South Eastern US Real Estate Question

My wife and I are bouncing around the idea of buying a condo somewhere in the sunny south as a vacation/rental/investment. The housing prices down there seem to be almost unbelievably low and with the Canadian Dollar sitting near par it seems like it may be a good time to buy.

We've vacationed in Myrtle Beach, Savanah as well as on both coasts of northern and southern Florida. Every location has had it's charms.

Our requirements are pretty straight forward 1) Keep it under 100K US, under 80K would be even better. 2) Somewhere near the ocean. I know that this is a pretty broad spectrum and we'll eventually narrow down our search area but for right now we're staying very open to ideas.

I've looked at a bunch of MLS listing and I've been on a few real estate forums but I'm curious to see what this group has to say. Looking at the real estate listings can be deceiving to say the least. What can I expect to find in my price range?

Thanks for any input.

If it's under 80K in the Charleston, SC area you probably don't want it.

I have a few GTA friends that have bought condos in Fla. recently, and both were within your price range. Should I get details?

This article is perfect for you. I live in FL and have been pondering such topics as well.

Fla condos cheaper than a car

I have a home in Jacksonville, Fl. At your price point, it's possible you might find a condo, tho I doubt it would be within miles of the beach. You will probably have to trade off proximity to water for price/condition/desireability.

The nice thing about Jax? You rarely have a bad hurricane landing in the area like you do further south.

St. Augustine is also a nice area...if I had my druthers, I'd live there instead of Jacksonville.

St. Augustine is a neat place. Lot's of history, close enough to the Space Stuff. Ft. Myers area has been slammed by the real estate bust, especially the smaller towns. Deerfield is a decent area. I really like Ft. Lauderdale, but the prices here have not dropped like the other areas. My choice would probably be the lower west coast of Florida.

The real estate values in a lot of resort areas have been decimated in the last couple years. I think it would be a very good time to snatch up a bargain. Just don't expect a lot of appreciation for a few years.

Except to go to Florida in the fall/winter and bitch to Margie about the rain, I don't know anything about Florida.

There is a local car dealer that tried giving away a Kia and a home in Coral Gables and the winner passed on the house. Same house was given away last year and that winner passed also.

Maybe it's the neighborhood. Maybe it's the economy.

Dan

That was NOT Coral Gables, but Cape Coral. Values in Coral Gables have remained sky high, but they have zoning laws and enforcement like you cannot believe. Inspectors look in windows to make sure your wall colors are acceptable and to make sure you don't convert the garage to a bedroom. Not kidding. Yup, it's real pretty there, but no place for CWH. Cape Coral, on the west side of Florida, does have rediculously low prices. Just bring your money with you. No jobs.

We go to St Augustine several time a year and have noticed that all the real estate offices are now advertising foreclosures. I doubt that you can get anything nice for $80k but you never know. I used to be part of a partnership that owned a condo on Hilton Head Island in an ocean front community but when one partner needed out and the rest of us didnt have the available funds to buy him out, we sold the condo. Bad decision because we were never able to find another deal on a similar condo. If you have the money now is the time to buy.

Plenty of sub 100K choices in the Daytona Beach area. For a nicer (less touristy) area that is still close to all he fun stuff, I'd check out New Smryna Beach, and Flagler Beach.

A friend of mine just bought a nice 2bed 1 bath house a close walk to the beach for 100K. In a nice area too!

Joe Gearin wrote: Plenty of sub 100K choices in the Daytona Beach area. For a nicer (less touristy) area that is still close to all he fun stuff, I'd check out New Smryna Beach, and Flagler Beach. A friend of mine just bought a nice 2bed 1 bath house a close walk to the beach for 100K. In a nice area too!

How bad is the hurricane insurance atm? My wife was working for someone in New Smyrna Beach for a while and there were plenty of houses for sale on the beach because people couldn't/wouldn't pay for the insurance...