Is Buying a Frame House in Florida Asking for Trouble?

Question

Hey everyone — I’m newer to investing in Florida real estate and wanted to get some opinions from people with more experience buying down here.

How big of a factor is block vs frame construction when evaluating a deal in Florida?

From what I’ve been reading, a lot of investors seem to strongly prefer block homes because of hurricanes, insurance costs, moisture/termite concerns, and overall durability. But I also see plenty of frame properties that look like better deals on paper.

For those actively investing in Florida:

• Do you avoid frame houses entirely?
• Have you noticed major differences in insurance costs or maintenance between the two?
• Does financing/resale become harder with frame homes?
• Would you still buy frame if the cash flow or location was strong enough?
• Are newer frame homes viewed differently than older ones?

I’m trying to understand whether block construction is more of a preference or if it’s almost a requirement for long-term investing in Florida.

Would love to hear real-world experiences, especially from landlords or rehabbers in coastal areas.

Korey Ralston · Answer

This is a really strong way to break it down, especially separating liquidity vs margin instead of treating it like one blended decision.

The DOM-first approach makes a lot of sense. I hadn’t really internalized how holding costs can quietly erase the paper spread if something just sits 3–4x longer than expected. That’s a detail I’ve mostly seen glossed over in beginner underwriting.

The Historic Kenwood example also helps me understand why frame isn’t automatically bad or good — it’s context-dependent. The idea that buyers are actually pricing in charm (and not just structure) is something I wasn’t fully appreciating before. I was treating frame vs block too mechanically instead of thinking about buyer psychology and neighborhood expectations.

The hybrid deal concept is especially interesting — frame in a frame-heavy neighborhood as a way to avoid stigma drag makes a lot of sense. That feels like a much safer entry point than trying to force value in a mismatch area.

A couple questions I’d love your take on:

• When you’re comparing DOM, are you looking at medians or averages for the zip, and do you segment by price tier or condition level at all?
• And for someone early-stage, would you personally prioritize learning one neighborhood deeply (like Kenwood-style dynamics), or one property type across multiple neighborhoods first?

I’m starting to see how much of this is pattern recognition over time rather than isolated deal analysis.

Richard Golding · Answer

Korey, for a flip, the math on frame vs. block changes completely. You aren't worried about the 30-year termite risk; you're worried about the 6-month Unknown risk.

1. The "Open Wall" Contingency: As a beginner, the horror stories you've heard are real. When you open a frame wall in Florida, you might find $15k in hidden termite damage or rot that wasn't on the inspection. If you're flipping a frame house, your contingency budget needs to be 20%, whereas a block house can usually survive with 10%.

2. Renovation Velocity: Frame is actually faster to renovate. Moving a window, adding an outlet, or re-running plumbing is significantly easier and cheaper in frame than it is in block. If you have a solid crew, you can turn a frame house faster, which lowers your holding costs.

3. The Resale Gap: In the TB (Tampa Bay) area, "Historic" frame houses in neighborhoods like Kenwood actually command a premium. But in a generic 1970s suburb, a block house will almost always sell faster. Check the Days on Market (DOM) for frame vs. block in the specific zip code you're targeting. If block houses sell in 15 days and frame takes 45, that extra month of high-interest hard money might eat the deal you thought you had.

Don't avoid frame, but don't buy a frame house with a thin margin. A frame house needs to be an A+ deal to justify the risk of what’s behind the siding. If it’s only a B deal, stick to block until you’ve got 2-3 flips under your belt and a contractor you trust to handle structural surprises.  Good luck.

Doug Smith · Answer

All of the below are of a home we did in Kenwood. That's a frame home. I included before and after so you could get an idea. If you know what your'e doing, you can really do some cute flips. It's do-able. Just have the right team around you.

Drew Sygit · Answer

You should ask insurance agents how much more it is to insure a frame house...

Richard Golding · Answer

Korey, those two questions are what separate the weekend hobbyists from the guys running actual businesses. Here is how you should approach it:

1. Slicing the DOM Data

Averages are dangerous because one overpriced listing that sits for 200 days can skew the whole zip code. Look at Medians, not Averages: The median gives you the true heart of the market.

Segment by Finish Level: This is critical. In St. Pete, a Laminate & Paint flip and a Designer/Custom flip are two different asset classes. Compare your projected finish level against comps in the same tier. If Designer frame houses are flying but Budget frame houses are sitting, you know exactly where your renovation budget needs to go.

2. Neighborhood vs. Property Type

For a beginner, I always recommend prioritizing the Neighborhood (like Kenwood) over the Property Type.

Why Neighborhood First? Real estate is about location, but construction is about logistics. If you focus on Kenwood/Old Northeast, you’ll start to learn the specific quirks of those 1920s builds. You’ll find the sub-contractors who actually know how to handle lath and plaster or crawlspace issues.

The Flywheel Effect: Once you know a neighborhood's ceiling price and the local inspectors' pet peeves, your underwriting becomes 10x faster. If you jump all over the county just to find block houses, you’re starting your logistics and comp research from scratch every single time.

Pick a 2–3 mile radius and become the absolute mayor of that area. Know every frame house that sold in the last 6 months. When you can walk into a frame house and instinctively know if the floor-sag is a $2k shim job or a $15k structural failure, you've won.

Specialization breeds confidence. Confidence lets you pull the trigger when everyone else is still analyzing.

Korey Ralston · Answer

This is honestly one of the most helpful explanations I’ve heard on the topic. I’m still newer to investing, so the way you broke down medians vs averages and separating homes by finish level really clicked for me. I’ve definitely been guilty of looking at broad numbers without realizing how much one outlier can distort the data.

The neighborhood point also makes a ton of sense. I was originally thinking it might be smarter to focus on a specific property type, but your explanation about learning the quirks, contractors, inspectors, and pricing of one area makes it seem a lot more manageable. The “flywheel effect” is a great way to describe it.

Really appreciate you taking the time to lay this out. It actually gives me a clearer framework instead of feeling like I need to know an entire county before doing anything. Focusing on a small radius and becoming highly familiar with it feels a lot more achievable.

Richard Golding · Answer

Korey, that’s the million-dollar question. Most people start with the margin, but seasoned flippers start with Liquidity (DOM).

1. The DOM Sanity Check: I always look at DOM first. If the average block house in a zip code sells in 14 days and the frame houses are sitting for 50+, the paper profit on that frame house is a lie. That extra 36 days of holding costs (hard money interest, utilities, insurance, and taxes) will eat $5k–$10k of your margin. If I see a massive DOM gap, I won't touch the frame house unless the margin is double my standard requirement.

2. The Kenwood Premium: In Historic Kenwood, the rules change. There, the Frame Risk is offset by Architectural Value. Buyers in Kenwood aren't looking for durable block; they're looking for "1920s Bungalow Charm."

If a restored frame bungalow in Kenwood comps at $650k and a nearby block ranch comps at $550k, that $100k spread covers your 20% open wall contingency and then some.

You have to be a surgeon with the restoration. If you cheap out on the historic details to save money, you lose the premium, but you're still stuck with the frame maintenance.

I prioritize Liquidity in generic neighborhoods and Margin in historic ones.  If you’re just starting, look for the Hybrid deal: A frame house in a neighborhood where 80% of the homes are also frame. That way, you aren't fighting a stigma gap on resale you're just fighting the renovation itself.

Doug Smith · Answer

Half of St Pete and the TB Area in general are 1925 frame houses. If you're looking in "Historic Kenwood", that's pretty much what you're going to find. I'm personally not fond of old frame houses, but then again I like a closet that holds more than 5 shirts, 2 pairs of shoes, and a hat box. Lot's of people find those older homes charming and, depending upon the neighborhood, they might be the norm. I know I'm a lender, but I've also been flipping/buidling in the TB market for almost 20 years. We've done a ton of them. If you know what your doing they aren't a big deal. If you're holding, they will undoubtedly run you a bit more in insurance and maintenance.

Korey Ralston · Answer

This is exactly the kind of breakdown I was missing. The way you separate 30-year risk vs 6-month unknown risk actually makes a lot of sense — I hadn’t really framed it like that before. It definitely explains why people either love or hate frame houses depending on their experience level.

The open wall contingency point is honestly what I’m most nervous about. I’ve heard the horror stories, but putting a real % on it (20% vs 10%) makes it feel a lot more tangible for underwriting instead of just a vague fear factor.

On the flip side, I didn’t realize frame could actually be faster on renovations. I always assumed block was just more solid = better, but it sounds like it’s more about tradeoffs between speed, predictability, and risk.

Quick question on your experience in Tampa Bay — when you’re evaluating frame vs block in a flip, are you prioritizing DOM data first (liquidity), or do you start with margin and then sanity-check it against how fast it will actually sell in that specific zip code?

Also, in areas like Historic Kenwood, do you feel like the resale premium on frame offsets the added renovation risk enough, or is it still very deal-dependent every time?

Korey Ralston · Answer

Being in the St. Pete market I've started to realize that a lot of the deals are frame houses. My play on those would be most likely to flip them but I'm hesitant because of the horror stories I've heard when opening them up. As a beginner do you think I should solely focus on block builds to limit the headaches so that way I can get a better foundation under me before I take on the even more unknown with a frame house? My concern is missing out on deals where the numbers make sense only because of it being a frame house when my market is most of the time being frame houses.

Is Buying a Frame House in Florida Asking for Trouble?

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