My Parents Need Your Help! (Miami, Tampa: condominium, crime, houses)

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by reasonablevoice

Yes, well 700 is half of 1400. So everything is relative.

Leaving $700 for a mortgage payment on $275k home? Hardly.

RM

[reasonablevoice]

Originally Posted by MortonR

Leaving $700 for a mortgage payment on $275k home? Hardly.

RM

Not sure of the point. The homes in that community sell between 40K and 80K; with a few in the 100's. At the price point the OP is looking for this is an option. The communities the OP is desiring are tough to find in the current market, so this is an option if they want to be in Lakeland.

[Parental Units]

My father’s job is in Tampa. Ideally, they would like to purchase a home in Tampa. Of course, anything around Tampa is fine. They don’t need to be in Lakeland. That is temporary.

[Lillie767]

While there is public transportation in Hillsborough County, compared to NYC the options are limited. Check out the public schedule and fares here Home | Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority.

The choices for housing and general living would be greatly enhanced if your mother would get a drivers license. It's not just shopping to be considered. Doctors appointments and visiting friends (eventually!) have to be factored into the housing decision. Otherwise, add monthly Uber costs to their budget.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by reasonablevoice

Not sure of the point. The homes in that community sell between 40K and 80K; with a few in the 100's. At the price point the OP is looking for this is an option. The communities the OP is desiring are tough to find in the current market, so this is an option if they want to be in Lakeland.

Hardly. You haven't looked at it lately, have you?

https://www.zillow.com/community/sch...28781992_plid/

Sure, there are some doublewides for $50k, but most everything else is far more expensive than that.

RM

[Parental Units]

My parents are thinking of looking at rent to buy homes in the near future. I do hope they can find some near public transit, even if limited.

[MortonR]

Originally Posted by Parental Units

My parents are thinking of looking at rent to buy homes in the near future. I do hope they can find some near public transit, even if limited.

Highly unlikely that they'll find anything.

Understand that I'm not trying to be a Negative Nellie - you don't appear to have done your due diligence when it comes to the real estate market and public transportation in this area. There is an extreme shortage of housing, that is, there is no inventory to speak of. As a result properties that do come to market are often under contract the day they're listed. Sometimes there's a bidding war for them. This continues to drive the market upwards, to the tune of as much as 10% or more annually depending on the price range and location.

The rental market is equally hot and has been since the financial crash of 2008-2012. Institutional investors came into the market with cash and bought up many of the sub-$300k homes and made them rentals. With the number of people losing their homes and the increase in property values because of the demand, the cost of entry into the housing market has made more and more people renters. There's no motivation for the institutional investors who own these homes to sell them, so it just creates even more friction in the market for the lower end.

The only thing I can see that they could get into outside of a rental would be a manufactured home or mobile home. The bad part about that is that their values rarely appreciate and they're horribly dangerous in hurricane conditions, meaning they have to go into a shelter whenever there's inclement weather. It also contributes to extremely high insurance costs as well.

To add to this, public transit is awful here - where it exists. Period. If you're looking for public transit like that of large east coast cities, forget it. It's not here and likely never will be. For that matter, the public transit in Hillsborough County (Tampa) has cut back in the last couple of years, eliminating lines and stops on the remaining routes.

Again, I hate to paint a dark picture for you, but the things you want/need for your parents simply don't exist here, or you can't find them all in one place.

Sorry.

RM

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Parental Units

My father’s job is in Tampa. Ideally, they would like to purchase a home in Tampa. Of course, anything around Tampa is fine. They don’t need to be in Lakeland. That is temporary.

That is too bad, because you would have a better chance of finding something in Lakeland. Public transit is better here, and because it is a smaller city, things are more convenient. But if they only buy "rent-to-own" there just out of luck sorry. They will need to rent, period.

[EngGirl]

Originally Posted by Parental Units

My parents are thinking of looking at rent to buy homes in the near future. I do hope they can find some near public transit, even if limited.

Public transit covers limited area which will require transfer routes, waiting (not ideal in Florida due to weather hot and rainy during rain season), and WALKING a lot. Tampa Bay are is getting better with sidewalks, but many areas still lacking one so it will not be a safe walk. That being said using an Uber will be the fastest and most reliable way to move around without driving. When my parents didn't have a car for a short period of time, they tried using public transit and what was taking them 20 minutes to drive turned to 1 hr 20 minutes and 3 changes for routes + 20 minutes walking. I am very sad to say this but Tampa Bay area is not great for people who are not driving.

There are few areas where people can live and have an access to shopping/doctors, but the budget will need to be doubled from what you mentioned. There is no way to find anything for 200K near walkable area in Tampa.

[Parental Units]

I appreciate every response. I’m sure they wouldn’t mind residing in Lakeland full time.