Is now a good time to buy Real Estate in Miami?

[Luke Spooner]

Good day all,

I'm stuck in analysis paralysis due to Miami Dade's property prices.

I'm very motivated to get out of renting and into owning my first property but the prices for Duplexs and Apartments just continue to climb, killing their already slim cash flow metrics.

Any multi family property is $350,000 and well above. Meanwhile its hard to find an apartment that will cashflow due the high HOA fees.

Can anyone provide me with some local insight, proven strategy's, what sort of property's cashflow here and how to find deals as it seems good value is very hard to find. 

Perhaps are there any local Mentors that I can chat with?

[Bradley Sriro]

@Luke Spooner it sounds like you are the perfect candidate for house hacking! You are correct, the vast majority of single family homes in south Florida will not cash flow unless you put significant amount of money down. In order to get cash flow, you will need to look at small 2-4 unit multi-family deals. As you mentioned though, those too are a bit pricey. But ask yourself this, do you think they will be more or less expensive a year or two years from now. I would argue that prices will continue to appreciate due to the simple laws of supply and demand. If you house hack and live in one of the units while renting the other(s) out, it is possible that you may be able to live for close to free. If you get a good enough deal, you may be able to even cash flow a little. 

I wouldn't recommend purchasing an apartment/ condo because the HOA fees will definitely eat up any cash flow... and you could also end up getting hit with a special assessment if we are unlucky enough to get hit with a storm or something (very likely in South Florida). I think the goal would be to just get your first property under your belt and then move on to the next in a year or two. The other option you have is investing outside of South Florida. There are other markets that are more affordable, and offer cash flow & appreciation.