All Forum Posts by: Stephanie Simmons

@Gary Mac. I totally agree. I always raise the rent unless the market rent goes down.

I’d prefer a shoulder neighborhood- upper end of lower class - where they cannot typically afford or get approved for a home loan  

2 duplexes would be ideal but I am open to any good deals

I’d prefer turnkey (easier to finance) but I can totally rehab. 

Looking at areas between nice and not so nice - a few blocks off of a lake in North Lakeland would be fine. South Lakeland is fine but it seems to be the higher end of real estate. I’d be good with something close to either of the colleges. 

I’m new to the area - I’ve been spending my extra time driving around trying to learn my way around.      So any suggestions you have would be great!

Listed my first house Friday and it only got one showing over the weekend. Market is good and the home is staged with professional photos. Feedback from the agent was that it had too many steps (it’s a 3-story townhouse).

Other properties in the development have been listed from $330-$345k and they are closing at $320-325k but none of them have water views and this unit does. It’s listed at $329,900. There is a new construction townhouse community about 1/2 mile away starting at $380k.

Any suggestions on how to increase showings? I did a Facebook ad over the weekend too.

Ask your broker how to “give” the part of the commission that would go to you to the buyer. Florida specifically allows this and you avoid the income taxes. Your broker will know how to structure this in your state.

@Gani Veer

I actually used the book about estimating rehabbing costs - plus I have a back ground in commercial construction.

I’m almost done with my first flip and I’d say overall I was within 10% of the total rehab budget. But on certain items I was off by as much as 40% either direction.

I did the general contracting with a partner. I googled prices for cabinets, etc. Also sites like HomeAdvisor will often times have a general price you can use with some renovations. Obviously getting a contractor to give you a firm price is the best way (if you can scope it well enough so you don’t have a ton of change orders).

We also decided to do some work ourselves to cover some unexpected expenses & we got super creative with some ways to cut costs but not quality.

@David Tsedaka

I have a townhouse in St Petersburg I just listed for my partner. Retail

I have a 3/2 in College park (Orlando) that will be listing in about 3 weeks

The flip I have is a 3/2 in Ocoee (western suburb of Orlando) that I need to finish up and get on the market.

David - I joined a couple of local investor groups on FB but really haven’t found wholesalers that have what I am looking for...

@Jesse Smith

I didn’t hire a friend for a home purchase that I had used in the past. There was one reason - I wanted lake front property and needed someone that specialized in understanding lake front property specific issues (EPA - building - pollution - water sports - lake level fluctuations)

She came right out and asked me why and I told her. My suggestion - ask each one of them why - only they know.

I’m Stephanie Simmons. I started my real estate investing with a rehab/rental I picked up in 2008 for my mother in law to live in after her husband suddenly passed away. After a few years she got back on her feet and I kept it as a rental property until 2013. In 2016, I purchased 2 condos by Disney and ran them as Airbnb - in the black within 6 weeks. I got divorced and had to liquidate them. About a year ago I decided I would try flipping. I got my real estate license so I could get access to realtor tools and to reduce my costs of buying and selling. I bought my first property in February (it took me 4 months of putting 5 offers a week). I had some other things in my life going at the same time - so it has taken me longer than I wanted to get it on the market. I’m going to be selling it and wanting 3-4 units for rental In Lakeland, FL where I live now.