All Forum Posts by: Jason Brown

 I think that really sums it up perfectly. 

In a perfect world all contractors SHOULD tell you that the work done legally requires a permit. In the real world unfortunately it doesn't necessarily happen.

All investors should know that if you're working on any of the 4 major systems (Roof, Electrical, Plumbing, HVAC) you probably need a permit pulled. Every municipality is different but you should be very familiar with looking up your local codes to see if its necessary.

My rule of thumb here is that the contractor SHOULD include it and should bill it in their work but at the end of the day the ultimate responsibility falls on the homeowner to make sure it is done.

It is definitely a niche market because of how limited your renter pool will be. We all look at 55+ communities here in Florida because the price points are significantly lower and it's for good reason.

55+ communities can be sticklers for rules/regulations WAY above and beyond the average HOA. You've got the age requirement which is obvious but then you also have more rental restrictions, holdback periods before units can be rented, and ownership restrictions as mentioned above.

You may try and outperform that by looking for section 8 paying 55+ renters but now you have limited your renters to essentially a niche within a niche.

Could you find something and make it work? Definitely. But in my experience as a Miami condo investor these communities are designed to KEEP investor buyers from leveraging low purchase prices to then rent to the senior community.

Believe me, I would've bought 20 of them buy now if I had found it viable.

Best of luck!

Congrats man! Big Success!

I myself have a somewhat similar story (at least portfolio and timeline wise).

Looking to hit that 1M portfolio mark in June (which will make 6 years). 

Consistency is key!

On to the next one my brother!!

This right here is critical. 

This took me a couple deals to really internalize but once I did it made it much easier to justify the neighborhood types I now invest in. Contractors aren't giving out discounts just because your house is next door neighbors with the crack spot across the street (if they even take the job at all). Low price houses cost the same to maintain as higher priced assets (and more so in some cases).  Are you going to put that 5K HVAC in your 65K house or your 400K house? I'm going with the latter.

 I wish I could triple like this post. I honestly don't understand people's absolute hatred for condos. I think its got to be wrapped up in this super independent wild west frontier ideology about no one telling you what to do regardless of whether or not what's being done/told is actually great. 

Let's be clear. Bad HOAs suck. They waste money, they defer maintenance, and levy special assessments so frequently that they would probably be better off dropping the "special" and just calling them yearly assessments. They can also really hassle you and be a stickler to rules that you personally may not deem important.

HOWEVER a good HOA is amazing. A good HOA can be a de facto property manager if leveraged correctly. A good HOA is a preventive maintenance expert. A good HOA leverages their scale to get solid and reliable vendors. A good HOA is not Karen and 3 other board members looking for vendors on Yelp and sorting by most reviews all the while managing their other 9-5 jobs.

Just check the budgets. The biggest expense you'll find on there is insurance. Insurance you were going to have to pay regardless. Now you've got a walls in policy for a fraction of the total cost because the rest is covered by your HOA dues. Think guys. The dues pay for STUFF! Insurance, maintenance, capex, reserves. All real stuff. In my HOA budget you can see the useful life of all major components and the current capex saved up for each one and know when exactly they will be replaced. From roofs to painting. Could you do all of this yourself? Sure. Me however I'll pass. I'm too busy doing marketing looking for my next condo to buy.

Tenants appreciate landlords who fix things when they break. Great tenants respect landlords who KEEP UP a property and service them routinely so they don't break at all.

 Yes it is. I was able to obtain financing on it.

 Take it from another Miami investor. What you need are deals man. Deals, deals, deals. You've got to put in the work and market direct to sellers. Direct mail, cold calling, SEO, texting. Anything to get in front of motivated sellers.

Legit wholesalers down here are rare and are usually trying to dump garbage deals on you for basically retail prices.

Get in front of motivated sellers and then you can start taking them down. Seller financing, fix and flip cash deals, sub2 and much more.

Now the method you determine to best suit you often times is based on the amount of available cash you have but not every strategy takes a lot to get started.

Best of luck! 

@Clifford Sargento to somewhat reiterate what others have said let's define exactly what a good tenant is:

1. They take care of the property, are respectful, and have reasonable expectations. This is a given.  

2. They pay market or close to market rents.

They cannot be considered a "good" tenant without meeting both of these requirements.

The first might be considered more of personality/morality criteria and the second would be more of a commercial. 

Regardless they are both equally important and they cannot be "good" without BOTH.

Many landlords do not raise the rent out of fear of jeopardizing their "good" tenant but I would argue that any tenant with the potential to "retaliate" for having to pay market rent meets neither criteria 1 or 2.

HAHAHA I wish. STRs in most Miami condos are universally banned. With it being such a tourist area no homeowners or HOAs are allowing them. Also too STRs generally require a different insurance policy which isn't most master HOA policies don't include.

No this is just a long term rental but if in the future that were to ever become an option it would most definitely push my COC through the roof!

 Hey Pierson,

The building was built in 1986. Yea I actually sold a studio in Miami Beach about a month before the collapse. I did review the HOA docs and HOA budget and I was able to confirm that they have ample reserves but I'll need to double check when was the last time the 40 year was performed.