If you are considering retiring in Florida and buying a condo, think again.
Florida is over-crowded, suffers from changes in global warming, has a reactionary state government focused more on anti-WOKE issues than good government, is the nation’s fraud capital, and has a shaky real estate market that is very localized and socially fragmented.
Condo prices in Florida are falling fast, as this video shows.
Towns and cities in South Florida are run by real estate developers who disregard issues about congestion and infrastructure, pressure local governments for easements and zoning variances and fight for every square foot of buildable space. This means residents are left to repair the mess.
Worse, Florida residents have a tough time buying home insurance due to hurricanes and state authorities’ lax enforcement of insurance fraud. Florida is the nation’s fraud capital, and it has become larger under Florida’s authoritarian governor, DeSantis, and MAGA Senator Marco Rubio. This lax enforcement means that shady business people and investors will find a haven in Florida and can avoid prosecution for fraud.
These frauds range from tax evasion to shoddy construction, running fake charities and tax-exempts, and real estate scams. All these fraudsters are now welcome in Florida because DeSantis has known that fraudsters are welcome in the Sunshine State.
A government lawyer said in an article by Jasper Craven in the Nation (September 2022) that states with strict consumer protection and oversight of nonprofits noted that when they prosecuted fraudsters, they moved to other, friendlier states with lax oversight.
Do your homework before you buy in Florida.
