In Miami like everywhere there’s some places better left for a specific group of people but it is more than easy to find a little house costing the same price as a rent.It will be bigger than the appartement whether you want to admit or not..One could easily rent their house and let it clear the mortgage OR even let it pay for itself,work AND continu to pay so it would clear even faster.

Imagine how much 80 000$ can clear fast while renting it and working.Sell it and just buy again..

Nice blog btw

I live in Hong Kong– in the New Territories, where prices aren’t outrageous like on the Island. I live in an apartment that would cost me US$250k to buy but costs only US$750 per month to rent. If I buy, I need something like US$15k minimum in up-front costs, plus my monthly cost would jump to US$1200 or so. I just can’t make the numbers justify buying, no matter how I crunch them. Keep in mind that if I buy, then over, say, a 15 year loan, the down payment and additional monthly costs COULD have been earning a return in some other investment rather than merely being a down payment and additional monthly costs. Even if in, say, 8 years my RENT would jump up to $1200, it would still not offset the fact that I could have avoided a down payment and saved each month for 8 years by renting rather than buying.

And indeed I am assuming that any money I save by not buying DOES end up invested rather than blown, because in my experience it does end up invested. Other people may have different experiences, but I can’t see how those experiences would be relevant to me.

your house has $300k worth of equity in it.

If invested in tax-free munis at 5%, that would yield 15k per year.

so your cost of owing a home just went up!!!

Brandon,

You’re right, every market is different.

there are houses in Moreno Valley that are currenly selling for 70% discounts to what they were selling for 2-3 years ago. However, this is the exception rather than the rule.