All Forum Posts by: Mike Waltman

I've recently moved back down to south Florida in order to resume my job as an estate caretaker in Boca Raton and to begin investing in rental properties in Palm Beach County. The job and the potential it holds for investing in real estate was too good to pass up. 

 I have been driving neighborhoods, looking at neighborhood scout/walk score/zilpy, and calling any local property management sign I see trying to get a feel for what market will work best for my first investment. As of now there are some neighborhoods in Lake Worth, West Palm Beach and Boynton Beach that stand out. That being said I am still in the reconnaissance stage right now and am always open to suggestions, even in south Martin or north Broward. 

I would like to start building my support network but I am not sure if it is too early to do so. Ideally I am looking for:

An agent who is familiar with my target area, has experience working with investors and dealing with foreclosures and short sales. 

A reliable contractor who does a quality job at a price point reasonable for rentals in my target areas. 

A lawyer with experience in real estate law.

A property management company that can provide short (weekly/monthly) and long term services.

No track record, no deal lined up yet, just ambition...and maybe an ace in the hole. 

Is it too early to start getting a team in place?

Thoughts and recommendations would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for that spread sheet Nayt, very helpful to have an example layed out so clearly.

I'm wondering whether anyone has worked out an efficient way of establishing vacancy rates on VRBO/Airbnb etc. I feel like I might not working with concrete data because it does not establish whether blocked off days are booked days or days that the owner has saved for themselves.

Thanks for the welcome everyone! I've got a ton of questions on my mind right now but I'm going to do some more homework before I start asking specifics. Right now I'm trying to figure out what is the best route to go down for my first project in real estate investing. I have a ton of variables at play right now, but my current focus is playing with the numbers for developing the eco-units and the numbers for buying and managing a standard house/apartment vacation rental and seeing which one is a smarter move at this time.

Hello to everyone here on bigger pockets. My name is Mike Waltman, I'm 24, and originally from Long Island New York. I graduated with a teaching degree a few years ago and decided it wasn't for me. After that realization, I decided to spend the next few years traveling, working as a deck hand on a luxury/adventure charter sailing yacht in South East Asia, a caretaker for a multi-millionaire's estate in South East Florida and lifeguard/host to (non-paying) guests during the summer months at my campsite next to the beach in Montauk, New York. My experiences have made me realize that I enjoy and am competent at providing fun and unique vacation experiences for guests in places that I have local knowledge of.

I'm interested in investing in vacation rental properties and constructing eco-friendly rental units on undeveloped land. The areas that I am interested in are surf tourism destinations (primarily focused on Rincon/Aguadilla/Isabella, Puerto Rico but also interested in various areas of Nicaragua, and Panama). I have a passion for surf, the outdoors, hospitality and real estate. It is my hope to combine these passions with the money I have saved and the connections I have made in order to establish a well balanced life through vacation rental management and real estate investment.

By the way, the podcast is great. INCREDIBLY helpful and entertaining. Really opened up a new world to me so thanks to Josh Dorkin and Brandon Turner for doing what you guys do.