[darrylgood]

Hello Everyone!

We are looking to buy a vacation condo - townhouse or high-rise.

We are fairly familiar with the following areas of Florida:
Panama City beach
Ft. Meyers Beach
Lower Keys
Miami Beach

Our problem is that there are so many great areas! Many I am sure that we don't even know their existence.

We are beach people and are more interested in the beach/scenery than the night life (although a bit of night life wouldn't hurt)

I assume we will be taking advantage of a foreclosure, and need to start searching areas, but need to narrow down our search.

Max price is around 120k (80k - 100K would be preferable)

Finding a nice condo for the cheapest price is our first priority as we do not need to be located in any certain area.

I assume the upper east coast would have the cheapest prices.

Any thoughts on areas to start searching?

Thanks so much!

[Momma_bear]

Will you need to finance the property or will you be paying cash?

If you are financing you need to make sure that the property will qualify. Many banks are refusing to lend to properties that are not at least 50% owner occupied.

Also-make sure you look at the finances of the condo association. Many associations are having to raise fees on existing owners because of the number of owners who are not paying their fees.

Are you looking for property that is actually on the beach? If so, you can cross Miami Beach off the list. I do not think you will find something on the beach for that price, although you may find something that is convenient to the beach for that price.

[darrylgood]

Thanks Momma

We will be paying cash yes,

That is the scary thing about buying into a condo there. We will have to get a professional to take a look at the condo corp's books.

Yes the condo should be right on the beach or directly across the street.

I think Miami beach is a bit to busy for us and as you say the prices, tooo high.

Those areas listed above are just areas that we are familiar with, we are open to any other locations.

Any ideas Nortth of Miami/Ft Laud ?

Thanks again

[kyle19125]

The other big metro area in the state (second largest), which also happens to be on the coast, is Tampa/St Petersburg/Clearwater. There are some good buys to be had in Oldsmar, Palm Harbor and Clearwater. I just bought a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath condo with 1150 square feet in a gated golf-course/tennis community in East Lake Woodlands, which is on the border between Oldsmar and Tarpon Springs for 60K. I'm 15 minutes from the best beaches in the state and around 30 minutes to downtown Tampa and the airport.

http://www.visitstpeteclearwater.com/

[NJPhilliesPhan]

The only real city in Florida is Miami, I would look there.

[AdaminMaine]

Palm Coast has some really good deals. You should be able to find many small homes for under $110,000. Palm Coast is close to Flagler Beach (15 min) and offers some nite life. Daytona Beach is only 30 min south and St Augustine is 30 min north.

[Retiredcoach]

Before you even consider buying a vacation home, you should probably consider how much your unit will be used and the associated real costs of ownership. I think that you might be in for a rude awakening if the cost of partial ownership (realistically no one really totally owns a condo) could infringe upon your lifestyle. Extreme caution should be advised, as most vacation homes become deep money pits soon after the novelty wears off.

[TriMT7]

What is your maximum condo fees per month that you are able to spend?

If you love nature and the beach, you may want to consider options in Northern Palm Beach County. You can get condos walkable to the beach in places like Jupiter, Florida in your price range, but the HOA will be around 300/month.

On the plus side, with a "near the beach" condo, you may be able to get some extra rental income if you hire a management company to make arrangements for a portion of daily rents received.


Also in Jupiter, or in neighboring Palm Beach Gardens, a few miles West of the ocean you can also find condos, villas, townhouses with cheaper HOAs (under 200/month).

[plhalstead]

Your best bet would be to look somewhere around the west palm beach area. You have palm beach itself with lots of great condo deals or palm beach gardens, west palm beach, delray beach, boynton beach, etc.

I would suggest a townhouse in the west palm beach area over a condo on or off the beach. In the townhouse the HOA fees will be a lot less and you could find about 1800 sqft for around 120k only 10min from the airport or beach.

I have inspected a lot in the area and that is the best for the money.

[plhalstead]

Also in Palm Beach County you will only be 45min to Fort Lauderdale or 1hr 15min from Miami. So close to go have some more city fun without having to live in the craziness