All Forum Posts by: Matt Leber

@Wesley Piard Go Gators! My wife and I graduated from UF back in 2015. Multi family will always be competitive under a mile or two to campus. But if you can snag one that works you’ll have a property high in demand. Or you could check out single family homes close to campus. I know tons of people, including me, who shared a rental house with their friends while in school, paying rent by the bedroom. Maybe that’s your house-hack. Just buy a place where the numbers make sense when you’re in Gainesville and also if you move. Definitely doable while you’re in school. I wish I would have done it while I was there. Good luck!

@Kristofor Rahmas just be honest with the agent you are working with. We have found from experience that some agents are OK with showing properties in other counties, but they will have a much greater time commitment if they constantly have to drive over an hour+ at the drop of a hat to show you tons of properties. They also may not have the same expertise or access to the MLS in other counties. I'd say to just be speak with your local agent to tell them that you are an investor looking in other counties as well and see what they recommend. Hopefully your agent has worked with other investors and will have helpful advice. Most importantly, try to be respectful of their time as much as possible.

@John Szerdi my wife and I are investing in Brevard county as well. It is only 45 minutes - 1 hour away from our primary residence in Lake Nona, Orlando. We rent out a bedroom in our Orlando residence as a small scale house hack.

@Nicole Heasley it may not be a bad property to keep if you can breakeven and are in a hot area with growth potential. Rents could rise over time to improve the property’s outlook and tenant pool. However, if is not at least breakeven, your money can earn better returns elsewhere. Perhaps you can 1031 exchange into the multi family you are looking for. That will delay the taxes on the capital gains and allow you to plug your money into a better performing investment.

@Juan Alvarez getting in is always going to be better than sitting on the sidelines. There are still deals out there, and lots of opportunity to practice analyzing properties. If you buy a cash flowing property and the market dips, you will be sheltered by your positive cash flow and your ability to rent the property out. Also, it’s currently one of the most favorable times in history to obtain financing. I would encourage you to be active, some people become paralyzed by overthinking the market cycles and never get started. A deal is a deal no matter what the market is, as long as your numbers as accurate and work for you.

@JJ Lopez if your goal is to buy primarily for cash flow, and the numbers work for you then I wouldn’t not have jitters about the sale price. Hopefully the property has passed all inspections and the renovations that were done are quality work and done right. In my opinion, that work that the flipper has done will make this a quality property for you with less maintenance headaches. As long as the cash flow numbers work for you.

However, if you feel the renovations are mostly of the “lipstick on a pig” variety, maybe there is more cause for concern. Hopefully this sale price falls in line with other comps in your area.

If your goal is cash flow, you will be sheltered in the event of a market downturn as long as you are collecting your rents. Doesn’t matter if the property loses value because of a market slow down. All that equity is icing on the cake in my opinion. It will come back up. Don’t psyche yourself out about it, as long as the cash flow numbers work for you and it comps in price to similar properties. Good luck!

@Lindsey Spivey that's good that you have some intel on the other side. My wife and I have two single families that we bought in the last 3 years in Port St John and West Melbourne. Multis are hard to find in Brevard County on the MLS especially during this market run. Low inventory and high competition. There seems to be more of them in Titusville, although rent growth seems to lag behind a bit there.

@Lindsey Spivey are you investing in Cocoa, FL? I have a couple properties in Brevard County (I used to love and work there) and I feel like you may be able to find something with a bit more upside than a half duplex in that price range. However, if you can get it for ~$80k it certainly wouldn’t be a bad deal.

I personally wouldn’t buy a half duplex just because I would want to control the other half as well. You never know how the owner next door will take care of their side and you don’t have much say in it. But a deal is a deal if the numbers work. And if it’s a desirable part of town then even better.

Good to see another investor with roots in Brevard! Good luck!

@Nicholas Blaylock set some criteria (beds, baths, single family, multi family, sq footage, area, etc) for what you want to invest in and get in touch with an agent in your preferred area and have them set you up with automatic email alerts for properties that fit your criteria. That way you can start analyzing properties now and start to learn the market that you plan to be active in. The better you know the market and the better you can run the numbers, the easier it will be for you to quickly spot deals when you are ready to make offers. It is definitely possible to start with $7k. The small steps like contacting an agent and practicing your analysis will lead to the ability to make the bigger decisions confidently, like making offers. Good luck!

@Eric D. Your tenants are paying it down for you, so you should rest assured in investing your savings to generate more money for you. Of course it depends on your strategy, but I would say invest it as long as you can make a better return than the 5.125% with that money.