Buy VS. Rent (Miami: to rent, homeowners insurance, mortgage)

TheRollingSurf · 04-13-2007, 06:29 AM

Any thoughts on buying VS. Renting? with the price of HOI and taxes being through the roof does anyone feel renting is a better option.

riveree · 04-13-2007, 10:37 AM

i wouldn't say that property taxes and homeowners insurance are necessarily 'through the roof' - they have gone up for sure, but there are a lot of factors that mitigate some of that.

if you buy a big huge expensive house, your property tax will reflect that. If you can live in something a bit more modest, you can keep your property tax reasonable. What you pay for your house - the actual dollar amount - will play a major role in what you end up paying for property tax.

For homeowners insurance, again, a more modest home choice will keep your insurance costs in check. Assuming you are taking out a mortgage and not paying cash for a home, you will have to at least insure your home for the outstanding amount that you owe the mortgage company....owe less, insure for less.

Location also plays a role in your homeowners insurance. A lot of the insurance companies now have a "10-mile" rule - if you are within 10 miles of the ocean, you will pay a slightly higher premium...the closer to the ocean, the higher the premium.

I live 6 miles from the ocean in Jax, I am well insured, and I pay about $860/year...pretty average for my area. If I lived on the beach in Miami, I can't even imagine how high the cost would be.

So is it better to rent than buy? If you can afford to buy, I think buying is the better choice and it's still a good time to buy - rates are still good. It really depends on each individual's situation whether it's the right time for them to buy.

TriMT7 · 04-13-2007, 02:36 PM

Depends. Do you plan on staying where you buy now for a long time? If so, might as well buy if you have the means.

However, if you're not even sure if you're going to *like* where you're about to move, best bet is to rent and get a feel for the area, so that you can take your time and do your research.

Renting WILL get you more house for the money though, and if you don't itemize your taxes, and don't take advantage of the tax incentives of home ownership, then it just might make more sense to rent and put the difference between what you WOULD have paid for mortgage + taxes + HOI into investment accounts!

JimKing · 04-13-2007, 02:49 PM

Take the house you want to buy and divide the price by $12,500. If you can rent it for less than per month that then rent.

I totally disagree that it is a good time to buy because rates are low. Low mortgage rates are meaningless if you overpay for a house in this inflated market. You need to check out websites about the Housing Bubble and read the information about Florida.

Even the biggest cheerleader of them all, the chief economist of the National Association of Realtors finally said yesterday that Florida has a long, long correction ahead of it.

Be VERY, VERY careful about buying right now. In most of Florida you are much better off renting for 1-2 years and see where the market is then. I guarantee you it will not be up and most likely be down a lot so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

oceandreams94 · 04-13-2007, 02:49 PM

We are trying to make the same choice here as well. We just think it would be wiser for us to rent a home in Florida for a year or two and take a look at other areas. We are hoping at that time that maybe houses wont be SO pricey either.

JimKing · 04-13-2007, 02:55 PM

I will put it this way. If any member of my family asked me that question I would beg, plead, beg some more, lay down in front of their car....and scream rent, rent, rent, rent, RENT!

Floridian to relocate · 04-13-2007, 02:59 PM

What will you do if the house prices do go back up and you canot afford the house you like then. When people buy houses are they looking at them as a investment to make money . if thats the case buy stocks much better return .
We have always buy a house to call home and live there have fun times ect . we have been lucky that all our homes have gone up but we never brought just to make money

Floridian to relocate · 04-13-2007, 03:01 PM

jimking how long have you been renting in fl

SKB · 04-13-2007, 03:40 PM

Here is an excellent Buy Vs rent calculator:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/10/bu...in&oref=slogin

TheRollingSurf · 04-13-2007, 04:56 PM

You all are the best. I love soaking in all the input and going from there. It is all greatly appreciated. I gotta tell you all though I'm scared like a little kid at the first day of school. I thought my future was set for my family and I (5 Kids) then like a light switch things can change. Who's to blame Bush, the banks, taxes, or just the whole crazy system that has made us puppets?.

TheRollingSurf.com