kaaala

I would like to purchase a second home in Florida - another one who is sick of the NY winters. Ideally would like Delray Beach - possibly Ft. Lauderdale or open to other suggestions. I cannot afford Boca Raton where my sister and parents reside. I am looking for a 2 bedroom, 2 bath, with washer and dryer - preferably - ocean front, or walking distance to ocean and like a lively town. Cannot spend more than 200K.
I know from looking this is not easy. I also don't want to make a mistake buying in an area I might end up not liking after all. I realize I may have to rent or vacation in area I would consider first.
Any suggestions would be very helpful.

I used to in my 20's and early 30s lived in Miami for 11 years. Missing the sun.!!!

schmerl

I would suggest you contact a realtor in the areas that interest you. I am also glad to hear you are thinking of renting before buying to make sure you like the area.

NewbE

Talk to realtors ASAP. I hate to rain on your parade, but ocean front or walkable to beach in a "lively town", with 2BR/2BA, is not going to happen in south Florida for 200K or less.

kaaala

yes, I have talked to a couple realtors, one was just plain snobbish and only works with high end properties, although I was looking in Aventura where I saw them listed as 175,000. I used to be the asst membership director at Williams Island and Cricket Club so am familiar with that area.
I will continue to search. I do know some people are lucky to get foreclosures for under 200k and they fix them up. But that was in W. Palm Beach.

NewbE

Good luck, and I mean that--I hope you find what you're looking for. Foreclosures aren't as common as they once were, but they do happen.

Finding a realtor you like in trust is half the battle.

ekscrunchy

I doubt if you can find an oceanfront condo of that size for $200,000 anywhere along that stretch. Boca is not necessarily more pricey than Delray. I'd forget oceanfront and hope for intracoastal views.

I would look further north, in the areas of Lantana, Lake Worth, and West Palm Beach, as well as in Boynton where you might find a 1 bedroom on the intracoastal for not so far above that price range:

http://peninsulaboynton.com/


Noto sure of your age range, but you might want to look further inland where you can find some pretty nice places with broad ranges of amenities.

I started a thread here about Florida condos; if you can find it, take a look.

Dukey1

You might also look at somewhere such as Lauderdale-By-The-Sea, especially for condos. The "village" isn't all that large and a lot of people like the fact that there are no high rise buildings and that the ocean is within walking distance of many properties.

sf7307

Here is eksrunchy's original thread on this topic:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ral-advice.cfm

Dukey1

I am assuming that the Op already has some general idea of the costs of actually residing in Florida including hazard/windstorm/auto insurance prices as well as how property taxes are computed.

NewbE

Yes, it's imperative to include condo fees, which include expensive insurance for the exterior of the property, into one's calculations of monthly expenses. Ours are $500/mo, and we're not near the beach--they can go up from there, although in larger buildings, the number of units mitigates the pain.

And yes, property taxes are high because there's no income tax.

I can't really speak to auto insurance--we've paid more elsewhere.

ekscrunchy

sf: Thanks for posting that. when I am using iPad I have trouble linking other threads...

I went through the condo buying process recently and decided that I did not want to pay the amount necessary for oceanfront living in a place I would use only a few months of the year. But that is an individual choice. Despite the flood that happened days after renovations began on my newly purchased, inland condo, and the difficulty of managing renovations from afar, I think we made a good decision and we look forward to returning for next winter.
But everyone has specific criteria......

Our condo fees are pretty low at $500 monthly considering all the amenities they bring, and the taxes are about $2,000 annually. Since I come from NYC, all this sounds reasonable.