All Forum Posts by: Tchaka Owen

Quote from @Juanita Zavala:

Out-of-state investor looking to raise rent on my properties in Melbourne and Cocoa. I am interested in referrals for forms to use as I am managing these properties myself.

Thanks!

@Nathan Gesner's advice is spot on! That's what I do for my property in VA.
As far as FL is concerned, I'm a licensed real estate agent here and I only use the FAR/BAR lease. It is hands down the most even-handed one that protects both sides of the transaction. See if that's what you have now and go from there. Brevard County is notorious for attorney-written leases and IMO, they are horrendous. They're very lopsided and that's not how I do business. FL already leans landlord-friendly (a good thing), there's no reason to then stick a wrench up a tenant's rectum and twist it. 

Tchaka

Quote from @Samuel Boyd:

Good stuff, Samuel! Merritt Island is a tough one to crack......your research may be correct, however I've heard numbers from 7 days to 90. One I did hear is that the 7-day applies to properties on lots zoned "multi". It's been extremely difficult to get concrete answers. If I find new info, I will share.

Tchaka Owen
Xcellence Realty, Inc.

Quote from @Samuel Boyd:

@Alyssa Johnson as mentioned, it really comes down to each municipality. I curated this list for myself about the rules and regulations for the city's I personally deal most in. Hopefully this will be helpful! I can send the spreadsheet if this screen grab is too blurry. As we know, you will make more on the beaches, but property values are much higher, so you'll really have to analyze the ROI. Good luck!!

 Great chart! But are you sure about Satellite? Unless rules have recently changed, they do not allow STRs in the incorporated portion. The northern section (which might be what you're referring to as "Patrick") is different as it is unincorporated. However the city portion has been a NO for a while. 

Quote from @Niv Astronivo:

Hello everyone, I invest in South Florida, I know that AIRBNB in 2023 will be more challenging and not as profitable as 21/22, which makes me think about the strategy for buying my next STR...

Do you think it would be better for the house to have a pool to get more bookings? So should I just skip houses with no pool?

Is a three-bedroom house for 600,000$ and a pool sounds like a good deal or is it better to have 4 bedrooms? To clarify I'm talking about Hollywood area to FLL to Pompano Beach.

I live in Hollywood Lakes for 12 years - you're not getting a home with a pool there for $600k today. If you want a pool or 4BR in that price range, you're going west of US1 and very likely west of 95. IMO, if you go west, yes you want a pool. It's much less important when you're east because the Atlantic is right there. People renting there are likely going to the beach. Sure, a pool would be nice too but not nearly as imperative. Also, being east is prime. Skipping over FLL and to Pompano, there used to be bargains there, not so much now. Can you get that east of US1? Possibly. The segment between US1 and 95 is quite nice and you should be able to get a pool or 4BR (or both) - that might be your winning location.

Tchaka  

Quote from @Jay Warner:

Career moves are moving my family to Europe for a few years. We purchased our home in 2019 and have an estimate ~$150,000 in equity in the home today. Based upon current rent estimates from local PMs we could expect around $1k per month cash flow if we were to rent the home. 

No one can see into the future, my concern is whether or not I should risk losing the equity in the home ($475k single family home) if there is a recession or housing downturn during these years. 

Ideally I planned to utilize the equity to begin my investor journey, so cashing out now could secure this but we would obviously no longer own the asset. 

Any advice? 

Yes. Rent it and enjoy Europe.
1. There's a chance you will lose equity. So what if you do? No one can predict the future and if you move that to other properties, who is to say those don't drop. What's the chance of it dropping $150k of value? My guess is that it's quite unlikely.
2. There's a chance the home will appreciate during those few years. Is that a problem?
3. The tenants will be paying down your mortgage for several years. Nice!
4. You'll be getting cashflow. Whether it's $1000/mo or merely $500/mo, it's still nice.

Markets go up and down, that's the norm. As an FYI, my folks haven't lived in the US in 4 decades. Upon leaving one time they bought a TH and held it for a while, paid it off in 11 years and had cashflow for a long time (eventually sold). 

My input: get a HELOC on it (while still owner-occupied) and go enjoy Europe. 

Tchaka

Quote from @Jim K.:

Quote from @Eugene Weixel:

Is Morris presence in Portugal thwarting the New Jersey lawsuits?

That seems to be the main reason he left. It's really hard to enforce the outcomes of US civil lawsuits in the EU.

@James Wise, a long-term BiggerPockets user, was sued for $7.2M by Clayton Morris for reporting on Morris on his YouTube channel. He's the right guy to talk to about this.

The channel is called HoltonWiseTV.  You would want to start with searching on YouTube for: "Clayton Morris Loses $7 Million Lawsuit"

 He didn't realize that @James Wise had his ish together and got a big wake up call. The level of detail and info that James had was off the charts. The investing world was better because of James.

Quote from @Ronda Henderson:

Quote from @Bud Gaffney:

@Ronda Henderson rent it for top dollar and keep it rolling :)

That was our thought process when we purchased the house lol, the problem is I'm not seeing the leads to rent out the property. 

 Hire a good real estate agent and let him/her do the work for you.

Quote from @Ethan Kramer:

Does anyone have experience with STR in Cocoa Beach? It seems like a safe bet to me considering that it is the closest beach to Orlando and the largest cruise port in Cape Canaveral along with world-class attractions but would love to hear other people's experience and/or knowledge, so we can make a more informed decision

If we're being picky, Cape Canaveral is the closest to Orlando. :-)

Based on the research I've done so far, Cocoa Beach is the preferable place for STR (note: they refer to anything 30 days or less as "vacation rentals") because they have very few restrictions. That said, you will want to purchase a SFH because most condos have their own restrictions. You'll frequently see a 30- or 90-day minimum for rentals. Obviously, SFHs don't have those restrictions.

@Justin Knox - the numbers need a little adjusting; it's very important that the input is as accurate as possible and you make your decision based on what comes out. Too often newbies want a deal so badly, they massage the number to make the deal work. Here are a few changes:

1. As mentioned by @Nathan Grabau, 6% is low. I adjusted to 7%

2. Mgmt was adjusted from 7% to 8%. Either self-manage or pay a good company to do it. Don't try to skimp, the service you get will reflect that. 8%-10% is the going rate for good places.

3. Water/sewer & garbage will not be $65 for a duplex. It will either be $0 or $180ish - depending on who pays.

4. New construction means everything is new (awesome), however 2% and 4% for maintenance and CapEx seems low. 4%+4% is ok to start, but 6% total is skimping.

In the end, the numbers still work. They're just not as juicy as per your calculations. Good luck!

Tchaka

@Reagan Clo Good job finding this!! Most of Palm Bay (at least the newer portions) do not have duplexes. This is a great addition to your portfolio.

Tchaka