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Im a 57 yr old active NE widower in search of a second vacation home for the winters.
I have $50,000 cash and looking to buy east of 95 if possible.
I prefer a smaller complex with lower HOA fees than say at Kings Point.
Any suggestions?
Wondering if buying a 2BR 2BA is worth the extra money over a
1BR 1.5BA for resale,future rental,company,etc.
Would like pool complex and a furnished unit.
Planning my trek down in a month to beat out seasonal competition bidders.
Any opinions or helpful thoughts about my plan appreciated!!
If you're planning to rent it out and purchase in a country club community you should buy at least the basic membership because I think you or a tenant can add on during the year. You won't be able to rent very well without offering the possibility of golf and tennis for the snowbirds spending winter months. And they'll pay a good price for just a few months at your place.
Im a 57 yr old active NE widower in search of a second vacation home for the winters.
I have $50,000 cash and looking to buy east of 95 if possible.
I prefer a smaller complex with lower HOA fees than say at Kings Point.
Any suggestions?
Wondering if buying a 2BR 2BA is worth the extra money over a
1BR 1.5BA for resale,future rental,company,etc.
Would like pool complex and a furnished unit.
Planning my trek down in a month to beat out seasonal competition bidders.
Any opinions or helpful thoughts about my plan appreciated!!
1. East of 95 will be tough @ under 50K
2. Kings Point is a very low price community with low HOA fees so I don't think you will be able to keep the fees below that.
3. Units at the 50K and lower price point are not going to offer the furniture you would want to keep!
4. October will not beat out seasonal bidders.......July would!
5. Elevators make a huge difference in value so keep that in mind when looking at 2nd floor units
My broker in Delray has sent me 26 condos presently on the market in Boca/Delray for under 50k
East of 95.
Some look very nice with $200-$300 being the HOA.
Good point about elevators being valued highly in multi stories!
My broker in Delray has sent me 26 condos presently on the market in Boca/Delray for under 50k
East of 95.
Some look very nice with $200-$300 being the HOA.
Good point about elevators being valued highly in multi stories!
26 condos in two cities east of I95......I would bet you don't want to own any of them!
You have a lot to learn about HOA fees! In the event of capital improvements the HOA needs to collect from the residents, leading to higher HOA fees monthly. Some HOAs prefer low monthly and then they hit you with the dreaded special assessment. Communities such as Kings point tend to live on fixed incomes and honestly couldn't pay the special assessment so they tend to save money by having a slightly higher monthly assessment. Also note KP has services like the bus service so they are also paying for that.
I owned a 10 year old oceanfront unit that was $240 a month when I moved in. After the hurricanes they had the insurance re-bid only to find it was insured improperly, causing a significant shortfall and the HOA fees jumped to $615. Shortly after that they found the roofs were defective and decided to re-roof the complex at a cost of over 700K! You could pay 10K up front or simply pay an extra $100 a month until the debt was gone. Only about 1/3 of the residents could pay upfront
Moral of the story: A building with significant cash reserves and a slightly higher HOA is always going to be a better deal than an HOA with no cash reserves getting by on a shoestring budget!
I suspect your 50K condo and low HOA desire would be fulfilled outside Palm Beach county. The HOA fee's biggest expense is insurance and the area you are considering gets killed in that category.
"Higher HOA fees mean more cash reserves" .. What a foolish statement to make.
So I guess by your reasoning, the lower the hoa fees, the higher the cash reserves?
Coming from one of "smaaat people up nawth" who wants a good deal on a furnished unit for less than 50k with low HOA fees and starts her shopping in October to beat out the other buyers.....I will say you are so far behind the 8 ball you might as well rent for a season! What FL condo buyers don't realize is the expenses are high to operate HOAs due to insane insurance and year round maintenance (the landscaping, pools, facilities need 12 month care) vs. the log cabin in the woods you used to close up 8 months a year! After you understand the expenses it then becomes simple math....divide the annual budget by the amount of units then tack on a few bucks for management and then a few bucks for reserves.
You will be the same person on here next year trying to rent out a 40 year old condo west of Jog road for $1200 a month because that same realtor told you that is what they rent for only to find the costs of ownership far exceed the rent potential!
Good luck in your search...........btw by most accts the time to buy was 2 years ago!
My broker in Delray has sent me 26 condos presently on the market in Boca/Delray for under 50k
East of 95.
Some look very nice with $200-$300 being the HOA.
Good point about elevators being valued highly in multi stories!
I just did a map search from Boca to Delray east of I-95 and only 7 came up, I didn't believe there would be any, I was shocked. Several are short sales and many need a lot of work.
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to beat out the other buyers.....I will say you are so far behind the 8 ball you might as well rent for a season! What FL condo buyers don't realize is the expenses are high to operate HOAs due to insane insurance and year round maintenance (the landscaping, pools, facilities need 12 month care) vs. the log cabin in the woods you used to close up 8 months a year! After you understand the expenses it then becomes simple math....divide the annual budget by the amount of units then tack on a few bucks for management and then a few bucks for reserves. 
