The skyrocketing cost of insurance premiums in Florida is leading residents to drop their insurance, consider selling their home, and even move out of the state, according to recent reports.
For years now, the sunny, vibrant state has been a magnetic destination for many Americans—a phenomenon which has been driving up demand for housing, especially during the pandemic, as well as home prices.
But while Florida was the number one state in the country that people moved to in 2022, it was also the one with the highest number of residents wanting to relocate, according to a SelfStorage.
Doesn’t that require you to have tens of thousands of dollars for a down payment?
For a first time home owner mortgage you can put 0% down. You just also have to pay for “private mortgage insurance” until you have 20% equity in the house and that insurance is not cheap so the more you can put down the better.
In my case I think the PMI costs me almost $200 per month but I think it’s based off the value of the home and mine was dirt cheap. I’m also lucky in that my dad is a carpenter and taught me how to do most of that stuff so I had the option of buying an absolute shitheap and making it livable on my own. I had also been working constant overtime for a year straight while living in my dads basement so I did have a bit of cash saved up, but most of that money went into repairs on the house I bought rather than the down payment. I also live in a very low COL area so my house was way cheaper than it is in most of the country.
So I’m definitely not saying “why doesn’t everyone just buy a house?” Because I was just very lucky in a lot of respects. But buying a house is more feasable than most people think it is. You definitely don’t need to put 20% down; doing that is only really expected if you’re selling your current house to buy another or if you’re buying a second house.