Hello,

I live in Virginia and interested in purchasing real estate in Florida. From my research, the property in Florida seems to cost less than in Northern Va. I've been told that Sanford, Winter Park and Lake Mary Florida a good area to purchase and rent? Is anyone familiar with these areas? Is there an available pool of renters? This there a better area in Florida that we should consider? Thanks in advance.

I work with investors from all over the country and have buyers and property management clients in New York, New Jersey, Boston, San Francisco, and as far away as Nicaragua and Switzerland. 

The market here in Tampa-St Petersburg-Clearwater Florida has been red hot for the past few years (lots of market stats available here). There is a lack of inventory, and a lot of competition from other buyers/investors, just like everywhere else. 

The key is most properties sell at a much lower price point than some of these other major metro areas (for example, our median home price is about $248k, up almost 12% from this time last year). 

So in many cases (with good boots on the ground and a good property manager) you can buy 2, 3, or more properties for the price of one in some of these higher priced markets. 

For the most part, the rental market is very strong here as well, with extremely low vacancy rates. 

Most income properties trade between a 5-7 cap, with the 1% rule still attainable with good research and negotiating skills. 

I work the area from Orlando to Daytona Beach and there is never a shortage of people wanting to rent.  There is a shortage of homes for rent.  So, what you were told is correct.

I screen all prospects and can always find a good one.  The price of properties is getting high and I'm not sure if it can go much higher.  That said, we are buying a duplex in Longwood from a wholesaler later today, if it looks good.

SW FL is excellent.

@David Huynh , the Orlando Metro Area is one of the fastest growing in the entire U.S. The metro has added over 400,000 new residents in the last five years alone. The metro has seen 9% appreciation in the last twelve months alone. I have analyzed every zip code in the entire Orlando Metro Area and many are already sitting at 0.60%-1.1% average rent-to-purchase price ratios without even adding distress. Rentals that are in desirable areas (areas I have identified quantitatively as those that command rent premiums against the metro average) usually don't sit more than a week or two on the market. While the actual city of Orlando is very small at about 270,000 residents, the Orlando Metro Area is a staggering 2.4 million. You can't confine your Central Florida rental search to just the small borders of Orlando city proper. You need to look beyond at Winter Park, Altamonte Springs, Apopka, Lake Mary, Winter Garden, Ocoee, Clermont, Minneola, Davenport, Kissimmee, Windermere, and more. 

I started buying properties almost 2 years ago, now I have so many properties, between winter park, Kissimmee, st cloud, poinciana, south orlando.... I do suggest investing in this market, if you buy with the right price NOTHING CAN GO WRONG !!! ALL the properties I bought giving me more than 20 % Cash on cash return, I do have the kind of deals all the time . Let me know if you need any help finding a good deal. 

Thank you all for the great information. We are headed down to Florida in December. Maybe we can meetup soon. Cheers -David

@John Thedford What are your thoughts on Palm Beach County or are you not active in this area?

No sir just Lee County

Has anyone had any experience in the Sarasota/Bradenton/Venice area? I feel the market is capped out and even though there are low vacancies, the caps are just too low for my comfort level. I'm curious to hear if anyone has any recent deals they have done in this area, what the specific #'s were (i.e. cap rate, CoC return, etc.) they would be willing to share. I have found some lower cost properties in the Venice area but they are lower income areas and I'm nervous to jump in.

I work and invest in the Sarasota/Venice area.  I don't think the market has capped out yet, but great deals have become increasingly difficult to find.  I recently bought a rental property in Venice and the numbers are beautiful.  It took years of building relationships that put the deal in my lap, but I'm happy to share the specifics with you.  There are many neighborhoods in the Sar/Ven area that I won't touch for reasons you mention, but there are enough investable areas that I'd be more nervous sitting on the side lines.   Message me for more info.