All Forum Posts by: Sheila Grullon

@Ben Cohen This is a wonderful post with such great comments and information from @Aaron Montague and @Andrew T. It sounds like you found a good house hack. Is it in the Weeksville area of Crown Heights by chance? I think I saw that one. I hope you get it! I wanted to chime in on the financing aspect of things. Have you spoken to Bank of America about their America's Home Grant Program which offers a grant of $7500 toward non-recurring closing costs. They also have an Affordable Loan program that offers loans with down payments as low as 3% without mortgage insurance. They also have a down payment program that offers 3% of the purchase price up to $10k to the borrower for a down payment. These are grants not loans. They are only applicable in low to moderate income areas and that is determined by the census tract. If your property is in Weeksville it would most likely be eligible. Some of these programs are based on the borrowers income but others are not. They are only based on location of the property. First Republic Bank has similar programs based on the census tract. They require some funds to be transferred to their bank though. But, if that was something you were up for doing, they have some great programs for avoiding the PMI as well.

Wow! I have been following this post and have gotten so much valuable information but this by far takes the cake! Im aiming to buy in Brooklyn in a few months and this information will be a huge help!! Thanks!

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@Kevin Koffman Wow! Not sure how I missed your response but you are spot on! It's definitely a good problem to have. I think the short term satisfaction of getting out some equity is attractive but I've decided to hang onto it and see how it does as a rental. The neighborhood keeps changing and I think 20 years down the line, I'll be happy I have a little piece of it paid off and making me a pretty decent penny every month.

Thanks to everyone for the advice!

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Originally posted by @Tchaka Owen:

@Sheila Grullon - tough call! The reason to sell is that the condo market has been moving towards buyers and Covid has merely put a halt to that, but once we get that under control, there's a very good chance sellers will flood the market again. Thus chances are that prices will go down a tad. That's good reason to sell now.

On the flip side, your place is in Harbordale which is desirable and still affordable (given that it's east of US1). You can walk to eat, ride your bike to the beach and a short Uber to most places. I don't know your building's rules on AirB&B, however it would certainly be set in the right location. I bet you'd easily get cruisers staying there - it's right near Port Everglade.

Tchaka, this is exactly what I've considered hanging onto it. It's a very desriable area with tons of amenities and probably more to come. If my HOA allowed short term rentals, I wouldn't even consider letting it go. I often wonder how difficult it would be to convince the board to change the rules. Thats a challenge for a different day though.

Thanks for your reply!

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I own a 1 bedroom in Fort Lauderdale near the airport, beach, Las Olas, etc. I'm fairly new to the investor community so I'm stuck in the research phase. I've been going back and forth on whether to sell my condo or rent it out.

Here's the math: Mortgage, Taxes, PMI and Insurance are $685/mo and HOA is $250/mo. I think the rental market in the area calls for about $1200 for a 1br. Using the rental property formulas, this seems like it isn't worth keeping for cash flow.

From the recent sales I've seen in the area, 1br go for 130k-165k so selling may or may not leave me with about 50k after closing. That's money I could use to invest in another market.

I know most of my doubt is based on emotional attachment to the area and it being my first home so maybe having some experts chime in might help. Is there anything else I should be looking at?

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@Kevin Koffman This was my initial plan but I was told refinancing "might not be worth it" because of the amount of equity available isn't much. I might need a second opinion or maybe get more detailed advice from people like you and others on BP who know the endless possibilities available to investors.

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Originally posted by @Kevin Koffman:

Depends on your place. On an older unit that is at the low end of the rental market, I get first and security. 2 months rent.

On a higher end beach front place, I get first, last and security. And demand a high credit score.
when a recent tenant applied to the beach place with F/L/S but had a non-existing credit score, I turned them down. They came back and offered 2 extra months of pre-paid rent and had an excellent rental reference from the previous landlord. I accepted.

If it was my previous home, as in your situation, I would definitely get F/L/S and I would want to see a 700+ credit score.

Good to know! It is an older building (courtyard style built in the 70s) but I've made some updates to the unit. The location is what really provides the value as it's a couple of miles from the beach, walking distance to shopping and restaurants and smack in the middle of FLL airport and Las Olas. I've am also considering selling to invest elsewhere but it might be worth sitting on it for a few more years.

Any other tips on Fort Lauderdale specific rental market is always appreciated.

Thanks!

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Originally posted by @Kevin Koffman:

You will need to get a blank application from your condo association, they usually want their own form filled out by tenant.

- Place an add, Zillow or with a R/E agent

- have tenant fill out associations’ condo application and Your background authorization form

- get app/background fee from tenant

- Screen the tenant, (full background check) If you approve them:

- get cashier check or money order for at least 1 mo rent as a deposit to hold property and sign a lease.
- submit application and lease to condo association

- get condo association approval of tenant in writing (email is fine)

- get remaining $$ (last & security)
- give them the keys.

Thank you so much for this detailed break down. This helps a lot since I wasn't sure in which order to do certain things. I also had a question about how much I should ask for as a deposit. I know in my past experience as a renter in NYC I paid first month, last month and security. It seems that's still the case in Fort Lauderdale based on your reply. Thanks again!

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Originally posted by @Nicolas Biangel:

In regards to the insurance, it'll be a DP3 coverage.

Great! Will look into DP3 coverage. I'm hoping it will be a smooth transition and it won't eat up too much of my cash flow since that's already a little on the low side.

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Originally posted by @Andrew Pope:

I can answer the question about your property insurance since I'm an insurance agent here in NY.

Yes, you will need to update your property insurance. Contact the agent who sold you your current policy and let them know of your plans. You will need a landlord policy. They tend to be more expensive than a typical homeowner/condo policy but, if there was a claim and you have the wrong policy, than that is even more expensive lol.

Thanks so much for your reply. I will definitely be in contact with my insurance company.

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Hello BiggerPockets Community,

I'm looking for some advice on how to transition from home owner to investor. I currently own a 1br condo in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. I have been back and forth from NYC to FL and looking to move back to NY permanently. That said, I'd like to rent out my condo. AirBnB would be my preference but my HOA won't allow it. So, I'm looking for some direction/ steps to transition it from a residential property to a rental. Do I need to change my property insurance? What's the best way to get a lease agreement? What should I include or look out for? I know this will change my homestead so are there other tax related things I should look out for? I'm a little lost on the logistics and now that I'll be diving into investor territory I want to get it right.

I'm sure the answers are out here on the internet somewhere (which I'm willing to research myself) but I figured I would ask for advice from experts in the field.

I'm also considering selling altogether to invest my money in Philadelphia or house hack in NYC but those are completely different beasts for a separate post.

Any advice or direction to some online resources would be greatly appreciated.

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All Forum Posts by: Sheila Grullon

Sheila Grullon has started 2 posts and replied 10 times.

Post: Help analayzing my house hack deal!

Post: To Sell Or To Hold In Fort Lauderdale

Post: To Sell Or To Hold In Fort Lauderdale

Post: To Sell Or To Hold In Fort Lauderdale

Post: Switching Primary Residence to a Rental Property

Post: Switching Primary Residence to a Rental Property

Post: Switching Primary Residence to a Rental Property

Post: Switching Primary Residence to a Rental Property

Post: Switching Primary Residence to a Rental Property

Post: Switching Primary Residence to a Rental Property