Tampa Bay Rental properties

[Lorne Bridgford]

Hi BP- I’m a new investor out of Seattle, Washington. Due to the current market conditions in Washington State, I’m looking at picking up my first deal out of state. I’m really interested in Florida, particularly Tampa Bay. Looking for a SFR preferably a 3 bd in the 100-140K range. Looking for a solid B-C class growing area, within commuting distance to downtown. Does anyone have recommendations on some good surrounding areas to get started? Also, I’d love to connect with a local Real Estate Agent. If anyone has a good agent in mind, that would be super helpful! I’d appreciate any advice. Thank you!

[Dan Maciejewski]

The Tampa Bay area is a fantastic area!  I may be a little biased, though!  It is a really BIG area, though -- you may want to fly down and see just what you're looking at and narrow down a bit.  I'm not sure about how much you know about the area -- commuting distance to downtown can mean a lot here, we tend to talk about times instead of distances.  There are places within a few miles that can take as long as coming from Wesley Chapel or Land O Lakes that are 25-30 miles away in Pasco county.  

Prices are insanely different within a few blocks, too.  The farther you go (and farther north as a rule of thumb), the lower the sales prices.  The bread and butter median priced non-distressed home sale in Hillsborough County is $230,000, and Tampa proper looks to be about the same, so for your price you're going to want something that needs work, or is in a different class neighborhood.  In Pasco, that number drops to a median of $195,000.