All Forum Posts by: Perez Leanne

Hello to all,

I live in Jacksonville, FL and am a Florida attorney. I have been managing every aspect of my parents' rental property business for over 15 years. Everything from tenant screening, lease drafting, rent collection, compliance issues, insurance, evictions, rehabbing, etc. I have handled for their 10+ properties. I have also handled landlord/tenant issues and contract drafting for my clients.

I am now interested in buying my own rental properties. I am open to flipping as well but my long term goal is to build a sizeable portfolio of rental properties (SFH, condos/apartments, multi-family). I am interested in learning how to get hard money loans to purchase these properties. What are the initial steps that need to be taken? What companies/sources are out there that are credible and willing to work for a first-timer such as myself? I have my own money that could be used in the rehab of the properties if necessary. There is a lot of information out there and I would love to know from you members what strategies you have used in your real estate investing ventures. Any guidance you can provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Hi Brian. I am attorney practicing in Florida and now living in Jacksonville (was living in South FL for the past 7 years). I manage my parents' rental properties (10+) and have done several evictions for them. For evictions in Duval county, you can file the case online or you can do it through an attorney. It is always best to provide any notification to tenants by posting it on the property door. It makes things a whole lot quicker. Mail does get lost and I have found that when I have sent mail certified in Jacksonville, the post office is not very good at tracking where the mailing is. This has happened to me several times when I was mailing back security deposit claim/refund correspondence to tenants.

Once the 3-day notice deadline has expired and the tenant still has not paid the overdue rent or has not vacated the property, you need to file the eviction case asap. Then get them served immediately thereafter (I can provide you the name of the process server I use). If the tenant does not respond to the complaint within the given deadline, you then proceed to move the eviction along by obtaining first a default against the tenant and then getting the Writ of Possession (this is the document that the court enters that you then provide to the sheriff so they can turn possession of the property over to you). If the tenant happens to respond to the lawsuit (many times they respond in order to buy themselves time and delay the case), a hearing will have to be scheduled before the judge. The benefits of using an attorney for the eviction process is that the attorney can obtain a hearing date quickly directly from the judge's assistant in order to proceed the case along. Also, it has been my experience that when the tenant sees that an attorney is involved instead of the landlord filing the case on their own, they are more likely to take things serious and either pay up the rent they owe or move out more quickly.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about this process. Best of luck!

Hi Joseph. Just sent you a PM. I have the names for other types of service people if you need them (granite, cabinetry, HVAC, etc.) as well.

@Robert Rayford PM me with your recommendation as well. Thank you!

I highly recommend Craig Speranzi with CS&I II, Inc. He did a sizeable remodel for my parents in their kitchen and bathrooms and the work was top-notch. Craig does some of the work but also uses really skilled workers. Above all, he is an honest guy and who is not there to make a quick buck and then disappear. He really values his reputation and cares about completing the job to the customer's satisfaction. PM me for his phone number.

For interior/exterior paint jobs, Jon Nail is the guy to call. He does excellent work, is clean and neat. PM me for his phone number.

For high end cabinetry, call Natalie at Kitchen Envy. Her design ideas and cabinet selection is great and her cabinet installer is the best there is. PM me for her phone number.

For low to mid-level cabinetry and for excellent stone countertop installations, D&R Countertops do great work and are reasonably priced. PM me for their phone number.

-Leanne