Best investment strategy / financing for central Florida

Orlando, Florida
BRRRR - Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat
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Best investment strategy / financing for central Florida

Luis Gallo
Member since 2023 · 2 posts · 0 votes

Hi! Need some wisdom from seasoned investors. I have a rental property I purchased 2019 currently renting and cashflowing pretty well at $1,500 monthly. I did pull a heloc out of this property. Fast forward I got married and just had a baby so we purchased our primary home back in November. Looking now to get into a BRRRR or flip to recycle my money (this would be my first one). I would be using a hard money lender if I go this route. Currently have a W2 job and wife is not working though I do have 16 week paternity leave (free time on my hands). Any guidance on these strategies or would a conventional 20% down rental be a smarter play in this market? Goal is to do RE investing full time. Thank you

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Adrian Lammersdorf-SciollBusiness Member
Realtor · FL · Member since 2020 · 234 posts · 101 votes
4mo

Hey Luis I do have to agree with others here that flipping and BRRRR is a much tougher strategy here in Orlando. A lot of the investors I've been working with have been doing Pad Splits where you rent out the rooms individually, and even add rooms in some cases (there is even a company that helps you), or going the house hack route with living on one side of a small multifamily to get decent cash flow with the lower rate. Midwest is another great option if you're open to getting outside of Florida, Ohio I've heard has been good to a few investors I know. I have seen or helped work with opportunities with BRRRR in some of the outskirts of Orlando such as Deltona, or Lakeland too.

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  • Stacy RaskinBusiness Member
    Lender · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 514 votes
    4mo

    For a fix and flip property, you can get up to 90% of the purchase price and 100% of the rehab done on draws depending on the ARV. The exact numbers will depend on the borrower's credit profile and property location (there are different lending options depending on the state and also options will vary if the property if the property is in areas marked rural on the appraisal report.

    For a BRRRR, you could buy with a fix and flip property, rehab it and then get your money back out with a DSCR loan. DSCR loans are for properties that are ready to rent condition, not in a distressed condition. For a DSCR loan, the appraiser needs to mark the report "as is" and not "subject to" repairs or the repairs will need to be fixed and the appraiser will have to go back out to verify and do a report addendum. Repairs would be habitable issues and major deferred maintenance not just something looking dated.

    If you get a conventional loan it will be based on your personal income and your debt to income (DTI) ratios. There are different conventional loan products.

    It really depends on what type of property you are buying and how bad of condition is it in as far as what types of loan products it will qualify for. It also depends on how you want to qualify for certain types of loan- based on the property or based on your personal income. Happy to connect to discuss further. 

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  • Tyler GibsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Orlando, FL · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    4mo
    Quote from @Luis Gallo:

    Hi! Need some wisdom from seasoned investors. I have a rental property I purchased 2019 currently renting and cashflowing pretty well at $1,500 monthly. I did pull a heloc out of this property. Fast forward I got married and just had a baby so we purchased our primary home back in November. Looking now to get into a BRRRR or flip to recycle my money (this would be my first one). I would be using a hard money lender if I go this route. Currently have a W2 job and wife is not working though I do have 16 week paternity leave (free time on my hands). Any guidance on these strategies or would a conventional 20% down rental be a smarter play in this market? Goal is to do RE investing full time. Thank you


     Fix and flip and burst strategy investing here in Central Florida is really challenging. You have to find a deal at a significant discount in order to make either one of these options work. Long-term rental investing is also a challenge but still possible if you are open to buying in the tertiary markets. If your goal is to be involved in real estate full time, you might consider getting a license to see if it is something that you can start to build part-time while you continue your w2

    [email protected]407-590-9858
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  • Arman AhmedPro Member
    Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 960 votes
    4mo
    Quote from @Luis Gallo:

    Hi! Need some wisdom from seasoned investors. I have a rental property I purchased 2019 currently renting and cashflowing pretty well at $1,500 monthly. I did pull a heloc out of this property. Fast forward I got married and just had a baby so we purchased our primary home back in November. Looking now to get into a BRRRR or flip to recycle my money (this would be my first one). I would be using a hard money lender if I go this route. Currently have a W2 job and wife is not working though I do have 16 week paternity leave (free time on my hands). Any guidance on these strategies or would a conventional 20% down rental be a smarter play in this market? Goal is to do RE investing full time. Thank you


    Given your situation, you're actually in a solid position because you already have a cash-flowing asset plus HELOC flexibility, which is what most first-time BRRRR investors wish they had. The main decision point is really risk vs. speed: a BRRRR or flip with hard money can help you recycle capital faster, but only if your deal flow is strong and you have reliable contractors lined up so rehab risk doesn't eat your margin. In a market like central Florida, a lot of investors end up defaulting to conventional 20% buy-and-hold deals early on just to stabilize cash flow before getting aggressive with BRRRRs.

    One thing to also consider is that some investors are expanding into Midwest markets, where acquisition costs are lower, and BRRRR spreads are often wider, which makes the refinance step less tight compared to higher-priced Florida deals. That can make your first few cycles a bit more forgiving while you build experience and systems.

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  • Adrian Lammersdorf-SciollBusiness Member
    Realtor · FL · Member since 2020 · 234 posts · 101 votes
    4mo

    Hey Luis I do have to agree with others here that flipping and BRRRR is a much tougher strategy here in Orlando. A lot of the investors I've been working with have been doing Pad Splits where you rent out the rooms individually, and even add rooms in some cases (there is even a company that helps you), or going the house hack route with living on one side of a small multifamily to get decent cash flow with the lower rate. Midwest is another great option if you're open to getting outside of Florida, Ohio I've heard has been good to a few investors I know. I have seen or helped work with opportunities with BRRRR in some of the outskirts of Orlando such as Deltona, or Lakeland too.

    [email protected]561-305-2404
    Thomas Lynne Realty527 Reviews
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    1Reply
  • Luis Gallo
    OP
    Member since 2023 · 2 posts · 0 votes
    4mo
    Great info thank you all!
    0Reply
  • Erik EstradaBusiness Member
    Lender · Member since 2022 · 6k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    4mo
    Quote from @Luis Gallo:

    Hi! Need some wisdom from seasoned investors. I have a rental property I purchased 2019 currently renting and cashflowing pretty well at $1,500 monthly. I did pull a heloc out of this property. Fast forward I got married and just had a baby so we purchased our primary home back in November. Looking now to get into a BRRRR or flip to recycle my money (this would be my first one). I would be using a hard money lender if I go this route. Currently have a W2 job and wife is not working though I do have 16 week paternity leave (free time on my hands). Any guidance on these strategies or would a conventional 20% down rental be a smarter play in this market? Goal is to do RE investing full time. Thank you


    Are you able to refinance your current HELOC and increase the line to continue buying more flips?

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  • Adrian Lammersdorf-SciollBusiness Member
    Realtor · FL · Member since 2020 · 234 posts · 101 votes
    4mo

    Hey Luis,

    I work with a lot of investors in Orlando, and considering your situation I think a good strategy would be to get a fixer upper and rent the rooms individually and furnish the rooms, and possibly even convert the garage, and living room, or sun room into extra bedrooms to rent out.  This is working very well currently and a lot more lenders are lending on these types of deals.  I do have a deeply discounted property on the market currently in Cape Coral if it interests you at all.  Plenty of equity to build into it.

    [email protected]561-305-2404
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  • Daniel Touchatt
    Lender · Daytona Beach, FL · Member since 2026 · 1 post · 0 votes
    4mo

    Are you actually in the Orlando area?  I know of a few meetups I can introduce you to other flippers in the area so you can ask seasoned pros questions. And I host a bi-weekly morning meet up in Daytona area. 

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