Investor · Tampa · Member since 2018 · 289 posts · 107 votes
Planning and working towards purchasing first home in Orlando to buy and hold. Thinking of using the property for SFR or Student Housing. Any advice of these areas from investors in the area, advice on pricing rent ( do you include utilities or not? ) How do you price these things. Been analyzing deals in that area but my numbers are a bit inaccurate.
So seeking advice in any shape or form would really appreciate it
For pricing rent, you can look on rentometer.com, it'll get you in the ballpark. For a more accurate estimate, find similar properties in nearby neighborhoods and see what they're asking on craigslist(there's a map view) and zillow. Zillow is becoming a popular platform to list properties for rent for.
Typically, utilities are not included in SFR rents.
Orlando is a great rental market. You mentioned that you have been analyzing rents in the area, but your numbers are inaccurate. Can you tell me what your having trouble with? And, what makes you think your numbers are not correct? I would love to give some input, but need additional information about what you are looking to purchase and what kind of returns your want to see. STR and LTR in Central Florida are very different in terms of what is offered and expected of tenants and guest.
@Sean Canada Thanks for this will check it out. I was actually using apartments.com that shows student housing complexes and their prices. It shows that there are numerous apartments built just for college students, so I’m wondering if students would prefer renting from them or having their own house per say
@Kaynea Bingham Hi Kaynea ! The properties that I have been running just wasnt having a positive cashflow. But I’ve learnt recently that, if I’m going to rent it out to families then I shouldn’t include utilities in my expenses. However, If I rent out the property to students, I still have to budget for that. That’s where I think my numbers are inaccurate, because how can I know w baseline/amount of what I should budget for utilities.
I’m analyzing deals near UCF for families or students (but more interested in student housing) also think of investing in properties near Walt Disney (10 minutes or less)
I am considering buying a 4plex and using one unit as a primary residence and renting all of it out except for my room. That should generate a good amount of rent even on the 4th unit. I wonder if I could even rent my room out as a 'shared' room. I only plan to be there half the time (the minimum required for owner occupied).
@Keleisha Carter I appreciate you being more specific. Here is a gem that will help with estimation. If you contact the governing utility company and let them know your are a Buyer researching the utility cost on a specific property( Using the Address of course) they will share with you the monthly averages on the home for up to 2 years. This works excellent as a starting point of what a unit or home in a particular area will cost in terms of utlitility usage.
I personally believe that Short term rentals are a better bang for your buck if you want to keep cost low and still make a great profit. Although, Orlando's rental market is hot right now, we still have a pretty aggressive real estate retail economy and finding properties that cash flow $500+ a month can be challenging. As I am sure you have heard before, BRRR'ing will be the best situation for you making a profit, building your portfolio and staying within a reasonable budget. Remember, when you buy a property that needs work, you can really push the values by purchasing in great up and coming neighborhoods and renovating the property for new market values.
Lastly, The UCF area is great, but housing prices are moving up in that area based on its proximity to the school and the surrounding area. You will need to watch out for HOA's in the area and possible explore older homes that aren't regulated by and HOA or multiple people in dwelling rules. Research is going to be key in you figuring out what type of home is going to meet your revenue goals. If its about location for you, you will need to suck up some of your profit for location, but if profit is your main driving factor, then you should really explore STR and look at what you can really make with our booming tourism industry.
@Mike Miller Not Bad. Have you been getting listings from an agent so you can run the numbers?
Generally I have been scouring the MLS and Craigslist looking at things that might make sense. If I find something of interest I will try to get some information from the listing agent. I have a local agent who helped us sell and buy our primary residence, but I am always looking for additional input from others as well.
@Kaynea Bingham WOW ! Talk about being helpful. All this information is amazing. I have been considering STR near Walt Disney and I've seen that most properties in that area are apartments with HOA. Any guidance on running the numbers. What I've been doing with analyzing STR properties is using figures from other rentals and their prices to have an idea of the figures. I would definitely need 20% down if I'm doing STR
@Mike Miller Thanks Mike. Will check it out. I try to make my criteria better when I analyze a deal as well and this seems to be helping to see what will make sense.
@Keleisha Carter, when you can't escape HOA fees, the best way to analyze the deal is to consider the HOA payments as part of your monthly payments. It directly impacts profitability and it's unavoidable.
@Keleisha Carter I appreciate you being more specific. Here is a gem that will help with estimation. If you contact the governing utility company and let them know your are a Buyer researching the utility cost on a specific property( Using the Address of course) they will share with you the monthly averages on the home for up to 2 years. This works excellent as a starting point of what a unit or home in a particular area will cost in terms of utlitility usage.
I personally believe that Short term rentals are a better bang for your buck if you want to keep cost low and still make a great profit. Although, Orlando's rental market is hot right now, we still have a pretty aggressive real estate retail economy and finding properties that cash flow $500+ a month can be challenging. As I am sure you have heard before, BRRR'ing will be the best situation for you making a profit, building your portfolio and staying within a reasonable budget. Remember, when you buy a property that needs work, you can really push the values by purchasing in great up and coming neighborhoods and renovating the property for new market values.
Lastly, The UCF area is great, but housing prices are moving up in that area based on its proximity to the school and the surrounding area. You will need to watch out for HOA's in the area and possible explore older homes that aren't regulated by and HOA or multiple people in dwelling rules. Research is going to be key in you figuring out what type of home is going to meet your revenue goals. If its about location for you, you will need to suck up some of your profit for location, but if profit is your main driving factor, then you should really explore STR and look at what you can really make with our booming tourism industry.
Kaynea,
You seem very knowledgeable! I am a new investor looking to BRRRR. I bought my first property last month out of state but would look locally if it makes sense. I currently live in Clermont and work in Altamonte Springs. Let me know if we can chat sometime to see if we can help each other.