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beachFool

Beach Fanatic
May 6, 2007
938
442
For the last 50 years FL real estate has been impacted by retirees moving here.

There are some headwinds we are facing.

Most people dont have nearly enough saved for their retirement.
Inflaiton for older people may be understated due to rising health care costs.
Florida real estate used to be cheap. Now with taxes and insurance costs are higher.
Decline of defined benefit plans (pensions) ties into the first one but having a steady income during retirement impacts your standard of living.
Lack of infrasturture i.e roads.

Walton County needs industry that pays enough that people can afford to live here.
 

Em

Beach Fanatic
Sep 18, 2005
1,506
884
Walton Co.
Buzz, I'm not sure who you are saying are the "buy now" people. I don't see much of that on "local message boards." When I report actual sales being high, and volume being high, that isn't the same as a blanket statement that buying is right for everyone.

I understand your article, and know you are in the financial planning business, and I respect that. One aspect your article leaves out is lifestyle choice, which I think home ownership is all about. Owning is 1) a lifestyle choice and 2) a place to park money. Many people are looking at it as a financial investment, and while it may, or may not, provide a return, in reality, it is a lifestyle choice, not an "investment." (Typically speaking. Of course one can, or at least could in the past, purchase "investment real estate," but I haven't seen many cash flowing properties in SoWal in the last decade.) If you want to change the color of your house, or rip out the bushes and plant sod, it may not be so easy to do so if you rent. Ownership, in most cases, unless there are tight restrictions, gives you that freedom. However, freedom doesn't come for free. You must pay for freedoms. Plenty of people buy luxury yachts, airplanes, Ferrari's, and/or beach homes. They are luxury items. Some retain their value, and some lose their value, and some cost lots and lots of money to maintain and operate. These are all lifestyle choices. In general, we all need shelter, whether it is a place we stay for free, a place we rent, or a place we buy -- In all cases, we only need the shelter, not the ownership.
 
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scooterbug44

SoWal Expert
May 8, 2007
16,732
3,330
Sowal
IMO, "now is a great time to buy" ONLY if you have rock of Gibraltar solid finances, a love of home ownership, and a wad of spare cash.

Yes, there are some great deals out there and people are buying more, but this recession is far from over and for many the financial hits will just keep on coming.

Given the number of people struggling to pay their mortgages and bills, everyone should be able to sleep tonight w/o worrying they missed out on some short lived, never to be seen again, crazy arse period of low prices.

"Investing" in real estate as a get rich quick scheme or thinking of your primary residence as an asset is dumb.

But if you truly have the resources and the spare time, it IS a good time to buy.
 

beachFool

Beach Fanatic
May 6, 2007
938
442
Hi Murray

We are not that far apart.

Home ownership due to high entry costs works as a long term strategy.

There is a huge glut of exsiting homes for rent. For some people renting makes better sense if you run the numbers. For others, the opposite. That's why it is called personal financial planning.

Rental property with a positive cash flow is great. Also it has a low correlation with stocks/bonds.

A problem with real estate is that if you need 50K you can not sell the garage.
 

mikecat adjuster

Beach Fanatic
Oct 18, 2007
635
293
Seagrove.
www.myspaceherspace.com
Interesting post about Rent vs Own. Obvioulsy many variables exist, but renting the past two years has been tough. I am about to move, and while I have flexibility in that, it sucks to think I've paid out over $20,000 and have nothing to show for it.

Then again, the probability is that if I'd bought a property here, it would have dropped by over $20,000 in value over the past two years. So it was a wash in one respect.

I'm moving back to Louisiana where things are just starting to slow a bit. I think prices there will begin to fall, but who knows. I've heard the rig count is way down. I've long felt that area would be a few years behind the rest of the country in being hit by the recession, just like in the 70's and 80's.

Rather than rent, I'd love to buy a low cost house there in need of repair, buy it in cash, work on it while I live there, and sell it for either a slight gain or make it to where I basically lived rent free.

But, that assumes I can find a place to meet my needs. And also that the bottom doesn't drop out in the short span I'm there. And... well, who knows. Maybe I'll live under a bridge rent free and keep my stuff in storage :blush: That'll save me some money.
 

Bob

SoWal Insider
Nov 16, 2004
10,364
1,391
O'Wal
For the last 50 years FL real estate has been impacted by retirees moving here.

There are some headwinds we are facing.

Most people dont have nearly enough saved for their retirement.
Inflaiton for older people may be understated due to rising health care costs.
Florida real estate used to be cheap. Now with taxes and insurance costs are higher.
Decline of defined benefit plans (pensions) ties into the first one but having a steady income during retirement impacts your standard of living.
Lack of infrasturture i.e roads.

Walton County needs industry that pays enough that people can afford to live here.
most of your negative conditions have always been true
 

SHELLY

SoWal Insider
Jun 13, 2005
5,770
802
Interesting post about Rent vs Own. Obvioulsy many variables exist, but renting the past two years has been tough. I am about to move, and while I have flexibility in that, it sucks to think I've paid out over $20,000 and have nothing to show for it.

...oh, but you DO have something to show for it:

(1) You, your kids and your stuff has been kept secure/warm/cool/dry for the last two years. You had a place to receive your mail, watch TV, make/eat meals, dink around on your computer and lay your head down at night.

(2) You have the flexibility to up and leave and be with your kids without the weight of a ten-ton mortgage around your neck that can wreck your credit for years to come. (In two years you would have only paid off a buck or two in principle on the loan--the rest would have been interest that went into the bankers' pockets. And if you forked out 20% of your own cash as a down payment--that would had been flushed down the crapper.)

(3) You saved paying out 12% of the value of the home(coming and going) to feed and clothe the realtors and their kids.

(4) You didn't have to beat the bushes trying to find home owner's insurance.

(5) You didn't have to come up with several K's of cash to pay annual property taxes the past two years.

(6) You didn't have to fork over any cash for property maintenance and upkeep; and HOA dues if that applied.

Believe me, you are further ahead than practically ALL people who've bought their properties in Florida 2 years ago and need to unload them now.

So cheer up, buttercup! You've got an angel on your shoulder--you just don't realize it.

.
 

Smiling JOe

SoWal Expert
Nov 18, 2004
31,648
1,773
I couldn't agree more with Shelly's comments about having something to show for that money spent on rent. Whether you rent or own, you are paying for your shelter. The first seven years of a 30 yr loan has most of the money going to interest, so you really aren't making much progress on paying down the principle during that time anyway.
 

Bob

SoWal Insider
Nov 16, 2004
10,364
1,391
O'Wal
85 percent of the last one hundred years i would wager owning versus renting, owning wins.
 
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