All Forum Posts by: Tanya Manning

Hello BP family and Merry Christmas,

I have a SFH LTR in Deland Fl recently vacated at end of the lease. Owned for 30 years free and clear with approx $600+/mo cash flow. We live in WNC now and trying to decide what would be best for us for this property.

It is a cement block 2 bedroom home (but could be made into 3 bedrooms) with 1 and 3/4 baths, Florida room and garage. It is in need of a renovation which we have been planning to do once these last tenants left (they were there 8 years). Needs new kitchen and baths and new roof, refinish hardwood floors and cosmetic touch up. It sits on 1.9 acres. 

We are considering various options: If we sell it it will be to reinvest, probably in WNC or SC

Our options as we see it:

1) Sell as is.

2) Divide the land and sell house as is.

3) Divide the land and sell both.

4) Divide the land and build on the second lot selling one or both.

OR:

5) Reno and sell with one of the above scenarios

6) Reno and continue to LTR, MTR (current prop management doesn't think it is a good STR).

7) Reno option would entail different levels of reno for selling or renting. 

In trying to find a contractor we are planning to go to Fl first part of January to hopefully find contractor(s), costs and timeframes. 

We've been out of Fl for 10 years so no longer have inside knowledge for the market in this area. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks all, and hoping everyone has a happy new year.

My husband and I just financed our primary residence in WNC to get capital for RE investing. We purchased the property for cash in Jun and the loan closes this week. Though we have a few land investment properties and a LTR rental we have had for 30 years we are new to RE investing in the methods purported by Bigger Pockets and the myriad wonderful books and strategies we are newly exposed to. So with a brain full of information, too much sometimes, I am confused about where do we go from here? 

1) We have several lots that encompass our residential home and are considering putting up 2 park models or modulars for a STR strategy on one lot and some RV lots on the other, although both would require complete development (septic, well, egress etc.) and would take time to start cash flowing. Let's not forget finding a reliable and capable contractor, in the past 6 months, has eluded us since our area, like most, is growing.

2) Or do we purchase properties? 

   - My first thought is put down payments on several properties but how would that work since getting another conventional loan, after just getting this one, is not likely? 

   - Should we buy a property, or two, outright? This has appeal as we wouldn't need to deal with financing until the properties have been seasoned and would hopefully qualify us for a refinance, with added value, down the road? 

.   - My preference would be to go for STRs but not opposed to LTR if I can find the right property manager. Being new to the area I would need to find one first, lol. So maybe local or long distance investing with an established and managed property? Maybe finding a multifamily unit instead??? 

I am attending a semi-local REIA event tomorrow but am hungry for as much direction as I can find thus this post.

Thanks in advance.  

Finally our plan to use the equity in our home is upon us and we are very excited but unsure on how to move forward.  We are new to creative real estate investing and want to figure out the best way to make the most of this opportunity. Here is how I see our situation and would love to hear what you think.

Our residence is in Franklin NC and entails a total of 6 lots, 3 are in an adjacent subdivision and the 3 where are residence is are unrestricted. I have little info on this subdivision and intend to visit the county offices to try and get the CCandR's on it etc. so we know what we can and can't consider doing there. The main lot with our residence on it has a garage apartment we are setting up as an STR. We are considering putting 2 park models on one of the lots, and perhaps a setup for RV's on the third lot. All together they come to 8.8 acres.

Our other thought is would we be better to invest by using this money to buy another property or properties? Turn key vs BRRRR? Local vs long distance? My preference would be in STR's but we currently have an LTR in Deland Florida that we have owned for 30 years that I am also looking at renovating to increase rent. That property is on 2 acres and might have the potential to put another structure on it. Thirdly we have about 13 acres next to the Villages in Florida on Lake Deaton that is undeveloped. How do I find out what can be done with property? My biggest concern here is the environmental restrictions and how to find out what they are and what that means.

I am obviously new at this and going to my local REIA meeting later this month but am hoping that someone on this platform has some guidance to offer. Any and all I would truly appreciate.
1. What information should I secure/research from the county in regards to developing these 2 lots as mentioned, or the 2 properties in Fl? 

Basically what general steps does it take?

2. Would the money be better spent on finding or creating STR's by purchasing other existing homes? Would looking into turn-key be a good way to get started? I ask this because, like everywhere good contractors are hard to find and harder to get scheduled, at least any time soon.

3. Biggest question: If we take this money to put down payments on several other properties to grow our portfolio, how does that work? I  can't seem to understand the dynamics of doing this since we now have this large loan that would mitigate us from additional loans, as least in the conventional sense. This gap in my understanding is currently my largest mental block and I just can't seem to see past this. 

Thank you for your time

Hello BP members. I am hoping for some thoughts on the best way to move forward as we move from our current home to our new, and final,  home.  Our home has recently sold and we are under contract to cash purchase an un-zoned lakefront primary residence with 8 acres, of which 5 acres are flat and cleared. We want to get financing after closing to build a 36x36 woodshop and a 36x36 barn with vacation rentals, maybe long term rentals, built above them, either as one building with a duplex on top or 2 separate buildings each with a rental on top. 

My question is what options should I be looking into to get the most out of this situation? Although we have owned a SFH rental for 3 decades in Deland Fl that cash flows about $850/month it wasn't until getting addicted to the BP podcast I started to realize I want to do more. I know there are many creative ways to finance and since I am new to the real estate investment mentality I am hoping to get some much appreciated guidance on the best way to make this purchase more than just our place to live. If I were in my 20s or 30s house hacking and having less residence and more investments would be a clear choice. (It would have been nice to know then what I am learning now.) But since we are older investors and really don't want to move anymore we don't want to get a residence that isn't where we want to be for our forever home, thus the lakefront acreage.

We would be putting in about $700,000 cash to purchase, and looking to finance out about $300,000-$400,000 to do repairs and the improvements I mentioned. We are semi-retired with my husband working from home. Should we look at a heloc on this property or the Deland rental which has a guesstimated value of about $150,000? Subdivide the land (we can subdivide up to 7 lots with a minimum lot size of .57 acres) and then try for a construction loan per lot? Maybe try to get zoning for RV lots and put in the infrastructure for water, waste and power? Something to mention is that the flat acreage does NOT have a view of the lake, or is direct lake frontage since the land dips down to the lake where the residence is. However we can offer the use of a separate dock while they are staying there. 

We are crunching the numbers before due diligence is over and my hope is someone more in tune with this type of activity from this forum can help. Thanks in advance. 

Hello BP. So my husband and I have a 14+/- acre lot next to The Villages in Florida and are seriously considering putting it on the market. The Villages have pretty much surrounded us and actually have built a recreation park along one side of our property, another side is lake front. What I would like to find out before listing it is what can legally be done with the land? What environmental laws or restrictions may be place, what can be done for subdividing or development etc.? Basically we want to figure out its true value and I am unsure where to begin. I plan to contact zoning of course but would like to be sure there aren't unexpected restrictions regarding environmental impact, legal uses, easements etc. It is a property we purchased many years ago when it was surrounded by woods and a small mobile home/rv park down the road before the Villages were even a thought. Our idea was to build a SFH and dock for ourselves but that plan has changed.bI would appreciate any advice since I am sure it will come in handy for another parcel we are considering building on as well. Thanks.

Following

Hi Steven. I will be following this since I would love to find one as well. Good luck.

I am also having this problem. I have tried different times of day and clicking on different selections. I am a safari user on an iMac. Someone from an old post suggested I use a different browser than Safari which I would really prefer not to do. Suggestions please? 

Just starting to analyze deals and watching the process is very helpful with the commentary. Thanks