Glad I left (Miami, Palmetto, Palm Beach: foreclosure, homeowners insurance, house prices)

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

While the bickering continues those of us considering Fla.as a possible location gained valuable info on storm insurance. What parts of the state are cheaper for that sort of thing?

The insight you gained should be that storm insurance is not a big deal, even in South Florida.

You may have to pick a specific area, a little further west, etc. You may notice that there is a lack of people complaining about insurance here. It's not the cheapest, we have hurricanes, but we all get by just fine.

I'll reiterate that people can only buy what they can afford. And if insurance is higher, this drives down home prices accordingly. Things balance out. You will be fine. Don't focus on insurance costs and simply pick the area of the State you would like to live in.

[JohnD_fla]

Originally Posted by goolsbyjazz

While the bickering continues those of us considering Fla.as a possible location gained valuable info on storm insurance. What parts of the state are cheaper for that sort of thing?

What astounds me about the comments in this thread is the fact that people are paying $1800 and $3,800 for insurance. I have a small 5 bedroom house in west Plantation. Ok, so it has a little bit of land around it. But I am paying many thousands more per year for insurance than these amounts I see being posted on here. And I had shopped around so I know that what I am paying now is the lowest I could get. I also have some other properties that I am trying to sell, and though the taxes on those are much lower they have gone up quite a bit in recent years.

I am among those who plan to leave Florida (for various reasons), but since you are planning to move here it is good that you are doing your research and not just listening to those who talk about how wonderful and awesome this place is. Trust me, it isn't all that. But it can be something close to decent if you have a LOT of money. "Cheaper" you might find in the stretch between north of Jupiter and St. Augustine in you want to stay on the east coast (excluding the beachfront areas). North of Jacksonville (Fernandina) is also ok. Jacksonville itself I would avoid. Other areas to avoid: Orlando, Tampa, some of Palm Beach county and pretty much everything south of it on the east coast.

[obuma]

Dont forget that those low insurance premiums, come with varied % deductibles of your homes insured value..low premium,high deductible...

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

I really don't know what to say, except that I knew that home ownership in south Florida was unsustainable for honest people.

Mayo: As storm season approaches, insurance keeps soaking homeowners - Sun Sentinel

We're honest, and maintained homeownership in S. FL for many years. I know of many others of which this is true as well.

[Papillons2]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

We're honest, and maintained homeownership in S. FL for many years. I know of many others of which this is true as well.

Same here. My wife and I have been South Florida homeowners (either a house or a townhouse) for 23 years. All of our homes have been in what most people would consider better-than-average areas. We're paying a lot more for insurance -- and taxes -- than we did in 1993. But there's nothing dishonest about how we've adapted. We have steady jobs that pay decently, but we certainly aren't rich or even upper-middle class. On the other hand, we keep our debt to a minimum and don't splurge on things we can't afford such as luxury cars (our Honda and Chevy are reliable and get great mileage), boats and plastic surgery. We don't smoke and limit ourselves to a drink or two a week, so we're not spending thousands annually on cigarettes and alcohol (while also keeping our health-care costs down). When the latest, greatest flat-screen TV and smartphones hit the market at huge prices, we don't rush out to buy them -- we'll gladly wait until what we have needs replacing. We've invested in our homes with hurricane-proofing upgrades -- costs more upfront, but saves on insurance in the long run and reduces the possibility of damage if a storm ever hits. By saving whenever we can, we have rainy-day money in the bank and an adequate retirement nest egg. And like Travelassie, we know many others who follow the same formula and are living happily.


Maybe it's not the most exciting lifestyle, but it has worked for us. It will continue to work for us. And I have no idea what might be even remotely dishonest about it.

[harry chickpea]

"Maybe it's not the most exciting lifestyle, but it has worked for us. It will continue to work for us. And I have no idea what might be even remotely dishonest about it."

I used "honest" in an apparently archaic style. Growing up in Vermont, people who earned an "honest living" label were those who labored directly for their income, often with that labor being the extremely hard physical labor of farming or such. The root of it goes back to the religious mindset of New Englanders like Thoreau, or the "life is suffering" Calvinists which saw money lenders and those who earned money by incorporating the labor of others as somewhat less than the ideal spiritual life. A variation of it is the "noble savage" ideal of living a self-sufficient lifestyle. Another variation is the increasing recognition that when we put jobs overseas in sweatshop conditions, and benefit from the suffering of those living under duress, we are not being "honest" to many of our espoused ideals. My intent was to designate the common "work for a living" schlub in the general non-specialized employment pool.

It was a poor choice of word on my part. Being surrounded here by people who grew up dragging hundred pound sacks of picked cotton around hot fields to make money, and seeing the difference in value systems between here and there, I reverted back to that older definition.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by JohnD_fla

What astounds me about the comments in this thread is the fact that people are paying $1800 and $3,800 for insurance. I have a small 5 bedroom house in west Plantation. Ok, so it has a little bit of land around it. But I am paying many thousands more per year for insurance than these amounts I see being posted on here. And I had shopped around so I know that what I am paying now is the lowest I could get. I also have some other properties that I am trying to sell, and though the taxes on those are much lower they have gone up quite a bit in recent years.

I am among those who plan to leave Florida (for various reasons), but since you are planning to move here it is good that you are doing your research and not just listening to those who talk about how wonderful and awesome this place is. Trust me, it isn't all that. But it can be something close to decent if you have a LOT of money. "Cheaper" you might find in the stretch between north of Jupiter and St. Augustine in you want to stay on the east coast (excluding the beachfront areas). North of Jacksonville (Fernandina) is also ok. Jacksonville itself I would avoid. Other areas to avoid: Orlando, Tampa, some of Palm Beach county and pretty much everything south of it on the east coast.

Depends when your house was built, among other things. I have a 2000 square foot house in Cooper City built in 1979, it's $3300/year. I also have a 5500 square foot house in west Davie on an acre of land, built in 2004, it's $3800/year. It's a large house, not just in square footage, but volume. Single story so a very large roof, 15 ft high ceilings, etc. It would cost a bundle to rebuild this thing. I was shocked at how low the insurance was. But I'm told anything built after 2002 is based on much more stringent codes and insurance reflects that accordingly.

Anyone buying can get insurance quotes and information before purchasing a house. The rates can vary wildly depending on how the house is built and how new it is. It's good information to have. But calling ALL of South Florida overpriced is nonsense. Some areas you need flood, some you don't. Some houses have old roofs and not up to code on anything, some have impact windows and mitigation.

As I said, costs balance out. House prices are based on what people can afford to pay. I was having this discussion with a friend who lives in Vancouver. He was talking about how much his taxes and insurance was, and he has a $600k house... after mortgage/taxes/insurance - he was paying about the same as me on a $400k house. So you are thinking... see, proves the point that insurance is killing us.... but the thing is, his house wasn't big or special at all. But a decent house there is $600k and here it's $400k. It really does balance out and has a lot to do with the local economy.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

We're honest, and maintained homeownership in S. FL for many years. I know of many others of which this is true as well.

Yes, about 7 million others who are nice, honest people and live in South Florida.

[BNBR]

Originally Posted by harry chickpea

"Maybe it's not the most exciting lifestyle, but it has worked for us. It will continue to work for us. And I have no idea what might be even remotely dishonest about it."

I used "honest" in an apparently archaic style. Growing up in Vermont, people who earned an "honest living" label were those who labored directly for their income, often with that labor being the extremely hard physical labor of farming or such. The root of it goes back to the religious mindset of New Englanders like Thoreau, or the "life is suffering" Calvinists which saw money lenders and those who earned money by incorporating the labor of others as somewhat less than the ideal spiritual life. A variation of it is the "noble savage" ideal of living a self-sufficient lifestyle. Another variation is the increasing recognition that when we put jobs overseas in sweatshop conditions, and benefit from the suffering of those living under duress, we are not being "honest" to many of our espoused ideals. My intent was to designate the common "work for a living" schlub in the general non-specialized employment pool.

It was a poor choice of word on my part. Being surrounded here by people who grew up dragging hundred pound sacks of picked cotton around hot fields to make money, and seeing the difference in value systems between here and there, I reverted back to that older definition.

Thank you for clarifying, as your usage of the word obviously struck a nerve with a few people here

I still respectfully disagree with you, though. Most houses in South Florida are not for rich people nor are they owned by rich people. They are owned by hard working, honest people. Rich people are not buying 1700 sq ft houses in Sunrise. How do all these people manage to buy and own houses? I would go back to my comments about things balancing out. People buy based, not on purchase price, but on their monthly bill. If insurance is high, interest is high, taxes are high, etc... then it drives down the price of houses. The market balances itself quite well. You have people who get screwed, and I understand that, but it's just part of the process.

[Joe33]

Bought a house 20 year ago in Davie. We were going to move there for a job but the job fell thru so we decided to keep it for a retirement house. However with taxes, insurance and repairs we pay much more money into it than we get out of it. Insurance is a big killer. It is 3 months rent just for that. another 2 for property taxes. I really dont know how people can make their payments.