All Forum Posts by: Tchaka Owen

Quote from @Charles Fischer:

Quote from @Tchaka Owen:

Quote from @Charles Fischer:

Alyssa:
I have had experience in Cape Canaveral with STRs. While they are legal (with inspection and proper permits) they are restricted to weekly. They have hired a third party to monitor and enforce this.  Watching to see how this pans out..

My understanding is that the week minimum is a state law as opposed to Cape Canaveral. Not verified.

 Here is a link to the most recent ordinance passed by City Council : https://prochamps.com/PROCHAMP...

See page 5, section 5 line 21. references city enacted minimum rental period 7 consecutive days...

Ah, thank you for the clarification!! Read the first part and it makes sense. It's actually the other way around and CCanaveral had it in place prior to state legislation, thus grandfathered.

Quote from @Karla Simmons:

I keep hearing that homeowners insurance is high in Florida because of hurricanes, which makes sense. I am assuming it is not high state-wide, but in the areas that have history of hurricane damage to homes. Is this true? Would somewhere inland such as Orlando or Gainesville have less expensive insurance? And can someone quantify what high insurance cost is? An example possibly? Such as a $300,000 home has annual or monthly premium of $X amount.

Thank you!

Several factors:
1. Florida is a high fraud state and lots of fake claims have been submitted over the years.
2. Florida is taking the blame for what's going on in other states.

The first is self-explanatory. Let's look at the second one....in recent years, how many hurricanes have hit Florida compared to other places? After Wilma in 2005, South Florida did not have a cane until Irma in 2017. So that's 1 cane over the past 16+ years. Other parts have been hit, but overall there hasn't been much action in well over a decade. Meanwhile the gulf coast (MI, LA, TX) have been hit, the Outer Banks are getting beat up regularly. Who is paying for that damage? No doubt FL is helping. The excuse has always been that we're refilling the coffers. That made sense at first, but it's been years of filling. 

Quote from @Charles Fischer:

Alyssa:
I have had experience in Cape Canaveral with STRs. While they are legal (with inspection and proper permits) they are restricted to weekly. They have hired a third party to monitor and enforce this.  Watching to see how this pans out..

My understanding is that the week minimum is a state law as opposed to Cape Canaveral. Not verified.

Hi Alyssa,

It's a bit tricky here - while the area seems perfect for STRs, many towns are not in favor. For example, Merritt Island does not allow them. Cape Canaveral (to my understanding) also doesn't, however they're not strictly enforcing it. Not sure about Cocoa Beach. Unincorporated Satellite allows them, Satellite "proper" does not. If you look at AirB&B, you'll find rentals throughout the area, just know that it's not all legal. 
 

Originally posted by @Angel Hernandez:

That was really helpful! Thank you for that. Will be following up with my lender and the listing agent to see how if we can make this happen. 

Making the deal happen aside, if the listing agent violated the law, you need to report to DBPR. There's nothing wrong with wholesaling (despite what some might think), however there is everything wrong with falsifying information. If that agent is not the owner (and please don't buy into the 'having ownership interest' because of the contract BS that you might get). Honesty is important and the RE license should be at stake otherwise. Good luck.

Originally posted by @Sarah Bojorquez:

I am a real estate agent here in Cincinnati and would be happy to help if you need anything :)

 Are you licensed now? Your profile says you're beginning the process.

Originally posted by @Patrick Bavaro:

@David Barton hey David, I live in SoFlo and totally get It. In fact, this exact reason is why I’ve decided to invest out of market, but not State. Right now I am buying in Ocala FL and Cape Coral. Currently building a new build in Cape Coral with a total build price of $265k that only required me to put 10% down for the financing. Rents are $2300/mo and post appraisals coming back at 340k-$410k depending on lot location. Would be happy to connect. Good luck!

@David Barton....THIS is important.

Florida as a whole is not super expensive, South Florida (and a few other spots) are; that doesn't reflect the entire state.

Your DTI won't be relevant unless you make it relevant. HMLs will lend based on the property, not on your DTI. Once done with your renovations and the places are rented, the numbers should help your DTI for Conventional financing. If the numbers are too high (note: 41% isn't necessarily the threshold), then no with a Non-QM lender. You'll pay a higher rate, but that's not relevant - as long as your cashflow is still solid. Good luck!

The idea of only starting leases on the 1st of the month is very odd to me. For some reason, the vast majority of people feel it's necessary. My preference is to start the lease when landlord and tenant agree to start it. If it's the 1st, fine. If it's the 15th, fine. If it's the 23rd, fine. If the tenant wants to prorate so that it's then due on the 1st, fine. If not, fine. My #1 concern is to get a good tenant in the home as soon as possible. Good luck!

Originally posted by @Kevin Mercado:

@Krista Goodrich @Daniel Denning, @Alex J., @Alexander Knowles Hi all - joining the conversation as I've been scouring the threads on this topic - to those already in the Tampa Bay/ Clearwater or knowledgeable in Florida market or even Volusia county can you guys opine on whether those areas are stronger / future trend and value perspective (from cost to acquire/set-up) versus Orlando / South florida (Ft. Lauderdale / Miami beach / or even West Palm Beach area) 

I'm in the same position and have really been on the search, but being from out of country - I have gaps in market presence so I know id be spending hours on diving into market research though thats not a problem necessarily since it means there are "good options" not just one. Looking to connect with any realtors that are investor oriented and do this themselves + if you have contacts/boots on the ground for setting up/managing the properties that would be great too 

Lots of opportunities throughout the state; if I had to guess, I'd say South Florida and Orlando are head and shoulders above the rest as far as pure numbers. While South FL does command high rents, the problem is that the setup costs are likely the highest. In fact, it's almost to the level of absurd. I have a client looking to buy in Hollywood (where I lived for over a decade) and I'm consistently pulling him back. There are homes going for over a half-million in areas that were selling in the $200s not long ago. As an investor, that takes a huge bite out of your profits. 

Brevard (where I live) is much more moderate, the issue here is that many areas do not allow STRs. You have to know which cities allow and which don't. But once you get through that, the returns are nice. Good luck!