All Forum Posts by: Ryan Robbins

Personally their story seems a bit off to me. Depending on the size and type of turn, if a property was trashed I think $3700 would be a great price to get it back rent ready so I can't say I'm shocked to hear of the random 'break ins' which led to additional charges. We typically see full turns on 1300-1800sf homes run between $4-6k. That's what I would consider to be trashed and repairs would include a trash out, full paint, changing carpets, fixing broken fixtures, deep clean, etc. 

Also as unfortunate as break-ins are, I think most would love to walk away with having a bunch stolen and it costing less than $500 to get back up and running. I don't know what could be taken from a vacant home that would only cost $488. Maybe a broken window and lock change or a used fridge and stove? Are they providing a line items on invoices showing exactly what was being done, do those prices seem reasonable? Are you being sent before, during and after photos or photos after the break in? Is there police reports to support their claims? 

Best of luck on a the second half of 2022. 

As brokerages compete to recruit agents, "transaction fee's" become the outcome. Brokerages that offer high/100% commission splits are infamous for these. If the agent get's 100% of the commission there's no way for the brokerage to keep its lights on without them. These "fee's" are often between the broker and agent and the agent can decide on passing the fee along. 

I recently received an offer on a listing and the buyer side had a $495 broker fee which was the highest I'd ever seen. I'm shocked to see $995. 

If the agent provides value that you see being worth the money, continue business as usual. If not, nearly any other brokerage will be at least half of that... plus there are countless others that won't charge a fee regardless of the sale price!

From a buy and hold standpoint Jax Beach is going to fetch you extremely low returns compared to other areas of the city. The beaches have been an extremely hot area for years, I would expect to see cap rates in the 3-5% range when looking at the beaches. 

@Solomon Stavis as others mentioned, there is still opportunity (not much as prices rise) in your price point and zip-codes they mentioned. One thing to keep an eye out for especially as an OOS investor is verifying whether the property is on city sewer or a septic system. There are still many areas around the city and tucked within 32211 and 32210 that may have original tanks & drain fields. This can be a big expense if not caught and is sometimes not disclosed. 

@Allen Williams Welcome to BP and to Jacksonville. You'll find a ton of great information on the site and a large networking presence locally in Jacksonville. 

@Lisa T. having some bias within any business is only human nature. Although I'd love to say I'm the best broker or have the best connections I know that isn't the case. There are often times I refer out other brokers or agents that specialize in an area we don't or management companies that may be a better fit, that's not just good business ethics it's also doing right by people.

As far as what I spoke on in my previous post, it came from personal experience with zero biases. These were not business dealings I had with companies directly but clients that came to me or were referred to me to help sell homes they purchased years ago through similar programs. Many have been lucky to break even. In the past 5 months I've sold close to 25 homes for various investors in the Jacksonville market, all purchased here through the same main connection yet few that know of each other. I've dealt first hand in getting all 25 homes through inspections and repairs so trust me when I say I don't need more of those headaches. 

The same sellers did have good things to say about investment properties purchased through the same networks but in other markets around the US so it could be centralized to the local connection and not the group itself. 

I would heed a bit of caution when looking at the "turn-key" new construction here in Jacksonville.  I'm speaking solely on the new builds specifically built for investors, not the new construction that's built for owner occupants in planned developments/communities. It's easy to slap a cheap build together and throw a tenant in place on a two year lease before selling it to an OOS investor. I'd suggest researching deeper into the areas these homes are built and the quality of the builds themselves. 

If you look closely you'll notice the builds never actually hit the open market on the MLS... that is until after they have been sold and are only put on as an additional 'comparable' to be used down the line. Think about it for a second, if you were in the construction business building quality homes, would you market it to millions of people or to an exclusive group to get the highest sales price? What would your reasoning be if you chose to sell only to that specific group? As others mentioned these homes are typically sold OVER MARKET value, which in reality, is the only logical reason you would sell to said group. Point blank, you're over paying for a home that's built as cheaply as possible with the lowest quality material. 7% on a new build may seem great but many of these homes are located in areas that should really be yielding 9%+

To me as others mentioned, your best bet is finding a reputable management company and brokerage to work with locally. 

@Natalie Schanne said it best and I have countless examples of similar experiences. 

Paint and flooring are a constant hot button for our group. We are going through a transition after a company acquisition  last year and many of the homes have lots of deferred maintenance and out of touch owners. When we recommend switching from carpet to LVP and updating the paint you'd think we were delivering new's from satin himself. 

Paint alone will not help attract renters if they are avoiding holes in the floors and walking under squeaky fans. It's a collective of maintaining the property to a market standard. If someone is skimping on paint they're liking cutting corners on other maintenance items that could use attention. 

I come across far to many investors concerned about the short dollar and not the long. I attribute this mostly to not purchasing correctly while calculating expenses incorrectly from the start, but that's a topic for another discussion.

Check out https://www.crimemapping.com/map/fl/jacksonville for a detailed location of crime around the city. You can lookup a specific address and search crime within a desired time frame and radius of that point. 

Marcello Oliveri 

You're generally safe anywhere within 32207 with the exception of a few locations that I'd pay closer attention to or avoid as they are rather rough. You can go from an A class area to D class neighborhood within a few streets. This is also why you can find a distressed home someone is trying to sell for 70k (yet on the market for 6+months) 1/4 mile from another selling for 400k.

32208 overall hovers between C-D. There are still some solid deals to be had with decent returns, especially considering Jacksonville's market growth over the past few years. I've historically avoided 32208 in the past but now have 4 rentals there. You won't see appreciation like 32210 or 32211 but if bought correctly you'll still be positioned well.