Florida Property - whats going on???

Jem8472

A boss of mine at one point was telling me about the time he had a holiday home in FL. He said it was great and they used to go every year. (I am not sure on how far back we are talking!) He said that two years in a row their house got hit buy hurricane damage and had rather large repair bills. Due to that fact they sold just before the value dropped!

I think it would be lovely to own a house out there but I dont earn anywhere near enough money.

Even if I did I think I would just find a house I really liked and tried renting that every year or just pay for a hotel every year.

photome

Jem8472 wrote: »

A boss of mine at one point was telling me about the time he had a holiday home in FL. He said it was great and they used to go every year. (I am not sure on how far back we are talking!) He said that two years in a row their house got hit buy hurricane damage and had rather large repair bills. Due to that fact they sold just before the value dropped!

I think it would be lovely to own a house out there but I dont earn anywhere near enough money.

Even if I did I think I would just find a house I really liked and tried renting that every year or just pay for a hotel every year.

Norwich is a much nicer place to live

budgetflyer

If you cant drive to it within an hour, don't buy it.

George_Michael

budgetflyer wrote: »

If you cant drive to it within an hour, don't buy it.

But surely you can drive to anywhere within an hour.
It just depends on where you are driving from.

thebrowski

Thanks for the info.
Just cant imagine how property that cheap, in an area which always does and always will attract so many tourists, with such great weather and beaches, cant possibly be a bad buy....

I am sure that, over the coming 5-10 years that those properties will multiply in value many times over - you wont get that kind of return in a bank!!!

Anyway, points gratefully recieved and much food for thought to be mentally chewed over!! Gracias!!

vivatifosi

maemaesmummy wrote: »

We love Florida and visit a lot...we also have friends (brits) that live there now and discuss this option a lot...but always decide to keep the cash in the bank.

We're in the same situation as maemaesmummy. We spend about a month a year in Florida, but buying a place there is not straightforward. I'd also add to the points made that you have to buy somewhere zoned for short-term rental, otherwise you could end up with a house in a great area but which you can't rent out except to locals for long periods of time. We have friends who work in real estate in FL and even they've been burned by the property market. If you want to do it, read everything you can on the subject and make sure you know your stuff. There are bargains to be had but nothing about the market there resembles the market here so caveat emptor.

duchy

thebrowski wrote: »

Thanks for the info.
Just cant imagine how property that cheap, in an area which always does and always will attract so many tourists, with such great weather and beaches, cant possibly be a bad buy....

I am sure that, over the coming 5-10 years that those properties will multiply in value many times over - you wont get that kind of return in a bank!!!

Anyway, points gratefully recieved and much food for thought to be mentally chewed over!! Gracias!!

There's a very different attitude to property in the US -The Americans will bulldoze houses as little as ten to fifteen years old simply because they are "old" so I could see older villas having issues with people not wanting to rent an "old" property.

photome

thebrowski wrote: »

Thanks for the info.
Just cant imagine how property that cheap, in an area which always does and always will attract so many tourists, with such great weather and beaches, cant possibly be a bad buy....

I am sure that, over the coming 5-10 years that those properties will multiply in value many times over - you wont get that kind of return in a bank!!!

Anyway, points gratefully recieved and much food for thought to be mentally chewed over!! Gracias!!

If you are sure, buy one and let us know how it goes

Stoffy

thebrowski wrote: »

Thanks for the info.
Just cant imagine how property that cheap, in an area which always does and always will attract so many tourists, with such great weather and beaches, cant possibly be a bad buy....

I am sure that, over the coming 5-10 years that those properties will multiply in value many times over - you wont get that kind of return in a bank!!!

Anyway, points gratefully recieved and much food for thought to be mentally chewed over!! Gracias!!

How much do you have to spend (if you don't mind me asking). Just that you say you can do this with zero or minimal mortgage hassle so must have a fair bit.

For the record, I'd love to venture into buying a property in Florida as it is by far the best place on earth