Covina, Ca. · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 3 votes
EXCITED!!! Will be making the move from Covina, Ca. to Ocala, Florida late summer. Looking forward to a slower pace of life. The plan is to invest in real estate in Central Florida, multi-family property rentals, "BRRR," and occasional flip.
EXCITED!!! Will be making the move from Covina, Ca. to Ocala, Florida late summer. Looking forward to a slower pace of life. The plan is to invest in real estate in Central Florida, multi-family property rentals, "BRRR," and occasional flip.
Investor · ocala, FL · Member since 2012 · 17 posts · 6 votes
9y
Hi Joe, welcome to the site and Ocala. BP is awesome and the folks are very helpful, there is allot of info here that i am just starting to use. I too will likely be moving down to sunny Ocala in a few years for family reasons and have started looking now. Its like everywhere else, good spots and bad spots. I tend to gravitate to the west, south west but its all pretty. Let me know if there is anything i can help with, I'm just learning about the area but would be happy to share anything i know.
Ocala, FL · Member since 2017 · 15 posts · 2 votes
9y
Welcome to the forums Joe!
I myself have lived in Ocala Fl for about 20 years and have been working in the area for 12, started with self employed professional landscaping at age 16 with my mother. It's a good place to live, the area is growing at a fast rate now, heck we have 3 exits just for us off of I-75. The areas can be a bit difficult to gauge however, and I would make sure you do fairly extensive research on something before you buy. I have been in the area for quite a while, and I still make sure to do area drive through at different times and days.
A quad for 150k sounds great on paper, until you realize it was built in 1960, has no capex maintenance on it, is in a full fledged section 8 subdivision, and you get looked at sideways when you drive through. No, not near as bad as Detroit, my partner and I almost acquired it, but by our numbers it didn't make enough sense for what we were looking for and seller was not willing to budge. Did it sell? You bet it did, and I hope the new owner gets what he was hoping for. Different personalities and risk/reward targets. I know it will seem "cash flow" like crazy, but between the looming capex updates, *potentially* unsavory tenants, and possible evictions, the mental stress did not equate to enough profit.
Understanding and finding the niche that fits you and your personality is important, or you may end up being like the countless others that jump in, and realize they didn't factor enough expenses in, hemorrhage money from day 1, and sell cheap in 4 years just before marital relations dissolve.
Don't get me wrong, there are great opportunities in our area, just do your research, and boots on the ground for a area/neighborhood from a third party can make a huuuge difference....
I have been researching, investigating, and low ball offering on places to make them fit our numbers. I think direct mail marketing is pretty saturated, you would need some darn good creative methods to pierce that veil. I could go on, and just might in another post, but for now...
If you have any questions or want to chat, send a message, or we can just talk in the forum.
Investor · Ocala, FL · Member since 2016 · 299 posts · 110 votes
9y
I moved to Ocala from Tampa in 2003 and you really have to know the neighborhoods before you invest. One of my requirements is that I can visit the property by myself safely. I try to stay away from the Springs and Marion Oaks areas in general, although there are some decent areas. A few blocks can make a big difference in safety and the type of tenants you attract. If you check out the Ocala rental groups on Facebook you see people begging for anything under $1,000 a month or that takes a pet, so it's an owner's market. Building is going on everywhere in the area, which is good for investors, but it's also making it harder to find quality repair people who come when needed. Levy County (just west of Ocala) also has a severe rental shortage. Welcome to Ocala!
