All Forum Posts by: Josh Green

-I plan on buying my first house hack in the Pinellas County area around winter time when hopefully prices drop a bit.

-I will reach my savings goal in September. No debt and good credit score.

Are there any steps I should take before I contact one? Also, how would I screen for a good one that has knowledge and can help provide guidance with house hacking?

We are looking for a great lender, preferably in the Tampa area, for a DSCR loan. Who do you recommend?

Hello all, we are very green in understanding tax strategies for STRs and we're trying to understand how/what STR tax deductions can be captured for primary residences.

Below I have posed a scenario to use as an example. Can you all provide your thoughts?

Scenario: If one is to buy a new home to use as a primary residence ( till say Jan 1 2025), fix it up and get it ready for STR use starting Jan 2025 while STRing the initial primary until Jan 1, 2025, then move back to the initial primary and fulltime STR the new property.. Can one take advantage of the tax deductions associated with rehab, appliances, furnishings, STR set up costs, etc) that were required to get the new property STR ready in Tax year 2025? Can one take depreciation from the income generated from the inirtial primary in tax year 2024?

Hi everyone - 

Im looking to buy my first investment property as a cash buyer.  I have talked to agents but have not found them all that useful.  I would like to offer without an agent on some deals I have found on my own both on Realtor.com and off market facebook groups  1) am I insane to try purchasing my first property without an agent? 2) Can someone help me with a template or system I need to follow for writing up my own offers?

Thank you in advance!

These are here to help you make better connections in the forums. It's ok to be new, but if you consider these five tips, you will get much better responses to your questions.

1. Writing too little or too much in a post looking for answers. There is a happy medium out there. If you write a novel, most of us won't read it because it's just too much. If you write too little, we have nothing to go on. Ask one question and tell everyone what you have done up to this point to get the answers. Also, give relevant information on rates, prices, square footage, etc.

2. Asking for a mentor without having anything to give. This is running rampant. It's great to get in the forums and look to make connections, but when you only put your hand out and ask for help and have nothing to give back, you are only going to get people who are going to pitch you. A few locals may reach out (more likely local agents), but you will never hear back if you hop on that call and only want to take from them.

3. Being fragile when you don't get the responses you want. If someone doesn't give you the answer you want and you clap back, your time in the forums will be short. Not because you will get removed but because you aren't open to advice. Sometimes, you will ask one question, but pros will have other questions to see if you are even asking the right question. Open forums aren't the best option if you are prone to fragility.

4. Asking questions without researching how often the same question has been asked. See "Should I start an LLC?" as an example. If you want to get the best responses, don't ask a question that has been asked a million times. Do your due diligence in the forums, looking for other answers, and use those to frame a better question.

5. Posting the same question in multiple forums. This is a definite no-no. Please stop. Pick one forum where your question makes the most sense. If it's a good question, we will find it. If you post the same question in several forums, we all know it's spam. You know it's spam. Don't spam.

If you are an experienced commenter here, let everyone know what you think of these to help them even more. Add some of your own.

If you are new, please use these to help yourself get better answers here.

Hello,

I am looking for recommendations for any local banks in the Orlando or Deltona, FL area that offer cash-out refinancing.

Thank you!

Hi everyone,

I am buying my first duplex to try house hacking. What is considered a good origination fee, because I am being charged 4.139%.  I find it quite high , am I correct?

Thanks

I have a few old properties (around 100 yrs old) in Tampa/St Pete that I am considering selling.  Initially wanted to hold forever but with insurance costs rising/property taxes going up/threats of Hurricanes destroying home, considering cashing out.  I have nice 3-4% rates but just fearful of a hurricane coming through and destroying the homes. 

I think I would reinvest in newer homes if possible.  Either here or out of state.  The 100 year old homes just worry me.

"They've lasted this long".  Yeah well, we are getting stronger and stronger hurricanes coming through and if I don't sell prior to house getting destroyed, would only get rebuilding costs from insurance.  Also, the insurance companies are fleeing Florida so I'm definitely not making as much as I would from selling while things are still good.

Talk me off the cliff or push me over please.

@Matt Smith, are you looking to purchase a single family or multi-family property in the Tampa Bay area? What makes you think that you will not qualify for anything? It would be a good idea to have a lender review everything to see what your options are. Happy to take a look for you. If everything lines up and you'd like to also discuss with an investor/ investor focused realtor, I recommend reaching out to @Josh Green. He is our local BiggerPockets expert in the area. 

Hello Everyone

My name is Adam and I am new to real estate investing, having started listening to the BP podcasts as well as reading some books over the past few months. I am planning on moving to the Tampa/St. Petes area in the late summer/early fall. I am a health professional, and currently in discussions with a few job prospects in Florida for a new position, but I have yet to sign a contract.

I am hoping to begin a buy and hold real estate portfolio through house-hacking. I’m ideally looking for a small multifamily property in the Tampa/St. Petersburg market, but I’m open to single family homes as well, if I can find a good deal. At this point I have enough saved up for a down payment and I am starting the process of acquiring financing through the investor-friendly lender tool on BP. I am not too familiar with the area but I would like to avoid lower class neighborhoods as to attract young professionals. I would appreciate any recommendations on desirable/up and coming locations and ones that best be avoided. I’m also looking to connect with investor-friendly lenders and agents in the area.

My short-term goals are to purchase one property a year for the next 3-5 years through house hacking but I am also interested in learning about and pursuing other strategies in real estate investing. I’d love to meet investors, agents, wholesalers and anyone in the Florida market willing to share any knowledge about investing in the area. Thank you!