Real Estate

People looking to buy in Florida

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Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4462 posts
4127 upvotes
popbottle wrote: Do you mean if you live in that US property full time a sale would be tax free just like it would be in Canada?
No, one still have to pay tax eventually as one can only do a 1031 exchange if you are a legal US resident. But if the property resides in Washington States, the property owner will not be paying income tax as a result of the capital gain to the Washington State government, they will only be paying to the US Federal government
Deal Fanatic
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Dec 11, 2005
9870 posts
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TO
Resurrecting this thread instead of creating a new one on the same topic...

I can see how this topic along with 'Buying cars from US...' isn't that active given the USD/CA exchange rate.

A colleague from work recently bought a place down in Vegas and it got me thinking of searching for similar house/condo types in Fla. or Arizona (only thing is getting financing in US is a hard for canadians unless you go through TD CA to TD US)

Wondering if anyone have bought any vacation/condo homes in the past year and if it;s still worth it?
"You can't soar with the eagles if you're hanging with the turkeys - Gary Kent
Deal Guru
Feb 9, 2009
12381 posts
11307 upvotes
^ I would hold off.

First increasing rates in the US is already slowing down the market there. Also markets like Miami have reversed their multi year gains with foreign buyers gone and cutting of prices happening with sales slowing down (http://therealdeal.com/miami/2016/04/14 ... an-report/)

Also US/CDN exchange should get a little better with oil increasing (barring multiple rate increases by the US with none in Canada).
Jr. Member
Apr 22, 2012
155 posts
30 upvotes
Quebec
We're looking to buy in FL (single family home), cash buyers so financing isn't an issue for us (although it would be a good think to morgage a property in USD right now, lessens the exchange shock. in our situation we couldn't get a morgage unfortunately). Looking for a good deal so being patient, they are few and far between now but still there... Everything I have read says either (1) time has gone, market has climbed back up OR (2) market is now slowing down again, stay clear. But we're still looking, go figure :-)
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4462 posts
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TorontoEh wrote: Resurrecting this thread instead of creating a new one on the same topic...

I can see how this topic along with 'Buying cars from US...' isn't that active given the USD/CA exchange rate.

A colleague from work recently bought a place down in Vegas and it got me thinking of searching for similar house/condo types in Fla. or Arizona (only thing is getting financing in US is a hard for canadians unless you go through TD CA to TD US)

Wondering if anyone have bought any vacation/condo homes in the past year and if it;s still worth it?
Real estate is local. http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/morn ... rices.html
The median price of Orlando homes sold during the month of May — $203,000 — increased more than 12 percent compared to May 2015's $181,000. Month-over-month, the median price is up 5.73 percent compared to the April median of $192,000.

The Orlando median home price has now experienced year-over-year increases for the past 58 consecutive months

In addition, Realtors participated in the sale of 3,333 homes that closed in May, an increase of 6.93 percent compared to May 2015 and an increase of 5.08 percent compared to April.

Current inventory combined with the current pace of sales created a 3.17-month supply of homes in Orlando for May. There was a 3.79-month supply in May 2015 and a 3.29-month supply last month.

So it all depends on where and what you're buying. For example, take this listing as an example:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom ... 7027-57237

This 4 bedroom/3 bath Townhome located in a resort community, with its own waterpark and club house sold for $220k in 2005 (new). Right now it is being listed for $87,500. Could you have purchased a similar unit for less 7 years ago. Most likely. But is it still a deal at current prices for a unit that rents out for an averages of $90/night on VRBO?

https://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/u ... egal-palms

To answer the last question, like everything else in life, you will have to do some of your own homework, and figure out what you're satisfy with from a rate of return/cash flow stand point.
Deal Addict
Dec 27, 2013
2147 posts
959 upvotes
William W wrote: Real estate is local. http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/morn ... rices.html




So it all depends on where and what you're buying. For example, take this listing as an example:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom ... 7027-57237

This 4 bedroom/3 bath Townhome located in a resort community, with its own waterpark and club house sold for $220k in 2005 (new). Right now it is being listed for $87,500. Could you have purchased a similar unit for less 7 years ago. Most likely. But is it still a deal at current prices for a unit that rents out for an averages of $90/night on VRBO?

https://www.vrbo.com/vacation-rentals/u ... egal-palms

To answer the last question, like everything else in life, you will have to do some of your own homework, and figure out what you're satisfy with from a rate of return/cash flow stand point.
Looks like an unbelievable deal. However, if a deal looks too good to be true.... or am I missing something?
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4462 posts
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mbmbkop wrote: Looks like an unbelievable deal. However, if a deal looks too good to be true.... or am I missing something?
I think that's where the homework part kicks in, there are expenses related in order to earn that $90/night. There are HOA fees, Utilities, property taxes, maintenance and the cost to acquire/replace furniture, etc. Also, one has to figure out what is a reasonable % for occupancy rate.
Deal Addict
Dec 27, 2013
2147 posts
959 upvotes
William W wrote: I think that's where the homework part kicks in, there are expenses related in order to earn that $90/night. There are HOA fees, Utilities, property taxes, maintenance and the cost to acquire furniture. Also, one has to figure out what is a reasonable % for occupancy rate.
Yes, but, for this price, I'd not even care about renting it out. Even if it stayed locked for 11 months every year, and I only used it for 1 months, it would still be fine.. UNLESS there are some large annual expenses or something else (like it is a high crime area) that I am not aware of. Have you done your research for that community? What are the catches?

In fact, it would be great if there was a thread to discuss various vacation properties/locations in the US or other countries.. or is there such a thread already?
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4462 posts
4127 upvotes
mbmbkop wrote: Yes, but, for this price, I'd not even care about renting it out. Even if it stayed locked for 11 months every year, and I only used it for 1 months, it would still be fine.. UNLESS there are some large annual expenses or something else (like it is a high crime area) that I am not aware of. Have you done your research for that community? What are the catches?

In fact, it would be great if there was a thread to discuss various vacation properties/locations in the US or other countries.. or is there such a thread already?
This is a gated community, in a touristy area zoned for short term rentals, so it is not a particularly high crime area. I suppose the large annual expenses would be the property taxes, utilities and the HOA fees.

If you're willing to eat all those cost yourself, and treat it as a vacation property/cottage instead of a cash flow investment, I don't see why you shouldn't look into it further. The best part is the next time you visit the Disneyworld or the Orlando area, you can always rent there for a week and see if you like the community before you buy.
Deal Addict
Dec 27, 2013
2147 posts
959 upvotes
William W wrote: This is a gated community, in a touristy area zoned for short term rentals, so it is not a particularly high crime area. I suppose the large annual expenses would be the property taxes, utilities and the HOA fees.

If you're willing to eat all those cost yourself, and treat it as a vacation property/cottage instead of a cash flow investment, I don't see why you shouldn't look into it further. The best part is the next time you visit the Disneyworld or the Orlando area, you can always rent there for a week and see if you like the community before you buy.
Thanks. It is actually a good idea to rent for a week to see if we like it (my kids are now afraid to go to DisneyWorld after that horror story with an alligator.. I am so mad that there were no warning signs there.. what happened is every parent's worst nightmare... it's a different discussion though), so I'll look into it.

I've just started a new thread vacation-property-what-where-how-2004183/ to discuss vacation properties/places. Perhaps people will be willing to share their experience and answer questions from newbies like me. Perhaps there are places that are even better than Florida or Arizona.. RFD might be a perfect place to have this discussion.
Jr. Member
Apr 22, 2012
155 posts
30 upvotes
Quebec
[QUOTE]

So it all depends on where and what you're buying. For example, take this listing as an example:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhom ... 7027-57237

This 4 bedroom/3 bath Townhome located in a resort community, with its own waterpark and club house sold for $220k in 2005 (new). Right now it is being listed for $87,500. Could you have purchased a similar unit for less 7 years ago. Most likely. But is it still a deal at current prices for a unit that rents out for an averages of $90/night on VRBO?

[/QUOTE]

The 1051 days on the market would scare me off this listing (granted I have zero knowledge of that particular area)...
Deal Addict
Nov 26, 2004
4462 posts
4127 upvotes
Dorienna wrote: The 1051 days on the market would scare me off this listing (granted I have zero knowledge of that particular area)...
I don't have any more details as to why it sat on the market for so long. But I highly suspect it sat this long because it is a short sale. Getting short sale approval from the banks can take up to a year. So it is possible that by the time the bank approved the short sale with the first buyer, they have already walked. Thus, the seller with have to start the approval process all over again with the next buyer.

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