All Forum Posts by: Mariel DeVito

I'm not exactly sure if I am posting in the right forum but I'll ask anyway.  I stumbled into a 1.25 acre vacant land in an up and coming city.  I cannot build on the land as per zoning (which I am verifying tomorrow).  Two potential ideas: (1) keep as hidden storage area for RVs or (2) Airbnb as campsite.  The problem I have is that I can't offer water or electricity on the property.  Is this even a viable idea?  The property is listed as $19,900 but has been in the market forever so I'd offer $14,900.  This said, I see an investment opportunity even if I rented the RV storage for $100-150 per month or a nightly campsite at $30-50.  Note that the vacant lot is in a residential area so it'll be more like giving someone rights to park on my land versus 'storing' it.  Thoughts?

Oh - location is in Florida.

@Cynthia Ourfalian First, I think it's wise to invest outside of LA and use your money in out of state investments. Second, I am curious to know why and how you have chosen your locations. I used to live in SoCal and now live in NE FL. There are so many things to factor when picking a place to invest. One misconception I'm learning from out of state investors coming into Florida, for example, is getting beachside properties. It's beautiful to look at and all but the maintenance and insurance required to have a beachside rental eats away at your profit, not to mention the county/city fees and requirements if doing STR. You also have to look at the competition. Is it over saturated like Orlando where hotels are now trying to compete at lower rates and/or with additional perks with their nightly rental, etc.? I highly recommend knowing your WHY first before diving in. Good luck!

I am curious to know what the reasons are for the PM to even question your request.  I can see negotiating to reason but if you have done the research and it supports it, then it sounds to me that you might need a new PM or new tenants.

@Evelyn Kislig count me in.  I work in the area.  I can meet after work hours.

@Manny Garcia $356 per month as cashflow is too thin for me.  Your estimated costs are great to start BUT as I've seen the market in Florida, insurance costs, for example, jumped unexpectedly to more than I'd like.  I think it's personal preference on how much you think cashflow is "good".  At $356, it will take a while before I get my money back from the down payment.  Yes, the more properties you get, the more cashflow but you also increase your potential financial hit should costs rise.  $356 is not in my comfort zone.  Again, it's personal preference.  I started out with one property barely making over $100.  I kept it for 14 months until I decided to sell it and profited 100K+.  My other properties are cash flowing between $300-$1050 per month each.  This is more my zone.  Note: I've only been investing in the last two years.

@Jonathon Moore I would first start by going to your local city/county to see if there are any rent restrictions on rent prices and if the property even allows for LTR/STR. Unlike CA, rent costs are not restricted so really, any landlord can charge whatever they want for their property. As others may have varying opinion, I personally would stay out of mobile homes as an investment based on cost of repairs, future financing and ability to resale.

@Ryan Bird you can ask but how do you know they're telling the truth?  My advise is to invest in an electronic application so they can pull the information you need on credit history and criminal records.  I use zillow rental.  The applicant pays the fee to use it.  This way, it doesn't put you in an awkward situation.  If after looking at the data you still have questions, then you can interview.  I wouldn't interview up front, hoping to eliminate and then have them formally apply.  I also wouldn't trust what they say unless it is backed up by some sort of evidence.

@Ryan Dostart hi there! we moved to the area a couple of years ago from CA.  In this window, I have met a variety of management companies and have interviewed some.  New PM companies continue to sprout as well.  I highly recommend interviewing them and ask them what they will do for you.  It is typical to pay half month's rent up front and about 10% of rent thereafter.  However, I am now finding ones that will charge the full first month and 10+% monthly.  If you plan to have them manage multiple ones, I highly recommend negotiating that %.  I have yet to find a PM that has rated highly in the area.  With exception of one (which I will transition to me soon), I manage my own investment properties.  We rehab/update our own investments and ensure that we do a thorough job with our property and thus have not received tenant calls related to the property (e.g. electrical, plumbing, etc.).    As an out of state buyer, beware listings that say they are turn key or move in ready.  We bought one of those and it cost us about $8k electrical work.  Our inspector also missed big items (e.g. open/exposed wall behind the refrigerator and the bathroom mirror).  My husband and I are fixing up a recently acquired property now and he is shaking his head on how lose Florida building codes are in comparison to California.

@Travis Hammonds I moved to the area a little over two years ago from California.  It was a bit of a culture shock for me...in a good way.  To develop relationships, the locals generally have southern influences.  They're friendly, enjoy good conversations, like their sweet tea and an affordable home to raise their kids and retire from.  This said, my opinion is that you should have a balance of winning both sellers and buyers.  You have to be on top of your A game as it is a very competitive agent market here.  I am not an RE agent but my goal is to be one to help myself in my investing as it has been difficult to find RE professionals who meet the textbook requirement of what a realtor should be doing for me as a customer. Hang out in local places and meet locals to start building your roots in Florida.  Good luck!

@Pedro Duarte as novel as your idea may be, the locals are not happy that investors are taking real estate from them and increasing rent costs.