All Forum Posts by: Amy Davidson

Hi @Bob Ebaugh I use a wholesaler who generally works between St. Pete and Tampa, but he also comes us with interesting things in other areas, too. I like him very much as a person, but I also like him as a wholesaler because he works with another fellow who is always coming up with great creative financing ideas and is like the "seller-whisperer". He can really point out the beauty of seller financing to both parties, and they offer lots of seller financed deals.

I'm going to send you a PM right now with his contact details. If anyone else is interested, let me know and I'll PM you, too.

Amy

Thanks! I'm working with Robin Smith Design and Build at the moment, and I like them very much. But I've had so much bad luck in the past with others -- or I've done such a bad job hiring (semantics!) -- that I want to make a little list of highly recommended companies.

Looking forward to reading your post after the house sells!

Beautiful house! Reading your description of the work done, 46K sounds pretty reasonable. I've got rehabs coming out my ears these days and would love to know who you used -- if you're sharing.

Thanks!

Amy

Hi all,

I'm looking at a massive rehab, and adding on a fair number of square feet to my lovely little Old Seminole Heights house.

One engineer came out and as a ballpark estimate told me that the cost of new construction in Tampa is between $90 and $110 per sf. Then the GC came out and told me to expect $110 -- $180 per sf for new construction, without plumbing, built to a basic standard, with an estimate of $65-$85 per sf for the remodel.

With the wide range of estimates between two experts in the field I am a bit bewildered. I'd love to hear from others who did either full rehabs or new builds in Tampa, to a standard for rental to upper middle class professional people -- what was your actual cost per sf. And was this close to the original quotes you were given?

I have properties in Tampa and Philadelphia, and the short answer for me is Tampa.

Now for the long answer:

I'm "from Tampa" even though I never REALLY lived there. I've been living abroad for about 15 years, so I definitely don't have my pulse on the day-to-day of the areas, but I'll share what I know.

LAWS:

Florida is a MUCH more landlord friendly state. I've had to do evictions in both states, which is something you'll surely be faced with as well if you're looking at the lower priced properties. Often you can get a real steal from a tired landlord with a non-paying tenant, so the first thing you have to do is evict. (I know someone selling something like this in Tampa so PM me later if that's of interest) The Florida evictions in either Pinellas or Hillsborough Country have taken about 6 weeks, the Philly eviction took MONTHS.

However, had I know anything more about the market there I could have done a better job. I bought the house from a wholesaler and it was supposed to be empty. Then I found out that the seller's cousin was there and wanted to stay paying $800/mo. -- Super! But he never paid. My property manager didn't tell me, and my eviction lawyer didn't tell me, that you have to have a rental license to rent property in PA and I couldn't evict him without that license. VERY IMPORTANT: If you invest in PA make sure you get that license, and make sure that you take into account the $85 a year that you have to pay for it. It's small, but the little things add up.

In Tampa I found out completely by happenstance that you're also supposed to have a license, but it's certainly not required for anything and I've never been asked for it at eviction time, or any other time.

PROPERTY TAXES:

In Florida I have property in Orange, Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties and in all three I find that the yearly property taxes amount to about 1 month rent, plus or minus a few bucks.

For the house in PA, which is just just outside Philly proper, I'm paying 2K+ on a 34K house. This is nearly 3 months of the rent. The returns there are still good, but nowhere near what they would be without the outrageous taxes. That being said, the taxes in Philly proper are lower, but it's definitely something to be careful with.

INCOME TAXES:

Believe it or not, I didn't think about state income taxes when I bought that PA house. Now that I have one property there, I have to fill out a tax return for PA and pay taxes to the state, even though I don't live there. When you live there, they'll take a little chunk of your income, and more importantly, a chunk of your time doing the PA taxes.

WEAR AND TEAR ON THE HOUSE:

My stairs froze off my PA house this winter. What? Yes, that's right. Apparently there was a crack in the cement on the porch steps and the water got in and froze, then the steps fell off. This doesn't happen in Tampa. You really have to winterize the houses up north, which is another hidden expense.

WINTER BLUES:

Whether it's true or not, I'm not sure, but my PM told me he couldn't rent a house to save his life for about 3 months of this winter. It was a particularly hard winter and no one was out and about, and no one wanted to move. That's great if you've already got good tenants, not so great if you're looking for tenants.

COST OF LIVING:

Even if the cost of living looks lower there, which I've never explored, if you need to buy a second set of clothes for the winter months, then you haven't saved that much money. I'm living in Switzerland now, and I can tell you that the fall jacket, the winter jacket, the rain boots the snow boots, gloves, scarves, etc. REALLY add up. You look young in your photo, and don't mention any kids, but they'll come eventually and if you are buying a new set of everything for 2-3 kids every single year, it really eats into the budget. In Florida you have the same set of clothes more or less year round and can save literally thousands.

Hopefully that'll give you a few points to think about, and if you do end up in Philly, you'll make a better start of it than I did!

Hi @Doug Merriott and all the Tampa Area guys,

I'm out of town until the following week, so I won't be there. But my mom may join for Team Davidson.

At the first meeting I committed to having my RE license by the next time we met -- so I guess I've just gotten a little more study time, but I'll be bragging at the next meeting!

Hi Richard, Hi @LizaD,

Thanks for your post. I love that you shared your good common sense for saving money to get started. I think that all of us had to make big sacrifices at the start, and from time to time along the way as well!

I'm living in one of my half-done rehabs at the moment (long story), but even after all these years of being in real estate, it's refreshing to be reminded that I'm not the only one who sometimes makes uncomfortable lifestyle changes, with the end goal in mind.

Newbies can learn a lot from the more experienced investors here on BP, but I think everyone can really benefit from the Newbies' posts, being reminded of why we first started it all. Please keep the posts coming and let me know how you're getting on in Tampa. I have a few multi-family properties and SFHs in Tampa Heights and the near-by neighborhoods, and I'd love to hear about where you end up buying.

Hi Karina,

I second that from Will Barnard. I'm a buy and holder (occasional flipper) in the Tampa area, and I absolutely respect all the hard work that my wholesaler puts into putting a deal together. I don't know where I'd be without him, probably still combing Zillow!

Do it well, with a true win-win-win deal for everyone (that was 1 "win" in there for you, too), and you'll be welcome everywhere!

I was at the last Clearwater meeting that Cathy mentioned, and EVERYONE was looking for a good wholesaler.

Good luck!

Amy

Hi @Hubert Drantner,

I'm currently living in Switzerland with a few properties here and 1 in Germany. Comparing the US, Switzerland and Germany, Germany definitely is less landlord friendly. I have been trying to get a tenant out of my German house for over 9 months, with no end in sight.

Feel free to make contact if you'd like to chat a bit.

I bought the house as-is and then had the PM do the work. But it was the same company as they have wholeselling and PM under one roof.

I have pulled my other properties from their management, because they have not proven themselves to be generally competent. Once this is all said and done I'll see about my legal options, but now I can only think about getting it done.

Anyone looking for someone NOT to hire as an Orlando PM is welcome to contact me off forum!