All Forum Posts by: Christian Paez

@Johnny Hastings Thanks for the quick response, and also finding the specific podcast, I do remember hearing that podcast a while back, this is very helpful.

Hello fellow Pocketeers, a little background, I am part of an investment team, who operates in the Central Florida area (Polk county, Lakeland, Bartow, Mullberry, Winter Haven, Auburndale) while we mostly deal with traditional SFR's (Single Family Rentals) we recently purchased a property which has been modified to provide access to people with disabilities (Wheel chair ramp, over sized doors, over sized showers etc.). We initially investigated whether there would be a market for disabled persons, we consulted with a local social worker, and a local healthcare worker, they did not think there would be much of a market. As a team we decided to convert the property back to conventional sizes for regular rentals. Recently while our crew was working on the house remodel, my foreman told me that a Woman stopped by to ask if the property was available for rent, as she was looking for a property with disability access, unfortunately he did not get her contact information, but that encounter awoke a curiosity in me.

My question is, has anyone ran into a situation similar to this where you were able to find a market for these types of rentals? or would you have any recommendations as to where to look and find out if there may be a market for this type of a rental? would these types of rentals generally cost more because of the required access?

Any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

@Aaron Douglass Hello Aaron, welcome to BP. I am glad to see you specified that your wife and yourself are thinking about real estate investing together, it is so important that the both of you are on-board makes things easier.

As for seller financing, you have probably already heard this from some of the chats you attended, however I cannot stress enough the importance of trust, when you are dealing with a potential seller who is able to finance the deal, you will be able to get a lot accomplished if they feel you are genuine and that you can help them. The other important topic is finding 100% equity owners, because if they own the property outright, that is where you will be able to find the deals.

I can relate with listening to the bigger pockets podcasts, I have found that the information in that series is invaluable...I have been able to associate specific podcasts to real life situations, two of the most useful ones are Podcast 49: Tax Tips with Amanda Han and Podcast 109: you will get sued with Scott Smith.

Sure, in order of most resent all within a span of 1.5+ years.

I don't want this list to fool you, as the market has picked up quite a bit, remodels and foreclosures are going quickly, and in most situations they go to highest and best.....still not the prices you see in Orlando or Tampa, but they are creeping up quickly

1. 2-1 Block home (33813) Built 1959 size 1169 sq ft @ 56k

2. 3-2 Wood frame (33803) Built 1927 size 1800 sq ft @ 45k

3. 2-1 Wood frame (33803) Built 1954 size 1300 sq ft @ 33k

4. 5-4 Block home (33813) Built 1972 size 2800 sq ft @ 163k

- What appeals to you about those zipcodes?

For the most part, they are safe clean and nice....plus they are close to me   :)

- Any good rules of thumb regarding what aren't the safe areas (IE: Stay away from West side, etc)

The West side of those Zip's are rural, country, you will find neighborhoods with a mix of high end homes right next to mobile homes

Central area will be closer to downtown, you will be within city limits, which can be challenging when dealing with renovations as the city is strict with their enforcement's

 Going toward the East side you start to run into some neighborhoods which are of more concern, again, the best thing is to check it out because there are good areas mixed in.

Hope this helps

@Kraig Kujawa Based on what Adrian said, there is nothing better than boots on the ground, however from my personal experience, I like to stay around the 33813, 33811 and 33803 zip codes, again you have to be selective even in those areas to make sure it is a safe area to purchase. Are you looking for Turnkey? or are you looking for a fixer upper?

@Valentina Naumenko To answer your question, based on information from the Department of Numbers website, Lakeland Vacancy rate is around 6.3%, but from personal experience, the most recent rentals we listed last year, we had a lot of interest, and got them rented very quickly at top dollar 2+2 $900 mo.

Hi Ebony, I know from experience, my niece has been trying to find a deal in Orlando, it is very difficult, there is a lot of competition, you are hard pressed to find something lower than $120 sq ft. which makes it difficult to meet the 2% rule. I would suggest checking some surrounding areas, such as Kissimmee, Poinciana.

2% rule = you should be able to rent the property for 2% of the total cost to purchase and make the property rent ready

Purchase = 80k

Rehab = 15k

Overhead cost = 5k

total investment = 100k

2% of 100k = $2000 mo. or close

Hi Angela, I am in Lakeland, and I have a few projects going on at the moment, I would be interested in discussing further, I have a project coming up in the next couple weeks, we may need to clear an area as early as next week (week of Feb 6th 2017) let me know if you are interested

Hi Jimmy, we use Home Solutions Title in Lakeland, they are investor friendly, I have used them many times