the showers deteriorate, exterior paint put on thin, screen doors with broken handles, microwave door handles broken and fairly minor things like that. Some caused by excessive wear and tear by guests and some by poor quality parts. I don't want to excuse it as 'cost of doing business', but that is essentially what it boils down to. You just can't find this kind of cash flow in a LTR, so those things have to be figured in your monthly expenses properly. You will replace chairs with broken legs, towels that are stained/missing, dishes that break or wind up in the rental car, ping pong tables that get jumped on..but you get paid every time they check-in, not like a LTR where the tenant can withhold payment if they feel you should come fix the toilet they clogged up.

Hope this helps.

@Robert Geibel happy to help. Yes, your lender will have some stipulations with occupancy etc, but 10% down is doable. And I do have to say this because it has happened to me a few times.....lol....you do actually have to own a home now in order to qualify for a 2nd home loan. I have some great lender contacts should you need them.

@Robert Geibel There are many threads on this subject for you to read in past forums. But to Ryans point there are many, many condo and townhomes that just don't even try and each one of those is exactly like the one next door, there is only so much you can do to a 2-3 bedroom condo to make it better than the next one or even a hotel.

I'm on the side of buying bigger (at least in the Orlando market) You open yourself up to large families, tour groups, conventions, soccer or cheerleading competitions and so much more. You can always rent a large home out as a smaller home, but you will never capture big families if you only have 2 bedrooms. You can still make money with smaller units, but they can be alot of work too so are you trading your time for a little cash flow? 

Inventory is extremely tight so you have to have your offer ready to standout too, many sellers are requiring large escrow deposits and to waive appraisal contingency, be prepared for that. But don't be a motivated buyer either. 

Hope this helps. Good luck!

@Joshua Strickland Universal sits in Orlando and there aren't any STR near it (not legal ones anyway), but with Covid the numbers shifted over the last couple of years and we had a lot more domestic travel here from people looking to get out of their homes or states lockdown measures. So the International travel that we depend heavily on has been sporadic at best and I feel once the planes start flying, the demand and appetite for what we have will cause a huge influx again. I don't think it will be specifically related to a particular park though.

There are some new properties that are in the works too i.e. Evermore that will take all of this to a new level too (but I believe it is onsite managed, so don't know how attractive an investment it will be). I believe Orlando checks a lot of investment boxes for both STR and LTR and Disney is not one of those things that is going away..just getting bigger!

@Christle Stezskal the tourism numbers have been skewed the last couple of years due to Covid, however, Orlando is still always in the top 3 most visited places. It's not a niche market like a ski town beach city that can be very seasonally dependent. Yes, we have a gazillion places to stay, but it is supported by so many things, not just Disney. So the demand is and continues to be very healthy.

Choosing the right community and size home is a great place to start, after that comes the theming of the home, since we have no mountains or ocean to look at, the homes need to stand out with game rooms, over the top excitement for kids. Then comes proper management of your calendar and rates and how well you can reach the masses of the entire world to get them to click your link. If those things are in order and you get great reviews, I don't think you can beat the returns year after year.

You are right, so many of these homes are mismanaged or just have no attention to detail,  (there are actually people that come here without kids and don't need all the bells and whistles, but the ones that do are your bread and butter. So wow them as much as you can and you'll be fine!