Hi Everyone,

Just curious to see what the overall thought on investing in Florida is at the moment? With the dollar as weak as it is and the pound as strong, just would like to have some input from investors as to how they feel about Florida.

I am a mortgage advisor/broker and an estate agent/Realtor in Central Florida area that deals mostly with UK investors. I have heard mixed things amoung clients and would just like to get a picture of what everyone else thinks. Likewise if you have quesitons on the market here please feel free to ask. Thank you

Jim

Hi... I love Florida!! I recently went to Vero Beach in March on inspection trip and liked what we saw in terms of properties available. Prices in terms of the initial capital investment are very reasonable in comparison with the UK, with the dollar currently trading at 2.05. It is also a definitely a buyers market, with a glut of properties and discounting encouraged.

However there are downsides and these are why I chose not to invest at the current time. Running costs seem extermely high in comparison with what you pay in the UK.

IE Property taxes are almost three times over here even with the strong pound.

Property insurance costs 10 times more than over here. Admittedly we don't get hurricanes very often!!! Older properties are impossible to ensure.

The above factors, coupled with the number of properties available, and the lack of employment opportunities (where I was looking in Vero) meant there was little rental market on a long term basis, and if you did manage to rent out it would be at a loss.

With no profitable rental market and the difficulty in obtaining a retirement or residents visa to stay for longer than 90 days, means there isn't much of market at the moment from UK potential investors, in my opinion.

Of course this is only my opinion from my experience. I would still like to own a property out on the coast in florida to spend the winter months, but the smart thing to do, is treat it as a possession rather than investment, so it'll have to wait until I can afford to buy, without expecting any rental return.

Florida has joined the ranks as the place to own. The popularity is running neck-in-neck to California, Texas and Arizona.

I visited Florida this past summer and enjoyed the beauty of my parents home in the Florida rural regions.

Florida is a great place to live and retreat to...

Thank you for your replies, all good information. Yes taxes here have gone out of hand, however they are in the process now of passing a new law that would roll back the taxes to the 2001-2002 levels which will really help out on that respect. Same as with the home owners or (buildings and contents Insurance) they have passed laws demanding big business to cut insurance costs.

Have seen a real surge of interest again as you say with the strong pound and buyers market. If you have the cash to buy and hold without needing the rental income to hold it, now seems the time. I have had some clients take advantage of the strong pound last surge a couple years ago buy some property 300K strong. When the market dipped to 1.73 exchange sold the home for a small profit and then made a great amount on the exchange back. I am sure i will be hearing from him soon.....2.05 that is great.

As a real estate agent here in South Florida, I just could add that this is a really best time to buy. Our office is dealing with foreclosures and short sales. This is incredible what deals you could get for your investors! I got couple properties for myself and now looking forward to see decrease in taxes and insurance. That would help us a lot.

Can any of you guys expand further on the potential changes to tax and insurance?

It would definitely be worthwhile revisiting my decision if running costs were cheaper....

Can you advise what the difference is between 2001 levels and today?

Thanks

Hi matt

I can give you some rough examples etc. but it all depends on location that your looking at. The taxes and insurance are higher in certain areas vs. others, if you like send me an email or pm and I can expand further with any info that I have on your area of interest. Thank you

It is true about location -- it varies from county to county and even in counties from city to city. You have to give us more information to start with. Thank you

I was looking at Vero Beach / Sebastian.

You could get an info fro here: w w w . ircpa . org Indian River County Property Appraiser -> Additional Searches -> Search by Address Indian River County Property Appraiser -- you should know any info about property and you'll receive an answer. If you have more questions, PM me.