Investor · Abha, KSA · Member since 2020 · 27 posts · 14 votes
I am looking into investing in my first property in the Orlando area. I have the money to invest in the market but am remotely located in Dubai. I was wondering if it would be preferable to find a partner here on BiggerPockets that is local to the market, or if it would be better to go with a Turnkey company that services the area. Does anyone on here have experience with remotely investing with either of those methods? I would be interested to hear your insights.
Real Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2019 · 365 posts · 264 votes
4y
It depends on how much time you have to spend as you get ready to make the investment. If you are a more hands on do it yourself type person I'm sure you could find an agent but this will also include more work. If you want to truly be passive the turnkey option would be a great option but I would do lots of digging with the providers you're looking at. This route you would spend most of your time on the front end vetting providers and if it's a true turnkey company you work with they will hand hold you through the entire buying/managing side of things and do most if not all of that work for you. If you went the turnkey route I would definitely find someone that manages their own properties on the back end. This way there is mutual interest and they will be married with you through the longevity of the investment.
I personally would say having boots on the ground is the preferred strategy. I say that because it will lower your overall risk. I have looked into some turnkey companies and noticed that they tend to cut corners to lower prices, and some neighborhoods are not rated correctly (e.g., B, B-, C....).
Investor · Abha, KSA · Member since 2020 · 27 posts · 14 votes
4y
@Joshua McMillion Thank you for your thoughts! I have had some of the same concerns about turnkey companies. I do not know of a great turnkey company or partner in the region at the moment, so I have come here seeking one or the other!
Realtor · Central Florida-Orlando · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 892 votes
4y
@Benton Shortridge Hi Benton, what type of property are you looking for, who is your target demographic? STR near the parks? near UCF to capture student housing, multi-family or just bread and butter single family?
There are plenty of great property managers out there to interview and help analyze properties depending on your strategy and criteria.
Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee, Daytona Beach & Cocoa Beach · Member since 2016 · 331 posts · 166 votes
4y
Greetings. It may come out that you will still need a management company or vendors even if you partner with someone. I would say do your research first. Properties don't perform good just because of the lack of management. Often, management companies have to deal with some "not so great properties" due to buyer's real estate agents lack of knowledge and misleading predictions about the rental performance. Once you have a great property secured, it will be so much easier to decide how to proceed further.
I am looking for either a single-family home to use as a STR or LTR, or multifamily property. I understand that in this market, it is much harder to find a good deal on multifamily than it is on single-family. I would like to get a property that I could rent out entirely for the time being and then potentially house-hack in the future. I understand the best way to do this may be to get a single-family home as a LTR and rent out the rooms individually.
Right now I am more focused on securing a property than finding a management company to take care of it (although I should probably take care of that as well).
Thank you so much for your insight! Would you say that this whole process would start with finding a good, investor-friendly agent to help me find a good property?
Thank you so much for your insight! Would you say that this whole process would start with finding a good, investor-friendly agent to help me find a good property?
Rental Property Investor · Centreville, VA · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 799 votes
4y
I chose to work with a turnkey company to get into out of state investing. It was a very easy process as I was comfortable with the turnkey company and they had good pricing on their properties. Orlando has a lot of turnkey companies. Some of which you can find on these forums. Find someone to talk to who has invested in Orlando in turnkeys
Real Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2019 · 365 posts · 264 votes
4y
It depends on how much time you have to spend as you get ready to make the investment. If you are a more hands on do it yourself type person I'm sure you could find an agent but this will also include more work. If you want to truly be passive the turnkey option would be a great option but I would do lots of digging with the providers you're looking at. This route you would spend most of your time on the front end vetting providers and if it's a true turnkey company you work with they will hand hold you through the entire buying/managing side of things and do most if not all of that work for you. If you went the turnkey route I would definitely find someone that manages their own properties on the back end. This way there is mutual interest and they will be married with you through the longevity of the investment.
Realtor · Central Florida-Orlando · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 892 votes
4y
@Benton Shortridge got it! STR would be a quick and easy way to get up and running as these are generally 'turn key', furnished and with bookings in place. There are many other things to consider and watch out for, but could work out well to get you something up and running.
As far as a LTR, depending on price point are very competitive as most good markets are. I can help point you in the direction of some areas that may get you what you are looking for if you still need.
Real Estate Agent · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 86 posts · 26 votes
4y
We just did a big deal in Florida with an investor that didn't have the ability right now to get full financing. By working with us we got him the property which he is leasing and basically doing STR arbitrage until he can get his own financing and buy from us in a couple years. Any investor could do this and if they didn't want to manage the STR side they could use a team to handle that too and make it passive. There are lots of creative ways to make this stuff work for everyone!
Investor · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2019 · 314 posts · 280 votes
4y
I do STRs in my home state of NC but they are still 4 hours away. Also partnered with someone to co-own 2 properties in NC and he lives in CA and does the daily management of them from that far away. Various ways to self-manage, structure partnershps, etc. Just need to have the right agreement and systems in place.
Investor · Abha, KSA · Member since 2020 · 27 posts · 14 votes
4y
@Taz Zettergren
Thank you for your input! It sounds like to start, the important thing is either finding a realtor or turnkey company that actually does some investing themselves and actually has my best interest in mind. Have you invested in the Orlando area?
Realtor · Central Florida-Orlando · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 892 votes
4y
@Benton Shortridge STR was just an option since you aren't local, it's a lot more to manage, but most that own STR's aren't necessarily doing it close to home. For long term we would have to start with budget as that will dictate what areas we look in, cash flow is going to be tough to find anywhere near Orlando, appreciation and doing value add improvements will go a long way pretty much anywhere within an hour of the city.
Real Estate Agent · Memphis, TN · Member since 2019 · 365 posts · 264 votes
4y
@Benton Shortridge yes I'd agree. Find either that has properties they invest in themselves. No, I haven't done any investing in Florida. Full Disclosure I work with REI Nation which is a turnkey provider and we operate in 11 different markets all in the southern/mid/central part of the country.