New member From Tampa/St. Pete

[Blake Bryant]

My name is Blake Bryant and I am from St. Petersburg, FL. I just graduated from the University of Florida with a Master's in Real Estate. My current plan is to work for a year and save up enough money to purchase my first property, which will give me time to study the market and specific neighborhoods I want to invest in. I'm thinking about pursuing the house hacking strategy and putting down 3.5-5% on a property, where I will live for one year. I'm going to target duplexes, triplexes, and quads and study pricing and rent trends over the next year to educate myself on the market. Would love to hear from anyone who has done this before and anyone in the area who invests in multi-family assets. 

[Patricia Steiner]

Your backyard is my backyard...in Greater Tampa Bay and a growing trend nationally, the greatest return and greatest demand is for rental SFH. Builders are even constructing rental SFH subdivisions to get into the rental market business; they've learned that having an income stream in a market with year-over-year rent increases is something that can help keep them afloat during economic decline.

It's important to know that the more affordable duplexes to quads in Greater Tampa Bay are older properties that can be a challenge to get insured. Any property built before 1957 is on the "hit list" - limiting you to the insurer of last resort in Florida, Citizens.  And, knob and tube electrical is no longer insurable by any underwriter and there are a ton of those properties in St. Petersburg. And, just to continue being this "ray of sunshine," you'll want to beware of wood construction due to termites that love our weather as much as they do wood.  

Having said all of that, 200 people a day move to the Tampa area - Covid or no Covid.  It's a growing market with high housing demand, appreciating prices, and low, low inventory. Investors are buying now and buying "good bones only."  That's the way you do it well...

Congrats on your degree and your plan to save for a year is a solid one.