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Kitsune · 12-06-2005, 02:05 PM

“Congratulations! Your apartment will soon no longer be an apartment – you are currently living in a future, over-priced condo!”

That wasn’t exactly what the legal notice I received said, but I remember my exact response was “aw, fuck!” Thankfully, they’re going to let me ride out my lease, but I really doubt that the asking price will be anywhere within my reach and so, for the fifth time in as many years, I’ll probably have to pack up and move, again. Joy.

The condo conversion is another disturbing sign of a growing problem in Tampa and that is that Tampa is looking more like Orlando with each passing day. Many of my friends that have lived out there for some years find themselves hopping from one complex to the next, only to find a sixty day “buy it or get out!” notice tacked to their door shortly after they move in. The result is that renting in the city currently number one for condo conversions is that renting is extremely difficult and finding a place to live involves looking in other cities a great distance away. Escaping thirty, forty, or even sixty miles away can still lead to the same result. So if you live and work in Florida, you know that buying a house on a normal salary is nearly impossible. If you already own a house, here, your taxes and insurance have or will soon skyrocket.

Of course, it’s fun for the people that are causing the problem. New Yorkers and people from California are flooding the area, having sold their inflated properties to live as a permanent snowbirds. Investors continue to buy properties and hold them, empty, for months, even years. Even without an immediate buyer, they’re still going to profit because, someday, someone from the North is going to be drawn into the tempting swamps and hurricane-prone areas. It seems to be an unwritten rule and with more than 1,000 families moving into the state a day, it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon.

I’m convinced that within the next five to ten years I will be priced out of living in this state. I’m tempted to break the rental cycle and purchase something, anything, to at least start “riding the escalator”. As of now, buying a house is out of the question, so I’m curious: is purchasing a condo really as much of a nightmare as it seems? There is currently a glut of condos, but they aren’t falling in price because they’re purchased by people who plan to “flip” them. Should I just stick to renting and wait it out? Should I dump all of my savings and bite the bullet? Does anyone have any experience unloading one of these owned apartments? I’m really frightened that, in the future, selling might prove really difficult for a number of reasons, but that buying might be even more of an impossibility.

12-06-2005, 02:05 PM	#1
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	Condo Conversion Craziness “Congratulations! Your apartment will soon no longer be an apartment – you are currently living in a future, over-priced condo!” That wasn’t exactly what the legal notice I received said, but I remember my exact response was “aw, fuck!” Thankfully, they’re going to let me ride out my lease, but I really doubt that the asking price will be anywhere within my reach and so, for the fifth time in as many years, I’ll probably have to pack up and move, again. Joy. The condo conversion is another disturbing sign of a growing problem in Tampa and that is that Tampa is looking more like Orlando with each passing day. Many of my friends that have lived out there for some years find themselves hopping from one complex to the next, only to find a sixty day “buy it or get out!” notice tacked to their door shortly after they move in. The result is that renting in the city currently number one for condo conversions is that renting is extremely difficult and finding a place to live involves looking in other cities a great distance away. Escaping thirty, forty, or even sixty miles away can still lead to the same result. So if you live and work in Florida, you know that buying a house on a normal salary is nearly impossible. If you already own a house, here, your taxes and insurance have or will soon skyrocket. Of course, it’s fun for the people that are causing the problem. New Yorkers and people from California are flooding the area, having sold their inflated properties to live as a permanent snowbirds. Investors continue to buy properties and hold them, empty, for months, even years. Even without an immediate buyer, they’re still going to profit because, someday, someone from the North is going to be drawn into the tempting swamps and hurricane-prone areas. It seems to be an unwritten rule and with more than 1,000 families moving into the state a day, it doesn’t seem to be letting up anytime soon. I’m convinced that within the next five to ten years I will be priced out of living in this state. I’m tempted to break the rental cycle and purchase something, anything, to at least start “riding the escalator”. As of now, buying a house is out of the question, so I’m curious: is purchasing a condo really as much of a nightmare as it seems? There is currently a glut of condos, but they aren’t falling in price because they’re purchased by people who plan to “flip” them. Should I just stick to renting and wait it out? Should I dump all of my savings and bite the bullet? Does anyone have any experience unloading one of these owned apartments? I’m really frightened that, in the future, selling might prove really difficult for a number of reasons, but that buying might be even more of an impossibility.