florida property bargains?

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snappy

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Reflecting on a recent post about what good value hatteras boats are in the US right now I got to thinking; how much would I have to pay for a house in florida with a boat dock on a canal with sea access? Tried google but without specifying an area its a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack. Anyone out there got any reliable leads? I was thinking maybe up to 300k GBP (don't laugh, its worth a try)
 
For 600k US dollars you'd just about get that in several areas of SW Florida. It wouldnt be a mansion for that sort of money but probably a 3/2.

We were in The Keys, Marco Island, Naples, and Sanibel recently. And theres quite a lot advertised around that price. (Maybe less on Marco as its more expensive).

I doubt you'd get a Keys property for that value, but there are as many disadvantages as advantages to the Florida Keys anyway.

We have owned numerous Florida homes over the year -although sold up when we retired. I still consider reinvesting over there from time to time, but the thing that puts me off is the increasing annual tax burden on Florida home owners.

Your 600k US dollar home would attract at least 10k US dollars annual tax bill with it. And thats for just "being there" - it doesnt include anything like trash collection etc etc..

If you really want details of Realtors in the area, then I can give them to you if you PM me.
 
wait a year or so, the US property market is apparently about to go into freefall!

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The US property market has been falling like a stone in Florida for a while. Most property has dropped 30% since 2004.

I wouldnt wait much too long though! Also you have to consider the value of sterling, and thats rapidly falling at present from its 2.11 dollars of a few weeks ago.

Plus - Sakai wants something "on the water". To a certain extent, homes like that are less affected by market drops because they are so much rarer.
 
Sakai - something on the water, in a reasonable condition, often comes with premium of perhaps 50% or more over something not on the water. For $600K you could get something very nice off the water.
The S. Florida market is really depressed at the moment especially properties under $1M, so bargains are to be had. In fact, in many cases you can name your price as people are desperate to sell. We live in the Sarasota area, S. of Tampa, where there's plenty of good boating and a very large boating community. One of the biggest Real Estate companies in this area is Michael Saunders (www.michaelsaunders.com), so you might want to browse their web page. Others which operate here include Sky Sothebys, Remax and Century 21.
It's true that property taxes in FL are quite high: 1.5 to 1.7% of the assessed value of the property and we pay around $70/mo. for water/sewage/recycling. In the summer, aircon costs run for a 2200 sq ft house around $200/mo, but we hardly ever need to heat during the winter/spring, Nov-May. There is no state income tax, however and capital gains are taxed at 15%. Sales tax here is 7%. On-water diesel is about $3.00/US gal and rising. Petrol is around $3.70
As a furrener, you would only be allowed to stay in the country for 6 months out of any 12 and the authorities have become quite strict about this, so I've heard. (we are permanent residents). I would suggest, if you are serious about buying, that you rent a place here for a time and recce the areas of interest. Now, it's high season, so it could be expensive to rent. PM me if you think I can be of help.
 
Fort Lauderdale is worth a look for on the water property. I am also of the opinion that the us property prices has a way to go down yet. Say another 6/12 months.
I have also been looking but was told to beware as the insurance costs are becoming very expensive for the florida region. Anyone else heard about this?
 
Yes, insurance costs have shot up since the hurricanes of a couple of years ago. I forgot to mention that.

We like Ft Lauderdale, but it is much more crowded than this side. Other places to look at are Port Charlotte, Charlotte Harbour area, Venice, Osprey. Naples and Marco Is. tend to be more expensive.
 
My mother in law lives in central Florida and mentioned insurance costs when we told her we were looking to buy again. (We owned a place in Davenport until December last year and just got out in time)! I think the insurance companies may have just caught up with the hurricaines from 2 years ago. May be worth looking into before jumping in...
 
Thanks guys for the really informative and helpful replies; a lot of this was news to me so certainly food for thought before taking the plunge! Our daughter is angling for a trip to Orlando at easter so we may try to explore some of your suggestions then. Thanks again everyone.
 
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