All Forum Posts by: Marelyn Valdes

@Joao Cappellano , I have never been to a cash advance - they charge horrible rates of interest.  If you can find owner financing, make sure to have a real estate attorney go over the paperwork before you sign anything.  Get  Lowe's and Home Depot cards and try to buy when they are running promo financing and buy supplies (like paint at Lowe's for the 4th has a $45 rebate on 5 gal. and they are running 12 and 18 month financing.  Kitchen cabinets are 25% off, too).  I am the queen of oops paint for rentals if it's a neutral color ($30 for 5 gal, at Lowes).  I used my home equity to buy several homes for cash.  I don't have verifiable income since I make most of it from rentals, which makes it hard for me to get hard money financing.  If you do buy and decide to flip, I would NEVER do owner financing in Florida.  It is a long and expensive process to repo a house.  I also bought a couple of mobile homes to fix and rent, so you might look into one if you find a real bargain (on land - not in a park).

I just sold one SFH in Ocala (cash) and am in the middle of getting 2 others ready to sell. One was a rental for several years and the other was an ugly house in a good neighborhood that needed about $30,000 in repairs and upgrades. So far, I have had neighbors and people driving past stop and ask my guys if they are for sale or rent, so the market is pretty hot now and renters are online begging for SFH's, especially if you accept pets. You just have to jump on any bargain as soon as you hear about it. I have even used credit card checks to get funds (they charge 3 - 4% fee for 12 - 18 months of 0% interest) and buy supplies at Lowes and Home Depot when they are running 0% financing promos. One of my subcontractors told me he has people who lend money to investors, but they charge higher interest than I am willing to pay.

I would make sure to do a thorough check of the condition of the buildings.  I buy storage unit contents once in awhile and some places have rats, leaks, vermin, etc.  Even the newer large storage facility by me (I was renting a unit) replaced their flat roofs and the sloppy roofers caused leaks in many of the units, damaging some of the contents.  They also had a small rat problem (rats entered in open empty units and scampered across the tops between units (they were very quick to put out rat poison).  If you are looking at a fenced in with security pad entrance and have some vacant land inside, you might rent space for RV's, boats, trailers, etc.

I have won a few tax certificates in Florida and make a point not to bid on any properties that are homestead.  Also, I go through the history of the property - some owners let it go to a certificate auction and pay off the certificates in a few months or every single year.  Be sure to check the properties out before you bid because some aren't worth owning and you will never get your money back (they owe more on back certificates than the property is worth and haven't paid in years).

I would look into doing a 1031 exchange    https://www.ipx1031.com/firptain1031/

I have done FSBO on a few homes, but recently put a remodeled DW MH on 1/4 acre up as a FSBO at $79,900 (which would include a new metal roof for full price offer) and 3% broker protected on a sale. I got over 1,000 lookers and got tired of "is it for rent?", "Will you hold the mortgage or is it rent to own?" After a couple of months, I found the best MH realtor in Ocala and she listed it at $82,900 and after less than a month it's under contract for a cash sale at $70,000 - with no new roof. She also had financing options available for MH's, which I do not, so in this case it was much better to use a realtor and I will use her again when I decide to sell my other rental MH.

https://www.primerus.com/business-law-articles/a-warning-to-investors-in-florida-superior-liens-survive-foreclosure-sales.htm

The mortgage holder's lien will not be wiped out by the HOA lien, so you need to make sure there is no mortgage on the property.

I have won auctions on Hubzu and Tranzon-Driggers and with an auction company you get free and clear title with title insurance.  I usually get outbid, but once and awhile I actually win (you need to sit at the computer during the auction to keep bumping your bid, which extends the auction).  The ones I have won needed a lot of cosmetic work - never one that was ready to sell/rent and just needed a little paint.

https://evictionlawyerflorida.com/removing-unwanted-persons-tax-deed-sale/

@Marshall White - no, I don't charge any termination fee, but do charge for days needed for cleaning or if they move out after the rent due date (we aren't required to prorate rent in FL).  Most of my tenants get all or part of their deposits back.  Florida law does have an early termination addendum you can do at the signing of the rental agreement - http://www.nolo.com/sites/default/files/FL_EarlyTermination_LiquidatedDamagesLeaseAdden.pdf

I let tenants out of the lease early (charge them rent until a new tenant is found, which usually doesn't take more than a few days in Ocala) because I have found the tenant will trash the place or do damage if they don't have any expectation of getting back all or part of their security deposit.  As for pets, if you don't accept pets they tend to just "find" a stray dog or cat and decide to keep it.  For me, it's better to get a nonrefundable pet fee.