Buying condo in Brickell

[Christopher NA]

Hi all,

Thinking about buying my first home in the Brickell area. 

The price of the condo I'm looking at (which is in same building where I currently rent) is around 720K. It's a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom loft. Looking to put 300K to 400K down and finance the rest. Assuming 300K down, my monthly payment breakdown would be: $2,517 (30-year mortgage), $1,300 (HOA), $100 (insurance), $710 (property taxes), and $300 (utilities/misc.) for a grand total of $4,927 a month. Also: I've spoken to a few members of the board of this condo, and they think that because of upcoming inspections, etc., it's possible every owner would have to pay 20K or so out of pocket to cover issues with the building. The building was built in 2008.

More background: Salary is high but with possible recession looming, the industry I'm in could be hit hard. Things are getting slower where I work, though it could be the ebb and flow of my industry.

I want to upgrade to this unit to have more space. It's also possible that my partner moves in with me soon and we start a family then. Plan is to live in condo for five years and then rent it out. 

Thoughts? In the alternative, I could continue to rent, and see where the market and my profession is at in one year. I also could look at single family homes then instead. Thanks in advance for advice.

[Ray Hage]

Quote from @Christopher NA:

Hi all,

Thinking about buying my first home in the Brickell area. 

The price of the condo I'm looking at (which is in same building where I currently rent) is around 720K. It's a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom loft. Looking to put 300K to 400K down and finance the rest. Assuming 300K down, my monthly payment breakdown would be: $2,517 (30-year mortgage), $1,300 (HOA), $100 (insurance), $710 (property taxes), and $300 (utilities/misc.) for a grand total of $4,927 a month. Also: I've spoken to a few members of the board of this condo, and they think that because of upcoming inspections, etc., it's possible every owner would have to pay 20K or so out of pocket to cover issues with the building. The building was built in 2008.

More background: Salary is high but with possible recession looming, the industry I'm in could be hit hard. Things are getting slower where I work, though it could be the ebb and flow of my industry.

I want to upgrade to this unit to have more space. It's also possible that my partner moves in with me soon and we start a family then. Plan is to live in condo for five years and then rent it out. 

Thoughts? In the alternative, I could continue to rent, and see where the market and my profession is at in one year. I also could look at single family homes then instead. Thanks in advance for advice.

 MIami is currently in a weird place regarding condos. They are putting up new resodential buildings very quickly within Brickell and a few miles out. Could there be a condo crash in the future? Maybe. 

Depending on what you're paying for rent now, you might be better off continuing to rent vs buying a condo. If possible, I would advise buying a SFH as close to Brickell as you can afford. Of course, it will be more expensive but you will have a lot less restrictions on renting it and not have to worry about random assessments here and there. I am also an investor myself and while i am still looking for deals out there, I would generally be wary of condos in Miami and FTL. Also regarding your property taxes, it would probably be closer to 1000/mo at a 720k price point. We could discuss further if you'd like?