[backtofla]

i know i have read where ppl are moving to tenn., sc/nc, because they can sell their house in fla and make a lot of money... okay, i can see why that may be tempting to cash out.

i do have a question for you all, moving out of fla or staying, what are the income brackets that will not allow one to enjoy living in florida???

i know it's expensive, i came from nc after living in fla yrs ago, where a nice home was less than $100k. my wife and i make pretty good money for being in our early to mid twenties, but we worked hard and went to college to get there. our income is approximately $90k between the two of us. isn't this enough??? to those of you that have a home, kids and car payments, are we making enough??? we want to stay in fla, but i do realize we cant afford to live in jupiter or wellington. thanks for the replies guys and in no way am i trying to brag about our income or make anyone older than us who are making less feel bad. please don't take it that way.

[Racelady88]

I was a single income household. With overtime I was making $35-37K. When I bought my house in south Sarasota County in the late 90's I was making it. When I left last year, I was minutes away from going under.

The overtime went away (not really in my budget, but made life easier). Raises came out in the order of .25 or .50 an hour once a year. My homeowner's insurance went up 75% without benefit of a claim. My car insurance was up almost 100% (over the course of 4 years), also without benefit of a claim. As the price of gas, groceries, property tax, and everything else was going up at an alarming rate my paycheck was not keeping up.

I changed jobs, but it really didn't help. I was having to drive 40 minutes each way to get to work, so the extra money in my paycheck was going into my gas tank.

For the last year that I was there I found myself using a credit card to buy groceries more & more. Groceries! Something that is gone before the bill even comes in!

I really can't tell you what income bracket you need to be in to survive down there. I just know that I wasn't in it.

[nk0171]

I think you have a good chance of being house rich and cash poor if you go with a home over $$275,000-300,000, unless you put a good amount of money down for a house....just out of curiouslity, why are you moving back to FL? We're in a way trading with you, I'm moving to NC next week. Been here for 20 years and it's time for a change. It is worth buying in FL if you absolutely love it here, it's your money, spend it how you want.

[sunrico90]

The cost of living in FL (I live in NW FL) is expensive. Do to rising cost of insurances, housing, gas, etc, you need to attained a job over $50K to live without too many limits.

[sunshine girl]

Backtofla, I am RN, husband retired with pension and Soc. Sec., together we bring in about 70K, and are doing fine. Not getting rich, but not intended to either. We eat out, we travel, we live within our means. And all this while living in Sarasota...known by those who don't live here as too expensive. Once you decide which area of FL to move back to, cuz as you know the state has lots of totally different areas to offer, it just takes some work to find an affordable place for YOU. Prices are dropping tremendously here, lots of negotiation room, and I imagine it's like that all over the state. We could not afford on the beach million dollar housing, so we did not look for that. We looked at and found what we wanted and could afford. It's all there. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Same with jobs. Yes, wages here are probably lower than in any big city up north, but it's not all minimum wage either. Just takes research and some effort. Not many handouts in this world, but it sounds like you're not in that mentality anyway. Good luck with your search and research, and welcome back to enjoy why we CHOOSE to live here.

[SleepingDragon]

Originally Posted by Evey

I was a single income household. With overtime I was making $35-37K. When I bought my house in south Sarasota County in the late 90's I was making it. When I left last year, I was minutes away from going under.

The overtime went away (not really in my budget, but made life easier). Raises came out in the order of .25 or .50 an hour once a year. My homeowner's insurance went up 75% without benefit of a claim. My car insurance was up almost 100% (over the course of 4 years), also without benefit of a claim. As the price of gas, groceries, property tax, and everything else was going up at an alarming rate my paycheck was not keeping up.

I changed jobs, but it really didn't help. I was having to drive 40 minutes each way to get to work, so the extra money in my paycheck was going into my gas tank.

For the last year that I was there I found myself using a credit card to buy groceries more & more. Groceries! Something that is gone before the bill even comes in!

I really can't tell you what income bracket you need to be in to survive down there. I just know that I wasn't in it.

Evey:
It's this way everywhere and so many are being affected by the one-two-three punch visited on us by our Govt. I was taking stock and figured that our monthly expenses had risen by nearly $1000 in the past year!
Housing appreciation everywhere nearly doubled in a very short time
and then BAM!
15 straight interest rate increases on the adjustable mortgages that many folks took out to afford said houses; This also affected credit cards and other types of loans
gas and electric bills 70% increase (in my area);
mandated double pmts on credit card minimums;
cost of gas and related increases to goods and services
and on and on. Many people are sitting with those negative
equity mortgages where they are paying less each month than
even the interest due. This is being tacked onto the principle
and now their house values are in decline due to people trying to
sell and get out. There is a glut of homes on the market which will
soon be bank foreclosure inventory.

What is going to happen when the banking industry who made these loans crumbles?

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by SleepingDragon

Evey:
It's this way everywhere and so many are being affected by the one-two-three punch visited on us by our Govt. I was taking stock and figured that our monthly expenses had risen by nearly $1000 in the past year!
Housing appreciation everywhere nearly doubled in a very short time
and then BAM!
15 straight interest rate increases on the adjustable mortgages that many folks took out to afford said houses; This also affected credit cards and other types of loans
gas and electric bills 70% increase (in my area);
mandated double pmts on credit card minimums;
cost of gas and related increases to goods and services
and on and on. Many people are sitting with those negative
equity mortgages where they are paying less each month than
even the interest due. This is being tacked onto the principle
and now their house values are in decline due to people trying to
sell and get out. There is a glut of homes on the market which will
soon be bank foreclosure inventory.

What is going to happen when the banking industry who made these loans crumbles?

Nothing will happen to the banks....... ever hear of securitization

[chocomom]

Originally Posted by backtofla

i know i have read where ppl are moving to tenn., sc/nc, because they can sell their house in fla and make a lot of money... okay, i can see why that may be tempting to cash out.

i do have a question for you all, moving out of fla or staying, what are the income brackets that will not allow one to enjoy living in florida???

i know it's expensive, i came from nc after living in fla yrs ago, where a nice home was less than $100k. my wife and i make pretty good money for being in our early to mid twenties, but we worked hard and went to college to get there. our income is approximately $90k between the two of us. isn't this enough??? to those of you that have a home, kids and car payments, are we making enough??? we want to stay in fla, but i do realize we cant afford to live in jupiter or wellington. thanks for the replies guys and in no way am i trying to brag about our income or make anyone older than us who are making less feel bad. please don't take it that way.

Where do you plan on living? A decent home in a nice area of South Florida (Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach county) will easily run you over $300k. The average housing price in S. FL is approx $350,000. There is almost nothing under $200k unless you're willing to move to a condo. What you're making there will definitely not stretch as far in THIS area of FL. Now, if you move to somewhere like Sarasota, Jacksonville, etc., you'll probably have a better chance.

Do you have or are planning to have children? Then 90k won't do it. Will your wife continue to work or will she want to stay home with the kids.? If she chooses the latter, you almost for sure be a sinking ship. Daycare can easily run you $150 on up for infant care if she decides to go back to work. With the frequent increase in homeowners insurance, FPL, telephone service, and car insurance, you will barely be middle class in S. FL. I talking about living comfortably with breathing room and limited debt.

This is my take on S. FL. My husband and I are in our mid-20s and have two children. We gross $66k a year. We have friends and acquaintances grossing closer to 80k with similar complaints. Just to give you an idea.

[Mrs.Bewitched]

My husband and I together make around the same figure you mentioned-teacher and a mailman. We have 2 kids. I have a student loan payment. Other than that, we only have one credit card, no car loans-we are not in debt. Right now we are renting, trying to figure out where in FL we can afford our dream home (not a manshion, I am a realist, but a nice but not too tiny (1600 sq ft) 3 bed single home with a yard that isn't a dump and something I can be proud of) and if not, we are outa here. We talked to a mortgage person who of course was trying to say we could afford a $300K home, but when we really sat down...sure we could. But then we'd be house poor. Forget vacationing. After we paid all the bills, and food...if a problem with our car occurred-well my kids might miss a meal. When my child needs brace (and he so will), I might put ourselves in debt. I want another child, I mean we both have good jobs, but in FL, it doesn't look like I can have another one. So now, you do not make enough for MOST parts of FL. There may be some...I have been trying to research, but most homes less than $200K unfortunately look like they should only be worth $60K in other states. I was looking for houses before all of the word about the insurance crisis, so I don't even know what those extra monies would have cost. I'm trying to stay, but it doesn't appear it.

[Milabs]

mrshvo- Don't bother looking for homes in Cape Coral. $250K will get you nothing more than a 1200 sft piece of crap...usually a Value Builder home..they built both woodframe and block..but they are the cheapest built houses on the Cape.

Taxes and homeowners ins in that area are insane and that's what's driving alot of long time residents out...coupled with the every rising crime rate.

To me 90K is not enough to live on in S Florida..you could do it but who wants to live paycheck to paycheck? Not me.