[bryan61]

Yes, market has so much to do with all of this. I live in a very rural part of upstate Michigan. Property taxes are through the roof and unemployment has always been bad in this area. It is however one of the least expensive places to live in this country especially real estate. People on fixed incomes (retirees, disability) relocate here for that reason. I know a guy from NJ who ended up on SS Disablity when he told his case worker back east he couldnt live on this income the case worker sent him here and I think there was another place in SD whith simuliar economic envoronments they recommended

Anyway I own a couple of homes up here and im sitting through the last 5 years wondering why everyones getting so rich on equity and and my property seems to making its normal small slow increases. I didnt see any huge increases in my property value and was a little worried. Now that its supposed to be busting I dont see that either as everything continues as normal. My brother lives in a part of Tenn where cost of living is also reasonable and hes in the same boat none of this boom bust stuff seems to effected him either. Even if I would have bought a home here at the peak of the boom I wouldnt have so badly overpaid that I would been crippled financially. I see what happened in places like SO. FL, Vegas, SO Cal and parts of the north east and cringe. I grew up in S. Miami and I just can freakin believe what house in my old neighborhoos are going for. I would say these hotspots are the exception rather than the rule but they are also the places where a person can find decent paying work. I guess you just have to know what you want, make good decisions, common sense

[JimKing]

From today's housing blog.

“Two years ago, there were 12,000 homes for sale in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Today that number is 78,000 homes for sale, which is an increase of 650 percent.”

I have a feeling the price decreases over the next 5 years in these areas will shock even us "doom and gloomers".

[LingLing]

Well, again, I decide to say something. Everyone follows his or her logical and believes in his or her own analysis of the market. I just like to say several things.
1. Someone (I think is SKB) mentions that people in Florida bought over $300K house is struggling financially. It is not true. I bought in Tradition, PSL, Florida recently and paid over $350K. Our monthly payment of everything added together is 15% of our monthly income. We both drive 2006 Honda cars and no car loan. We live comfortably not luxury. We have money set aside to buy another house ~ $350K in San Diego if the “bubble” would bust there. Or we just have to stay here (not bad either). All neighbors bought their houses over $350K and none of them is struggling. Most of retired couples bought their house by cash.
2. IMO, PSL is one of the worst housing markets among the area (Dade, Broward and West Palm Beach). Even within PSL, there are pockets of area that is selling. When I bought mine in March of this year, there were ten houses with the same floor plan on market under $400K. Now, only one at $397K no pool no upgrade. The other one is listed at $500K (I think this is a crazy price).
3. Interest goes up and price would go down. I think it will depend on how high it would go. The 30 year fix rate went up 1% since I bought. I didn’t see the housing price falling further since I bought. If I buy the same house now, I would pay more monthly.
4. Rent vs Buy. Do I save money by renting the same house in the same neighborhood? Yes. I do save some money. Okay, since I am in 30% tax bracket, after everything, I pay $300 more per month. But I get to choose the lot, the color and the upgrade. For $300 per month, I own my home.
Different people has different situation. Each house has different thing to offer. I don’t think you can just mix everything together. Do I care about the housing market? Yes. Or I won’t read this thread. Do I know what will happen in the future? No. I believe American economy will continue to expand. I am happy to have a place call my own while riding whatever storm coming at us.

[JimKing]

The "storm" has not even started. Places like North Port, Port Charlotte, and Port Saint Lucie have only begun to drop. This mess will gradually spread, not only to other parts of the Florida economy, but gradually to surrounding areas of the "ground zeros". Eventually all of Florida will be affected.

People on the housing blog first started noticing North Port, Port Charlotte, and Port Saint Lucie a long time ago.....way before the media and general public. They reported months ago that the surrounding areas seemed to be fine. Now they are reporting that the surrounding areas are starting to suffer, at an accelerating rate.

So to say your rent vs own costs are at a certain level today is meaningless. If the value of a house is dropping month by month for the next 5 years, all bets are off.

There is almost no where in Florida where buying makes more financial sense than renting as of today. You can not use rent to own calculators as the bar keeps moving, favoring renting more as time goes on and home values decline.

[ddlove01]

Renting is fine, but there is no guarantee! Owners may want to sell it from under you to get out while they still can.

Paying $1200-$1500 a month, heck, you could own a home for over 200K at this rate (if you have good credit and a stable job)

Some mortgage companies will not even require a hefty downpayment. First time homebuyers may even qualify for bond money, that's what we did.

Just keep your options open...that's all. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough.

[kort677]

Originally Posted by ddlove01

Renting is fine, but there is no guarantee! Owners may want to sell it from under you to get out while they still can.

Paying $1200-$1500 a month, heck, you could own a home for over 200K at this rate (if you have good credit and a stable job)

Some mortgage companies will not even require a hefty downpayment. First time homebuyers may even qualify for bond money, that's what we did.

Just keep your options open...that's all. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough.

no, wrong, can't be!

[SKB]

I agree there is some risk involved in renting. My biggest concern is that the mortgage will not be getting paid and we could end up getting an REO notice pinned to the front door.
Yes, and the owner may very well sell it from under us, if these things happen it would be inconvenient to say the least.

What would be worse for me is to pay 200,000 for a so so house and next year the house I really want (that is currently listed for 330,000) will be listed for 220,000.

But different strokes for different folks, if you bought recently like several on this board and are happy, then great, enjoy your home and create happy memories.

[floridamove2]

Originally Posted by ddlove01

Renting is fine, but there is no guarantee! Owners may want to sell it from under you to get out while they still can.

Paying $1200-$1500 a month, heck, you could own a home for over 200K at this rate (if you have good credit and a stable job)

Some mortgage companies will not even require a hefty downpayment. First time homebuyers may even qualify for bond money, that's what we did.

Just keep your options open...that's all. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough.

But add the taxes and HOI.

[JimKing]

Originally Posted by ddlove01

Renting is fine, but there is no guarantee! Owners may want to sell it from under you to get out while they still can.

Paying $1200-$1500 a month, heck, you could own a home for over 200K at this rate (if you have good credit and a stable job)

Some mortgage companies will not even require a hefty downpayment. First time homebuyers may even qualify for bond money, that's what we did.

Just keep your options open...that's all. There are plenty of diamonds in the rough.

1. You are comparing apples to oranges. A $200,000 home does not rent for $1500. Right now in most of FL. a $500,000 and up home rents for that. You have confused the very reason you should rent....rents are way out of whack with asking prices.

2. A $200,000 home is not a good deal if it is actually worth half that. It will most likely be worth $150,000 in a few years. You could rent a $200,000 asking price house for around $600/month in most of Florida. Try it, I bet they accept your offer.

3. . If you are willing to pay $1500 for rent you can rent a huge house in a top area. Stuck sellers are asking $2500 and taking $1500 in most areas. Read today's housing blog, landlords are saying they are pretty much leasing to people who can fog a mirror, not asking for big deposits, etc.

4. Not paying the traditional 20% or at least 10% downpayment is what helped make this mess.

5. Renters can demand checks of landlord's financials, check for overdue payments on the property, and have their deposits held in escrow, guaranteeing they can not get burned. Landlords are beyond desperate and tenants call all the shots.

It isn't even close, renting in Florida right now is the only way to go.

[LingLing]

Originally Posted by JimKing

1. You are comparing apples to oranges. A $200,000 home does not rent for $1500. Right now in most of FL. a $500,000 and up home rents for that. You have confused the very reason you should rent....rents are way out of whack with asking prices.

2. A $200,000 home is not a good deal if it is actually worth half that. It will most likely be worth $150,000 in a few years. You could rent a $200,000 asking price house for around $600/month in most of Florida. Try it, I bet they accept your offer.

3. . If you are willing to pay $1500 for rent you can rent a huge house in a top area. Stuck sellers are asking $2500 and taking $1500 in most areas. Read today's housing blog, landlords are saying they are pretty much leasing to people who can fog a mirror, not asking for big deposits, etc.

4. Not paying the traditional 20% or at least 10% downpayment is what helped make this mess.

5. Renters can demand checks of landlord's financials, check for overdue payments on the property, and have their deposits held in escrow, guaranteeing they can not get burned. Landlords are beyond desperate and tenants call all the shots.

It isn't even close, renting in Florida right now is the only way to go.

I really don't know what kind of housing and people you are dealing with. Everyone around me rent their place with three month rent upfront, first and last month rent and one month rent as damage deposit. They are all rented to the people with good credit. Oh, no, the rent is not as low as you claimed and the size of the houses is not as big as you said. I really don't know exactly which area or sub area of Florida you are talking about. I don't think it is proper for me to place someone's actual lease on the website.