Hey BP community,I’m looking at a short sale property in Florida and considering making an offer.

I am assuming short-term rentals would be legal in the municipality.

A savvy real estate investor in Largo, FL turned a distressed property into a high-performing short-term rental, leveraging smart financing and strategic renovations to maximize value and cash flow.The Deal Breakdown:Purchase Price: $875,000Rehab Budget: $425,000Appraised ARV (Based on Plans & Budget): $2,200,000The Strategy:To unlock the property's full potential, the investor made key value-adding improvements, including:✅ Adding a second story to maximize square footage and appeal.✅ Building a brand-new pool to increase rental desirability.Recognizing the strength of the deal, we structured 85% financing of the purchase and rehab costs, ensuring the investor had the capital needed to execute the full renovation.The Results:🔹 Massive Equity Gain: With an after-repair value of $2.2M, the investor locked in significant built-in equity.🔹 Tax-Free Cash Flow: Upon completion, we refinanced the property with a $1,650,000 loan, allowing him to pull equity out of the deal tax-free while keeping the property.🔹 High-Performing Short-Term Rental: The property now generates $250,000 per year as a luxury short-term rental, creating a strong passive income stream.This is a perfect example of how strategic renovations and smart financing can turn a distressed property into a cash-flowing asset.

Your decision to lease this property for short periods is what makes this a short term rental property, not the property itself.

If it pays for itself, it provides you with a "free" place to live during the off-season.

For Short term renters ? 

I've been doing some studying on short sales but still working to understand it better.

I assume there is zero or almost zero appreciation and that’s the reason you aren’t selling tax free?

If I do, I need to sell it by July 2026 in order to not have cap gains. We lived in two of the last five years up until July 2026.
I haven't been like I should watching the market like I should. I want to have more re...

Property is worth 7.5m and is a short term rental.