Long Term, Long Distance Positive Cashflow areas in Florida

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Long Term, Long Distance Positive Cashflow areas in Florida

Account Closed
Member since 2020 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hello everyone, long time lurker, first time poster.

I live in the SF Bay Area and have quite a bit of extra $$ and have high hopes for Florida properties long term to increase in value.
I am looking for one (or a few) long term positive cash flow properties. Probably single family homes 

Areas Im looking in are Clearwater, St Petersburg, Jacksonville and maybe Fort Myers, but open to suggestions. Looking at ~200k SFRs for long term rentals. The few I looked turnkey seem like you could get ~400$ per month in profit if you'd put 20% down. (so about 10% ROI on downpayment, counting property tax and hoi, not counting repairs or anything like that.)

I am a totally new to being a landlord so Im hoping to get a property management company, that could help me.

Now to my questions:

- What do you think are the risks to investing long distance with a management company? Are there any horror stories?
- Is the cashflow Im saying pretty normal for the area? Could I go higher? Is there any caveats I should looking out for?
- Any advice on the areas I picked? I have no idea what the areas are like. I've visited west Florida a couple of times and I've liked it, but I have no idea what the economy is like or where the jobs are at.

Thanks!

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Michael D.
Real Estate Agent · Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 2 votes
6y

Hey, I personally do not recommend long distance investment but of course if you are well informed and work hard to make the best investments, it should not matter exactly where you are doing it from. The pitfalls were pretty well outlined above by Mr. Miller. Also, there are many inherent and unquantifiable benefits to investing in real estate near where you live. One example I can think of is if you live in a place and invest in it for many decades, you are more likely to know the people investing in your area, and are therefore more likely to find out about developments/opportunities before people who live in other places do. 

Of course advising people to invest only under their own hat so to speak is also too conservative. The technology exists for a reason. And we all know about scared money.

As far as other locations, I would throw in Orlando and the areas around it, specifically Lakeland. Lakeland is a huge industrial hub because it is less than 24 hours away from Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. Many companies have transportation and processing plants in Lakeland, Publix is based out of Lakeland. 

Personally, and I'm heavily biased, but I would invest in South Florida if you can stomach the climate change issue. I mean who are we kidding? A lot of places in Florida are great, but Miami as a city is only 60 or so years old when you consider it was just a sleepy resort town until Castro took Cuba in 1959/60, now it's a legitimate global city and Ft. Lauderdale is growing along with it. Hispanics project to be the single largest demographic in the United States by 2060. Sure it is more expensive, but I bet people said the same thing about Los Angeles in the 40s or Chicago in the late 1800s when they were about as old as Miami is now. But I also love Orlando like I said, and would love to hear what other people have to say. 

regards, 

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  • Stetson MillerBusiness Member
    Real Estate Broker · Fort Myers, FL · Member since 2019 · 576 posts · 423 votes
    6y
    Originally posted by @Account Closed:

    Hello everyone, long time lurker, first time poster.

    I live in the SF Bay Area and have quite a bit of extra $$ and have high hopes for Florida properties long term to increase in value.
    I am looking for one (or a few) long term positive cash flow properties. Probably single family homes 

    Areas Im looking in are Clearwater, St Petersburg, Jacksonville and maybe Fort Myers, but open to suggestions. Looking at ~200k SFRs for long term rentals. The few I looked turnkey seem like you could get ~400$ per month in profit if you'd put 20% down. (so about 10% ROI on downpayment, counting property tax and hoi, not counting repairs or anything like that.)

    I am a totally new to being a landlord so Im hoping to get a property management company, that could help me.

    Now to my questions:

    - What do you think are the risks to investing long distance with a management company? Are there any horror stories?
    - Is the cashflow Im saying pretty normal for the area? Could I go higher? Is there any caveats I should looking out for?
    - Any advice on the areas I picked? I have no idea what the areas are like. I've visited west Florida a couple of times and I've liked it, but I have no idea what the economy is like or where the jobs are at.

    Thanks!

    A good management company will work to mitigate any risk associated with long distance investing. Some investors would like to be close to their investment properties to check in with the progress of remodels, and to be sure their properties are being managed to their standards. However, with a management company you can trust, these are some of the biggest drawbacks you should ever have to deal with after buying properties out of state.For Fort Myers, I can highly recommend Royal Palm Property Management.

    It looks like there may be a few expenses you've left out, but your calculations are correct. However, once these expenses are accounted for, specifically with 2-4 unit multi-families, Fort Myers and the surrounding area can frequently offer deals with 8-10% ROI.

    Of the major cities you've listed, Fort Myers has a ton to offer in terms of current potential, as well as a huge likelihood for future appreciation. Jobs are very secure in the area, with large variances in demographics to cater housing options to.

    I would love to talk more about specific properties and areas that could work for your investments, shoot me a message when you're available!

    [email protected]850-259-2910
    Stetson Miller Realtor545 Reviews
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    2Reply
  • Michael D.
    Real Estate Agent · Member since 2020 · 3 posts · 2 votes
    6y

    Hey, I personally do not recommend long distance investment but of course if you are well informed and work hard to make the best investments, it should not matter exactly where you are doing it from. The pitfalls were pretty well outlined above by Mr. Miller. Also, there are many inherent and unquantifiable benefits to investing in real estate near where you live. One example I can think of is if you live in a place and invest in it for many decades, you are more likely to know the people investing in your area, and are therefore more likely to find out about developments/opportunities before people who live in other places do. 

    Of course advising people to invest only under their own hat so to speak is also too conservative. The technology exists for a reason. And we all know about scared money.

    As far as other locations, I would throw in Orlando and the areas around it, specifically Lakeland. Lakeland is a huge industrial hub because it is less than 24 hours away from Orlando, Tampa, Miami, Jacksonville, and Atlanta. Many companies have transportation and processing plants in Lakeland, Publix is based out of Lakeland. 

    Personally, and I'm heavily biased, but I would invest in South Florida if you can stomach the climate change issue. I mean who are we kidding? A lot of places in Florida are great, but Miami as a city is only 60 or so years old when you consider it was just a sleepy resort town until Castro took Cuba in 1959/60, now it's a legitimate global city and Ft. Lauderdale is growing along with it. Hispanics project to be the single largest demographic in the United States by 2060. Sure it is more expensive, but I bet people said the same thing about Los Angeles in the 40s or Chicago in the late 1800s when they were about as old as Miami is now. But I also love Orlando like I said, and would love to hear what other people have to say. 

    regards, 

    2Reply
  • Baron Meyer
    Investor · New York, NY · Member since 2020 · 15 posts · 4 votes
    6y

    @Account Closed

    Welcome to the forum! Like others have said your first priority should be to build a solid little team for yourself. I have been studying Jacksonville/St John's County (SJC #1 School District in the state) for about a month now. I have been able to find deals that would be between 10%-12% ROI in and around Jacksonville. Little bit tougher in SJC. Deals between 8% and 10% are possible there though too. They are tough to find but they are out there and you'll have to be quick to get them. One of the issues that cuts into your ROI in these areas is a lot of the communities have a CDD fee. This is a community development district fee that is levied by the developers onto the homeowners in the community to pay for the club house/pool area/playgrounds. But again you can find homes with no CDD and no HOA fees you just have to stay disciplined in your search. Some have both fees and some have one or the other and some have neither.

    How I built my team: I was referred to an Agent by my girlfriends mom and she in turn referred me to a broker who is phenomenal. When the time comes he will in turn refer me to a property manager who specializes in my niche of renters and voila there you have it. You have to ask these people questions and interview them. Get to know them a little bit and make sure they have your best interest in mind and understand what your goals are. IMHO the Jacksonville area has a lot to offer from different industry's to the 4/5 military bases.

    I'm sure the other areas that the members have mentioned are good as well. You have to find what you like and what makes sense for you and your level of toleration to risk. That's like the border of the puzzle. Once that's done you can fill in the rest but make no mistake you have to put the effort in. Good luck out there.

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