All Forum Posts by: Nick Velez

@Annie Anson

Welcome and congrats on taking the first step! Not many people dig too deep on the actual requirements so kudos to you. You definitely want to talk to a different investor friendly CPA that helps their clients with cost seg's, and can articulate exactly what you will need to do to meet the requirements. 

I also highly suggest you connect with @Josh Green as well whom not only owns STR's locally, but has a management business. Tax savings are amazing and I have utilized cost segs myself, but you also have an opportunity to make an amazing return on your money in the Tampa Bay market. There is a formula that you must follow if you want to perform, having a realtor who knows the market inside and out and practices what they preach is an absolute necessity.

@Kegan Scholl

I am partial to Florida given I live here but I have house hacked for the past 6 years and it fundamentally changed my life, you are on a great path for success. Tampa has amazing growth potential and have personally witnessed @Josh Green work miracles for his clients. If Tampa is on your radar, I HIGHLY suggest you connect with him. 

@Chris Primavera

Nothing changes if nothing changes, that is one of my favorite sayings out there. Market research is very important but nothing is more valuable than just taking action. 

No doubt buying the first property can seem very scary but ideally, you are working with a realtor and lender who owns STRs. If they can do it and be a resource for you, there is no reason you can't. 

Unless you are looking at upper tier properties, you will likely be disappointed in Gatlinburg currently due to the over saturation in that market. There are a plethora of amazing STR markets that can yield great results. Your available cash will dictate what markets you should consider getting into. Feel free to message me, I would be glad to give you my opinions on where I think a good market would be based on your financial situation.

 Feel free to shoot me a text and we can hop on a call.

Hey Anthony,

I have a few STR's in Gainesville and have lived here for about 7 years now and know several people with STR's as well. Saturation is definitely upon us but quality product continues to get booked just like other markets. I see people purchasing new STR's here and others dumping their properties or converting into LTR's.

We have a niche market due to the hospital and university which has pros and cons but my properties have continued to perform well for me. 

It is always so fascinating to me when people say there are no good deals. As a lender and investor, I get to see the various deals my clients are doing and so many of them are crushing it! I have STR investors in Florida making 25% cash on cash returns, long term rental investors picking up properties directly off the MLS and cash flowing day 1 in various states, and house hackers completely removing their housing payment from the picture allowing them to save for for the next property.

The beautiful thing about real estate is there are so many ways to succeed and a plethora of strategies depending on your comfort level and how active you want to be. If I only invested in REIT's or stocks 5 years ago when I started, my net worth would be 95% lower than it is today. Diversity is great, but the fundamentals for real property are too strong in my opinion.

I do hope your mindset shifts and you look back 5 years from now and say damn I wish I started sooner. 

I would personally never invest in a high crime area, especially for an asset that will have below average appreciation. $300 a month cash flow is not a bad target but when you are dealing with properties of that caliber, one bad tenant or big repair can wipe out years of cash flow. 

On my end, I would never purchase a property that won't produce at lease 1k in net cash flow, and it must be in a desirable area that is expected to appreciate. I have been looking at my year end numbers and most of my properties (STR's of course), will have generated over 3k a month in net cash flow on a 12 month average. More work? Barely, but I guarantee they will be in better shape 3 years from now than a 100k property in a high crime area. Just my 2 cents.

I disagree with the notion that brokers cost the consumer more money. There are obviously exceptions to this depending on the loan product but take rocket mortgage for example. They make a small spread on wholesale deals versus taxing the consumer outrageously on the retail channel. The wholesale channel is a lean business practice for the most part while with retail, there is significantly more expenses such as marketing, employee benefits, admin staff, etc. I sure as heck wish I had all of that!

On the other side of the coin, someone going through a broker or IMB to purchase an investment property, is likely going to spend significantly more than they would at a bank who holds the loan in house, because of LLPA's with Fannie/Freddie. Removing or lowering those LLPA's would level the playing field in terms of pricing, but making investment property loans more affordable is not going to help decrease prices. 

I am not going to say there is a best lending model, but brokers legally can not be paid as much as IMB's, and I tend to be cheaper in more situation than not when comparing a loan estimate from an actual lender. 

@Patrick Brown

A local investor focused agent is going to be your best resource starting out, ideally one who has a portfolio themselves! I HIGHLY suggest you connect with @Josh Green, he is an investor and has helped so many other BP members acquire their first investment property.