All Forum Posts by: James L Roberts

Hello, 

I would like to help you with your property management issue. I know a very qualified and reasonable property manager that works exclusively with real estate investors and knows Palm Beach County rental market very well. If you would like to contact him please let me know. I believe he is a person worth speaking with personally as his honesty and integrity are beyond reproach.

James

Hay Jonathan, Regarding your interest in STRs in Palm Beach County, a lot depends on the type of STRs you are looking to focus on as STRs range from Hotel & Motels, Airbnb, to 6-month rentals. I more or less grew up in Palm Beach County and currently managing leased rentals. I am fully aware of the opportunities and locations of Palm Beach County If you would like, feel free to contact me.

Best of luck with your ventures,

Sincerely,

James L Roberts 

The advice previously provided is noteworthy and worth considering. When it comes to running calculations or the numbers, I see most new investors trying to act without proper knowledge for valuating rental property investments. For example; based on the information provided paying $150K for a SFR-Rental with $1,500 a month rental income translates into overpaying for the property by $24K, and that will adversely affect your after expenses cash-flow and your ability to come out ahead regardless of how you choose to purchase the property.

It is important to understand that there is a difference between how the market and banks value real estate and how qualified investors value real estate (commonly referred to as cash-value). When investors buy real estate it’s all about the numbers adding up, and not knowing how to properly value real estate from an investor’s perspective leads to costly mistakes. Thus, after expenses, cash-flow may not be as much as you think and could possibly end up being in the negative.

Another issue is knowing how to properly determine the rental value of the real estate which is just as important as the rental income value determines the value of the property in question. Going with your $1,500 a month the properties value is $126K which is what would be needed to make the property profitable.

In addition, knowing how to properly screen tenants, and to guarantee rental income is especially important as well as how to properly manage and maintain the property which all affect the properties monthly expenses and profitability which needs to be included in the calculations.

As for getting your feet wet, you have already started! Congratulations…

I currently manage and oversee rental properties in Palm Beach County, and in GA, and provide Advisor services to real estate investors, and am currently investing in rental properties in MI.

An added bonus; if the market value of the property is greater than the cash-value, there will be instant equity in the property that could also be leveraged and reduce expenses.

Feel free to contact me if you wish…

I manage multi-family rental properties and from the start, I have perspective renters fill out a Renter's Application with a $100 non-refundable fee to cover credit and background checks. This weeds out really interested prospective tenants from those "just looking" or wanting to waste your valuable time as well as removing the possibility of "looking desperate". Using this strategy, I usually rent my units quickly. Few people are willing to spend $100 to apply for a property they have no intention of renting, though I have had it happen once or twice in the past 10-years.