Hey all my name is Laurence I’m a brand new member of np I  live in Orlando fl I’ve listened to about 100 episodes of the podcast I have zero real estate experience I’m looking to buy my first property to house hack this year I have a decent amount of money in the savings account I could use for a down payment also have a good credit score I don’t have a high monthly income unfortunately but just looking for any advice or tips or friends to bounce ideas off I’m debating which market would be better between the central Florida area or the Tampa area I also would love to get involved in flips at some point 

If you can afford a higher payment, a 15-year mortgage saves on interest over time.For the down payment, aim for at least 5%, but if you can put down 10-20%, you'll avoid PMI and could get a better rate.

By helping you remove us from your list, you could focus on other opportunities, and we could focus on other investors for whom we are a better fit.   

But it's playing with fire to buy there if STR is a priority as it's very likely they will eventually start enforcing it better.

Asking in the correct forum will get a better response.Need a spreadsheet or form?

We have a huge group of all sorts of investors in our database, so you can share it with us if you'd like to better your off-market sale. 

One powerful tool that can help investors secure better loan terms is asset utilization—especially when the DSCR (Debt-Service Coverage Ratio) is under 1.🔹 How It Works:If your rental income falls short of covering your mortgage (PITI), you can use liquid assets to supplement your income.

My project is expected to exit this year and it appears that will happen as expected and in line with projections or maybe a little better.

This might be a better situation if you are leaving the country.Just some other thoughts. 

Define "better."