Hello all:
I am sure some of you recognize my name as being on the forums. I made the leap and am now a licensed agent. I also do some investing mainly in Lee county (mainly Cape Coral). Our market is rockin hot here! I hope to network with other agents, investors, and individuals seeking property in SW Florida. It is a GREAT place to live, we have awesome winters where you can wear shorts and flip flops, and no state income tax. What's not to like about the area:)

Hey John - congrats on the licensure!  What type of investments are you seeing in Lee/Cape Coral?  I primarily invest in multifamily, but am not sure if that's the best place to start in this area.  I've heard this area is difficult for flipping (and the prices I saw when buying seemed to agree).

Bottom line - where are the deals and what kind of deals are they???

John are you going to be doing business in Sarasota?  I may be back there soon looking at buy and hold properties again and you have given me helpful advice in the past.

@John Thedford  

welcome to the site.

@Michael Seeker  

thanks! I am not new to the site but am newly licensed. Now I have a real job:)

HI @John Thedford.

I am finding that Cape Coral/Fort Myers are definitely becoming a sellers market. Fewer and fewer people people are interested in selling at a discount. 

Stephen 

Congratulations on making the jump to becoming a real estate agent!  What do you find is the biggest change in your investment career that happened because of this?

@Stephen Fryer  

you are correct. We have a super strong market and many properties are getting multiple contracts within a day or two or listing. There are still some deals but you have to be the lucky one to find it....and act FAST!

@JOAN DICKIE  

I just activated my license. I haven't started working as an agent long enough to transition into an agent's mode rather than an investor mode. I do like meeting and working with people and sincerely hope I can help people whether they want to buy or sell. I truly love RE and there is nothing better than the security of owning your home.

Congratulations John! 

I had a California RE license for many years but now live in Cape Coral and am a Florida Realtor.  I like houses and I like people so it's a good fit.  I wish you luck!

To Michael's question: 

I agree the Cape Coral market is really heating up. Margins on straight flips are lean. I think a buy and rent strategy is a good way to go right now. The supply of SFR rentals (both annual and seasonal) is low and demand is high, especially now as we're coming into season. This imbalance is pushing asking rents so the right investment should cash flow and hopefully appreciate in the coming years. We've had double digit value increases the last couple years and the trend looks like it will continue, albeit at a slower clip.

Let me know if I can help!

Rock it, John!!

@John Thedford   congrats! Did you go to one of the RE Schools? How was it? My wife did the Gold Coast one and she smoked the exam. I am planning to get mine soon as well.

@Paul S.  

I went to Ed Klopffer schools. They are located throughout the state. I was the first one done on the exam and passed the first time.  As soon as you pass the exam then real world RE class begins:)

Would be interested in chatting with you. Looking for some small buy and hold condos in Marco.