All Forum Posts by: Jason Smith

@Jason Warner I would really consider if ypu realtor has your best interest in mind or a comission.

@Jason Warner if they bought it a few months ago for 220K and the comps say 220K, why are you paying 260K? You should make your realtor show you the photos from MLS when it last sold if it was put on tbe market to see if any renovations were done. If there are no renovations I doubt an 18% increase in price is justified.

1. If someone is in a hurry, or offers X months rent up front, or is trying to avoid a background check - biggest red flags there are

2. you need concrete rental requirements, if they don't pass you don't make exceptions, and the requored credit score should be 650+

3. your lease should be very clear about who mows the lawn, trims the trees, pays for the lawn watering and who is responsible if HOA imposes a fine

4. you dont discuss deposit deductions until they moved out - but I have a feeling this guy is going to damage so much the security deposit will not cover everything in the end

Quote from @Drew Ogden:

I pay $5500/yr for a $1.4M single family in Miami Dade, 1 mile from the water.  Your quote does seems out of line.

Impact windows/doors, roof less than 20 years, hip roof, and updated electrical/plumbing will drastically lower the premium.  Citizens insurance basically covers everything down here in Miami Dade, regardless of the agent that you use.

Citizen's does not cover house advertised as short term rentals or houses rented out 3 or more times a calendar year. Finding proper insurance coverage for a STR in Florida, especially near the water is expensive.

Quote from @Ryan Lam:

Quote from @Jason Smith:

If you don't live in Florida you don't understand why it is so high. 60% of the houses on my street have new roofs covered by the insurance. The roofers and water restoration companies are in cohots with the personal injury attorneys. Roofers stop by eveyone's home multiple times a month offering free roofs. Up to 3 years ago the roofer's would start without giving the insurance company a chance to inspect the roof, just privoding pictures after they already started. They passed a law they have to wait till the insurance can inspect too. They tried passing a law that said they could not go door-to-door any longer and say free roof like they have in Georgia. That was ruled illegal by the courts in Florida, saying it violated free speech. If the insurance objects, the assignment of benefits (AoB) the homeowner signs with the contractors gives the lawyers the rights to drag out a lawsuit for ever with the insurer and they usually give in. It has gotten so bad for the insurers that they are leaving the state.

 I haven’t looked into this much but have noticed this topic come up more often. Any idea if this is an issue throughout the entire state? Or specific to more hurricane prone areas?

My house in Central Florida was $1400 with Security First and then my insurer went up 100.5%. Luckily State Farm just returned to my area and charged me $1350/year - the catch being my deductible is 2% (so like 8K - making it not worth pusuing a roof claim). My parents live on a barrier island and no one will insure them except the state - it is $5500/year. Luckily my rentals have not gotten the huge increase that my personal house have ( at least not yet - and State Farm is not going to insure my multi-family properties). Looked into a beach house STR and it was 10K plus a year. Like 77% of all insurance claim lawsuits come from Florida. It is not the politicians in Florida, it is the lawyers - they really have a stranglehold on this state. Your best option is to shop around, State Farm/Farmer's/Lloyd's of London/insurance broker that sells a bunch of different companies you have never heard of. We had like 4 hurricanes in 2004, with the exception of the one hit Punta Gorda they weren't that bad, and there was a kinda bad one in the Panhandle not that long ago. A lot of insurance companies are barely getting by due to roof fraud, and they figure we are "due" for a big storm so they are leaving.

If you don't live in Florida you don't understand why it is so high. 60% of the houses on my street have new roofs covered by the insurance. The roofers and water restoration companies are in cohots with the personal injury attorneys. Roofers stop by eveyone's home multiple times a month offering free roofs. Up to 3 years ago the roofer's would start without giving the insurance company a chance to inspect the roof, just privoding pictures after they already started. They passed a law they have to wait till the insurance can inspect too. They tried passing a law that said they could not go door-to-door any longer and say free roof like they have in Georgia. That was ruled illegal by the courts in Florida, saying it violated free speech. If the insurance objects, the assignment of benefits (AoB) the homeowner signs with the contractors gives the lawyers the rights to drag out a lawsuit for ever with the insurer and they usually give in. It has gotten so bad for the insurers that they are leaving the state.

@Kris L. Looks like you want 115K for new countertops, appliances, floors, backsplash, bathroom and paint. It looks like a cheap flip or fixing up a rental. There are a lot of negatives with that place - bad kitchen layout, weird drawers under the closets, I think you kept the old gross cabinets, and most importantly split system a/c. The link posted above makes your remodel look terrible, and this place is still cheaper and looks way better too https://www.zillow.com/homedet... . 3 blocks to a bay, is not really a selling point, 3 blocks to an ocean with a public access walkway is.

@Matt Bishop The poster said the dogs and extra guests are lease violations but he cannot do anything about it to Jan 2023 at the earliest because of Los Angeles Covid eviction laws. The government is saying he can't kick out a tenant that poses a threat to others, but the government is not gonna pay the lawsuit if the 2 year old neighbor is mauled to death. The eviction nightmare stories coming out of New York and California are crazy.

Look at Zillow for similiar rentals in you area, especially those from property management companies and emulate the listed requirements. Requirements must be applied equally and not violate federal and local laws. Making requirements known upfront helps weed out people trying to avoid tenant background checks and income verification, and time wasters as well. All requirements must be applied to everyone, every time. Read the laws concerning rentals in your area, and the laws on tenant rights in your area. California is the most landlord unfriendly state.

Wait for them to move out, the next tenant will pay much more for a new unused bathroom. Plus if something is delayed (dealing with contractors, supply shortages) they are going to complain. Where if they move out the 31st and you tell the new tenants they can move in the second week of the month and the bathrrom is scheduled to be done, but no promises - they seem to more agreeable.