All Forum Posts by: Jack Bobeck

I posted this in another AirBNB thread, the City of Jacksonville is looking harder at AirBNB with the new City Council President in office. 

Looks like they will report their "findings" by April 2019, if not sooner. 

@Avi Pasternak This article just came out about Murray Hill. You can also view the local sales data here at the NEFAR website. As far as best, I work in neighborhoods 5 minutes from my Avondale house. I don't need to go to the beach or Arlington, everything I can do there, I can do within 5 minutes of my house. 

I know you are an investor, so you need to decide which neighborhood is for you, then work around it. There is no right or wrong answer. I know great landlords that hold dozens of properties in 32206 and 32208, but that is not for me. I'd rather pay a bit more, get a better tenant, and see more appreciation. But it works differently for different people. 

Happy to help you though from afar. My wife and I have worked with investors all over the world and most recently from Miami. 

@Simon Collins A Good Realtor will have all those connections for you. Those that have been in the market, sold land to developers, have a long list of handymen and tradesmen, they have it all for you. One Stop Shopping. 

Find a good Realtor and treat them like family. Its all you need. 

@Avi Pasternak You can see what properties rent for on average at rentometer.com, I use that site to get an idea of rent. As for properties sitting, well some of that has to do with greedy landlords and other factors like house condition. There are a lot of properties now on the market too as people see 2019/2020 as maybe a recession, meaning we are peaking in the real estate market. I have rentals in 32205, Murray Hill area, which is on fire right now. 

My wife and I have purchased and flipped 20+ homes and she has sold 353 homes (on her own) and over 500 with partners, during her time as a Realtor in Jacksonville. I would choose a strong up and coming community that will appreciate better in the long term. 

Depending on where the property is located in 32218 would be a judgement call on its value. Learn more about values in any zip code using this tool.

Orlando and Miami are destination cities. They have strong tourism and will always be destinations people fly to, from around the world. Tampa and Jax are similar, they try and duplicate what Orlando and Miami offer, but are not quite the mass destination cities, UNLESS it is specialized. Lots of cruises go out of Tampa and Jax, you have more cities around Tampa (Clearwater, St. Pete, Sarasota) and its a destination for retirees down to Naples and Marco. Jax has great medical facilities (20% of local GDP) and is the #1 destination in FL for golfers. World Golf Village and PGA Tour located in the area. Flights between Atlanta and Jax are always full. Jax is also a great boating destination.

In the August 10, 2018 Jax Business Journal, they ran on Page 3 a great infographic. 92.5% of homes in the Jacksonville market kept their value compare this to 56.4% in Miami. Jax is a steady market and with unemployment below 3% in the city, a strong market too. 

A few things to share:

• As stated above, be careful with AirBNB, there is a new Committee that was formed by the new City Council President to look into taxing for AirBNBs. The City wants their fair share, so keep abreast of the changes.
• Rents, never assume you can get 12 months of rent, only look at 10 months and use 1 month for taxes/insurance, the other month for repairs. 
• All Lines Insurance is who I use and most of my insurance is around $500-$600 for Murray Hill properties. I included the link. 
• I use Traditions Realty to find and qualify tenants, they do an outstanding job and if you tire of managing the property, they can do that too. Ask for Sasha.
• If you have never built a home or a garage, don't start now. If you think the lots are a good value, buy them and sell them to Jax Wealth Builders or someone else that wants to build and has done building. Materials are rising and there is a real shortage of contractors to do the work. Time factors against you in building, so leave that to professionals. 

@Leeann Aubuchon Best of luck with the move. So you'll be ready then, please make sure you review the data on the city and the best way to do this is to look at past sales. Northeast Florida Association of Realtors (NEFAR) has a great page with historical data that comes out for the previous month on or around the middle of the next month. You can always see where home prices are going in Arlington, Springfield, St Johns County or Murray Hill/Avondale. 

School starts next week for most of the large systems and home sales have taken a break in many areas as people focus on getting ready for the kids. But they will pick back up as there are really no breaks in the market for holidays, and as others have pointed out Jacksonville has water and lots of places to enjoy the sea breezes. 

@Gabrielle T. - I'd recommend you call my friend Doug Goins:

Doug Goins

National Sales Director

Direct Money Lenders Inc.

9465 Counselors Way #200

Indianapolis, In 46240

They have great programs for properties already in an LLC, so you can get a new loan on the property. I'm using him for one of my properties now and he's a great resource for future deals too.

@Emerson Irias - I'd recommend my CPA, a fellow real estate investor, Jack Leone 642-1794. He's been great for us. 

@Courtney Jones I'd recommend you keep this site handy and refer to it often to get to know the values and familiarize yourself with the values. Its the local MLS site and they release new data about sales, Days on Market and Sold as % of list price, so you can get an idea of the velocity of the market. This data should help to educate you quickly. 

I've been an investor since 2005 in Jax and I love it, so happy to help!