All Forum Posts by: Brad Ainslie

 Every podcaster/youtuber thinks they are an expert.   

No one has a crystal ball.   I’ve seen many YouTube vids claiming a crash is imminent.  Look at the channel history to see how many posts they’ve made spouting doom and gloom.   

I have no crystal ball and I am no expert.  

Are there serious challenges in Florida?   Yes.   

Insurance is a huge concern right now.    I think it’s too soon to say if it will get better.  There are new companies issuing policies in Florida while others continue to say they are leaving.   Regardless they all act the same.   They all cry they are broke when it’s time to pay claims.    

Condos are a huge question currently.   New laws are forcing condo associations to get their reserves properly funded as most have not properly funded reserves for years.   The structural evaluation that is now required (should have been common sense) is being done for the first time in fifty years in some cases.   This is revealing required maintenance that condo associations have zero reserves built up to pay for.   

Nicholas,

Congrats on thinking about buying your first home.   I have no real insight to your market but let me share my personal perspective.   

I started my search in 2006/2007.    Things felt very similar to how they are now.   Prices were high and even houses that needed complete demolition seemed outrageously priced.    

2008.  Prices started coming down in 2008.  I found a house that needed some work but was what I thought a real bargain.  $50k lower than most homes I’d been looking at previously.    At the time I thought surely prices can’t drop much further.   I won’t share all details but long story short I got the house.   

2009-10 prices ccontinued to fall, houses in my neighborhood were selling under $100k and I was seriously underwater in my mortgage.   

Today I have a ton of equity in the house.  As others have said.  Set a budget, determine what you can afford (not what a mortgage broker says you can afford).

Do your best to figure out insurance and taxes, and try to set aside 5% for maintenance each month for big ticket repairs that WILL happen.   

Best of luck in your search!

I would advise to look at the association governing documents.  How many owners must vote in favor?  If there are already 19 rentals you can bet they either won’t show up to vote or will vote no to make an amendment.   Depending on the size of community, it may be wishful thinking that they can even reach the threshold needed to make the change.  

In the community where I live making a change would be very difficult as we do not get a quorum of members to show up to annual meetings.  

Also, what is the reserves of the HOA look like? Do they have lots of cash on hand for a legal battle over changing the documents?

I would get legal counsel on the documents and the amendment process.   

Hi Kyle, 

As long as you are the owner and living in a property, the homestead exemption will not expire or need to be renewed.    The “save our homes” was a constitutional amendment passed by the citizens, and this essentially caps how much the taxable value of a house can grow when a homestead exemption is in place to 3% a year.    

The basic process is after you purchase a home and establish residency, go to the county tax appraiser website and register for homestead exemption     

An example.  
Say a homeowner purchased their home in 2009 for 130k.   
homestead exemption reduces by $50k the taxable value to 80k.   

The county tax assessor cannot reappraise that house under homestead exemption.    
the taxable valuation can only be increased by 3% per year.  
in 2023, assuming the same person owns the house and still lives in that house, the maximum taxable valuation would be $113k

In today’s market the house could theoretically be sold at $350k, but the tax assessor cannot adjust the taxable value to market value under homestead exemption 

should the owner decide to turn that house into a rental property, they would lose homestead exemption.    The tax assessor can then reappraise the house at market value and the tax bill will skyrocket on the property.   It is the owners responsibility to report the change in status.   

If the owner sells that house, and purchased a new house in Florida as their primary residence, they can transfer the tax savings to the new house   

This part is much more complicated and I can’t fully explain how this transfer works.   

The new owner of the house now on record as being purchased at $350k could apply for homestead which the taxable value could be $300k  ($50k is exempt from tax) for that new owner if it is the primary residence     

for any investor who does not live at the property they own, homestead does not apply and cannot be used for that property     

You should also understand that homestead is a tax exemption that only applies to the primary residence you live in most of the year.   It cannot be used a property you rent out to someone else.  

As such it can also only be applied to one home.   You could use this if you plan to house hack, but it is your responsibility to notify the government if you move out and start renting the house.  Applying for homestead exemption on more than one property is tax fraud and they can come after you for that.   

https://floridarevenue.com/property/documents/pt113.pdf

Following.   I’m also curious about how realistic the rent comps estimates are that DealCheck uses.   

Overall, it seems very easy to use, and I like the property import feature.