I don’t even have young kids—just a grown son who can’t afford to live on his own, either. After renting a house for the last 8 years, the landlord informed us he’s selling the place by Oct. 1, and so far, we’ve found exactly NOTHING available to move to. I’m at the point where I’m hoping I can swing a 15-year mortgage for a crappy mobile home (even as we’re flooded out thanks to the latest hurricane…) because everything is at least double what I’ve been paying (up every year and suddenly $1400 month to month).
Heard a story on NPR last week about how over 70% of FL housing is now owned by hedge funds, which explains the skyrocketing prices. We peeked at a place the other day—a really dismal 1940’s house with NO A/C, no parking, and way too small for all our junk—and they were asking $1500/mo. It had been on the market for three months. In desperation, I asked twice for a walk-through and got silence. Within an hour of the second request, the place was off the market, and the next morning it was listed as for sale with a price tag of $1,013,000! It’s in a nest of similarly decrepit homes near the bayfront, surrounded by condos. Clearly, they’re expecting some corporate goons will snap up all those old homes and build more condos.
If we could afford to leave Florida, we would. Only problem is that I doubt anywhere else would be any easier.
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