First Owner Occupied Investment Property - Tampa, FL
Member since 2023 · 3 posts · 4 votes
First Owner Occupied Investment Property - Tampa, FL
Most Popular Reply
Doug SmithPro Member
Lender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votesThree things to know:
1) Ybor is pronounced EE-bore
2) Lutz is pronounced lootz
3) Only fish and mermaids live in Tampa Bay
Other than that, welcome to "The Tampa Bay Area".
12 Replies
- Lender · Tampa/St. Petersburg/Sarasota FL and Knoxville/Sevierville/Maryville, TN · Member since 2018 · 361 posts · 178 votes3y
Hi Tucker, Congratulations on starting the hunt for your first property in Tampa!
Have you talked to a lender and started the pre-approval process? That would be my first step. Depending on your debt to income, you may need to look at the multifamily option so that you can use 75% of the rental income to offset your expenses.
I would also be aware of rental regulations from the municipalities if you are planning to rent out short-term. - Real Estate Agent · St Petersburg, FL · Member since 2019 · 321 posts · 182 votes3y
Definitely start with lender to get an idea of what you can comfortable afford and that will help guide which direction you can go in.
Are you looking at Tampa or Tampa Bay (Tampa plus surrounding areas including St Pete/Clearwater etc) ?
- Member since 2023 · 3 posts · 4 votes3yI am working with a trusted lender and have been preapproved for 450k. I am going to be stationed at MacDill Air Force Base so ideally I'd like to be within a 45 minute drive. So far I have been looking at properties mostly in the Brandon/Riverview and Wesley Chapel/Land O Lakes areas.
Quote from @Obed Calixte:
Definitely start with lender to get an idea of what you can comfortable afford and that will help guide which direction you can go in.
Are you looking at Tampa or Tampa Bay (Tampa plus surrounding areas including St Pete/Clearwater etc) ?
- 3yDoug SmithPro MemberLender · Tampa, FL · Member since 2013 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Three things to know:
1) Ybor is pronounced EE-bore
2) Lutz is pronounced lootz
3) Only fish and mermaids live in Tampa Bay
Other than that, welcome to "The Tampa Bay Area".
- Lender · Member since 2019 · 250 posts · 219 votes3y
What route you go really depends on your goals and comfortability. I am going to assume you would be going FHA on the 2-4 unit, make sure your lender briefs you on the self sufficiency rule as that has been killing a lot of FHA deals lately. I think it would be much easier to cash flow once you vacate the property on a 2-4 unit versus a single family, but I would much rather house hack with friends in a single family versus random tenants you share walls with.
Whatever you do, make sure you have a rock star agent on your side, that can make the difference on getting your offer accepted in a hot area like Tampa. I personally would recommend @Josh Green as he has won our clients deals that they otherwise likely would have not won.
- 3yRyan HalfordPro MemberReal Estate Agent · Tampa, FL · Member since 2018 · 65 posts · 31 votes
Hi, Tucker. I would be glad to discuss this with you in depth. I am an investor focused REALTOR, an investor myself, and I used to own a construction company for over a decade (involved with construction for 30+ years) which is invaluable when coming to underwriting investment properties and knowing what it will take to get them rent ready. I would gladly give you 30-60 minutes of my time to go over your goals and discuss how we can best help you reach them. Shoot me a text and let's set something up.
- 3yJosh GreenBusiness MemberRealtor · Tampa/St Pete/Clearwater/Bradenton · Member since 2020 · 397 posts · 353 votes
Quote from @Tucker Bone:
I'm currently looking for my first home in the Tampa area. Based upon my limited knowledge of Tampa's market its tough to say which is the better option, single family house hacking or multi family and renting the other unit(s). Besides more expensive insurance and floods zones, are there any other things to watch out for in Tampa's market specifically? Single family vs Multi family? Specific neighborhoods?
Great questions and ones I get all the time. I'm on my third house-hack personally and based on my experience, I'll echo what they say on the BP podcast: "It all depends on YOU and your comfortability to profitability scale". Tampa Bay is a great market for many reasons - we have a strong outlook on appreciation and although new investors don't put enough weight into that, those of us who understand the long term benefits always shift our focus to that.
We also have a top of opportunity to be creative. For a small/new investor, your only real advantages are going to be speed & creativity. Speed is going to 50/50 on you and 50/50 on your agent (getting, analyzing, seeing and offering within a 48 hr period in my opinion is par for me and my clients). Next, is creativity. That's going to 80% on you and 20% on your agent as they will help you understand what creative things you can do to push yourself in one direction or another.
The other strengths of your agent I think should be standard (though they are far from that): communication, experience, good track record, high recent volume, market knowledge, etc.
Lastly, no matter where you stand on the comfortability to profitability index, at the end of the day you have to play the field and take what the defense gives you (David Greene mentions this a lot). I was very adamant when I first moved here I'd repeat doing house-hacks with multifamily residences. Well, there were none at the time that worked or made sense and very few options that fit into my long-term goals with my family so I pivoted and found a great luxury house-hack (pool house w/guest house) and to make the numbers work I got creative and began mid-term and then short-term renting it to boost the revenue. This is just the surface of what it took to do this and I'm not even mentioning the incredible impacts of my team such as @Nick Velez , my insurance agent, my inspector, my contractors, and brokerage that all played a role into finding opportunity and capitalizing on it.
Impact Realty Tampa Bay.4.962 Reviews
Suncoast Vacation Homes4.959 Reviews - Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes3y
I'm sure the Tampa agents will have more thoughts for you, but I'd just add what we tell our new homeowners/new investors in Colorado -- don't overthink it. You'll learn a lot more from action than from thinking about the "best deal." That's not to say you shouldn't take a little time. Consider the options -- multi-family vs single-family, etc; run some numbers; consider the work required and the work you actually want to do; and then ... just pull the trigger. We learned so much more from doing our first deal than we ever did from researching the deal. The time in market will matter more than any amount of cash flow anyway, so if you're youngish, you almost can't mess up.
Whatever you decide, I wish you luck!
- Tampa, FL · Member since 2021 · 383 posts · 389 votes3y
Most multi families in Tampa proper (city of Tampa limits) will be competitive and expensive compared to what your budget might be. Also, factor in that flood maps are changing every year and although you may underwrite your house hack with no flood insurance and average homeowner’s insurance…you could be required to cover flood and the latter could skyrocket in coming years.
I still recommend using the 3.5% down FHA house hack. Fastest way to build wealth. Start your search in northeast Hillsborough County. 33612 is a great zip code.
Best of Luck!
- Real Estate Agent · Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 13 posts · 6 votes3y
Quote from @Tucker Bone:
I am working with a trusted lender and have been preapproved for 450k. I am going to be stationed at MacDill Air Force Base so ideally I'd like to be within a 45 minute drive. So far I have been looking at properties mostly in the Brandon/Riverview and Wesley Chapel/Land O Lakes areas.Quote from @Obed Calixte:
Definitely start with lender to get an idea of what you can comfortable afford and that will help guide which direction you can go in.
Are you looking at Tampa or Tampa Bay (Tampa plus surrounding areas including St Pete/Clearwater etc) ?
Hey Tucker, congratulations on the pre-approval and starting the process! To answer your question, things to look out for when looking for homes in/around Tampa are mainly what type of properties you're looking for. If you're searching Land o Lakes, Wesley Chapel and Riverview I assume you want a newer home?
Brandon is a mixed bag, with neighborhoods ranging from A to D and home ages from the 70s to the 2000s.
Multifamily properties are difficult to come by, so I'd focus on Single family with a potential or established ADU, Turning a garage into another unit, or House hacking individual rooms.
I think the best way to find what you really want is to drive the neighborhoods, tour a few homes with different potential strategies in mind, and let your gut instincts take over.
I'd be happy to schedule a time to meet and tour a few areas! I live 5 minutes from Macdill AFB.
- Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2016 · 681 posts · 288 votes3y
Hello Tucker Bone in Tampa. Your going to station at MacDill AFB? The first thing is to get Pre-qualified for a Loan with your Banker. You can find most properties South of Kennedy Blvd. down to the Base starting at $300,000. Learn how to use Zillow. Learn the First Time Home Owner's IRS rule. You can Homestead your First Home for 2 out of 5 years and Sell for up to $250,000 Tax-free. Talk to HUD.com and look at the VA for all the Tax advantages for City, County, State and Federal for buying your first Home. I think Down Payments can be as low at 1%. Biden is pushing for loans if the Buyer can fog a mirror. You definitely don't want to Buy outside of the Center because it could take you hours to commute to work unless you take the Crosstown. Everything should be convenient to living at home, like Doctors, Hospitals, Shopping, Supermarkest, Restaurants, the Bank etc. Tampa is one of the top three cities for the worst longterm Traffic problems cities. I moved to Valrico on the North side of Hwy. 60 at the start of Covid and everything is like new here. Have not heard a siren for three years. No major longterm Water and Storm Sewer line building, like in S. Tampa. No beggars at the street lights. No Flood Zones. Biggest Crime is Shoplifting as I live on top of a hill behind Home Depot and WalMart in a 17 unit, gated Townhome Community with a pool. I had Rental Duplexes and Houses for 30 years in S. Tampa and I took a year of looking at Zillow every day until I found the perfect property. I paid $175,000 Cash with the Sale of my four Commercial lots on Dale Mabry Hwy just before the front gate at the Base. The first year of Covid the 3/3 Townhome appreciated to $320,000. Right now it's Zestimate is $299,700. My old Real Estate partner has a 3/1 funky house that has longterm tennant who fixes everything, that he wants to Sell. It's a few blocks South of Gandy. Paid off property, 50x100 lot. For Sale by Owner.
@Tucker Bone- if you havent already done so - get formally pre approved for a loan ...this process may help you answer some of your questions
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