All Forum Posts by: Matt Nico

@Adam Whitney we have repairs for rentals. One of our contractors did just tell us there are still some supply items which are very far out. We must have been lucky not to need them. Labor prices are high because of the demand for the guys!
my advice is to make sure your rehab estimates are up to date. A quote from 3 months ago may not be accurate today.

Adrian,

Have you found that contractors you have worked with for a while are still giving you the same price or are they even increasing in price? The few things I sub out (Like granite counters) the contractors have kept the price the same for me because of repeat business.

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Adam Whitney:

Are supply cost high for flippers right now? What’s the average price per sqft to rehab in Lakeland?

I’d love to chat with other Lakeland investors.

Adam,

I do buy and holds just north of Lakeland in Davenport. Supplies are still a bit on the high side. The most expensive thing right now from pre-pandemic is lumber. I bought 2 x 4's for a bit of framing a couple weeks ago and an 8 foot board was $9. They are usually $5. Other than that most things are just a tiny bit more expensive than before the pandemic. The real problem has been finding certain things. Some supplies are on back order in stores so I have having to order things online and wait a week for them to arrive. I do all the rehab myself so its a bit frustrating at times.

Hope this helps,

-Matt

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Samuel Leatherwood:

Greetings Bigger Pockets universe. My girlfriend and I recently bought our first home in the Colonialtown North area of Orlando. For those unfamiliar with the area, there are many duplexes, townhomes, and detached multi-family properties interspersed with single-family homes. Our property is zoned R-2a with a detached garage behind the main property. We are walking distance to many restaurants, bars, coffee, grocery, and more. I am hoping to get some advice regarding a detached garage conversion/addition to turn my single-family home into a house hacking situation.

Okay, so I know I am not "buying" the garage as I already own it but I was hoping to analyze this as if it were a BRRRR deal. For example, I would hope to rehab the garage into a 1 bed/1ba 500 sq foot unit, rent it out, refinance my home, and then (hopefully) pull most of my construction costs back out of the deal.

I am hoping to get some feedback. What are the pitfalls here? Is there a version of this approach that makes more sense? Is my capital best deployed elsewhere? Would love to hear from agents who sell homes in Colonialtown, agents who sell detached multi-family in Orlando, or investors who have experience in this domain.

Hey Sam,

I love the idea of what you want to do here. I actually just completed turning a single family house into a built-in ADU (sort of duplex) so I know exactly what you are about to go through. As long as you permit it correctly you should be fine. Central Florida actually has pretty decent legislation for building in law suites, ADU's and additional structures so the permitting on your part shouldn't be too difficult.

I'm about to get my GC license here in the next month or 2. If you wanted another set of eyes on the garage apartment before you get started reach on to me on here and maybe I could stop by your home and give you some pointers. You actually can pull permits yourself if you live in the home.

Happy Housing,

Matt

0 Votes

Orlando, Florida

Originally posted by @Kevin Romines:

I work with Quorum as will and will highly recommend them. I also recommend Pen Fed credit union. They will also go to 80% on a rental. Their only quirk is that they will only give you a HELOC if you own 4 or less properties including your primary. Other then that, they are great to work with.

Hey Kevin,

What kind of terms did you get for Quorum? They are offering the HELOC to me but its 8% interest. My credit score is only slightly above 700 so maybe thats why its so high, but it still seemed a bit higher than I was expecting at least at first.

-Matt

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Originally posted by @Christina Colon:

@Matt Nico, what company did you use if you don't mind me asking?

They are called "Quorum Federal Credit Union". They are based in NY, but I am getting the loan for a home in Florida.

-Matt

2 Votes

Originally posted by @Christina Colon:

I am trying to find a creative way to pull cash to invest on a new property. This is my first time looking into this sort of financing such as a HELOC. Has anyone ever used a HELOC on their rental property? If yes, what financial institutions do you recommend? Thanks in advance!

Christina,

I just applied for one. They are allowing me to pull up to 80% equity in total out of the rental property. I am currently in underwriting right now with conditional approval. A HELOC is a great way to get capital for investments. Just make sure your credit score is high and you make sure your DTI is in a good place.

-Matt

1 Vote

Originally posted by @Charles Hunter:

Hey All,

I’ve caught the real estate bug and am fired up to get started investing. My current plan is to find a multi family unit for house hacking. I’d like to also meet/find other like-minded people in the area for potential partnerships.

Welcome to Orlando Charles. I'm right in the area as well, but probably a bit further south of you.

There are not many multi-unit properties in Orlando but good luck finding one!!!!! Its usually better to start out with a single family home.

Good luck!!

0 Votes

Originally posted by @Brittany Olofsson:

I have my first SFH rental. I have home owners insurance on it. Property is in LLC name but mortgage in mine. My question is about an umbrella policy. I currently have a policy on my primary residence. Do I just add my investment property to existing umbrella policy (which is what insurance agent is saying) or because its in my LLC name have a separate policy for business property. Thank you for any advise.

Brittany,

With only one rental you shouldn't really need the Umbrella policy yet. That policy is for extra protection from being sued or if something terrible happens on a property. With only 1 home and not much equity (or something to be taken if sued), there shouldn't be much need for it yet. Once you get 3-4 properties and have some equity in the first couple then I'd look to do it.

-Matt

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Originally posted by @Roxy An:

Hi!! I'm so glad to find this forum!! Very general question here hope to get some guidance for a start... I'm interested in buying my first rental property in Orlando for cash flow purpose (managing out of town - I'm located in Miami).

What would be a good area to start? I've looked at the following areas

1. Winter Garden, homes are in high demand and on the expensive side, but the listings seems to be leased real fast (from what I see within 7 days) I even considered buying a new constrution home but have to be on wait list.

2. Lake nona, Tax seems higher here or am I getting the right information.

3. Kissimme Lots of homes for sale, rent seems to be going down

4. Oviedo and Alafaya, old homes might need renovation, is there a big rental market here?

My Budget ideally is <300k but can go up to 350k for good appreciation.

Prefer single family homes with no HOA or townhomes with low HOA under $200. Looking for high demand rental market of course.

I just started my research, Any suggestions please? areas or zip codes to look at? tips for newbies? opinions on the above areas? Thank you so much.

Roxy,

I'm in Championsgate and Kissimmee and they both do great. I'm not sure where you are getting your data from but Kissimmee is pretty hot right now. I just purchased a home there on Thursday that I'm projecting $800-$1,000 in cash flow a month + appreciation.

Look through old forum posts in the Orlando Forum here and reach out to some people who you see are successful. They are better than whatever research you can do from your computer.

-Happy Housing,

Matt

1 Vote

Orlando, Florida

Originally posted by @Marla Miller Chong:

@Matt Nico that was some good information, thank you for sharing. Just to get some clarification, I recently created an LLC with this idea in mind. I plan to purchase at least 3 properties in my own name before utilizing the LLC. In the meantime I was wondering how to go about establishing a credit history for my LLC. Did you open an account for your LLC and deposit the rental income to that account in order to establish a funding history for the LLC?

-Marla

Hi Marla,

Yes you have it exactly correct. I created the LLC after my 3rd property. I got an EIN (Employee ID number) and with that I was able to go to a bank and create a business checking/savings account. From there I got a credit card with a small-ish line of credit at first as my business was less than a week old. Use this card for everything business related and make sure you pay it off every month.

The 3 homes I own under my personal name as well as what I own under my LLC are all fed to the business account. Every bit of rent, security deposit, and expenditure goes through the business account. Nothing ever goes to my personal account anymore. Also quick tip: open 2 checking account. 1 has to be used to store security deposits.

Hope this helps.

P.S. Where in Spain do you live? I have been a few times. The food is absolutely incredible throughout the entire country.

0 Votes

All Forum Posts by: Matt Nico

Matt Nico has started 21 posts and replied 429 times.

Post: Lakeland, FL Investors

Post: Lakeland, FL Investors

Post: BRRRR my detached garage?

Post: Has anyon received a Heloc on Rental property?

Post: Has anyon received a Heloc on Rental property?

Post: Has anyon received a Heloc on Rental property?

Post: New Agent/Investor Orlando FL

Post: Umbrella policy question

Post: First rental property in Orlando any suggestions please

Post: Company/LLC Name ideas