All Forum Posts by: Mike Shaw

Thanks Colleen. I started reading that irs publication & like usual my head started hurting. 

I just know how to buy houses with cash & fix them myself. Haven’t tried it yet in Brasil, but will probably learn early next year if not sooner. I’ve visited almost every country there. Even Venezuela before the socialists destroyed it.  

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Port Saint Joe.

Purchase price: $200,000
Cash invested: $200,000

Beach/Golf Course Villa
Soon to be a short term vacation rental.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We wanted to get out of the cold North West winters.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Online Zillow. Our son’s friend who is a realtor checked it out for us in Florida while we were in Idaho.

How did you finance this deal?

Sold our primary residence in Idaho.
The deal had to be cash since there was no way it would qualify for any loans.

How did you add value to the deal?

I knew we could repair all of the damage from hurricane Michael.
The property was listed for $499,000 prior to the hurricane & there were offers close to that, but the owner got greedy & wanted $499,000....Then the hurricane hit. Besides all of the damage there were simple things which could be updated easily.

What was the outcome?

Repaired the hurricane damage-roof, windows, doors, damaged drywall, wet insulation, damaged closets, missing doors & much more.
With all the major repairs, new paint & simple repairs that should have been done years prior, I knew it could be worth more than $500,000 & make a great vacation rental in this area.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Even though I did most of the work myself, it’s difficult to get building materials when there is a huge demand.

If we have a STR rental in Florida which we rent from Memorial Day until October, then travel to our STR in Brasil & live there from October until May, would the travel be deductible? Since we are traveling to our STR's to check on them & live for a few months.

I think we need a cpa.

We want to buy a beach casita/condo up in the Natal or Sao Miguel do Gostoso area. Then we rent our beach/golf Villa in the hot/humid Florida panhandle during the summer from Memorial Day until October & live in the cooler Natal weather. Then rent the Natal house out from October to May. 

Thanks Glenna. The course has made huge improvements. The greens are brand new now & they finally hired someone who actually knows how to grow Florida grass & not just a good ol boy that talks the talk & has no clue like they did for the last many years. The airstrip is totally separate & privately owned still. 

The hurricanes are our biggest concern. It is tempting to just sell it now that it is repaired. We aren’t from this area & aren’t use to this heat/humidity & the hurricanes.

My wife is from Brasil & we have considered for years about buying a small beach condo in Brasil, Just to have a place to always go & be by a great beach & family could use it. But I think most of South America would not be a great investment & some countries would be very risky. As Mike Lambert said, most countries don’t even offer mortgages. I know with the  continual increase of the dollar against the Brasilian Real it is very powerful for us here in the US. But once you buy it’s like you are getting off the upward moving elevator. You are now invested in the Real & even though the dollar is increasing, your property might increase but is actually losing ground to the dollar.

I use Vanguard. I park money in the money market account. Then on market dips the 0 commission etf’s are great just for a little excitement. Or move into mutual funds from the MM account. Or just leave it parked in the MM for an emergency fund. 
Super easy setup & quick transfers to & from your bank account when one needs the cash. 

Ok thanks. There are many local vacation rental management companies. I’ll contact them.

Thanks Paul. I know Manassas well. I worked at Micron for many years in Boise, then transferred to Manassas to get it going. I’m retired now. 
I’ll post some pictures. 
When we bought it, half of the roof was gone, the 2 big 8’x8’ corner windows were gone, the front double doors were gone, the kitchen door window was gone & there was lots of interior work to do. The golf course has made a major turn around also. I worked on the irrigation system on the course for almost a year to get it repaired & running since we had a vested interest in having a nice golf course. 
This is the original house that was built by the Senator who built the course. Was his golf Villa/guest house.