Five Tips for Real Estate Investors in Florida

Posted by damien fleming on March 10th, 2016

Florida presents a thriving real estate market with property prices recovering after the Great Recession of the previous decade.

While there’s renewed interest in Pensacola real estate as well as in other parts of the state, you would want to follow these steps to ensure that your investments will be profitable in the years to come:

1. Make sure you invest in areas with robust rental demand

The most important thing to remember when investing in real estate is that the property should be located in an area where demand is strong.  You can look at the southern part of Florida as a viable investment area, as demand in the area has been robust for the past few years.

2. Buy properties with tenants already in place

Investing in tenanted Florida properties is the easiest way to generate positive cash flow. Moreover, it would ensure that you will be able to recover the costs of ownership after several years.

3. Find a property near major business districts

Back in the day, many property investors were  made to believe that all it takes for them to get back their money is to invest in any property that is a 30 mile radius of the city center. The argument back then was that high rental demand would follow suit, no matter how far the property is from the city center.

But this is no longer applicable as the rising costs of fuel have force people to live closer to their places of work. Moreover, worsening traffic also means more people would rather live closer to the business districts that travelling on congested roads.

4. Expect seasonal lulls if you’re investing in short term holiday rental

If your plan is to invest in holiday homes in Florida, then you should also expect that there will be seasonal lulls.

Whether you’re investing in Navarre Beach real estate or Fort Walton Beach real estate,  you should expect holiday rental rates and occupancy to dip during the off-peak months of April and May, as well as September and November.

5. Seek advice from an expert

You may be intrigued by the low property prices in Florida, but this doesn’t mean you should go out and buy properties in the state right away. You’d want to get insights from an expert, who will look out for your interests and help with due diligence in any investment you may make.