[tallrick]

Most of those "investors" have never seen a true real estate collapse. Florida has nothing in its favor except a fragmented agriculture industry, winter tourism and some trade. The current investors are going to be stuck with property that cannot be rented for a good return, and a hurricane that in the 2010-2020 decade that will reduce Miami to New Orleans status. The only real estate investment I would risk would be agricultural land. You simply cannot go wrong if you can purchase acreage for less than 4 times yearly return on the land. The bursting of the medical bubble will wipe out the last swath of higher paid jobs and international trade will be avoiding Miami more and more so a lot of developed land will become permanently abandoned. Gasoline costing 5.00 a gallon and up will make commuting prohibitive. Government jobs will also fade away after hyperinflation makes wages all but worthless. Get set for the greatest depression people. Florida needs to get back to basics or be left to flounder.

[gypsynurse]

Originally Posted by verobeach

soooo.... You don't like foreigners and you don't like people from up north. So... What?? Florida should remain a townie state? Just natives? Like mango said... Those foreigners, those northerners... They're saving florida's ass.

saving florida's ass?? I wonder how we ever survived without all you folks saving our ass. Maybe that's the attitude that insults us and why we townies aren't exactly kissing your butts.

[stars99]

Originally Posted by Wild Style

You would be shocked. In downtown Miami a ton of "investors" are still purchasing up units. They are purchasing foreclosed homes too. I am not sure why they would purchase something that is still falling in value but they are. I assume many of these know nothings think that prices are going to go back up one day? It will go up one day, when we are all long dead and gone.

They might be paying cash, or actually qualified based on their income. I doubt they are financed with liar loans, although you never really know what's going on. I guess they must be gambling that they can hold these long term and get appreciation, because a south florida condo would be total loser for cash flow.

[stars99]

my responses:

Originally Posted by tallrick

The current investors are going to be stuck with property that cannot be rented for a good return

I absolutely agree.

, and a hurricane that in the 2010-2020 decade that will reduce Miami to New Orleans status.

I disagree--if this hasn't happened so far, why is it going to in the next decade? Miami isn't below sea level and has stricter building codes and more hurricane awareness than New Orleans had.

Gasoline costing 5.00 a gallon and up will make commuting prohibitive.

This is a possibility.

[seeriously]

Originally Posted by gypsynurse

saving florida's ass?? I wonder how we ever survived without all you folks saving our ass. Maybe that's the attitude that insults us and why we townies aren't exactly kissing your butts.

You survived exactly like it says, by people from elsewhere who want a piece of your sunshine and are willing to pay for it. You think you survived via orange juice?

[RVlover]

Originally Posted by stevehawk

It will be one of the best places to be when this thing turns around.

I am betting on it.

Florida is desirable. Best beaches in the country. So much to do. Great weather.(I like it hot).

Extremely low real estate prices in many parts of Florida.

Especially for what you get.

When I was first married 23 years ago I had a chance to relocate to Florida with cousins.

I could have gotten a moderate size house in the Naples area for $50-60k.

Instead I bought a house in Ct. for triple that.

Sure it ended up more than doubling in price.

The thing is I hate Ct.! I hate New England!

I hate the cold. Well we compromised and moved to South Carolina after 21 years of marriage.

She is now going back and we are getting divorced as we have never been able to agree on anything really.

I believe in Florida. I always have. It's were I really want to be.

I think it will emerge a fantastic bargain and a great place to live.

I agree it will spring back also. The tourism in Florida will always be there and it will help supplement the economy nicely till it can totally rebound. Florida is a nice place to retire which im finding out ...at least in the Panhandle area . Havent got any experience with Florida below Orlando though.

[Scientifical Madness]

Originally Posted by gypsynurse

saving florida's ass?? I wonder how we ever survived without all you folks saving our ass. Maybe that's the attitude that insults us and why we townies aren't exactly kissing your butts.

In a round-a-bout way, I sorta said the same thing. I dont understand the "saving Florida's ass" part... after the debacle we are in, are you kidding? It was mostly greed by investors who flocked down here from NY and NJ and foreigners.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

In a round-a-bout way, I sorta said the same thing. I dont understand the "saving Florida's ass" part... after the debacle we are in, are you kidding? It was mostly greed by investors who flocked down here from NY and NJ and foreigners.

If there were no tourists, There would be no Floridians flippin burgers for them, selling them stuff, ect, ect.

If not for tourism, which the state is built on, probably 1/4 of the employed people in Florida would be laid off. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of empty houses and condos that would sit vacant if they stopped coming.

The funny thing is, Housing prices have finally reset themselves and houses are going fairly cheap compared to what they were going for and the average Florida family STILL cannot afford to buy one.

[Scientifical Madness]

[quote=TNRyan23;9274490]If there were no tourists, There would be no Floridians flippin burgers for them, selling them stuff, ect, ect. They could still visit, doesnt mean they all have to move here.

If not for tourism, which the state is built on, probably 1/4 of the employed people in Florida would be laid off. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of empty houses and condos that would sit vacant if they stopped coming. The concrete jungle/sprawl never would have happened if they didnt flock down here like they did over the yrs. Many of them didnt even live here or plan to live here, they just wanted to flip a house and make some easy miney that back-fired on 'em. Now they're foreclosing, and we the residents are mowing their overgrown lawns, watching our values decrease in large part to all the surrounding forecloures, and we are also paying their HOA fees/upkeep.
The funny thing is, Housing prices have finally reset themselves and houses are going fairly cheap compared to what they were going for and the average Florida family STILL cannot afford to buy one.

[TXRyan23]

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

They could still visit, doesnt mean they all have to move here.

By visitng, They pour probably billions of dollars into Florida's economy each year. If Florida lost that revenue, Millions in the tourism industry would lose their jobs meaning Florida would take on other burdens with unemployment and welfare.

Originally Posted by Scientifical Madness

The concrete jungle/sprawl never would have happened if they didnt flock down here like they did over the yrs. Many of them didnt even live here or plan to live here, they just wanted to flip a house and make some easy miney that back-fired on 'em. Now they're foreclosing, and we the residents are mowing their overgrown lawns, watching our values decrease in large part to all the surrounding forecloures, and we are also paying their HOA fees/upkeep.

There are/were just as many greedy Floridians as their were Northerners, I would imagine there were close to as many internationals doing the same. People flipping houses aren't to blame for the crisis. They bought a house cheap, fixed it up, and tried to make a profit. Many of them did. You can't blame them if banks gave risky loans to unworthy people. You can blame the state for crazy property taxes too. As a kid I lived in a dump of a town called Lithia ( about 30-40 minutes inland from Tampa ) They have houses out there now that have property taxes OVER $4-5k a year. You can't put blame from foreclosures onto house flippers, I agree that they're pretty much low lifes but still, It's not their faults.