All Forum Posts by: Heshel Mangel

HI! We are very new to this and are in process of making our first purchase through roofstock. We made our bid and it was accepted and before signing the PSA did more research turning up info that the property is owned by an LLC that is mixed with some people who also work for Roofstock. We also discovered that the property had only been purchased by them 3 months ago at 77K and they are turning around and selling it at 100K after only putting a few thousand into it (as disclosed on the reports provided). Before we bid on it, a rep at roofstock told us the seller would be replacing the AC unit and we though that was really good, but in reading the PSA that was not in there. When questioned they said they fixed it and the 21 year old unit would not be replaced.

The comps they provide read that the house is valued over 100K  but now with probably needing to replace the unit in the next couple of years if not sooner, that ups our investment to 107K.  It still brings a cap rate of 6.3% which we think is pretty good and if we buy and hold we are still making more than our money sitting in the bank...

Then we actually started looking at properties on the same street (not fixed up, but comparable sized and year)   for the same $70-80 K price range.  

So, we are not sure now about how to proceed.  The seller won't negotiate.  

We don't want to be suckers.  Please advise!! 
Thank you!

I have been watching this market for a while and I am ready to jump in.  Here is how I see it.  In Jacksonville there is a 2+ year waiting list to get into section 8.  If someone waits 2 years to get a place and they trash it, they get thrown out of the program.  While I have not done one yet, I believe the threat of losing a free place to live will keep the tenants in line.  The cap rates are amazing and the places are CHEAP!   The state pays you directly on the 1st.  No collections or cash management issues.  Maintenance is going to be higher than other properties, but it would be worth it. 

I am planning on starting in 2016 or sooner if someone wants to partner on a project.

Hey, I am a property manager and I work in the Jacksonville area. The comments that are listed above are great and the areas are amazing for rental tenants. Areas in the 32204, and parts of 32205 are hard to come by because of them being the "hip and trendy" areas at the moment. Murray Hill is a great area and we manage a few homes in that area currently. Also San Marco and St. Nicholas areas are great (32207). They offer great multi family units and St. Nicholas area also has great single family homes as well. I'd love to chat with you more about what Jacksonville has to offer.

@Avi Pasternak You can see what properties rent for on average at rentometer.com, I use that site to get an idea of rent. As for properties sitting, well some of that has to do with greedy landlords and other factors like house condition. There are a lot of properties now on the market too as people see 2019/2020 as maybe a recession, meaning we are peaking in the real estate market. I have rentals in 32205, Murray Hill area, which is on fire right now. 

My wife and I have purchased and flipped 20+ homes and she has sold 353 homes (on her own) and over 500 with partners, during her time as a Realtor in Jacksonville. I would choose a strong up and coming community that will appreciate better in the long term. 

Depending on where the property is located in 32218 would be a judgement call on its value. Learn more about values in any zip code using this tool.