Want to start new business in Florida is it feasable in my situation?

[Knightrider]

I'm moving to port st lucie Florida from Michigan . i just bought a house down there free and clear and all my cars are paid off and I have no debt or credit cards or loans now my question is would it be possible to start a business building inground pools and ponds or doing lot clearing and demolition either one or both.i have about 50k budgeted for the start up.now I'm looking to obtain all the equipment cheaply off eBay or Craigslist I found dump trucks going around $8,000 , skid steers around $7,000 , mini excavators for $8,000 with trailer ,bull dozers under $10,000 I plan on storing the equipment on my property and advertising online and newspaper and recruiting employees through the same media to help me learn the bussiness.i know I will need to be bonded liscensed and insured but I can work towards that or bring on a business partner that is to get around that.i am familiar with heavy equipment and went to trade school already and received all my certs on operations.so is this in reach or should I invest in real estate forclosures or some other venture like private skid steer rental.i don't want to put my money in the stock market but rather see if I can start and I'm not scared of a little risk.I just like the idea of this business area because the machines will be payed off and will only have maintance cost and they are a usefull asset in many areas of bussiness please help me figure out what's possible.

[MyITGuy]

I'm moving to port st lucie Florida from Michigan . i just bought a house down there free and clear and all my cars are paid off and I have no debt or credit cards or loans now my question is would it be possible to start a business building inground pools and ponds or doing lot clearing and demolition either one or both.

As far as PSL is concerned, I'd say it is unlikely. This area has already been built out and with today's market...not many people are looking to have pools put in when the investment won't reflect any increase in equity.

Not only that, but there is some major concerns right now with the city and how they are running things as well as the amount of debt they have.

Out of curiosity, whey did you pick PSL?

[billbenson]

Ya, pools are actually devaluing property in Florida. Your property insurance goes way up and you have to put kid proof fences around them which make them butt ugly rather than attractive to sit around. If a kid drowns in your pool you have a lot of civil liability and probably legal liability as well.

[MyITGuy]

Something to consider, do you have any experience with Drywall/Electrical/Framing/AC? PSL has been hit hard by the 'Chinese Drywall' issue (Chinese drywall - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_drywall)). I believe that several lawsuits are in the process of being settled which means that homeowners (or banks in the majority of the cases) will be remodeling hundreds/thousands of homes in the near future.

[Knightrider]

Thanks for the input I choose port st Lucie because I used to live in Miami and wanted to move back.on my real estate search of Florida using zillow all the houses that matched my criteria were in port st Lucie or Tampa after looking online I drove down there and loved the psl area and the prices for house you can buy vs. Michigan.i went to hvac trade school and heavy equipment trade school and have worked residential construction.i have seen those Chinese drywall houses I will look into that.so I'll pass on the pool digging.what about buying a house in distress and renovating and renting it out.taxes are cheap there will be no mortgage and I can afford 20k renovation without worrying.liabilty insurance can't be more $300 a month and I will try and I'll try and find a house that I can rent out for more than $1000 another that should bring in positive cash flow.if I can't start a business what other options are available to bring in positive income

[Steve B]

I don't think I'd give up on the pool idea just yet. Kid proof fences and liability have been an issue everywhere I ever lived (KY, TX, NJ, PA) and pool businesses are still present and appear to be surviving. If that's what you want to do, I'll bet you can develop a business doing that.

[BNB]

Build pools.

[Harold Mansfield]

I don't know anything about Construction or building pools, but from what you've stated here it sounds like you want to do something but haven't quite figured out what yet and are bouncing around a few ideas.

Based in the numbers you've put out about the pool business, I noticed that you didn't account for any marketing or advertising. Buying the equiptment is one thing, but how will you get customers and will you have enough to pay the bills until you get enough steady work? If you spend the entire $50k getting open, then what?

And do you really want a partner? Obviously if you had a partner in mind, you'd have mentioned it. So you want to just find a stranger that is already licensed and bonded to partner up with? Not crazy about that idea.

I think you need to think carefully about what to do with your $50k before you jump at something blinded by the romance of self employment and waste it.

JMO of course.

[MyITGuy]

Thanks for the input I choose port st Lucie because I used to live in Miami and wanted to move back.on my real estate search of Florida using zillow all the houses that matched my criteria were in port st Lucie or Tampa after looking online I drove down there and loved the psl area and the prices for house you can buy vs. Michigan.

I would've chosen Tampa ;)


what about buying a house in distress and renovating and renting it out.taxes are cheap there will be no mortgage and I can afford 20k renovation without worrying.liabilty insurance can't be more $300 a month and I will try and I'll try and find a house that I can rent out for more than $1000 another that should bring in positive cash flow.if I can't start a business what other options are available to bring in positive income
Honestly, this all depends on the type of house and the location you buy at....but your looking at $1,000/year at least on a 50K property at the current rates, although I can almost guarantee you this is going back up as the county/city raises their mileage rates.

Insurance is going to be the biggest unknown. Since we are a hurricane state it will be next to impossible to find a company to insure your property for the first year or two which means you need to go to Citizens (State Funded - Insurer of 'last resort') and their rates are generally the highest you will see. Find a property within a mile or two of the ocean and you could see Insurance rates exceeding 10K/year.

Another thing to keep in mind is that PSL has an abundance of Apartment Complexes that you will be competing with on price, in addition to other investors that have the same idea on buying and flipping/renting houses. Don't want to scare you away from the idea...but you have to run the numbers to see if this is something you're willing to risk.

It sounds like you have the cash on hand (70-100K)? So if your goal is to general 1K of revenue per month on your investment, I would suggest talking with an investment banker or etc to see what alternatives/options you may have so you don't tie up all your funds on a property that earns you little/no money (percentage wise) when it could've been earning you something if invested.

[MyITGuy]

I have no such requirement on my insurance. I have a pool, in Florida.

Does your insurance company know that you have a pool and don't have a barrier? They are most likely operating on an assumption and once they find out otherwise your policy will be dropped (My carrier threatened to drop my policy over a trampoline I had in my yard for my nieces/nephews, a pool without a barrier is a bigger risk to them).

A few things to read up on:
Florida Statute 515 - Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0515/0515ContentsIndex.html)
The above link appears to only apply for new builds (Appears to have been in place since 2000) and doesn't specify what happens when a repair is made or the home is sold...but since you didn't specify when your house was built/pool installed I will let you research this ;)

Florida Building Code - Building Section 424.2
Florida Building Code - Residential Section R4101.17

Sunrise Residential Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Safety Act - http://new.sunrisefl.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=611

[BNB]

Does your insurance company know that you have a pool and don't have a barrier? They are most likely operating on an assumption and once they find out otherwise your policy will be dropped (My carrier threatened to drop my policy over a trampoline I had in my yard for my nieces/nephews, a pool without a barrier is a bigger risk to them).

A few things to read up on:
Florida Statute 515 - Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes : Online Sunshine (http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0500-0599/0515/0515ContentsIndex.html)
The above link appears to only apply for new builds (Appears to have been in place since 2000) and doesn't specify what happens when a repair is made or the home is sold...but since you didn't specify when your house was built/pool installed I will let you research this ;)

Florida Building Code - Building Section 424.2
Florida Building Code - Residential Section R4101.17

Sunrise Residential Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Safety Act - http://new.sunrisefl.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentID=611

Actually, a quick read shows that it's not that difficult. As long as you have an 'exit alarm' on the doors leading out to the pool, then no barrier is required. We have this on every door.

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0500-0599/0515/Sections/0515.27.html

Plus, you are correct, and it only seems to apply to new construction.

[huggytree]

i recommend working for someone else for a while....doing exactly what you want to do

learning on the job isnt a good way to succeed

also buying heavily used equipment may mean heavy repair bills....when what about production loss while your machine is broken...lost $$ has to be added onto the repair bill

i buy everything new......i dont want someone elses problems.....i had a used cube van that i was putting $3k a year into for constant repairs....i just bought new and plan to buy new every 5 years....once the power train warranty is over im selling it.....every day i lose $1000 if im not working...which means i most likely was losing $6,000 a year due to an old van

make sure your business plan includes down time and lots of repairs

[billbenson]

I've even been told by realtors that a pool generally decreases the value of the property and certainly makes the property harder to sell. And these weren't realtors trying to sell me something.

[BNB]

I've even been told by realtors that a pool generally decreases the value of the property and certainly makes the property harder to sell. And these weren't realtors trying to sell me something.

Not where I live, that's for sure. At least 80-90% of the houses in my neighborhood have pools. Everyone is outside using their pools and yard regularly.

[billbenson]

Not where I live, that's for sure. At least 80-90% of the houses in my neighborhood have pools. Everyone is outside using their pools and yard regularly.

I'm near Tampa. New complexes with large Florida rooms rarely have pools.

[BNB]

I'm near Tampa. New complexes with large Florida rooms rarely have pools.


Oh, you are in Tampa.... that explains everything.

I know very few neighborhoods here, even new ones, that do not have a pool. I'm in West Fort Lauderdale.

[Harold Mansfield]

I don't know what's going on down in FL, but here in Las Vegas a pool increases the value.
Of course any add on or update that you do to a house has to be measured by what kind of return on investment you'll get based on comparables in your area.

I don't own a home, but I've watched enough HGTV to know that you can spend too much on a remodel or pool that doesn't get much ROI.

[MyITGuy]

I don't know what's going on down in FL, but here in Las Vegas a pool increases the value.
Of course any add on or update that you do to a house has to be measured by what kind of return on investment you'll get based on comparables in your area.

I don't own a home, but I've watched enough HGTV to know that you can spend too much on a remodel or pool that doesn't get much ROI.

Insurance. We are in a high risk area with the following where the average home buyer needs to add Wind, Flood and Sinkhole insurance on top of the standard contents/liability costs.

And with our Insurance Industry, they pretty much have free reign right now...as I mentioned most new home buyers can't even get homeowners through a regular company as they want to see a history of coverage. This means you have to go to the State Funded Citizens Insurance Company which is the insurer of last resort and has the highest costs.

When I was younger, I rented my step dads house which had a pool as he stayed at his business location (ACLF/Retirement home) just so he could offset his insurance costs of almost 10K per year.

[Harold Mansfield]

Insurance. We are in a high risk area with the following where the average home buyer needs to add Wind, Flood and Sinkhole insurance on top of the standard contents/liability costs.


I get it now. Yeah, we don't have any of that. No sinkholes, no tornadoes, no hurricanes, no floods ( at least not anymore). It's just hot, or not hot.

[BNB]

Insurance. We are in a high risk area with the following where the average home buyer needs to add Wind, Flood and Sinkhole insurance on top of the standard contents/liability costs.

And with our Insurance Industry, they pretty much have free reign right now...as I mentioned most new home buyers can't even get homeowners through a regular company as they want to see a history of coverage. This means you have to go to the State Funded Citizens Insurance Company which is the insurer of last resort and has the highest costs.

When I was younger, I rented my step dads house which had a pool as he stayed at his business location (ACLF/Retirement home) just so he could offset his insurance costs of almost 10K per year.

This is part of the reason we stayed away from the intercoastal and bought in the western suburbs. Insurance is sky high near water. We are on a lake, a reasonably large lake too, and it had no effect on insurance. Generally, if you have wind mitigation (roof requirements, shutters, Miami-Dade Garage door, etc.) then rates are still high, but not THAT bad. I think we are around $3k/year + $400 for flood, and it's not a cheap house.

I had to do Citizens on my rental condo, no other company would touch it.

Harold,

The prices of housing is often reflected in all monthly/yearly costs. Meaning, since your insurance is probably lower, oftentimes housing will cost more. People tend to do all the numbers, calculate a monthly payment, and see what they can afford. So it ultimately balances out pretty well as far as payments are concerned. We just don't get as much cash equity in our homes here, since our homes are cheaper and the money goes to the insurance companies.

[Harold Mansfield]

Sounds like going into the pool business in FL is a risky venture with a very select clientele. With so many people upside down on their homes, if adding a pool doesn't increase the value, and increases insurance and legal costs, why would the average home owner spend the money right now if it means making the home harder to sell...for less than you have invested in it?

Seems to me, given a choice, I'd opt for a kitchen and bath remodel.

[BNB]

Sounds like going into the pool business in FL is a risky venture with a very select clientele. With so many people upside down on their homes, if adding a pool doesn't increase the value, and increases insurance and legal costs, why would the average home owner spend the money right now if it means making the home harder to sell...for less than you have invested in it?

Seems to me, given a choice, I'd opt for a kitchen and bath remodel.

The idea that it makes the home harder to sell is news to me. I know almost nobody that wants a house in South Florida without a pool. It definitely increases value. I would also say that the average home OWNER should be interested in staying in their home for a long time, and a pool is more of a personal luxury than a straight up investment.

Our real estate market has rebounded substantially. There is very little inventory and it goes fast. It's a much different market than a few years ago.

[Steve B]

Maybe they would add a pool because they like to swim. People buy all kinds of things that are terrible investments (i.e. a new car).

[billbenson]

BTW, pool or no pool, you couldn't pry me out of Florida (well Costa Rica or Panama maybe). :)

[iggypop]

Yes it is very feasable and by the sounds of it you have a solid business plan. The biggest hurdle will be getting the permissions and license needed to get to work, but other than that everything sounds goo, great plan.