Sun Rock Property Management » Housing Market

Tampa Ranked One of the Best Real Estate Investment Markets

Sun Rock Properties — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 17:51:49 +0000

Tampa was ranked as one of the top markets for real estate investment by CNN money. Most of the top ten were comprised of cities in Florida. The high number of foreclosures, low interest rates and sunshine are drawing in investors.

Daytona Beach moved into second while Fort Myers took fifth. Orlando ranked fourth, Ft. Lauderdale number eight and Tampa at number nine. The other five cities in the top ten rankings were Las Vegas (No.1), Detroit (No.3), Warren, Mich. (No.4), Bakersfield, Calif., (No.7) and Rochester, N.Y. (No. 8).

No Vacancy

Sun Rock Properties — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 01:23:38 +0000

The current rental market is Hot. The recent record number of foreclosures have left families displaced, bank owned properties sit empty and mortgages are hard to come by. Throw in unemployment and depreciating properties and you get a high supply of prospective tenants.

Properties shouldn’t be sitting vacant long in this market. Most of our clients have new leases started the day after their old tenant’s lease ends. With 60 days notice and a hot rental market, how could you have vacancies? Any good property manager should, on average be able to rent your property in 2 to 3 weeks, if not, something is wrong.

When I look at properties online I see some that have been vacant for 200 to 300 days?? This is ridiculous and I believe it is mainly from realtors telling owners what they want to hear and not being responsive to prospective tenants.

This rental market will be hot for the foreseeable future, but won’t last forever. Investors should be maximizing their opportunities while they are there.

For Expert Property Management in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota Counties contact Sun Rock Property Management

Foreclosure Buying Nightmare Over?

Sun Rock Properties — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 22:10:52 +0000

RealtyTrac reports foreclosures are at a 7 month high after 230,678 U.S. filings in the month of October. However this is down 31% from last year. They attribute some of the annual decline to banks getting more efficient at the process of buying a foreclosure. Anyone who has bought or tried to buy a foreclosure in the past few years can tell you the nightmare they had. The process is slow, filled with meaningless paperwork and you can’t contact anyone competent enough to help you out.

Some investors have spent over a year trying to close a foreclosure deal. So hopefully the process is getting more efficient, it definitely can’t get any worse.

Real Estate Wins

Sun Rock Properties — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 12:35:00 +0000

So you have $100K. What do you do with it?

You could put it in a money market savings account with an average return of 0.30% APY. After one year you will have earned $300.

You could put it in a CD with an average return of 0.50% APY. After one year you will have earned $500.

For an IRA, you are still looking at 0.50% APY. After one year you will have earned $500, but withdraw it early and you will be taxed heavily.

You could buy gold as the commercials will tell you, but gold has doubled in price over the last 2 years and this isn’t 2009.

You could give it to your broker to invest, but the stock market is turbulent and if you are getting a 4-5% return, you are doing better than 95% of investors. After a great year in the stock market, you will have earned $4,000 – $5,000.

But if you take your $100K and buy a bank owned property. Let’s say you find a 3 bedroom house in a decent neighborhood and negotiate with the bank for $90K. You spend another $10K on closing costs and fixing the place up. You can then rent it for $1200 per month. In this example you don’t have a mortgage, since you had $100K to start with, so you only pay taxes and homeowner’s insurance. Say your taxes for the $90K home are $2000 per year and insurance is $1000 per year. Your monthly expenses are $250 per month. Your gross income is $1200. Your net income is $950. After one year you will have earned $11,400 for an 11% return on your $100K. Where else are you going to get that kind of return?

Real Estate also has the advantage of tax breaks through paying a mortgage or deducting expenses on the property. Appreciation is a thing of the past, but if you buy under market conditions and have the cashflow to hold it for 10 or more years, you will make money when you sell it.

Even in the Great Recession, Real Estate still wins.

For expert property management in Treasure Island, St Pete Beach and Lakewood Ranch, Florida, contact Sun Rock Property Management

Don’t Bank on a Growing Population

Sun Rock Properties — Fri, 31 Dec 2010 12:13:00 +0000

A cornerstone of the wisdom of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad books, was real estate is a good investment because the population will always grow.

More people will need more places to live and property will be more valuable.

The turbulent economy over the recent past has taught many that always never happens. So what if the US has a declining population?

Less people will need less places to live and property will be less valuable.

In the book, The Next 100 Years, by George Friedman he predicts a declining population in the 2030’s and 2040’s. Venturing a hypothesis that the US will have to incentivize immigrants to come in and people will earn very high salaries because there will not be enough workers.

Friedman’s supports his theory by explaining changes in financial incentives of children over the last century. People used to have a lot of kids because they needed them to work on the farm or in the factory, contributing income to the family. Now kids go to school until they are about 25 years old. The shift from income to expense gives financial reasons to have less children. Add in the Great Recession and your birth rate plunges to historic lows. The U S recently had the lowest birth rate in over 100 years.

When looking at a long term investment strategy, don’t bank on always.

For expert property management you can depend on, contact Sun Rock Property Management

The Effect of Record Foreclosures

What Happens in Florida, Will Happen Everywhere Else

Sun Rock Properties — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 15:44:35 +0000

Want to know what will happen in the U.S. Real Estate Market? Watch Florida.

Jim Cramer says Florida is the template for where the US housing market is headed.

Florida real estate lead the way during the boom and the bust, and will lead the way in a recovery. Look to Florida to find out what will happen next.

For pre-purchase investment consulting and expert property management, contact Sun Rock Property Management. We manage your investment in Bradenton, Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, Florida.

Best Home Trader

Sun Rock Properties — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:54:00 +0000

One of Sun Rock Property Management’s more tech-savvy friends has recently launched a website to list your home for sale.

The idea of Best Home Trader is to get maximum exposure of your listing online at the best price. By posting your listing you can get to the top of search engines and reach potential buyers nationwide. Listings can be created with a lot of detail and the site is user-friendly.

Viewing current listings or posting your own can be done now at Best Home Trader.

Sun Rock Property Management offers focused, efficient property management with a personal commitment to our owners.

Bird Sells Cheap

Sun Rock Properties — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 15:35:36 +0000

The staff at Sun Rock Property Management believe there is always a good time to buy, as long as you buy right and have an exit strategy.

There is always opportunity in the real estate market, but in the current dynamic market it takes more savvy to create a profit.

From an investment standpoint, the biggest returns are no longer in higher priced homes which could leverage high appreciation. Wholesale, ‘cheap’ homes, improved and then ~~flipped~~ resold for a high percentage profit are the best way to create a gain.

A friend of Sun Rock, is currently specializing in wholesale properties throughout Pinnelas County, Florida. Blackbird homes is finding deals and getting investors into properties to produce cashflow or high percentage returns on investment.

Here is the link to view available listings with blackbird homes.

We manage your investment in Bradenton, Sarasota and Lakewood Ranch, Florida, Sun Rock Property Management

The Effect of Record Foreclosures

Sun Rock Properties — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 19:45:00 +0000

When you have record numbers of foreclosures like the United States has had over the last few years, you get record numbers of renters.

The most amount of people in history have been losing their homes to foreclosure, when this happens the person:

A. Doesn’t have a place to live

B. Has bad credit

C. Can’t qualify for another mortgage

So where do these people go? Some may have to move in with family, but the majority will be looking for a place to rent.

This means that there are currently a record number of people that are interested in renting a property. This is good news for our property management company, since it makes finding tenants very easy.

In some recent cases, we have had people bidding up properties over the advertised rental price. Once properties are rented, we continue to get tons of phone calls and emails of people trying to find a place or see if we have anything similar.

Owners who can capitalize on this opportunity can increase their cashflow and limit vacancies on their properties.

For expert property management in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, contact Sun Rock Property Management.

Rent vs. Buy 2010

Sun Rock Properties — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 19:29:00 +0000

The rent vs. buy calculator was traditionally used by realtors and mortgage lenders as a way to show you the benefits of homeownership. These include building equity, getting a tax write-off and appreciation of the property.

These numbers always skew in favor of purchasing a home instead of renting, which is what they want you to do anyway. Buying a home and paying it off in 30 years does make sense financially, but who really does that anymore?

To make an intelligent decision in times like these, you have to go outside the numbers.

Will I live in the property for 30 years?

What is the total cost of ownership of the property?

What if I get transferred or move?

What if I can’t find a tenant or a tenant doesn’t pay?

What if I lose my job?

What if property doesn’t appreciate for the next 15 years?

What repairs/renovations will I have to do?

What if my taxes, insurance and homeowners’ dues increase?

Ask yourself a few of these questions and see if renting might be the right choice for you, right now.

Sun Rock Property Management is a full-service property management company in Florida, with a portfolio of properties from Apollo Beach to Sarasota, Florida.

The Effect of Record Foreclosures