All Forum Posts by: Shawn McCormick

@Lou Benveniste Congrats on not giving up and educating yourself! Lots of locals in Orlando that are always willing to help. I would also suggest looking into joining the local REIA, CFRI that has about 2 dozens local meetups a month in Central Florida.

Good Luck!

@Christina Colon My vote would be Orlando for a variety of reasons. If you look at areas around Disney, there are many communities that are zoned specifically for this purpose, no need to worry about local ordinances or HOA's that change the rules on you. Orlando is the top vacation destination globally. We have a great International airport, cruise ports nearby, theme parks, easy access to East and West coast beaches, awesome year round weather that is far less effected by hurricanes than any beach location and so much more.

Virtually all STR's that are sold here come fully furnished and ready to go. Future bookings can convey if you wish, making it truly turn key and ready to go. Inventory of homes for sale in the better communities is currently quite low and calendars are full due to high demand.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

HI @Andrew Brown if you are looking for STR, virtually all will come fully furnished and turnkey, most with full calendars and future income in place. This will go for condos, towns and single family.

For LTR, that is a little tougher, I used to know of several companies that did it, but they usually rehabbed the property after purchasing it below market and then placing tenant and provide property management. Now the the wholesale market is so tight with inventory and margins are so thin, I don't see them much anymore, but I'm sure some still do it. 

Good luck.

@Candice Bernard I can't predict the market in a couple of years, but townhomes sell just as easy. It is an easy point of entry into homeownership or for people that don't like to do exterior work (paint, lawn care, pressure wash etc and want a maintenance free home). The price point of a townhome is lower and that means more people/families could get qualified for loan to purchase. Since this community is able to be rented short term, you also could sell to another investor looking for a STR or LTR as well as a family looking for a home.

@Andrew Brown how do you plan to use it, are you looking for a condo in the STR communities that you can use when you come visit your daughter or something for her to live in or strictly as a LTR investment. Our rental market can't get much more in demand, but the numbers will have to make sense with condos generally having very high HOA fees and many have limits on the number of non owner-occupied units. When you go to sell, you may have a limited buyer pool for the very same reason, along with the solvency of the HOA at that time and lenders willingness to lend in that particular community.

Best of luck!

@Candice Bernard for you first unit and budget, that sounds like a good start. I agree with both sides of the analysis that others have pointed out. I don't feel that is a great area/community for long term renters myself. It is not geared for that and you will likely have lots of turnover and not quality tenants. Use the unit as a stepping stone to learn the STR business and how to manage it, the tools that are available to you so that you can ween yourself away from a property manager down the road (if you want to and if you have the time to).

I advise starting with a property manager that has proven results and can help you learn. If it does well and it makes the $500/mo and the unit will likely appreciate in the next couple of years, sell it and move up to something bigger that will provide better margins. Cash flowing properties are hard enough to come by in the LTR game right now due to the high cost of entry. The rental market is fantastic, but most are getting appreciation rather than really good cash flow. 

Hope this helps, good luck.

@Jason Lagan you should look into joining CFRI. They have 6 county meetings and about 15 subgroup meetings every month on different subjects along with education, networking and seminars. Well worth it.

@Derrick Thomas, first off, welcome to BP and THANK YOU for your service! You should absolutely take advantage of using your entitlements. Getting a VA offer accepted can be challenging due in part to the stigma and the appraisal pool is different than for other loan types and that often causes them to take a bit longer, but not always. So don't be at all intimidated by offering, just make sure your lender is on top of it and is very well versed in them.

I will say that in Orlando, given our tight inventory of multi family, going FHA/VA is very tough and I'm speaking from direct experience, dozens of times this year. Cash buyers will beat you out everytime and there are plenty of them. I don't believe Doing STR with your VA loan is allowed. (someone please chime in). You can do a LTR and provide a lease and that is fine, but just not sure they will allow the uncertainty of consistent cash flow on a STR.

Best of luck to you!

@Wei Jie Yang Orlando is definitely a viable option for you in that price range. You would get a condo, townhome or smaller single-family right in the best resort communities near the theme parks. We are built for STR in this area and have year round, consistent travelers, great airport, close to beaches and...did I mention theme parks! Best of luck!~

Hi @Ishay Blutner what has brought you to Orlando to start your investing? Have you done any research to help support your budget and C class areas. Orlando is pretty diverse as we have people moving and investing here from all over the globe. IMO, $80,000 would only get you a mobile home or condo and neither would be very desirable at that price point and location.

There is plenty of threads here on BP about Orlando and almost anywhere on line. Best of luck to you.