All Forum Posts by: Jenn Barona

With that much equity in your primary I would get a HELOC and possibly use that money on building out your "shed homes" I am a Realtor in the Gainesville area and don't handle the Hawthorne area but I wouldn't think building homes there for STR would be too profitable unless they are on some sort of a lake. Hawthorne (from my knowledge) is more rural and not necessarily a touristy area at all. You may get some renters from events that UF has or maybe from some of the racing events at the Waldo Racetrack. I'm sure you've done your research so I'm just putting in my 2 cents.

I like attorneys Jose Moreno or Ashlie Luckey both in Gainesville. They handle a lot of investment type deals and are both very knowledgeable in investment deals. 

I like either Buddy from Buddy’s painting of (352) 214-4747 or Marvin with Master Painting D at (352) 999-0065

Gainesville is a great market to invest in but if you were looking for a multi family in there isn't the best options here. Generally they are in D neighborhoods and you have a lot of section 8, lower in income tenants and the crime rates are much higher. The numbers will sometimes look great on paper but just know managing them is sometimes a nightmare. There are several property managers here in town that refuse to handle certain neighborhoods because of the headache and crime. Like someone mentioned above you can get a single family home and still have numbers work and that might be a better option for a long term tenant. There have SOOO many new STR pop up in Gainesville over the last couple years and now it's pretty saturated and several investors are selling off their properties or changing their strategies to long term tenants.

Hi Jared! Im a Realtor and investor here in Gainesville and id be happy to help. Im somewhat new in the STR world as I only have 1 but I am somewhat knowledgable. There have been a ton of STR pop up in Gainesville recently so your not alone in wanting to join in. Feel free to reach out if tou have any questions or if you want me to look into the house for you at all.

Investment Info:

Single-family residence fix & flip investment in Gainesville.

Purchase price: $165,000
Cash invested: $40,000
Sale price: $303,000

Contributors:
Julie Barona

This was an off market property I came across from a wholesaler. We negotiated a pretty good price and overall the condition of the house just needed cosmetic updated. Our plan was to hold it as a rental but with the market skyrocketing like it did it made since to flip it instead so we have cash on hand for the next property.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

It was in a great neighborhood so I knew it would go quickly as a rental or a flip.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This was an off market property I came across from a wholesaler. We negotiated a pretty good price and overall the condition of the house just needed cosmetic updated.

How did you finance this deal?

For the first time we tried out using a hard money lender. We used Kiavi and the process was extremely simple and closed quickly.

How did you add value to the deal?

Remodel including vinyl flooring, painting, brand new kitchen cabinets with granite counters including new open layout and appliances. Opened wall in between living room and kitchen to make an open floor plan. Both bathrooms got new vanity, toilet and we kept the tiling in 1 bathroom and redid the tile in the other. Replaced water heater, new doors and landscaping.

What was the outcome?

I found out I was pregnant 1 month after buying the home so a lot of the work I had planned on doing myself had to be outsourced. Nothing overly expensive had to be outsourced but vendors were so backed up and it took much longer to complete the house than we planned.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Kiavi was our hard money lender. I would definitely use them again. From getting the loan and then once we sold they were quick on responding and even the closing agent said they were quick on replying back to whatever they asked for.

Gainesville is a great area for rentals there are a few things to keep in mind. Location is key! The closer you are to the school the better in terms of walking distance or if it’s located on a direct bus route to the school. RTS has a pretty great bus route so that probably won’t be too difficult if you stay on the more “college streets” in town. There are several condos that are a little further away from the school that grad students specifically like as they want to stay away from the “college parties and loud noise” 

Also, are you looking for single family homes, condos or multi family? The HOA's in some of the dues for some of the condo neighborhoods specifically are outrageous. Keep that in mind when running numbers as that can blow profit quick. See what they cover in terms of the HOA dues. Single family homes are a good option and there are several neighborhoods know for being geared for more college rentals. I would consider lawn care included in the rental amount though since Gainesville does have a ton of nature and most nurses don't have the time to be mowing lawn and keeping up on landscaping.

Lots of other things to consider as well but this is a start. Hopefully that helps. 

@Amy L. Pagels I would speak with the sellers of the house and see if they will allow you to keep the items coming either in the house or the garage. Since there is a hold back you don’t take possession or have the ability to use it for your items till that date. Since you were willing to do the hold back in the first place you probably have a better chance of them saying yes. Just make sure to have it in writing if they do agree and make note of the items going in.

As a member on one of the local real estate groups here in Gainesville,FL I wanted to invite anyone to join.

There have been several members in the group that have been interested in getting started with an Airbnb/VRBO and had lots of questions. Thanks to @Mark Robinson at Watson Realty we are going to have the Sept 8th meetup in the conference room at the Watson Realty office at 4516 NW 23RD Ave Gainesville, FL 32606.

We'll have a panel of people including me as someone who just put there first property up last week and came up with a ton of questions as well as Lorne Rodriguez from Keller Williams who has several properties and knows much more than I do. Make sure to bring your questions and hopefully some insight if you have any properties of your own.

Food/Drinks

Bring whatever food and drinks you'd like but there will be snacks for everyone to share.

Please RSVP so we know how many to expect.

P.S. If you'd like to be a member in the investor group this link should work. If not just get with me and ill get you in. [https://www.facebook.com/groups/gnvbpmeetup/?ref=share](https://www.facebook.com/groups/gnvbpmeetup/?ref=share)

When:Sept 8th at 6:00 pm

Where:Watson Realty Corp

4516 NW 23rd Ave

Gainesville, FL 32606

I can’t get the link to post on BP but feel free to send me a message on Facebook and I’ll get you added to the group. Make sure when you were typing in the group name you also add the comma. I think that may be the reason why it’s not popping up.