All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

@Benton Shortridge Hi Benton, what type of property are you looking for, who is your target demographic? STR near the parks? near UCF to capture student housing, multi-family or just bread and butter single family?

There are plenty of great property managers out there to interview and help analyze properties depending on your strategy and criteria.

@Rachel Perl I have sold in both communities this year and can give some insight if you are still in need.

@Nancy Bender To separate yourself from the masses, 7-9 bedrooms is what I usually suggest. There are fewer of them and even fewer that go the extra mile to do theming that differentiates from others. Prices right now are around $600-750 for those sizes in the best communities.

As far as neighborhoods go..Any of the Windsor communities, Championsgate, Solara, Solterra, Storey Lake (and a couple others) will offer great amenities, reputation and returns if you manage it and theme it correctly.

@Feng Ye Insurance has become increasingly more expensive in Florida, but not to the extent you should not buy something here. They are finally fighting back against all the fraud that has gone on for decades.

You mentioned you want a 'cheaper, older home'. That statement tells me you will be getting a home that needs updates and likely will be more expensive to insure. Homes built in the 60s or older will need plumbing updates, electrical updates too. Look for galvanized pipes for anything before 1970, look for Federal Pacific, Zinsco, and other electrical panels that insurance companies stay away from. If the house is from the '80-'90s, you'll need to watch out for polybutylene plumbing, in the early 2000's, Chinese drywall. And if the roof, water heater are more than half of their life expectancy, yes, the insurance will be more expensive. 

And those are just the bigger systems to worry about. The a/c is the only other big ticket item, but insurers won't give you issue with those. So if you want an older, cheap house, you have to know walking in that these will be issues you have to plan for regardless of what state you are buying in.

@Eric Michiels, as others have said, making good money on a condo is difficult as there are simply more of them and the competition for the same clientele tends to have owners lower prices and that hurts you and then the community gets a reputation for being cheap.

I would suggest looking into one house and get it with as many bedrooms as you can comfortably afford (5-9 beds). And then theme it out very well. Less completion in the bigger home space and even less if you look at how many are themed well. The community amenities and overall reputation have a lot to do with it also. All of them have some sort of clubhouse/pool area, but several of the resort style have lazy rivers, theater rooms, game rooms, on site restaurants, nail salons, boutiques, golf etc.

It is very realistic for you to achieve your ROI on a bigger home to net $5k/month after all expenses including HOA, PM at 20%, pool maintenance, utilities, taxes etc. Hope this helps. Good Luck

@Michael JohnsonI have about a dozen BPr's that own STR's in Orlando, most of them are larger homes (7-9 beds) but a few condo and townhome as well. Type of home and community make a big difference in terms of revenue, reputation, rates etc. Some of the other factors would be if you are self-managing, how well the home is decorated/themed. If you are using a PM, how aggressive they work your calendar and are connected to tour operators, travel agents, other countries travel seasons etc.

As Tyler said, if you are not looking at a purchase in the Four Corners area to capture the theme park goers, you will have a tough time of it in Orange County. There are other variables to consider too. I'd be happy to see if any of my owners would be willing to speak with you. I would also consider interviewing a few PM's for numbers and comparison of expectations, services and other insight an owner may not know or deal with directly. 

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Hey @Sean Beyrouthy

In general, a local lender is always preferred and lends credibility that the listing agent can call and speak with someone. Big banks are not good at doing any type of investment loans, get a lender that understands these. Some lenders have programs specifically for STR and others don't want anything to do with them due to risk.

You may be eligible to do a second home loan and only do 10% down or stick with conventional to avoid PMI etc. I could share a few of my lenders to you if you still have a need.

Hey @Matthew Edge what part of Ohio, I picked up a couple rentals in Toledo this year and looking for more.

As far as Kissimmee, I've sold over a dozen STR's there this year and all of my clients are doing well. The ones that purchased earlier in the year got great deals, but the ones that closed at higher prices are still making it work.

Disney is celebrating its 50 year anniversary, new sections of the theme parks are opening and International travel is not even up to speed yet..so the future looks bright. I will be somewhat tough if you don't buy soon as the holiday bookings will make it difficult to transition, get inspections and closing dates to coincide with very tight windows and also the possibility of cancelling existing reservations for people that have big holiday bookings.

Depending on what type of property you are looking at will make big difference also. A condo or townhome may be easier than a larger single family like a 7-9 bedroom, but those sizes are the real money makers (IMO). Prices are holding steady as there is very little inventory. I'm not seeing 10+ offers on a single property, but if a good one comes up that is truly turnkey, they still go fast. I believe that will only get worse as International investors come back and start buying up what is left. There are only a few new construction communities building in true resort complexes and they have wait lists for months, so the demand is definitely there.

Hope this helps a little, let me know if you have any deals in Toledo!

@Joseph Goode Good questions, and I don't have much to add other than what others have already pointed out. Beach house could be harder to insure, more wear and tear weather wise(?) Age of home and capital expenses to replace roof, a/c, pool equipment, how much does sand affect wear and tear(?) Orlando has 10 great months and two okay, not sure about PCB.

Will you be using it (kids/disney?) Don't look at price per square foot, first off totally different markets and I'll assume different square foot of homes, the smaller the home, the higher the PPSF. What community is the Kissimmee house in, that will also make a difference, there are 7-8 that are top tier for returns due to amenities of the community and reputation, if it's not in one of them, you'll work harder to fill it up and get great rates.

@Gabriel Araya I would suggest speaking with a lender first. I have never had anyone do a construction to perm loan with FHA, but that doesn't mean it's not allowed, but if I had to guess it won't be. As far as build costs, materials are still experiencing a shortage and rising costs, so to quote something without plans, finishes, permits, utilities, septic/sewer, impact fees etc, I would expect very different quotes until you have all the answers. I have a client looking to build custom and was just quoted $140 from a very reputable higher end builder (not including land costs). So too many variables to really have an idea. But I would plan closer to $150 to be safe and always include a 'whoops' factor of 10-15%.

Good luck and keep us updated, would love to know how it goes.