All Forum Posts by: Stetson Miller

@Heath Shepard I'm not familiar with the builder, however, with this being a new construction CBS build, there's little to worry about regarding hurricanes and additional protection. Although still rare, some of these duplexes are now coming with impact windows, which further lowers your insurance and increases storm protection, so this may be something else to look into. Good luck with the build!

Hi @Huong T Nguyen,

The summaries above are still up to date with current information. Although the Burnt Store areas are seeing somewhat sustainable demand for owner-occupied properties, we're currently still not seeing enough support for activities that would draw tourism into that area. For example, South Cape has larger tourist destinations such as Cape Harbour, the downtown area, Yacht Club, Marina Village, etc, where there's really nothing comparable to any of those districts in the Burnt Store area. There are multiple planned developments currently in the works that would expand the desire for vacation homes, but as of now, we're still waiting for that to occur

@Neal Coppola As mentioned above, inventory has increased significantly for these lots, but with that being said, the overwhelming majority of those aren't listed anywhere close to what I would consider a reasonable price. Because of that, I don't believe it's necessarily accurate to paint a market picture based on inventory levels alone

In most circumstances, these lots are still moving if priced correctly, and I can back that up as I've sold multiple of them over the past few months. With an emphasis on correct pricing, being the lowest-priced lot isn't necessarily enough right now; you also need to ensure you're priced in line with the most recent sold comps. Because the total volume of sales for these lots is down, there's potential for a large gap between the lowest-priced active listing, and the most recent closed listing, solely due to the lack of available data (closed sales). This is what will ultimately equate to no interest or offers, even though you're seemingly priced correctly, according to the competition

To summarize, this certainly isn't the market where record values are being set anymore, but I'm consistently seeing most of these lots sell at minimum recent comp levels, not below

Hi @Guy Hakim,

Sending you contact info for a local contractor now

Hi @Suhaib Rehman,

I don't believe John has been active on BiggerPockets for some time now, but the Cape Coral market, and a few others surrounding, are certainly still feasible for investment purchases depending on your strategy and investment parameters. Insurance costs are going to be extremely relative to a list of variables that differ with every property, but if you know what to target and what to watch out for, these costs do not at all prevent positive cash flow on the right opportunities

Hi @Heath Shepard,

I don't have any personal experience with RP Capital, but which specific market is the duplex in that you're considering? Depending on the exact location, age, roof construction type, etc, there definitely could be a few things to watch out for

Assuming the roof is of a reasonable age, it's still more than possible to cash flow with these properties, even after accounting for recent increases in insurance rates that we've seen. The property owners suffering the most are those that have a roof older than 15-20 years, or those that are in flood zones, both of which can be easily mitigated in your search

Hi @Cj Powderhorn,

Your concerns are certainly valid for Cape Coral regarding the excessive time on market. As others have pointed out, this well-exceeds the current averages that we're seeing.

With that being said, one situation that I've seen lead to this result several time over the past few months is an active rental listing being stuck in a cycle of chasing the market down. Although from the landlord's perspective, it appears that the price has been dropped significantly from where they started, it still may not be enough to meet current market levels where demand is sustainable. 

My recommendation would be to have a conversation with your manager regarding your goals for the property, and it will then be their job to meet those goals based on their recommendations and expertise. The main items that need to be specifically outlined are your expected time on market for the property and the minimum amount that you're willing to accept for rent. Sometimes, these two numbers aren't compatible, so again, it's the manager's job to provide realistic expectations and numbers which will allow you to meet these goals.

Please feel free to send me a message to further discuss the situation and other possible solutions!

Hi @Amber Straub, 

Is the loan assumable? This could be a big selling point with an interest rate that low. Regarding the house hacking purchase, are they looking to stay local? There's a few different markets here that would be optimal for that strategy depending on price point and the specific areas that they're looking in

Hi @Sabuj Banerjee,

In general, in the Southwest FL markets, cash flow for SFH's is expected to be slightly negative at current interest rates, so I would recommend starting with a multifamily property

New construction duplexes can be found in both Lehigh Acres and Cape Coral. In my experience, the inventory available in Lehigh is nicer and at a lower cost. Even though Cape Coral is your preferred area, Lehigh is going to be able to offer many more benefits such as better returns, lower pricing, it's guaranteed not to be in a flood zone, and there's a better inventory selection

Historically, appreciation between these two markets has been very similar. Although Cape Coral has potential to retain higher appreciation rates in the short term, long term, they're expected to remain very similar. Because of this, I would say this is one of the smaller factors you should base the decision on, unless you're extremely bullish on the future Cape Coral market outlook

Hey @Jason Bu, Congrats on taking your first step! BiggerPockets can be a great resource, and I know there's tons of information available on the Fort Myers market specifically. Keep studying these resources and by the time you're in a position to purchase, you can be sure you're ready to jump on the right deal when it comes up