All Forum Posts by: Russell Holmes

I'm in Apopka, just northwest of Orlando by a few miles, and swear by Best Price Roofing https://www.bestpriceroofing.com/ 

(407) 814-3572

For my own personal work I just call them and get on the schedule, but for clients I'll get several bids so there's no question of favoritism. Still end up with Best Price Roofing on them all.  

Ask for Ray and mention that Russell Holmes referred you (though any of them there are great), they'll take great care of you. I've had them do my primary home roof (2023), two BRRRR deal roofs ('21 and '22), and probably 10-15 client roofs by now from 2019-2023 (investors and typical homeowners). I've often bid them against 4-5 other companies and while a few others have matched or come close to their price, nobody seems to beat them. They're also extremely efficient, clean up everything, and if you've got any bad wood to be replaced you'll get a photo folder emailed to you with before & after of every single sheet replaced including a label sheet showing it is the right address and numbered sheets. I don't use them only because they're affordable, I use them because they are good at what they do and local to my area. I believe they serve much of central FL.

We had one BRRRR that hadn't been reroofed since the 80s and required 34 sheets of plywood right when wood was insanely expensive through COVID, that bill was about 50% reroof cost and 50% new wood cost, but they didn't leave anything to question, we saw every single piece before and after. It needed every single sheet that they swapped.

 @Reggie S. I'm curious how something like that would work with land that doesn't have an income producing rental on it yet? We own our property in an LLC, definitely some long-term appreciation and/or development potential and have various business ventures, but nothing that's pulling in large net income....yet. That said, I'm not completely opposed to sharing ownership if it were mutually beneficial. I'll look into it some, but feel free to PM with more info as well.

 @Nichole Kinard there really aren't any mandatory requirements for campsites, although it seems like having some basics helps to drive traffic.  I'd imagine that it is quite location specific as well, so I'd suggest poking around a bit on HipCamp as if you were a camper, and see what's around you.  We're in an area with some working farms, some raw land, and anything in between.  There are a few highly rated HipCamp hosts in our area that have 'U-Pick' farms of produce and/or petting zoo type animals, and they've added a handful of RV sites to go along with it.  Being about an hour from Disney, their reviews seem to paint a picture that there are many folks that stop through for a few nights on their way to theme parks or further south in the state.  Other campsites are truly primitive with no amenities at all in terms of water/power/sewer.  With these, campers would be expected to bring their own composting/camp toilets and basically pack out what they pack in similar to dispersed National Park camping.  Then there are some in between that may have a composting outhouse and a hose spigot, but no full electricity etc.  

We happened to already have an RV hookup with power/water/sewer, plus a small bathroom building nearby that's about 10x10 split in half, one side with a toilet/sink/shower and the other with a washing machine.  We basically just offered what we have on site plus the pond/floating dock/scenery.  You mentioned a creek, so finding a few flat/clear-ish areas with a nice view of the creek could be all you need.  They also have some plans on HipCamp or elsewhere on google for how to construct an outhouse/composting toilet, though we haven't gotten into that quite yet.  I think a lot of people like using the platform since even the primitive sites offer more space and privacy than a 'typical' public campground where you can hear the next guy snoring.   Our bookings have been a bit spotty and we're just getting started, but I can certainly see the potential.  I wouldn't necessarily put a lot of efforts into improving/building/spending in hopes of staying booked solid, but it is a nice 'side hustle' for a pretty piece of land to bring in some extra income while it sits.  We do have plans to add a 'park style' grill, picnic table, maybe a few fire rings to make for more sites, but still aiming to keep it simple and cheap.

I agree with other responses here, and to piggyback on them it seems everyone plans to 'own forever' when they sign a 30 year lease or finance term, and then things change (job, relationship, life events, etc) and folks try to sell the property with 25-28 years left.

Banks do not look at power bills when determining DTI, but they will look at a solar loan/lease. You could have a $500/mo power bill and it will not be included in debt to income ratios, but a $300 solar payment will be considered for DTI. Many buyers look at houses at the very top of their budget, and therefore the solar lease can blow their approval even if they would have gladly assumed the terms into their name.

Additionally, paid off solar can really only add value to a house in markets where it is the norm to have paid-off solar AND houses that sell for more because of it.  Appraisers are not going to add value for something that is financed or leased, and if you're the only house in the radius of comps with paid off solar they won't have any comparisons to derive value from it.

In the end it is really only advisable to pursue if you're going to own the home forever....while it is nearly impossible to determine if you'll own forever or not regardless of present circumstances.  

I've been involved in two JV BRRRRs with Land Trust ownership structure, the one we still own happens to have Joe Seagle's company as trustee who replied above. Certainly reach out to him for expertise. We did a second Land Trust deal with another local company as trustee and had absolutely abysmal service. I won't name that company, but I will highly recommend mylandtrustee above ^.

One huge perk of Land Trusts and part of the reason we used them for the JV BRRRRs was that ownership percentages could be changed through the project by reaching out to the trustee and doing some straightforward documentation. Small fees involved, but nothing publicly recorded. If you have an LLC, ownership percentages are recorded and thus difficult and/or costly to change if an active partner is earning equity through actions.

To give some personal experience, Lending and banking can be difficult at best, impossible at worst with a Land Trust.  That isn't always relevant to a deal, but worth consideration. The beneficiaries are all hidden from 'adversaries' who may want to sue you, but you must pierce that veil of protection when it comes to lending.  It still doesn't become public knowledge, but the lenders do want to know who's really behind the land trust, for obvious reasons.  With both land trusts, we were denied bank accounts at almost every bank we tried, Seacoast Bank being the only one who'd touch it.  We had to 'pierce the veil' and have an underlying partnership agreement, bank account in the partnership name rather than Land Trust name, but it did work out to open an operating account for each property.  

On the lending front, it all depends on what entities are the beneficiaries. Again, they are hidden from all....until you want a loan. If individuals and/or LLCs are the beneficiaries, then it is doable.  Muddy up the waters more than that and it can become impossible to leverage.  Then the trustee and the beneficiaries will need to come forward to sign some docs, someone will have their credit pulled, etc...

The property we still own in a Land Trust, the beneficiaries are an LLC and an individual person. With this set up, we were able to get a DSCR loan through Kiavi with only a few extra steps compared to an LLC. Every other lender I tried, over 25+ of them, refused to touch a land trust and told us we should have done an LLC. Kiavi was at first unsure, but ultimately made it happen with the Land Trust in place. This was back in late 2022 and I think it was new for them at the time so I imagine they still do it.

Our second land trust, however, turned out to be un-lendable due to our mistake of making the beneficiary structure too complicated. We were under the impression that it wouldn't matter since we hadn't refi'd the first yet to learn, but found out how wrong that was. We had more partners (beneficiaries) on that one, and it ended up being two individuals, an LLC, and a Self Directed IRA (SDIRA), each with percentages of the whole. That SDIRA is what threw the wrench in things. Kiavi, the only lender who'd touch a land trust, ran it up the ladder with their legal team. Had the ONLY beneficiary been an SDIRA, or even multiple SDIRAs, they'd have been fine. Or if that SDIRA wasn't involved at all, they'd be fine. But the mix of individuals, LLC entities, and the SDIRA as beneficiaries made it a hard-stop no-go situation. The partner holding it in an SDIRA did explore ways to exit the deal with that entity and buy back in down the road with another, but the time, cost, and penalties made it prohibitive. Since it was a BRRRR deal that we planned to all pull cash back out from, leaving it unleveraged also wasn't an option long term. Nobody planned to leave their cash stuck in it, and we had built massive equity. We held it for a little over two years with tenants in place for about 15 months and then sold for a profit. Luckily great tenants who caused zero issues and barely needed to sweep & mop the place before sale. That 'other' land trust company absolutely blew it on the closing process causing us all to lose some hair during that period, but we did exit the deal with a great profit.

I'd still do a land trust again in the future, but I'd be sure the ownership structure was nice and clean without mixed entities and SDIRAs in the mix. A straight LLC will be far easier to get a loan or open a bank account, but doesn't provide the other benefits of a Land Trust.
 

My wife and I have a 9.46ac parcel in Umatilla (Lake Co) FL that is a lot smaller but we've explored similar options.  Long term it will be prime development land for residential and/or commercial, whether it is us to develop or sell to a developer.... we may subdivide and sell some of it in the short term, so we don't wish to erect structures or change zoning to make development harder down the road.  

 We bought the property seller-financed with power, a small bathroom/laundry building, a 40x60 metal shop building, an RV pad with 'full hookups' (power, water, septic) and not much else.  About 6ac of grass with scattered trees, a pretty wetland area, and decently close to larger towns and recreation areas (Ocala National Forest, Mt. Dora for art festivals, several public springs, etc). 

We've listed the property on HipCamp, basically an AirBnb platform for camping/glamping where we've got some traction building. We've also launched a gourmet mushroom grow operation and plant nursery. The latter two are more semi-active income with some infrastructure buildout needed, but HipCamp has been pretty cool to the point we're making plans to add a few more campsites and some basic amenities. 

We aren't zoned for a campground or RV park nor do we want to pursue changing the zoning to that, but keeping it low-key and low-density it doesn't attract attention, nor are we putting massive cap ex into it. A KOA campground we are not.   It's more "here's what we've got, it's peaceful and pretty, come pay nightly to enjoy it up to 29 nights". We had one tent camper group as our first guests, then have an RVer couple who are about 17 days into a 22 night stay, and three other bookings over the next month.  If someone came along from the county and demanded we cease, we would, though it's not likely when there's an occasional RVer or tent camper.  If we let 30 RVs on the property it may attract too much attention, but being conscious of neighbors the rural area takes on more of a 'ask for forgiveness rather than permission' vibe for anything that doesn't involve permanent structures.   

We have a full bathroom hooked to septic, but you can also provide a simple composting outhouse or even require campers to bring their own composting toilets.  They suggest one campsite per acre maximum while some hosts do it more or less dense. Some are literally a pad next to someone's house, but the higher rated campsites are those with some natural enjoyment and privacy.  It's not going to bring in massive amounts of money, but for bringing in some income with very minimal efforts, structures needed, or upkeep, it's great.  You can also rent Yurts, treehouses, or your own RV on the platform for more than a bare campsite, but that gets into too much cleaning and upkeep for the spirit of it. The idea of letting someone bring their own RV, live in it a week or three, and then leave with it and their mess is great.  We charge $45-50/night for the RV pad up to 4 people, $5 per person per night extra for additional guests. We've got a tent site without RV hookups listed for $25-30/night

We haven't gone into event venues, but mainly because there's a quite popular one a few hundred yards away down a dirt road.  They built a pole barn structure, air conditioned it, strung up some lights and trendy decor and host baby showers or weddings almost every weekend.  That venue sits on the same property as their homes, so I'm not sure if it would have been feasible on its own parcel but seems to be quite successful the way they've got it running.  Most events are baby showers, weddings, birthday parties, but they've also hosted 'market' type events with vendors and such.  If there aren't many event venues around you, you could go with an event venue AND hipcamp combo making sure not to let one encroach on the other.  Some crusty campers crawling out of their tents to see wedding guests 50 feet away may not be ideal, but if they were in separate areas entirely it could work well. 

After years in the highly active BRRRR, sales, and rehab realms as an RE broker, I quite enjoy throwing on my boots and riding a zero turn mower, taking a Jon Boat out on our pond, or cutting up a downed tree for firewood. The change in pace is refreshing. Campers tend to be more leisurely in nature than tenants too. :)
 

@Julie Sisnroy it has been a wild year! We’ve sold quite a few BRRRRs, flips, 2-6 unit Multis, and several “normal” seller listings. Listings are selling far faster and for more money than they’d have sold a year ago. 

Just within about 8 blocks of downtown Eustis alone since April 2020, we've closed three single family (a BRRRR, a light rehab buy and hold, and a large off market flip acquisition) as well as a 2-unit (3/2 house and 1/1 ADU) and just this month a 6-plex with four 2/1s and two 1/1s. Also picked up a personal BRRRR with a cash partner that my wife and I rehabbed and placed a tenant in by December.

Other good deals scattered across Sorrento, Apopka, Kissimmee, and other suburbs. I would say 65-75% of our business and current active investors are outside of Florida. Recently we also put four new construction, nearly completed homes under contract in Belleview and Ocala for OOS 1031 buyers. 

Last year at this time of February, usually coming off a bit slower winter, I think I had closed two and had two in escrow so far in calendar 2020. This year we've closed 5 and have 5 more in escrow, probably making 3-5 offers a week, some weeks 10+. No signs of central FL slowing down either, there is so much out of state capital looking to deploy here it's wild. I think you could literally throw a dart at Florida, buy whatever real estate it hits, paying appraised value, and see gains in the next 6-12 months. Not a strategy I recommend, but that's the feeling every market here is giving. A recent house hack buyer in Altamonte Springs saw his ARV go from $285k to $300-310k over the course of a 5 month rehab with his girlfriend (July to December). That $15k+ was like a bonus for diving in early in COVID. Low inventory does some crazy things to the market! They aren't selling, but they're reappraising to drop PMI early.

@Christine Zharova I had some 1031 buyers looking hard and offering on anything that hinted of a deal from Orlando to Ocala ....duplexes, single family, etc. They needed to spend at least $640k so there were options. Day 45 of identifying after losing every decent offer they contracted on 4 new under construction homes in Ocala and Belleview, three that weren’t listed yet. They aren’t the highest cash flowing houses (about $1400/mo current rent rates), but for store-of-value, appreciation long term, and decent rents/low maintenance they are really solid and in a growing market.

My mind was blown seeing these 1400-1550sf new block homes with two car garages for $184-190k being built everywhere. It felt like 2009... Between the villages and Ocala growing, it’s a solid place to put capital if you’re running out of time and can’t find deals in Orlando. Although even up in Marion existing stuff is going over list with multiple offers, hence the turn to new builds.

@Michael Radnothy nice to see some locals on the forums! I grew up in West Altamonte Springs (Lake Brantley grad) and have seen this whole area north of Orlando booming since the late 80s. I bought a house in 2009 in Apopka about 6 miles from the house I grew up in.

Most of what I’ve done has been creative negotiations with on market deals, so we may have been offering on some of the same deals, but sometimes off market stuff comes along as well.

Also look into the Wekiva Parkway project. A massive 25-year infrastructure project has put toll road access into rural lake county with later plans to head up through Marion. Lake County and Northwest Orange had no good commuter access for years, but it’s been growing since 429 opened from Disney/I4 to Apopka in about 2002. Now it goes further North and dumps off right in Mount Dora, soon to connect back East to Lake Mary and the 417. This project is a huge catalyst of Northwesterly Orlando growth into rural areas, and that’s a good combo for awesome deals on little older homes that are now “cute” and “trendy” cottages.