[Dontworryboutit]

My mother and I have dreamed about moving to Florida for years now and we've been trying to take that plunge but unfortunately we could never find affordable housing anywhere reasonable. We want to buy a house as we've been told time and time again that its cheap down there but when I head onto Zillow all I can find for that price are typically lots but when I filter out those I get these seemingly perfect homes but than find out that they're part of 55+ communities and literally no regular houses for that price. We can only afford to put a couple grand as a down payment so our home would have to be between 30k to 40k but we're having trouble finding those in reasonable areas. My mom and I are from Boston and neither of us drive and while living off of public transit was a big part of how we work, I'm trying to find us a decent area for trains or buses. I've heard that Orlando has a decent railway system.

[d4g4m]

Who is telling you 'it's cheap down there'? The homes you are seeing for 40k in 55+ communities are usually single wide homes placed in a corporation owned park in the 70's where you pay $600 a month lot rent. You don't own the lot or a share in the park.
Being that you may not have the finances to buy, you'll have to rent but rent will be more than $600 a month and since you don't have a car, you'll have to find something within walking distance of a bus line.

[Dontworryboutit]

Originally Posted by d4g4m

Who is telling you 'it's cheap down there'? The homes you are seeing for 40k in 55+ communities are usually single wide homes placed in a corporation owned park in the 70's where you pay $600 a month lot rent. You don't own the lot or a share in the park.
Being that you may not have the finances to buy, you'll have to rent but rent will be more than $600 a month and since you don't have a car, you'll have to find something within walking distance of a bus line.

Oh yeah I'll get the finances to buy alright!

[FLHfan]

Originally Posted by Dontworryboutit

My mother and I have dreamed about moving to Florida for years now and we've been trying to take that plunge but unfortunately we could never find affordable housing anywhere reasonable. We want to buy a house as we've been told time and time again that its cheap down there but when I head onto Zillow all I can find for that price are typically lots but when I filter out those I get these seemingly perfect homes but than find out that they're part of 55+ communities and literally no regular houses for that price. We can only afford to put a couple grand as a down payment so our home would have to be between 30k to 40k but we're having trouble finding those in reasonable areas. My mom and I are from Boston and neither of us drive and while living off of public transit was a big part of how we work, I'm trying to find us a decent area for trains or buses. I've heard that Orlando has a decent railway system.

20% of 30k is $6000.

[Dontworryboutit]

Originally Posted by FLHfan

20% of 30k is $6000.

Yeah by a couple, we mean under 10. I don't care if I need to build it up along the way, as long as the electricity and the plumbing works and it passes inspection it'll be good enough for me. A front yard and a backyard would also be nice as well.

[gypsychic]

I am sorry but your budget is completely unrealistic. You won't find ANYTHING livable for that money. I doubt you can even buy in a ghetto for that. A mobile home would probably be it, as was mentioned by another poster. Also, Florida does not have much public transit, and the weather pretty much necessitates having a car. Honestly, you should really consider another state.

[Dontworryboutit]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I am sorry but your budget is completely unrealistic. You won't find ANYTHING livable for that money. I doubt you can even buy in a ghetto for that. A mobile home would probably be it, as was mentioned by another poster. Also, Florida does not have much public transit, and the weather pretty much necessitates having a car. Honestly, you should really consider another state.

I've thought about Georgia and am considering going there before Florida even, but there's no place in the world like FL. I'l just have to Uber it up or deal with whatever public transit there is. I hate cars and will not tolerate having one. I'll probably get my license though but will not invest in a car because why invest in something that you hate?

[BucFan]

Usually the 55+ have monthly fees that make living expenses higher.....so those "cheap condos" still have a high monthly living that sometimes can be expensive.......in my vicinity there are a ton of quaint and relatively nice little "crackerbox" places but I think they're paying $300-500/month in fees (security, lawn maintenance, water, insurance, lifestyle/fitness use, pools, etc)......

[Dontworryboutit]

Originally Posted by BucFan

Usually the 55+ have monthly fees that make living expenses higher.....so those "cheap condos" still have a high monthly living that sometimes can be expensive.......in my vicinity there are a ton of quaint and relatively nice little "crackerbox" places but I think they're paying $300-500/month in fees (security, lawn maintenance, water, insurance, lifestyle/fitness use, pools, etc)......

So where is the region with the most affordable houses?

[Dontworryboutit]

Originally Posted by jamary1

I think the big question is....how do you plan on getting a mortgage without having a job?

I've thought about picking up a trade or having a way to collect royalty checks. Idk I admit that I haven't exactly planned this all out yet.