All Forum Posts by: Michael Moskos

@Jake Boss - what are your sources for the 3 times per year STR requirement in St. Petersburg? Also, was this specific to downtown St. Pete and the beach front area?

Thanks!

Mike

@Ryan St. Clair - I purchased my first 3-flat house hack in 2018 in Portage Park. It was a great find and it cash flows! The area is fairly consistent and it is a great opportunity because you can purchase at the 1% rule and consider AirBnB as an alternative option if you are ever interested in Short Term Rentals. I agree that the neighborhoods you listed aren't very feasible from a profitability perspective. Look at the numbers in the different neighborhoods and let me know if you have any questions or just want to chat. Thanks!

Here is a link to their website https://copelandmorgan.com/

@Ryan Osborne - I worked with Doug Crenshaw at Copeland Morgan, LLC who offers property management and agent services specific to Real Estate Investors! I have purchased 5 rental properties in the past 3 years and working with Doug and Jeff (Owner of the Brokerage and Management Company) and it was the best experience I have had to date. I own an awesome 3-unit property in St. Pete! I think the coolest part about their team is they send a detailed analysis via excel on each property you are interested in with project flip estimates, long term rental, and BRR calculators. They have separate tabs for all these and send you supporting comparable on any property you are interested in. They also aren't afraid to advise on what they think is a good/average/bad deal from an investor perspective. They are so pressure free and want to see their clients succeed. I still keep in touch with Doug because of his wealth of Real Estate experience!

Hi All! I recently acquired a rental in St. Pete and have been consulting with a Management company I am very excited to partner with. With that said, and from the research I have done there are requirements Pinellas county and the City of St. Pete have defined, but there are a lack of resources for enforcement. I am a big believer in due diligence and stress testing from mistakes I have made in the past investing in real estate, so I decided to begin my due diligence process to determine whether I should convert to STR instead of LTR by booking two weeks in St. Pete and three different places through AirBnB. These properties were all in different locations (one in Historic Kenwood, one in Downtown St. Pete, and the other farther north off of 275). There did not appear to be any complications with these rentals and they all had lots of reviews which indicates a good/consistent amount of activity to me. One of the rentals I stayed at was in the process of converting the other two units on the property to STR and removing LTR. This included significant renovations as well! With all of this said, it does not mean that something could change, but from my discussions with local AirBnB owners, and Management companies the theme seems to be that there is a lack of enforcement. If we are able effectively manage our properties, and improve them through renovations as investors, we are supporting the St. Pete community through improved housing and tourism demand. I am a huge advocate for the AirBnB platform and hope to see momentum in this space in the future, and ideally become a host in the area since my recent acquisition. Thanks all!

@John Warren, this is such great advice! You are right I am all over the market! I will narrow my focus! I was thinking of rolling meadows. Thanks!

@Marcus Auerbach thanks for the advice! Do you validate your figures (I.e. rehab costs) after you are under contract? Wondering how you get under contract so fast?

Thanks!

Mike

Hello BP Community!

I love in the Southwest suburbs of Chicago and currently own ons 3-Flat in Chicago and two larger multi-family properties with my Mother in Milwaukee and Bloomington, IL. I started investing in my first year out of school. Since, I have saved some money for my next deal, and I want to purchase a live in flip and or BRRRR.

I have been searching for a distressed property with the following criteria (I tried to keep it simple).

Criteria: 3bed / 2 bath; 1,050+ Sq Ft; less than $225,000 purchase price

Location: DuPage County; Cook County (suburbs only) - Arlington Heights, Palatine, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, etc.

Rehab Budget: $55 - $65K (objective is to finance and borrow rehab costs).

So far it's been difficult to find a property on the MLS. I've either missed the mark on some of my offers because other investors have been faster, or struggled to find good value. I'm wondering, does anyone have any feedback on my strategy/process, recommendations on my area, or strategies you have used in these markets to successfully invest in the Chicago suburban market? If so, i would love to hear your stories!

Thanks!

Mike

@Tony Gaultney - It took me 6 months to find a good agent because I didn’t know what I was doing at first. I ended up finding an agent that understood my strategy, and was extremely helpful in finding potential properties and working with the listing agents.

As for your area, I’m interested what city you are searching in? Thanks!

@Tony Gaultney - sounds like you are in a great position and have made extremely smart decisions! Congratulations for paying your student loans down so fast! I agree with your approach! I myself wanted to get into real estate out of college, and knew that an FHA Multi-Family is what I wanted to do first. I purchased a 3-Unit, lived in one and rented the others out! I think based on your current situation that's a great plan.

Also by the way, I put 3.5% down on the Multi-Family, moved out after one year, and it cash flows positive! I have friends that say they want to put 20% on any property they purchase and I tell them if it’s multifamily it doesn’t matter. As you may know, as long as the numbers work!

Thanks for this post and thread!