Hi guys, just looking to get some opinions on a potential idea. looking at a 2/2 condo in palm harbor Florida 34683 for 100k. I plan on living there for a year to two and after renting it out currently, similar units ...

I’m pretty excited but the properties I have are well under 100k and some cash buyers that I’ve spoken to say that they want a house that’s between 100k-300k in asking price.

Nikfirst and foremost you should know the zoning codes  and what is allowed in the base zone without conditional use permits IE permitted uses.. this should take you all of 5 minutes to figure out.as developers we know the base ... we then make the offer with Due Diligence.. no one has it worked out before they make an offer.. unless its off market and they been hunting it for a while.. all land or development deals come with due diligence time.most sellers these days though want POF and a brief description of your ability to execute.and depending on the size of the deal you will need 25 to 100k in cash for EM and prelim work.its common to lose money on due diligence. 

Buyers agent 2.5 to 3 and sellers agent 2.5 to 3.

That gives the buyer enough time to build equity and prove the investment to a lender.

Also, a good form for contract with the buyer?

It seems that a lease purchase with stipulations to make the buyer responsible for repairs would be more advantageous than renting because the property owner wouldn’t be responsible for any repairs, they get a bigger up front payment from the sale of the option (which will help with vacancies) and if the buyer exercises the option at the end that’s a win too.

My main concern is that I list the house and due to lack of enough prospective buyers the listing sits without any offers. 

Some States/Counties charge different levels of transfer taxes based on whether the buyer is an owner occupant or investor so it is important that this is accurate. 

Lessons learned: always maintain cash reserves for maintenance/repairs, fire bad contractors pronto, be friendly with renters but not friends, a decent buyer's agents do not make a good seller's agent, I must always keep my thumb on the numbers and eyes on the contractors, and as with anything else -- you get what you pay for when it comes to contractors Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?