Looking to buy a cheap beach vacation house/investment (Vero Beach: where to stay, for sale)

[joshjungalo]

I am seeing a lot of cheap houses near the beach for sale, all throughout Florida, some in Vero Beach area and some Port Saint Lucie.

I havent ever been to the area so do you guys have any suggestions for good areas to look out for that won't break the bank and are good neighborhoods for families and close to the beach? Preferably close (within an hour) of a major airport as well. Where to stay away from?

It would be for a vacation home that we may end up moving to permanently down the road or looking to sell later when the market picks up whenever that is. So looking for a good investment as well.

[Lilybeans]

You really need to come here before you even consider buying. There are no beach houses in PSL. Vero has homes near the beach, but I'll bet they aren't cheap.

[TriMT7]

In PSL you may be able to find bargain priced homes East of US-1 near the Savannas preserve area, which is like a couple miles from the intracoastal and then a ten minute drive down to the causeway to get to Jensen Beach. Check out zip code 34952.

[Synergy1]

Originally Posted by joshjungalo

I am seeing a lot of cheap houses near the beach for sale, all throughout Florida, some in Vero Beach area and some Port Saint Lucie.

12 years ago I was offered an ocean front home lot in northern Florida for $112,000.

Seems reasonable until we visited....It was listed as .23 acres but was 25' narrow at the waters edge then much wider at the far end.... Couldn't park a trailer there but maybe a bike would do fine. You need to come down to PSL and our surrounding towns to see for yourself. Many places are for sale with River frontage and prices range from around $350k to over $2 mil. and higher so prices of cheap homes is a subjective question. Also note if the prices are cheap then we would have gathered them up already.....Thanks and good luck.....

[stevep111]

About the best deal you will find near the beach is a Trailer home. They go anywhere from 14k and up. You have to pay rent for the space and I am sure a HOA of some kind but if you want cheap that is your best bet. Draw back is that if a Hurricane comes by your out of business. I don't think you can find total home replacement insurance on one and in fact you have to be careful that you don't buy in one of those places that you can't replace your Trailer with a new one. Some of these property owners are selling out from under the tenants or they have a clause that once your house is unlivable you can't replace. But for 14 to 25K if you get 6-7 years out of it you have broken even.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by stevep111

About the best deal you will find near the beach is a Trailer home. They go anywhere from 14k and up. You have to pay rent for the space and I am sure a HOA of some kind but if you want cheap that is your best bet. Draw back is that if a Hurricane comes by your out of business. I don't think you can find total home replacement insurance on one and in fact you have to be careful that you don't buy in one of those places that you can't replace your Trailer with a new one. Some of these property owners are selling out from under the tenants or they have a clause that once your house is unlivable you can't replace. But for 14 to 25K if you get 6-7 years out of it you have broken even.

Steve, many of the monthly park rents are $400+. So I'm not so sure a person will break even after several years. I suppose if he pays cash for the home and does his own maintenance, it might be a relatively inexpensive way to live. I looked at a few very inexpensive homes, even a few for under $10,000 in the Jensen Beach area. The reason they've dropped so much is that the owners can't afford the lot rent. This park gave owners the option to buy a share of the land for a higher monthly rent. Mobile homes also depreciate unless we go through another housing boom in the future.

I'm not disagreeing that its a good option for many, since I lived in a mobile home for several years (not in FL) but they don't sell quickly and an older home can be a lot of work. The OP also said "looking for a good investment" and a mobile home is rarely a good investment.

[FlaLadyB]

Originally Posted by stevep111

About the best deal you will find near the beach is a Trailer home. They go anywhere from 14k and up. You have to pay rent for the space and I am sure a HOA of some kind but if you want cheap that is your best bet. Draw back is that if a Hurricane comes by your out of business. I don't think you can find total home replacement insurance on one and in fact you have to be careful that you don't buy in one of those places that you can't replace your Trailer with a new one. Some of these property owners are selling out from under the tenants or they have a clause that once your house is unlivable you can't replace. But for 14 to 25K if you get 6-7 years out of it you have broken even.

Also consider that if you have a hurricane you might be dead and/or washed away if you don't evacuate. A trailer is the worst home you could have in Florida....

[FlaLadyB]

Josh.. what are you looking to spend - that would help. And, are you looking to be in a house, apartment, community or house on a lot (that won't be cared for while you are gone).

[joshjungalo]

I am looking for a single family house... not right on the beach but near the beach for vacations. I would also consider a condo if close to the beach with low condo fees. If this isnt the best area to look, could you possibly suggest another?

Some of the houses I have seen are probably fixer uppers, but it seems a house within 10 minutes to the beach can be found for under $100K if you look hard enough. Maybe not in this area and maybe so.