Real estate investment questions for Tampa area (renting, HOA)

[dinandriver]

Hi all, I am thinking of relocating my business to Tampa from Las Vegas. Reason being I've been living on the West coast for 20 years now and would like a change.
My business involves renting out and renovating properties. Vegas has been great but I'm crawling the walls here. I'd like to know if the business I'm in is viable in Tampa, or it's surrounding areas, and could anyone refer to me an agent or two that specializes in income/ investment property? Also any other pointers would be greatly apreaciated
Thanks!

[mrjones30]

Originally Posted by dinandriver

Hi all, I am thinking of relocating my business to Tampa from Las Vegas. Reason being I've been living on the West coast for 20 years now and would like a change.
My business involves renting out and renovating properties. Vegas has been great but I'm crawling the walls here. I'd like to know if the business I'm in is viable in Tampa, or it's surrounding areas, and could anyone refer to me an agent or two that specializes in income/ investment property? Also any other pointers would be greatly apreaciated
Thanks!

Don't go to a Realtor in my opinion!

Go to investment clubs here in the area all you have to do is google them and you will find many. Go to one that is more comfortable to you.

[lavender]

Including myself (and I dont work with investors btw) there are some excellent realtors on here, MrJones not all of us are
a waste of time and a total stranger to the area could use some good advice. I am sure investor clubs are good, but there are plenty of crooks running 'investment groups' . A fool and his money.........

[bentlebee]

Originally Posted by lavender

Including myself (and I dont work with investors btw) there are some excellent realtors on here, MrJones not all of us are
a waste of time and a total stranger to the area could use some good advice. I am sure investor clubs are good, but there are plenty of crooks running 'investment groups' . A fool and his money.........

There seem to be more and more of these groups as there are many new investors or wannabies who are willing to pay for a book and a session and that is how the other side is making money.

We even had one investor who started with attending a session like that and who bought a home through us in a HOA community that was hit hard and builders stopped building. Many empty home sites and others buying on top of the market.

The house they bought was not a good investment and our agent showed many better options and told them this is not a house you can flip.

They did buy it and got it rented fast through us. Meanwhile this investor felt so confident that she (wealthy husband) bought a real estate office with 5 agents who all left and got 1 broker of record and than sold the investment for a price that was approx. $ 10K higher than she got it for but with the split her broker which I assume would be there is no gain while renting it out was t least getting a decent return of 11% until the tenant moved out when the tenant got sick of the owner inspecting the property every 3 months as per the owners statement she had learned during the investor session.

Another owner we deal with who has 3 properties all in flood areas and bad shape, is an investor who wrote a book and sells sessions and according to him he makes more money with the sessions.

Sadly his tenants deal with kitchen cabinets that are glued together and cheap fixes that would not be far from the slumlord label if it wasn't for us telling the owner constantly that you can't have tenants deal with things and he will allow us to fix it otherwise we won't deal with any owner.

Of course there will be better people holding these sessions but there were 2 brothers on TV who squeezed all contractors to the level that hardly anyone wanted to work for them. The brothers got into a fight and the program was cancelled. One of them is making it big time with selling books and sessions.

Not so much anymore in flips.

With the mortgage changes flipping is harder unless you find a cash buyer who is too stupid to see that all that is done is cosmetic and that they overpay... they are out there but maybe a few as most cash buyers are not stupid!