Outside of work my interests are sports, fitness, poker and coaching my sons little league baseball team.

Ultimately your bet in keeping it is that expenses (hoa fees) stay flat and you see higher appreciation (especially in rent prices) over the next several years.

I bet you already know someone that owns investment property, only they don't "appear" wealthy.Keep working (get a W2 job, or start your own business doing something that will get you around real estate), keep talking, and lead with service. 

@Alicia Marks- Hi Alicia- I have no idea if you are still checking this, but here goes...I have a small portfolio, yet have managed to place bets in extremely high appreciation markets.

For a property like this, even in California, I would anticipate at least a +7% CR.Additionally, betting on appreciation is speculative and not the best approach to long-term investing.

@Yanhua Sappin your best bet is to create a gameplay prior to landing in Tampa.

I moved here from Florida after seeing the projected growth.With little credit history, it will probably be your best bet to build up your credit to become more lendable, or to go DSCR so the loan is strictly based on the performance of the property. 

If you aren't clear on it, I would bet they have no idea either. 

Plus if you do not have a well established team to get your project finished up before the end of the summer selling season, you may not get the return you were expecting as holding costs and declining values are eating profits.Option 2 sounds like a safer bet, but yes you will have to cover some expenses and may have to carry the property with your own cash until rent prices appreciate enough over the years to cover your mortgage payments. 

I bet you can guess what happened next.