Come on up! Boomers fed up with Florida are now moving to Appalachia For decades, Florida has remained a top destination for retirees looking to settle down roots as they enjoy their golden years. But despite the Sunshine State's warm weather and lack of an individual income tax, a wave of more affluent baby boomers is ditching the state for a newer destination: southern Appalachia. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that many so-called "halfbacks" — or boomers who moved from the Northeast and Midwest to Florida before settling in environs midway — are starting to populate once-heavily rural counties in areas that include Southwest Virginia, North Georgia, parts of both North Carolina and South Carolina, and portions of Alabama and Tennessee. Many boomers moving into southern Appalachia have also bypassed Florida altogether.
The affluent don’t care about a state income tax. If I was well off enough I’d have a place in north ga., Tennessee, or NC.
Pretty much any condo building in South Florida built over the last 5-10 years will have an 1k+ HOA or very close to it. And these are regular buildings with a few nice amenities but not premium. Luxury condos will run you several thousands of dollars a month.
Is he one of the many who keep sending me notices in the mail to pull out a second mortgage so I can travel, see the world, go on a cruise, live life bigly? Lol. Seems like everyone knows my mortgage and how much equity I have.
those dues can also include reserves for required building maintenance/improvements as the building ages. I believe the law changed to require the reserves to be funded after the sunrise collapse. Nobody wants the big assessments so the issues get kicked down the road until the building falls or catches on fire or ???. Lot of deficit funding going on right now where buildings had little to no reserves
Screw that. If I paid 12-15k per year on HOA fees, it would be my second largest line item in my budget by a long shot (behind only travel). Couldn't stomach that.
no maintenance or repairs, includes your utilities, gym, pool, gated/secure, on the ocean or water walking distance to lots of shops and dining. there are advantages, not for me yet but if I find the right one with a dock out back we might sell the house.
Condo HOA also includes insurance on the structure, which is probably the biggest line item for many at this point. My single family HOA runs a little over $300/mo, but on top of the community amenities it includes lawn care and bulk cable+internet. I view that as pretty reasonable as it’s all well landscaped and the amenities are solid. The condos in the community have their own condo HOA on top of the master HOA. But as they only have minimal amenities I’d bet their separate condo fees are almost all insurance and maybe setting aside reserves for maintenance (and it’s not like single family shouldn’t plan for maintenance and upkeep). The only difference is the condo association forces it to be set aside and that each unit contributes their share which is how those fees push to $1000 and above. Some I’m sure are a ripoff or are outlandish, probably don’t even want to know the fees on new waterfront luxury high rises. But the typical condo fee on a more modest property generally covers real costs that would also be mostly unavoidable in a single family in a similar neighborhood unless one decided to just roll the dice and not have insurance.
I had not considered the bulk sale and tear down options. Florida condo ownership at risk of collapse. What's the financial impact? Under SB4D, condo developments over 30 years old — two-thirds of all condos in Florida — must undergo inspections and immediately address critical defects. SB4D also eliminates the ability of COAs to waive reserve contributions, instead requiring that they collect the annual cost needed to repair and replace certain elements by the end of their life span, as determined by a 10-year Structural Integrity Reserve Study (SIRS) The deadline to complete these inspections is Dec. 31, 2024. As inspection results come in, many condo associations and owners will realize the scale of the problem. Many associations may face repair costs in the millions. Even after allocating those costs among all unit owners, many owners in older buildings may not be able to afford the increased maintenance fees and special assessments to make immediate repairs. Condo owners need to understand: they’re going to be on the hook. The state legislature is committing budget and resources to ensuring enforcement; avoidance will not be possible. For millions of condo owners in Florida, the next year is going to be filled with painful choices. For many buildings, there is a silver lining – the land under their building is usually very valuable, so for most, the best chance of escaping the economic fallout will be to unite and sell the condo property to a bulk buyer rather than suffer under liens, credit hits and foreclosure.
This is what I was referring to in one of my post about state requirements. We had a reserve study in 2022 then a special assessment to get us to where we were “fully funded” which many condos are not. I paid just under 12K. I was on the board from 20-22. (Three years) I and another board member insisted on the reserve study over threats of law suits. Structural inspections are required. If a defect is found it has to be fixed by law. There’s also a push to require all condos to hire a management company. We were self managed from 1970 through 2021. Our board also hired a management company and I hired a structural engineer that specializes in coastal properties. I was the VP in charge of our 9 story building and made a lot of enemies when I convinced the other board members to move forward with the requirements coming from the state. When I sold my condo I was able to tell buyers that my condo building is fully funded according to our reserve study. Many coastal condos in Florida are not and will be in bad financial shape once the poop hits the fan. And,,,, in 2021 we were told our insurance would be cancelled if we didn’t install new roof. That was completed late last year. Thankfully I bailed out in April before the new roof work started. Fortunately we had 200K plus saved up for it. One owner in my building is in real estate. She told me her best friend less than a mile from us called her in tears because she had to sell her life long condo. It was a smaller building (28 units) that had a reserve study then structural inspection. They found structural issues that had to be repaired. That plus having to collect money to bring up the reserves to fully funded caused a 50K special assessment. Their board allowed the owners to pay 10K for 5 months rather than pay it all at once. How nice. Who can sell a condo with those issues? I guess you take out a second mortgage or first if you own it free and clear. Lenders have become weary of lending money on coastal condos. Now they want to know what percentage are permanently occupied vs leased, structural, roof age, etc.
The disparities across the buildings are large and diverse. There will be value to be found if the overall market drags them all down. I suspect there are vulture funds gathering info already.
We got stuck with a condo for a few years. Bought for 115k in 2003. Right before the crash units were selling for 175k. When we left town in 2010 they were selling for about 45k. We were able to rent for the next few years while we hoped for prices to rebound. In 2012 the county threatened to condemn the complex, it was going to take something like 50k per unit to do the work needed, and they were still only selling for about 55k. Someone went around and offered everyone 60k and bought the whole place out. We were happy they paid us the amount we still owed so we could just walk away.
We rented it out during the years after we moved, but the area was overbuilt and condos were the last things to recover from the housing crash. Felt really bad for the people who bought at higher prices and higher leverage than us.
Checked it out on Zillow, in 2016 condos in that complex were still only going for 68-75k. None on the market right now, but one sold last month for 178k.
