We owned a condo in Florida that we bought in 2011 and sold it earlier this year. We never planned to buy one there but I was on a business trip in South East Florida in March of 2011 and noticed that residential real estate had collapsed. Some properties were selling at prices not seen since the early 80's. So one of our low ball offers was accepted at a high rise condo in Downtown West Palm beach on the intracoastal built in 2008 from the bank and we closed in September 2011. We were confident that we could eventually sell the property to a migrating snowbird. Our plan was to retire in 2015 and sell the property shortly thereafter when prices recovered. Here is our view of the good and bad.
The good:
Great views and possibly the nicest location in South East Florida around Palm Beach Island.
The prices for coastal properties are still much lower than Southern California.
The all cash property purchase was smooth and closing costs were extremely low. The all cash property sale was also a smooth transaction.
In our case, our building has a lot of investment bankers, asset managers, and fixed income specialist that work at Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and other Wall Street firms. There are regular get-togethers with unit owners sponsored by the association during the winter months. We remain in touch with many of the people we met in Florida. So it's not difficult to meet people with common interests.
Great beaches and fishing spots and no shortage of golf courses. Easy access to the Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
Lots of places to dine-out, shop and visit along the coast.
Nice inter-city rail system (Brightline) connecting Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and expanding to Orlando.
The Bad:
Just drive a few miles inland from the coast, the setting deteriorates. Sometimes you feel like you are entering a war zone. I guess this is why there are so many gated communities with their own security. The contrast between Palm Beach island and a few miles inland couldn't be starker.
Toll roads everywhere.
The homeless problem is getting worse every year.
The pungent smell from people smoking weed is everywhere downtown.
Burglaries and petty theft is accepted and police don't even bother to deal with that level of crime. Police are more focused on violent crime and grand larceny. Waking up at 2:00 AM to the sound of gunfire at street level followed by the sound of police cars swarming the area was becoming all too common (but that's part of downtown living).
Without the homestead exemption, our property taxes nearly quadrupled since 2011 and was higher than our home in Southern California in 2022.
Insurance costs skyrocketed even for newer construction and with hurricane impact glass. The problem is most properties in the risk pool are much older.
The heat an humidity is unbearable during the months of July and August. Most people have migrated north and the cities become ghost towns.
Healthcare facilities are below average. There are many unlicensed doctors, nurses, and dentists working in Florida. It's a much bigger problem than many other states. The people we know in Florida, still return to New York for their healthcare needs.
The cost of groceries and dining out is much more expensive than Southern California and other parts of the country.
In summary we have no regrets buying property in Florida and then turning around and selling it 12 year later for 6.8 times what we paid for it. The cost of maintaining a 2 bedroom 2 bath condo started out lower than maintaining a 5 bedroom/3 bath home with a pool in Southern California but 12 years later it cost about 40% more primarily due to property taxes and insurance.