Investment Property in Fort Lauderdale Area (Confused) (Miami, Orlando: real estate market, oceanfront)

[KillerDave]

Hello,
I live in NJ. The property market is way overpriced here. I am very undecided about buying a property over here, so i am not sure if i will wait for another 5 or 7 years before buying a home, so i wanted to have a investment property in Florida, since the prices have gone down so much i would love to invest there and own a property there. I have asked around a little bit but mostly havent gotten any clear answers where to invest.

Can someone please suggest me good places to invest in Fort Laudeldale area, my Budget is around 150K. What do you think about WESTON or BOCA RATON or WEST PALM BEACH or even WINDERMERE....and what about MIAMI ITSELF. I am confused which one should i shortlist on.

I have 3 major concerns
1) After i Buy a property IT HAS TO BE RENTED because i wont be able to afford another 1000/month worth of expense

2) If at all i can payoff the mortgage in next 7 to 10 years, i may think about coming and living over there, how are the jobs possiblity over there.

3) School systems and Universities. Are good areas with good schools hard to go on Rent?

4) How much average rent can i get on a 2 or 2 bedroom Home or Townhome in Weston/Boca Raton or WPB?

I would appreciate the insights on this.

Thank you
I would apprecaite if i can get some insight on this

[Nolefan34]

Wow that is a lot to digest. You are gonna have to first narrow down your search quite a bit if you want answers. First decide which area you want to be in. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or West Palm? Windemere is in the Orlando area which is 4 hours away from Fort Lauderdale. May as well be a different state. Then decide whether you want to own a house, condo, townhome, etc. This area is too large and it would take writing a novel to answer your questions.

It would be like if someone asked you where to live in the New York City area. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Newark, Westchester, or should I just live in Philidelphia? That is how broad your questions are.

[KillerDave]

Originally Posted by Nolefan34

Wow that is a lot to digest. You are gonna have to first narrow down your search quite a bit if you want answers. First decide which area you want to be in. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, or West Palm? Windemere is in the Orlando area which is 4 hours away from Fort Lauderdale. May as well be a different state. Then decide whether you want to own a house, condo, townhome, etc. This area is too large and it would take writing a novel to answer your questions.

It would be like if someone asked you where to live in the New York City area. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island, Newark, Westchester, or should I just live in Philidelphia? That is how broad your questions are.

Thanks NoleFan34...I guess my knowhow of the areas literally showed in the post....they suck.... Sorry but i am really confused. From what i have spoken to 2 or 3 people until now, they suggested me Weston or Boca Raton. So if i were to choose these two, would it be easier for you to answer my above questions based on these 2 areas? Thanks....and most imporatantly what do you suggest and what do you think? if you were in my place and wanted to buy something as investment property in florida what where would u go? Thanks again

[Nolefan34]

KillerDave-

Regarding Weston and Boca Raton- They are two very nice areas. They also tend to be pricier than other suburbs around them. They are mostly affluent residents living in those areas. Weston has a heavier Hispanic influence and Boca has a heavier Jewish influence, although there are large Jewish populations in both areas. I don't think you can go wrong investing in these areas.

What other areas are good investments? I have no clue and I doubt anyone else does. Anyone who thinks they have it all figured out which areas are gonna blow up are scamming you.

There are many other good areas here. The good schools are generally in the Western suburbs like Weston, Coral Springs, Parkland, Cooper City, Pembroke Pines, and Boca Raton. The eastern suburbs such as Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Hollywood, and Hallandale Beach tend to be more lively areas catering to younger singles, retirees, and snowbirds. There is a lot more action in the Eastern suburbs, but the schools are not as good and traffic and crime are worse. Everything is older and more congested in the East. But if you want to be on or near the beach, then look in an Eastern suburb.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by KillerDave

Hello,
I live in NJ. The property market is way overpriced here. I am very undecided about buying a property over here, so i am not sure if i will wait for another 5 or 7 years before buying a home, so i wanted to have a investment property in Florida, since the prices have gone down so much i would love to invest there and own a property there. I have asked around a little bit but mostly havent gotten any clear answers where to invest.

Can someone please suggest me good places to invest in Fort Laudeldale area, my Budget is around 150K. What do you think about WESTON or BOCA RATON or WEST PALM BEACH or even WINDERMERE....and what about MIAMI ITSELF. I am confused which one should i shortlist on.

I have 3 major concerns
1) After i Buy a property IT HAS TO BE RENTED because i wont be able to afford another 1000/month worth of expense

2) If at all i can payoff the mortgage in next 7 to 10 years, i may think about coming and living over there, how are the jobs possiblity over there.

3) School systems and Universities. Are good areas with good schools hard to go on Rent?

4) How much average rent can i get on a 2 or 2 bedroom Home or Townhome in Weston/Boca Raton or WPB?

I would appreciate the insights on this.

Thank you
I would apprecaite if i can get some insight on this

If the budget is $150K you are talking strictly condos in Boca or Weston. Single family homes will not be available in Weston or Boca in that price range.

Be careful to find out before you buy a condo what the common charges are AND what the restrictions on renting are. Some require you to own for a certain amount of time (often a year) before you rent. Others prohibit rentals entirely.

The job market here sucks unless you are in health care.

I don't understand question number 3. It makes no sense to me.

I don't know rental pricing.

[JSnFla]

i wouldnt being playing real estate games in south florida unless u really understood what u were doing. people have and continue to lose their shirt dabbling in real estate down here. additionally people are incredibly shady, sketchy and untrustworthy in soFla so be very VERY careful in anything u may do. scam artists and criminals galore, like nowhere else

[tallrick]

Rents here are very overinflated and with a weak economy will have to come down. South Florida is the bubble center of the state so price fluctuations can be extreme. A dollar collapse is on the horizon, and that will destroy the value of almost all real estate with the exception of farmland.

[Nolefan34]

Fort Myers is actually the worst real estate market in the country. Far worse than Southeast FL.

[KillerDave]

Originally Posted by tallrick

Rents here are very overinflated and with a weak economy will have to come down. South Florida is the bubble center of the state so price fluctuations can be extreme. A dollar collapse is on the horizon, and that will destroy the value of almost all real estate with the exception of farmland.

Thanks for the insight. But i wont be looking for a very high rent. All i want is a property and to breakeven at the end of the year. I am not looking to get profit from renting. Plus i am limiting my investment to 150K just because i dont want to go overboard in the florida market. One of the people i spoke to told me that i should expect $1 for every square feet of home. So for example if my 2 bedroom house is 1250 SQ Feet then i should expect $1250 bucks..i know thats not the case most of the time but atleast a average workout plan.. and by the way why r u being so pessimistic about the US economy. Remember if US goes down, so does the world with it. If you think dollar will collapse, there is not even a single currency right now worth replacing the dollar, so i do not think America will go down ever, look at our population, its ever increasing so there will always be demands for housing and jobs.

[garyhitchcock]

Originally Posted by KillerDave

Thanks for the insight. But i wont be looking for a very high rent. All i want is a property and to breakeven at the end of the year. I am not looking to get profit from renting. Plus i am limiting my investment to 150K just because i dont want to go overboard in the florida market. One of the people i spoke to told me that i should expect $1 for every square feet of home. So for example if my 2 bedroom house is 1250 SQ Feet then i should expect $1250 bucks..i know thats not the case most of the time but atleast a average workout plan.. and by the way why r u being so pessimistic about the US economy. Remember if US goes down, so does the world with it. If you think dollar will collapse, there is not even a single currency right now worth replacing the dollar, so i do not think America will go down ever, look at our population, its ever increasing so there will always be demands for housing and jobs.

In my opinion, condos are a dime a dozen here so I recommended to my son to buy a townhouse in Parkland with a garage and I believe that it will hold its value and it has. Real estate is driven by school districts here. The other choice but you'd probably need to be closer to 200k, is direct sand. God is not making anymore oceanfront property and with prices at rock bottom, that market has already begun to recover. So the moral of the story is purchase "unique" and it has a better chance of a return on investment!