All Forum Posts by: Michael Haynes

Hello Brian, The history of this goes back twenty years to the Mayor Ferlita when they admitted that they could not read all the meters in the City every month. What they do is to get the first one or two bills and then that is what they will charge you for months at a time when they don't read the meters. After Ferlita the next two Mayors made an affort to put on a couple more meter readers and it became apparent that the Utility Department and the Solid Waster Department were not making any money. They tried to go private with Solid Waste for a year and it was a mess and went back to the City. They refused to give notice to late Utility or Water bills for many years and not if you are one day late you get a yellow notice. But, you could be behind lots of money if they just then read the meter and added up what they did not charge and this month is late and you are moving out and will not pay the next month as you are being evicted etc. I had one that was six months late and they moved and were not charged. That you were current when you closed does not matter. That means that the mess that is happening starts there. Mine were up to five years in arrears and the Statute is 48 months and they still want to see if I am so stupid as to bend over and pay the thousands of back water bills from deadbeat tenants in Tampa. Remember, everybody I had in the 2008 Crash of our Economy lost their JOB's in two days or were cut back on hours at MacDonalds or would not pay this months rent to save for a Deposit for the move. I had two Evictions a week for months. So, starting from today you still have to contact the one lady who takes care of these records. She will send you the name and address and amounts owed and dates that they were not paid. Then, you match that up to a signed Lease  and put them in a list and call her to send that list with the copies of the Leases and show that the bills are not yours and you have proof that you were not living there or in possession. If they moved and you did not change the bill then you owe those days when you left the water on to clean up the apartment etc. If the lady does not move then call her manager and set up a conference call with your Rental Manager or Lawyer. They have to take off what is proven to not be your use of the water. OK? If not get back and maybe we can email or talk. Michael

Hello Brian Crowe. You sound like a Rental Property Investment Group? You bought duplexes in Tampa Code 26-36 at our Utilities Department which is Water and Sewer. I look at messages about Tampa in Bigger Pockets and I have not researched enough to know if there is a FAQ Section that has these requring concerns with Code etc. We need one as I only answer these kinds of questions. I sold a 12 year Rental House, 3/1/5 that I worked on by myself for 9 months, in May for an $80,000 Profit that I will use my CarryForward Deductions to make it Tax-free. I found that in my Title Search that there were 7 Liens for past Water bills that were due. No one knows or wants to know what these are and how to deal with them here in Tampa. I use Stewart Title which is the only company in Tampa that is also the Title Insurance Company. My Sale needed approval by the next Mortage Company and they will not until those Liens are removed by the Utility Department. I needed a solution quick. In your case you may have used Cash or Hard Money or Investors Money or something that did not bring up the Liens and stop the Sale. Now, your stuck. You need to go to the Utility Department site. Open the two rules for Code Section 26-36. The one will show you what their Legal Department defines as their Right to charge the Owner for Tenants past Water Bills. The second will show you that they have a 4 Year Statute of Limitations which they will never obey. The next step is to call and find the lady who is responsible for this problem. I don't remember her name and number. You have to call and call and demand for the Manager if they stall until you get the contact person. Then, you have to prove that you were not the occupant of the duplex at the times of the unpaid bills. That means you have to have the signed Leases and maybe a Rental Manager contract to send her. She will give you printed readout of the dates and amount owed and you match them to the Tenants that were occupying each duplex apartment at that date. Once documented with an amount that you agree to because of the dates you have to get her to do her JOB. One probem is that you can have one Apartment that went vacant for a month or two while it was beging cleaned etc. and then rented again, but, Water and Sewer stayed on in the old Tenants name who didn't pay the bill for three months and moved. The City does not care to change their Code and only wants to get whomever ends up with the Lien to pay for the Deadbeats bills. So, it is "Divide and Conquer." It is a one on one, individual basis that they choose to do this Scam. The City of Tampa does not give a Hoot about us. You live in CA. You know what a nightmare downtown LA and SF are. I grew up in Palo Alto. When you get frustrated with the lady if she does not work this out for you and give you an official letter of Forgiveness, you have to call the Manager. I ended up with Stewart Title guy on a Conference Call with the Manager and the Lady to get a promise that the letter of Forgiveness was in the mail so I could make my Closing date. I hope that is enough. 

Hello Nikolay Izmerli, The manager at the Boston Market that I eat at lives in Riverview where you did that restyle. He says that it is exploding with Restaurants on the major roads and Commercial corners. He would like to buy some lots and keep them for later appreciation. A lady we know who works for the County was trying to buy a new home in Riverview off of the I75 Highway where the big developments are going up, two years ago. She would call at 8AM the day that a new one went up For Sale and there would already be two or more offers on the house. There are new, two story homes going up all over Hillsborough County which raise the value of the land by creating more Demand. Square footage costs to Build are standard. Do you know the "Starbucks Affect?" They say that within a mile of a new Starbucks, that the land values go up 10%. That just makes the neighbors mad, because next year their property taxes might go up. When you look in a neighborhood to buy a house to rehab, you don't want to end up being the biggest and most valuable one on the block. I think Carleton Sheets said that the Profit should be when you Buy and not when you Sell. The fixing up part may just raise the Cost to Sell the amount that you put into the project. We get impressed with those Television Shows that make it seem soooo easy. Do you know how many of them are Crooks? Same thing with The Art of the Deal. You get your Profit when you Buy if it is not a long term Hold. Too many of the Newbies I have talked with, think that the Book Learning that they have done and all the Numbers Formulas are the things that make money in Real Estate. They insisit that this must be true because all the Big Guys are doing it this way and they make tons of money. Really? What about the Taxes when you Sell? I am going to Rio at the end of the month and get back with all my properties down there to fix back up to Sell in two years or more, when they climb out of their biggest Recession in history. First one to go is my small farm that I want to develop and not just raise some cattle and spend the weekends out on the farm. Top of the R.E. Cycle to Sell. I can transfer the money, Tax-free, if I buy something else within 90 days. Kinda like our 1031 Exchange program. I am moving 2500 miles North of Rio. I will be looking for Apartments and Houses in the City, as close to the beaches as possible, to fix up to Rent and have some Airbnb's. I will be Buying for Cash and looking to make some Deals and do the work with a Handyman. I want a quieter City with lots of beaches and its Summer or Spring all year round with only a Wet or Dry Season and a shorter plane ride from Miami. If you are doing one at a time, you need to find ways to squeeze every cent of Profit from your Deals. 

Hello Nikolay, I had rentals in S. Tampa for 30 years. I am selling what I have left and looking in other areas. What I have seen in the North to South Tampa areas is that you can Buy a New Home, 3/2 with Garage for $250,000 or less. The area I am looking at for bigger lots and cheaper prices is North of Brandon Blvd. where you can get the same, almost New Home for under $200,000. So, I figured that the Builders are in the same place they were six years ago. They need to find a Tear Down Lot to Build for no more than $120,000 to build a Home and sell it for up to $250,000. My neighbor just finished building six Town Homes on W. Bay and S. Dale Mabry and sold them for up to $260,000. He started at $230,000. He offered me $330,000 for my half acre on a corner at Dale Mabry and Interbay Blvd. two years ago to build eight Town Homes to come back with a counter offer after he sold his six Town Homes. So, my question is why would anyone buy a 3/2 rehab house for over $200,000 when you can Buy a brand new one for no more than $250,000? Seven years ago my lawyer was buying the up to $120,000 houses, South of Gandy Blvd. to reahab and Flip and he would go through the Holding Period to the point where he was forced to Rent. Then, he would find another and same result until he had his new $450,000 home just South of Gandy and six rehab houses that he could not sell fast enough and had to rent. Then, he died at 58 with no previous signs of serious health problems. My example is just what I see as the competition that one would have to be a successful Flipper in Hillsborough County. When I look at a property I first find out what the Comp is for the Vacant Lot. Then, add on $100 per square foot for new construction value. Then, make the list of things that need to be fixed or replaced like a roof that is more than ten years old or you will not be able to get a Mortgage. Deduct the rehab costs from the new square footage cost and deduct another 10% for an offer, if you really think it is worth your effort. The other way used to be to find out what it would Rent for...the Rent Value is one percent of the Sale Value without the rehab. What I understood by your report, was that you are paying Retail for everything. That seems to be a very expensive way to do a Flip. The other thing is that Trump changed the amount of Deductions you can take off in your Business, in the first year. I think he made it 80% of the Costs to Rehab? I don't see what you do with the leftover 20%? Carryback/Carryforward? I don't know how that affects the Builders, but, I am told that Builders work on a 20% Profit Margin. All that work for 20%? I was looking at Robert Kiyosaki videos the other night and he said he owns 10,000 Rentals! Being a small time, burned out Landlord for 30 years, I can't imagine the work involved to maintain all those properties. And what is going to happen in the next Downturn, when half of his Tenants lose their JOB's all at the same time? All I can think is, "The Bigger they are, The Harder they Fall." Good luck with St. Petersburg.

Hello Calvin Raab. You have the right idea. The Threads on BP seem to all go with "the Numbers." Like "Cookie Cutter Formulas to Success." I learned from Carleton Sheets who started here on Davis Island in Tampa, Florida. He wrote "Low and No Money Down Real Estate." He had the longest running infomercial on TV and his trick was that you could fly him to any big City in the USA and he would be able to buy a House for No Money Down within 3 days or so. I am not that good, but, I did most of my Duplexes and Houses for 30 years in Tampa with $10,000 Down and Owner Financing. It's like you want to be shown how to be a good Horse Trader? Is there really a Course out there that I can take to find and make Good Deals that make Positive Cash Flow? It's like Buying and Selling Notes. Go take Jimi Napier's Course and see what a Real Life Horse Trader is like. He talks like a Flim Flam Man, but, has no Fear of Notes and Financing. He knows them inside and out and knocks the socks off of all this talk about Buy and Hold R.E. Just like the Commercial Real Estate Club over in Clearwater with some other guys who write the Books, like "How to Make a Million with Trailers and Trailer Parks," which we have in abundance over in St. Petersburg. Just learn how to Git Her Done, guys.

Hello Matt Huss. You are an Agent here in Tampa and you think you want to buy multi-family to rent to College jocks? Are you crazy? Have you been up to Suitcase City north of Fletcher and seen the Dorms and Apartments? When I started out with BP I got into a big conversation with a very successful lady who specialized in College Renters North of San Francisco. She had a specific Target Market with Specific Rules for Medical Student Renters at a couple of Universities. The reason is that she did not want to get into what we have here in Tampa. Did you ever rent to College girls or guys? You either get an endless stream of guys coming over for the girls or guys setting up a Frat House and binge drinking etc. One funny thing about the guys is that they would rather buy a new pair of socks than take their dirty clothes to the laundry. They end up throwing all the dirty socks etc. on the floor until they are Evicted or just move on. I had one smart *** group with a safe as large as a double door refrigerator, full of dope that they were selling to the guys at Tampa U. downtown, where all the spoiled, rich kids go. 24 hour drinking between classes with "Holier than Thou," attitudes because mommy and daddy were paying all the bills and they all had fancy, new cars etc. It took about three months and the SWAT Team showed up and busted everyone. Moms and dads showed up, all of them in shock and crying. Local kids who went to Catholic School and they ruined their whole lives. The cops dragged out the safe and used the jaws of life to open the damned thing which was full of dope and cash. I did not have to Evict that group, but, the cops broke the door down and there was wall to wall junk and clothes in the two story house. The successful lady in Northern California said that with Medical students you get serious students who go to class and come home to study for years to get through all their courses. She gets the parents of these students who are serious about getting a real Profession and not just a 2 Year Degree in finger painting or Social Studies to sign the Leases with First, Last and Security Deposits. Without First, Last and Security you are out on of luck on any Rental, when they tell you they need more time this month to pay the rent...You lose this months rent waiting for them to find a way. You lose next months rent as they will not pay when you RUN to file Eviction and they get Personal Service Notication. You lose another month waiting for the Judge to process the case. And you could lose up to 3 more months if they file a letter of any kind without paying what is owed, telling the Judge that they just need more time to move out as they are full time Art Students and they lost their part time JOB at the Domino's Pizza store. That is all the while as they continue to party hardy and have endless traffic and cars to the house. One thing about the Threads at BP is that I wish they had all the basic stuff on a FAQ list that the Newbies could look up and then start asking specific questions about the area of interest and place they are looking to invest in. This Thread could have been in an Archived link for Quadplexes...which we did not build in Tampa. As an Agent you should know that Rental Houses in Tampa have almost never made Positive Rents. That is why there are so many Flippers. You have to say which school you want to Target to rent to and see what type of houses or duplexes or quads or apartments they might have in that area. Then, the Archived link for "College Rentals." What type of students go to USF up there in "Suitcase City?" Do you know that the Univesity has Apartment complexes around there that they put up iron fences around the complexes and hired Security to guard the premises because of all the drugs and crime? Then a specific Archive on different types of Rentals linking you to Tampa specific rents which would point you to everything South of Kennedy Blvd. and Seminole Heights which would show you that we only built for the Military personel coming home after WWII. We did not build Duplexes and Quads and Apartments until later and now we have an incredible explosion of building Town Homes, blocks of Apartments and Office Buildings in Tampa. The West Coast of Florida is something to be seen. Do you know Trinity? That means Three. The Builders bought whole cattle Ranches for a length of ten miles alone Hwy 54 and they are building three, completely, new Cities up there called Trinity. It's like they planned this 20 years ago with the thought of the Demogrphics of the Baby Boomers retirement Wave that is happening and Everybody is going to want to move to the warm Southern States. One Builder said that he stopped building Town Homes three years ago and to keep his Team busy, he is building blocks of Apartments. Your an Agent in Tampa. Why would you want to get involved with Rentals and worse yet, Rentals to College Students? Do you own your own Home? Do you know you can sell it Tax-free after two years out of five of residence, Tax-free? Do the math. I see these Million Dollar Sales shows on TV from New York and California with all those very weird Sales Agents making tons of Commissions and I want to know if your a good Sales person, why don't you just do what they do and go to all the parties with the rich guys and politicians who live on Beach Park or Davis Island and Westchase North? Do you know the President of the Mayor's Development Council? Do you attend the meetings? Are you a member of the Good Ole Boys Club in Tampa? Do you know Real Estate Cycles? The time to Buy was in 2008...not now. I was talking to my Banker from 30 years ago who got me my first loan to start buying duplexes in S. Tampa for my long term Rental Portfolio. Because I am Retired and I don't have a JOB, I was telling him that I cannot get approval to even move into a 55 and older manufactured Home Park. I have Cash and Cash Flow, but, no Income from a JOB. He said that the Real Estate Bubble from 2008 has started again as Suntrust Bank is now offering No Doc Loans up to $100,000. Like I may be able to get a Signature Loan when I sell my current Residence at the end of this year...Tax-free. I rented it for ten years and am living in it until I sell and I plan to make $50,000 Tax-free. I sold one in May for $80,000 and paid off most of the rest of my Debt from the 2008 Crash. I found that you can Buy a New Home or Like New for $50,000 less than a New one in Tampa, if you move just 20 miles outside of the City Center. If you look on a Zillow map, which all the Agents absolutely hate...and you had Cash or Pre-Qualified with Cash such as the No Doc Loan, there are so many Foreclosures out there to do in nice, quiet areas without all the bums and prostitutes and traffic and sirens. You just have to stay out of the Flood or possible Flood Zones. I am willing to move 20 miles out of town to be on a hill without any possible flooding and find a single lot with a fixer upper to do, like I have done for 30 years and move into it for my next Tax-free sale of my Residence within the next five years. BRRR or whatever, but, blocks of Apartments with a Partner? "The only way to make a Business is with a Partner and the worst kind of Business to get into is with a Partner." That's why I think small and make Daily Cash Flow on my laptop trading Futures out of my Roth IRA. Like that guy on the radio says, "Wake UP America!."

Hello Daniel Sherman. I have had Rentals in S. Tampa for 30 years and never heard of anyone using borrowed Hard Money to buy a $485K House to Rehab and Flip. Just sounds crazy to me, unless you are a builder and your buying the property for half the Retail Value. When you Buy Real Estate, the Profit is supposed to be Up Front. Not on the backside after you take all the Risk and try to Flip it. Your Time Frame is 12 months and you cannot count on this High in the R.E. Market to continue that long without Trump. Do you know the new Tax Rule for Deducting the Expenses of Rehabbing a house to Flip? I think that Trump changed it to only allow you to Deduct 80% of your Expenses. The Flippers here in S. Tampa have slowed down in the last three years. The Builder I heard recently, said that for more than two years he is not building Spec Homes and is keeping his crews busy building these huge Apartment blocks that are going up all over town. Do you have a Crew? There are no Licensed Contractors available in Tampa with any time to do any work. I went looking in April for a Licensed Contractor Handyman for the 3/1.5 Rental house I sold in May. That was a 12 year rental, down near the AFBase and I made $80,000. I have a half acre on a corner, just off of the major highway, leading into the AFBase at Dale Mabry and Interbay Blvd. and I talked with the Plans Development Department about doing a Joint Venture to build ten Town Homes there. They told me that was the last thing I should get involved with because I would be, "taking on all of the Risk." They said I should just continue to keep it listed and Sell outright. That sounds like what you are doing and doing it with Hard Money that has a short time line? At the Top of the R.E. Market? With an Election coming? The Tax Rule is against you and you are not a Builder? 

Hello Logan Briggs. After being a Landlord in S. Tampa for 30 years and going through three Bubble Economies, the third being the biggest Depression and loss of property values in our History, I would say Sell. You would be able to Sell as your Residence and take up to $250,000 Profits, Tax-free. Have you ever made Tax-free Profits? Read up on BiggerPockets on how to be a House Hacker. The worst thing you can do is be a Landlord. The second is to be an Absentee Landlord. Did you ever see "The Gambler" movie? Everybody wants the "American Dream." That does not mean that we all have to be Millionaires. In the movie, John Goodman played a Gangster and tells Mark Walhberg, who is a risk taking, Gambler, that he needs to learn a basic lesson. He needs to learn, "the bleep bleep Factor." That means that you have a paid off place to live and a way to make Money, on your own. Then, there is no Bank or Boss or Government telling you how you can live your life. Take the Tax-free Profits and dump them in a new Residence here in Tampa where you say you will be working for a living. After living in that Home for two years and if the R.E. Market holds up because of the "Trump Affect," you can Sell that Residence for More Tax-free Profits. If Rental Properties are not your main Profession, then, all you need in one Residence and one Rental to move into next. That is the Freedom we are offered by the current Tax Rules and no one teaches the Millenials anything about this. You can learn how to Invest and fund a Roth IRA and just buy the REITS, etc. that pay 10% Dividends if you want to participate in the R.E. Market.

Hello David. You bought a property in what I have considered "the War Zone" for thirty years until this wave of "Gentrifying" occurred with the Highway development and all the attention to High Rise building downtown etc. You should never invest in a property that you would not live in. There is only one way to solve this property management problem that you describe...that is you have to collect a First, Last and one months Deposit up front. The reason is that the tenants on the East side of I275...Ybor City...will always start to fall short on the rent. I have lived with "Excuses" for thirty years with Tenants in Tampa. It's always the same Cycle leading to Eviction. The first month they are short. The second month you don't get paid. They are really saving up the Deposit to just move and you are playing Bank for them by not Evicting immediately. So, you lost a little on the first month or two and then you lose the whole month when they begin to squat with endless excuses and fighting and lost sleep for you. We used to be able to Evict with 9 working days until a wave of Liberal Judges came to Tampa. Now, it takes up to 90 days IF you Post the Three Day Notice AND have a Witness sign the Notice or take a picture of the letter on the front door. The reason is that there is one female Judge downtown who says that she does not believe that you posted a Three Day Notice without proof!. Then, fill out all the forms and run them down to the Clerks Office and follow through with the next two steps on time with the Sheriff who will also take their time to Post the Eviction and then make sure they are evicted. I suggest a private Service Agent to Post immediately. There is no way to collect late rents or damages etc. with Small Claims, so, forget that. If you want to be in the Landlording business, then, your only way to make sure your covered when the first month the Deadbeats slow down or stop paying rent, is to have the Three Months Rent up front and that is absolutely impossible here in Tampa. Who do you know in Tampa that has $3000 up front to move into another rental, including all the Deposits for Light, Water, Cable, Cellphone etc. Who? The majority of people here in Tampa make no more than $10 an hour. My 3/1 Rentals and Duplex apartments in S. Tampa rented for up to $1000 a month. It used to be that the people who could afford to pay more than $1000 a month would be the ones that were looking to Buy a Home because it was cheaper to pay a mortgage. They had the Education, they had the Trades, they had the small Businesses. You won't get those types renting a D house in the War Zone. Landlording is the worst business in the world. I always thought that when I have ten rental properties that I bought correctly enough to start with positive Cash Flow from the day one, that I could hire one handy guy to run them and keep on looking for more. I always planned to Retire with my small Portfolio of Rental properties in the best area of S. Tampa and the Government took almost all of them away with the 2008 Crash in the Economy. All my Tenants at that time got shortened hours of work, they were not paid on Friday and most of them just lost their JOB's and started to squat. If you don't have ambitions to be a real, full time Landlord, then just dabbling in the rental business with one or a few houses in Tampa is a nightmare. That's why there are Flippers. You eliminate the biggest problem with owning Rentals...the Deadbeat Tenants. The problem with Flipping is that Trump lowered the amount of Deductions you can take with the Sale of the Fixer Upper House to 80%. I don't know what Flippers do with the 20% of Expenses that they could not Deduct up front. You also have to have a Team and know how to find properties to fix up at lower than Wholesale prices. I am selling the remaining Rentals now, at the top of the Market Cycle with good profits after holding them for at least ten years as rentals. I sold one a year for three years profiting $100K, $150K and $80K. All were Tax-free as I am using the Carry Forward Deductions that I have from losing 5 properties to Short Sales where I got Letters of Forgiveness from the Banks and one was my Residence. It will be my Plan going forward to just be a House Hacker. If you live in your Rental for two years, you can sell it Tax-free for up to $250K. The end of this year I am selling another Residence and planning to make $50K for a 10 year Rental that I moved into for two years. I have the next Rental ready to move into when I Sell and I will be looking for a Fixer Upper to get ready for the move after that. If you are Smart, you will look for ways to Work Less. Rentals ain't it. I also trade Futures in my Roth IRA...Tax-free. You have REITS that made the biggest gains this year over the S&P. The Real Estate Cycle is normally 7 to 9 years. We are at a 10 Year Top...I say that is because of the Trump Affect. How much longer do you think this will last?

@Jack Hensy, Hello again from Tampa. It's not that the next downturn will be just in Tampa. We had a blog a couple of months ago where an example was given for Flippers having to lower their Sale Price $10K for each increment in the raise of the Interest Rate for Mortgages to keep things the same for the Buyers to be able to afford to Buy. I'm not that good with RE Math and all the Alphabet symbols that you guys use to evaluate a particular property, but, you can look on Zillow at the Zestimate graph for properties in S. Tampa and see that the lines for Tampa, S. Tampa where all the Builders are working furiously to build New Homes and any particular address South of Downtown Tampa are going Flat. My lawyer has seven properties in S. Tampa that he fixed up to Flip and when you don't Sell in a Month, you have to Rent. He said that he was seeing Flippers having trouble Selling their fixer uppers six months ago. In the neighborhood down near the AFBase where I have a Rent Ready house at 6804 S. Hesperides, that I have spent six months repairing, there are ten houses within two blocks, For Sale and none of them have Flyers in front, or do Open Houses on the weekends and none of them has Sold. This is like driving around the shopping malls and Home Depots on the weekends to see if the parking lots are full of people Buying things and is the Economy growing or not. What we have in front of us is Stagflation. You can try to Buy Duplexes in the Path of Progress and Hope for some Appreciation in the value of the property over the next ten to twenty years, but, look at Reality. Do you know any Millenials or younger people with MONEY?