All Forum Posts by: Chris Aall

I assume your sister's house is under 5 units and therefore requires a residential loan. I am so far happy with MB Financial out of Rochester, NY. I live in Switzerland and invest in St. Petersburg and they seem to have no problem. They do not make commercial loans. My contact at MB is Jerry Padilla who is active in BP. If the bankruptcy is a problem, you could probably co-sign with your sister. Good luck!

Don't forget to submit a complaint to the Better Business Buro (can be done online.) They then contact him directly and force him to respond. If he doesn't, his BBB rating tanks. Contacting Angie's List might have a similar impact.

@Brian Johnson Be my guest! We all benefit from each other's engagement. Are you interested in doing vacation rentals?

Chris

Wow, some great FL local info here! 

@Chad U. We will be spending 4 days researching the Boca Raton/Fort Lauderdale area and plan to attend the BREIA annual meeting in Dania Beach on November 5th. Then we move onto Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota and Tampa.  Very exciting!

@Daniel K Adderly and @Doug Merriott Thanks for the inside beef on Tampa. It seems to have a healthy growing economy but also offers plenty of lifestyle opportunities. We will definitely be hitting those beaches. See you there, Brian!

Thank you for the feedback,

Chris Aall

Thanks for your responses!

Yes, @Daniel K Adderly , we are looking forward to get to know the Tampa area. What beach areas do you think offer the best potential for vacation rentals? I am thinking of an area with less hi-rises and more small retail which is fun for pedestrians (boardwalk-style?).  Also is traffic an issue in Tampa? 

@Elizabeth Colegrove - Boca Raton sounds similar to Wellesley, a suburb of Boston, where I previously built houses. Great schools, stable community and a constant flow of newcomers looking for houses. Is there a market for new construction there, i.e. teardowns? Also, what are your thoughts on Weston? Friends recommended we take a look there. 

Chris Aall

Hi BP community!

I joined BP a few months ago and have primarily spent my time listening to podcasts. What a resource! I was building and rehabbing homes in the Boston area 2002-05 and luckily got out before the meltdown. Still, my life would have been so much easier had I had access to these resources then!

Now we are living in Switzerland but our plan, once I sell my business here, is to move to Florida (somewhere warm for a change) in 1-2 years. Our intent is to reenter the real estate business, probably focusing on mid- to up-market rehabs and teardowns. We would target to buy and sell two $500-750k homes per year for at least 5 years and reinvest 50% of the profits into maybe 20 cash-flowing rental properties (single family homes and multiplexes) to generate $5k in monthly passive income.

I will get a Florida construction supervisor license (my Massachusetts one has expired) and my wife will get a realtor's license. She is an interior designer.

What we need to decide is WHERE in Florida? Our criteria for the surroundings are:

• Proximity to a substantial airport
• Established community with good schools, growing employment, low crime
• A resort destination that offers potential for vacation rentals
• Older and newer homes in mid- to upper class neighborhoods
• Improving real estate prices, but not yet over-heated

We are taking the month of November to visit and research the southeast (Miami - West Palm Beach) and southwest (Naples - Tampa). We hope to catch a few REIA meetings and talk to various RE specialists (agents, funders, asset managers, etc.) during our tour.

What tips can BP members give us regarding locations? We hear that Naples has been growing strongly - is it getting overheated? Friends of ours recommend Sarasota because it is more relaxed and less pricey but is employment and the economy growing there? Is the Southeast really as rushed and "New Yorky" as people say? What is your take on vacation rentals versus long term rentals? Are teardowns a good business proposition or is the existing inventory still so high that new construction does not sell?

All input is appreciated. Thank you!

ciao,

Chris Aall

Einsiedeln, Switzerland (moving to Florida in 1-2 years)