When does it make sense to rent vs own in Florida? (Miami: sale, leases)

[blueskies2023]

Originally Posted by Dave_n_Tenn

No not really. There are still bargains to be found, although not as many. Rural prices have risen at a much slower pace, small homes in need of updating and don't forget some like living in RV's and mobile homes. We know "mobile home" is a misnomer. It's true to say it will cost more to live in Florida then it has in the past... as the OP will attest to.

Of course you have to define "really wealthy".

Searching for 18 months. Bargains? Where? nah

[Dave_n_Tenn]

Originally Posted by blueskies2023

Searching for 18 months. Bargains? Where? nah

Define very wealthy... those are your words.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by blueskies2023

Searching for 18 months. Bargains? Where? nah

None in this state. Back in 2012 you could have bought homes all you wanted for 20k in my area on the gulf. Now these dumps are 150k and up. That poster lives in another world and i would not take any stock in what they type.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by kyle19125

Great, thanks for your one-off story which doesn't reflect the reality for the vast majority and is more so apparently of dumb luck.

To recap because Americans tend to have amnesia regarding even more recent events...

Hurricane Idalia made landfall August 2023 as a Cat4 hurricane near Cedar Key and flattened much of the Big Bend area with a 9-foot storm surge along the coast.

Hurricane Ian made landfall September 2022 as a Cat5 hurricane near Fort Myers Beach and leveled that town along with Cape Coral, Sanibel Island, Captiva Island and Pine Island with a 190-15ft storm surge. 150 FL residents died and it was one of the strongest hurricanes ever to make landfall in the US. It created destruction NE across FL before exiting to the Atlantic causing severe damage to homes in the central part of the state with roof damage from winds and falling trees. The Tampa Bay area experienced an outbreak of tornadoes that caused severe damage as well.

Hurricane Michael made landfall October of 2018 in Mexico Beach as a Cat5 hurricane with a storm surge up to 14 feet that destroyed the town of Mexico Beach, Tyndall AFB and parts of Panama City among others. Parts of North Florida inland like Marianna and DeFuniak Springs saw significant damage also in places unaccustomed to storm damage.

Hurricane Irma made landfall in the Keys as a Cat4 hurricane in September of 2017. It proceeded to nail Marco Island, Naples and Fort Myers with a 10-foot storm surge. Flooding was horrific due to a prior tropical storm already affecting the area a week earlier.

Worth notating is that places like Mexico Beach, Panama City, Cape Coral, Sanibel/Captiva Island, Cedar Key and others are still in recovery mode as late as 6 years after. Some may never recover fully as many choose not to rebuild or were uninsured.

Lessening the scope of increasingly catastrophic hurricanes in Florida is irresponsible and, in my opinion, incredibly stupid given the course of recent events.

"1 off story over 45 years"..........yet all my neighbors in all of the towns I lived in experienced the same! You are cherry picking the biggest storms, which is fine. But the fact is MILLIONS of people have had no damage just like me! People that choose to live in Florida realize the risk is there but no area is without risk. Buy a new house (newest construction codes) a few miles from the coastline in a non flood zone and you will weather the storm just fine. I have distant (stubborn) relatives that stayed in Cape Coral, they are in their 80s. Water rose up to within 5 ft of their garage but never came in. Their screen enclosure twisted, their newer roof didn't lose a tile and they were out of power about 8 days. I never heard the end of the story if they replaced the screen enclosure or were able to re-install it, it tweaked a few inches but never detached. Either way it wouldn't likely exceed the insurance deductible.

Barrier islands like (Sanibel/Captiva, Keys etc) are simply a dumb idea. I have never nor would I ever buy something on a barrier island. They wanted the white sandy beach or island fantasy, ok then they assume the risk.

Also reconstruction of what? If you had a beach shack of a house or a trailer what is there to rebuild? Bakers Bay in the Abacos (Bahamas) got flattened a few years back. The residents are uber wealthy and quickly rebuilt, sending supplies over on barges and construction workers with them!

If you lived in an old house, under or un-insured then you took the risk too! As far as the deaths, more people have died from train crashes than hurricanes! Some of those knuckleheads stayed on boats during the storms!


Hurricanes are much better than floods, mudslides, tornados or fires......

[City Guy997S]

Wait this can't be true! Everything got destroyed, everyone is penniless!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...45461405_zpid/

Guy paid 189K 10 years ago, waterfront home. Asking 3X his purchase price and ad specifically states no flooding from Ian or Idalia. Cute little ranch house 45 years old!

Yep, I figure he must be one of the "lesser scope" kind of guys who had one off luck.

[Chas863]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

Wait this can't be true! Everything got destroyed, everyone is penniless!

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1...45461405_zpid/

Guy paid 189K 10 years ago, waterfront home. Asking 3X his purchase price and ad specifically states no flooding from Ian or Idalia. Cute little ranch house 45 years old!

Yep, I figure he must be one of the "lesser scope" kind of guys who had one off luck.

I'm amazed at the asking price of that place. $550K.

If you went inland about 50 miles and away from large population centers, that place would be lucky to sell for $160K. A person sure pays for close access to the beach.

.

[blueskies2023]

Originally Posted by Dave_n_Tenn

Define very wealthy... those are your words.

Cute. Why would I tell you what you already know.

[engineman]

I made my last mortgage payment in 1997. It has been wonderful without them.
Paying rent is like mortgage payments, except you never get to own the property.

[dtcbnd03]

In 99% of America renting is ALWAYS better than buying. A primary residence is not an investment...it's an expense. Closing costs, maintenance, renovation, taxes, insurance, etc...you're shelling out money each and every month. If you buy the SP500 you roughly double your money every 10 years without lifting a finger or spending another dime. With a house you MIGHT double your money but after adjusting for all the time/costs that home owners conveniently leave out you don't. 5x leverage and a 3% mortgage rate would definitely change that equation cause that's basically free money....but not at 7% rates today.

Now the exceptions to this rule are Southern California...and I believe soon South Florida. These are the only two places in America where you can get year round nice weather, sun, beach, ocean so demand will easily outpace supply and inflation. Location. Location. Location. There's a reason why a homes in LA / San Diego sells for millions....and why ones in Tampa and Miami will soon follow (if they haven't already). But hurricanes and insurance situation sure have me nervous here in SOFL.

I own several investment properties but still rent. The ONLY reason I would buy a primary home is for an investment in my family...and not for financial investment reasons.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by dtcbnd03

In 99% of America renting is ALWAYS better than buying. A primary residence is not an investment...it's an expense. Closing costs, maintenance, renovation, taxes, insurance, etc...you're shelling out money each and every month. If you buy the SP500 you roughly double your money every 10 years without lifting a finger or spending another dime. With a house you MIGHT double your money but after adjusting for all the time/costs that home owners conveniently leave out you don't. 5x leverage and a 3% mortgage rate would definitely change that equation cause that's basically free money....but not at 7% rates today.

Now the exceptions to this rule are Southern California...and I believe soon South Florida. These are the only two places in America where you can get year round nice weather, sun, beach, ocean so demand will easily outpace supply and inflation. Location. Location. Location. There's a reason why a homes in LA / San Diego sells for millions....and why ones in Tampa and Miami will soon follow (if they haven't already). But hurricanes and insurance situation sure have me nervous here in SOFL.

I own several investment properties but still rent. The ONLY reason I would buy a primary home is for an investment in my family...and not for financial investment reasons.

My house took over a 100k hit from 2005 to 2012. Now it is back up over 85k that i paid for it in 2004. I have never put much money in the house or a new roof yet. It went up big time from 2004 to 05 and then crashed in 2010 in my area as you could buy homes about on the gulf for 20k.