Hollywood FL | Airbnb | Commercial Zoned | 5 Unit | Questions

[Jennie Berger]

1. Hi Y'all!
2. I used to live in South Florida and have been to Hollywood many times, but I am unfamiliar with this specific area. My cousin is selling his 5-unit townhome complex about 2.5 miles from the beach. It is zoned commercial and set up currently as a 5-unit with long term renters. I'm considering buying it and turning all 5 units into Airbnbs. It feels to me that it would be a great area for this, seeing as there are many other Airbnbs in the immediate vicinity, it's located 15 mins from FLL, close to Downtown and the beach, and of course, well, it's Florida. :)
3. He told me the following: 
4. 1. Taxes are 10k/yr 
5. 2. Insurance is 3k/yr (withOUT windstorm, which would add an additional 10k)
6. 3. Garbage is #4,500/yr.
7. 3. Permits are very difficult to obtain (we build homes in Chicago, so that may be a non-issue for us considering what we have to deal with here LOL :)
8. 4. It needs a lot of work. (We are GC's, so estimating repairs (and managing contractors) will not be hard)
9. 5. (1) Efficiency | (1) 2 bed, 2 bath | (1) 2 bed, 1 bath | (2) 1 bed, 1 bath 
10. 6. Zoned commercially for a 4-story building, currently a 2-story building

I'm not so concerned about the pricing here, rather just looking to get local, hands-on knowledge and expert insight into the area. Seeing as my cousin is NOT a real estate investor (he and his wife were living in one of the units and the maintenance and expenses just became too much of a headache), I'm looking for your help. If you have experience investing in this area of the country and can shed some light and insight into taxes, insurance, Airbnb options (easy/hard/impossible), permits, flooding, other potential issues, etc., I'd be most grateful!

LOCATION OF PROPERTY: Vicinity of 17th St. and Dewey, near the Parkside area.

[Share Ross]

Hey @Jennie Berger this sounds very intriguing. 
couple of notes … 

1. The taxes will be based on YOUR purchase price. I can look up the estimate if you want. 
2. Insurance will vary depending on what storm protection is in place and if it’s east of 95. 
3. Finally the str question. Make sure you can get a license to do str in that exact location. Since you would own the whole thing ie you would be the board …. Then you have the Okay there. But there are local rules as well. Since others nearby are doing str it is probably doable. (Most if not nearly all hoa associations don’t allow it in SE Florida due to spring breakers) 

Hope that helps a bit ! From one Midwesterner to another (I’m from Minnesota) …. Happy to help.