All Forum Posts by: Timothy Gleason

@jay helms

Haven't heard that, but I haven't been in the game that long either. I'd be interested in hearing some rationale for the argument. That zip basically spans the entire N-S western center of the town.  Within that zip you'll find historic, golf course, lake front, low-income, high-density, and even some areas of suburban sprawl.  My point: you'll find a bit of everything in there. 

Seems a bit of a broad-brush approach to write off the entire zip code, especially when you can't put easily categorize the types of homes in the area. 

Will-

Sorry to hear about your first impressions of our market down here. I sent you two wholesalers via email. I'd like to hear some details of your woes offline if you're willing to share. 

-Tim

@Account Closed  Great story, and a great attitude to go with it!  I think the profit-ratio of low-income areas is quite alluring...I keep finding myself trying to justify those types of areas for my first investment, but have to remind myself to put a price on my time, frustration, safety, etc...

@sean harold Great to hear about your transition plan! It seems that RE plays a big part in many military exit strategies around here!

I tried local in the Pensacola area with my primary residence(Con/Perm). I was a bit unsatisfied when it all shook out. I took a risk on their "float down" option when converting from construction to permanent and the best they did for me was 1/2% better than the avg bankrate.com figures. I was basically stuck with it though, or else re-close with a new bank...and I'd already paid the fees for the construction portion closing.   Btw, I had ZERO debt and a ridiculous credit score...kind of peeved me in the end. Good luck with the national option...let us know how it goes. 

@Luke Moses  - my "vetting process" obviously wasn't successful, but here was my strategy. I ruled out property management firms that made the majority of their income off sales...I didn't want  the 'B' squad sales team managing my property. After that, I called 5 property managers and only interviewed those which got back to me within the first 12 hours. Of the three that did, I chose the one who managed the most properties in my immediate area. He was hungry and newer to the game...looking back I think he was more interested in building his portfolio than doing the job right. 

@William Allen - glad to hear your heading down here. I'd love to meet up and welcome you back to the area when you get here. I work out of NASP, but live off 9-mile. I think there's some serious opportunity between Palafox and the Yacht club...I'm zoning in on some options there. 

@Brad Fithian Jr Mind sharing the details of the house? SFR, multi-unit? Size,/specs, etc? I grew up in NJ, hard to believe you can still find homes there in that price range!

All the best!  

-Tim

Very informative!  I love the breakdowns with costs and photos. My favorite quote, "My contractor is the best". You don't hear that too often!

@Elizabeth Colegrove And the rest, thanks for the warm intro and tips. Looks like this site is a great place to learn. 

I'm a career military officer, just moved (back to) Pensacola, FL. I'm looking to get started (again) with REI, and I'm targeting waterfront/canal-front properties that need a little TLC.

Some back-story: I always wanted to get into REI, and got an opportunity in 2008 after I rented out my first residence in Jax, FL after a military move. I became an absentee landlord, and did (what I felt was) adequate research to select a good Property mgr. 10 months later, I was left with a destroyed house (+3000 in repairs), stolen appliances, and angry neighbors. My tenant had duped the PM by using a stolen identity, and then proceeded to steal all my neighbors' identities while living in my house. When they vanished, they were ghosts. There was no way to collect. The house went vacant in SEP 2009 and finally sold at tremendous loss in MAR 2010. I learned absentee landlording is NOT for me.

My military specialty requires that I move quite often, though I've finally reached a point where I'll be in one spot for 3 years, hence my renewed interest. I'm developing my strategy, with the help of all the info on this site. Initially, I think I'll do some minor flips and then begin to acquire 1-2/year buy & hold.

I'd love to hear from anyone in the area with similar interests!

-Tim