All Forum Posts by: Carole D.

My Husband and I are struggling to decide the best course of action and are hoping the BP community could weigh in with their advice...

We live in San Francisco and currently pay $2,500 a month for a studio apt and have a baby on the way (very soon). We realize that the market is high right now but it also seems to make sense in our lives to buy now. Initially we planned to invest in some SFR in Florida but have been considering the advantages of house hacking a multi-family here in the bay area, probably Oakland. I am very interested in this option but I also have reservations because of the large singular investment. I have tried to get as much information as possible to understand at what point the market is in but i'm getting everything from "Danger- SF bay area is on the brink of the next tech bubble crash" to "Safe- because of the amount of capitol available in the bay area the market is really only overvalued by 10% as opposed to a real bubble market which is overvalued much higher"

I see that the multi-families available are definitely retail post flip prices, especially in the areas I would consider living in with a baby and many of those have rent controlled tenants.

I'm trying to think creatively about moving forward weighing our $30,000 annual rent bill against potentially having a $600,000-$800,000 mortgage in a single 4 plex where it seems to make sense financial now but I'm concerned about market crash or unforeseen event.

I guess my question is what would you do, invest elsewhere and stay put with high rent or dive into a bay area house hack? Am I missing some thought process or option that is right in front of me? 

I really appreciate anyone's input!

Thanks,

Carole

@ChrisSmith

@NancyBrook

Thank you !

Thank you everyone for such insightful replies. 

We bid on a few houses in this last week but didn't win any however it has been a wonderful 101 class for online RE auctions. It felt great to make some active attempts and even though we don't have a property yet Its great to be in the game! 

I'm hoping someone can help me drill down on understanding the legality of short term vacation rentals in St  Petersburg, FL. I am finding conflicting information online and from people in the area. 

I understand that in Pinellas county at least a few beach cities like Madeira Beach have put a firm ban in place with police and high fines. I have heard that short term rental is illegal in St Petersburg proper but I can't find the actual ordinance, and I see many people renting on AirBnb, VRBO and the like. However, I have also read that the state of Florida made it illegal for cities to ban short term rentals. I have been trying to chase down this information but i'm only coming up with conflicting news articles, can someone point me to where i can find the concrete information?

Thanks in advance!

-Carole

@joshualight 

thanks!

@marykirkpatrick

Welcome fellow newbie! I'm open to all of tampa bay but being from south pinellas originally makes me more comfortable because I know the areas so well.  I grew up on the beaches but that is way out of my price range currently. I'd say my focus has been starting at about Largo and down to around Gulfport. Are you looking in Pinellas or sticking to Ocala and surrounding? We also looked into Gainesville because I went to UF and know the area a bit but just felt like we had more "boots on the ground" in Pinellas.

Hi Everyone,

I've been researching real estate investing for the last 6 months and my husband and I are finally going to make some offers on properties this week. I am very excited but also a little nervous to see how it goes. We live in San Francisco and are looking to invest in Pinellas County, FL for our first investment because of our familiarity with the area and many "boots on the ground" contacts here. 

Our goal is to create a buy and hold portfolio starting with SFH and maybe a duplex or triplex in the coming year. I was a little worried the market here was to high for a buy and hold deal but I think we have found some solid properties, nothing is a steal but I think that is ok. This week we will find out if any of our offers will be accepted. :)

Wish us luck!

Thanks,

Carole