Nice neighborhoods around the tampa area to invest? (Wesley Chapel: sale, foreclosure)

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by Nick-travel

Thanks for the concern but i am very familiar with the market and experienced in real estate. Any suggestions i would really appreciate.. thanks

Well, in that case, the areas that are popular here in Tampa are Hyde Park, Channelside, SoHo (which is an extension of Hyde Park), Bayshore, Sunset Park, South of Gandy, and parts of Downtown are coming up.

Take the buyer beware approach though and good luck!

[Nick-travel]

thanks for all the info. Anymore you have would be great, thanks again

[cyndeehaydon]

I have to agree with those above - we have helped lots of investors purchase homes and resell them - this market is not one for many quick turn opportunities - that being said there are some great "short sale" buys - we have seen homes appraised at $300K a year ago going for $210K in a nice neighborhood - it was on the market for $250K for 1 year - no buyers - not sure how quickly you can resell it. Good luck.
Clearwater is desireable and has great values, so does Largo and Dunedin - all close to the beaches and easy commutes to Tampa, etc.

[Nick-travel]

Thanks... It is a buyers market right now and prices are at a all time low

[FireballFL]

Originally Posted by Nick-travel

Thanks... It is a buyers market right now and prices are at a all time low

The renter's angle may be the best way to go. "Flipping" just is not popular right now. Once the real estate market rebounds, then go for it. People like myself have no remote interest in buying and if you are renting out houses, then you will want to target like me. When or if we do buy, it will not be in Tampa Bay, it will be in the Florida Keys (and even then we may prefer apartment living).

[susan vaughn]

South Tampa and St. Pete (near downtown) are very hot right now. Most of the younger professional couples prefer either of those areas depending on the location of their employers. For family oriented areas, Seminole, Palm Harbor, Countryside (area of Clearwater), and Safety Harbor in Pinellas County are all very desirable. In Tampa, without having to go too far north into New Tampa, Westchase, Waterchase and the Citrus Park areas are nice.

[bizzbot]

Nick, despite "flipping" misgivings, I appreciate the fact that investors like you are helping turn some of our more areas with cool houses that may have been in a bit of a slump into very desirable neighborhoods, so I'll let you know what i think as a resident of 24 yrs.

ybor city, they actually call people moving there from other places "urban pioneers"...how cheesy. Ybor is one of the only historic places in Tampa that you can hang out in for a brief time and not feel a great sense of self-loathing for having been "charmed" by it, i.e., channelside.

seminole heights is no longer a secret, but it's there. More established and has already gone through the whole revitalization boom and is now on a plateau and will steadily grow. It's already being yuppified and will most likely become the next Hyde Park.

Anthing east of 275 from ybor up to sulphur springs (up to busch blvd) is more of an investor's paradise, as the neighborhoods haven't yet "arrived" and therefore have more room to grow as far as attracting people buying rehabbed houses.

Btw, aside from sympathy for those who have made poor choices/are facing circumstances that may or may not be beyond their control and are losing their homes to foreclosure, as someone who yearns to have a home of her own, I have been looking into the whole foreclosure thing, as I can't afford anything I've seen on the regular market thus far. What do you think of the peeps who want to charge $$ to view their foreclosure listings? I think it's a scam. Is it a simple matter of just dragging yourself to some file in the courthouse and researching them yourself? I'm not a flipper and never will be, just don't want to pay for something to research pricing.

thx in advance.

[bizzbot]

btw have seen homes sit for sale and just go down and down in price, but have seen nicer rehabs sell fairly quickly for the right price. Just do yourself and your buyers a favor and tent the home for termites before selling it, please. AND NO CANDY COATING THE TERMITE DAMAGE PLEASE! Btw it was pretty ridiculous because there was a home on my street that actually had the chimney fall out of it. I mean, usually you just see homes with nothing left standing but the chimney, so this chimney must have been really something. The bricks from it are now decorating the guy's porch.


Oh and I can already sense that some people might think, why tell him to go flip stuff? Well all I can say is I can't even buy a piece of junk rat-infested home for under $150,000 anyway. Might as well let moneybags rehab it and then I don't have to worry about buying an unaffordable money pit only to have it be uninhabitable. I could never take on renovations myself, and I guess I trust experienced investors to do their thing and keep the price fairly reasonable. Then everybody wins I suppose.

I can't forsee myself being able to afford something in Tampa anyway, because the reasonable prices went out the window about ten years ago. I am going to end up moving to the mountains in some remote area.

I aplogize in advance for my sassy attitude. Since three years ago when I started really desiring a home to call my own, I have become very jaded and frustrated with the market prices as someone who grew up here and has seen the city grow. It's just so ridiculous when people are all high-falootin' because they live in some ritzy neighborhood and all I can think is...but you're still in Tampa.

Not to dis my own city, but I'm sure many people know what I'm talking about.

*dismounts from soap box*

[kmadewell]

Alexandria
I agree with you, its sad for many, and I hate to hear stories like yours. The increase in housing prices was going up SO FAST like $5-$10,000 a month in some cases for some builders, so it was just a matter of time before the values came back down to reality.

Its a GREAT time to buy for those with cash, good credit, and some money in the bank, unfortunately the little families are mostly the ones hurting, with 1 in 79 households in forclosure, Tampa Ranks 24th in the nation for forclosures right now. There are deals out there, but the market is still changing and NO-ONE knows where that bottom is.

Katrina

[TampaBirdlady]

I've lived here for 15 years and the houses are still turning OK. Not as fast as before but it's still pretty stable. South part of town is great and growing. I was thinking of flipping too. Stay away from the Air Force Base...it's just overflowing with new construction and flips. I doubt they'll all be rented or sold soon. Also, stay away from new construction areas in Lutz. I have a friend with 3 homes that have been for sale for 2 years. No one wants a used house for the same price as a new one.