The New Cost of Retiring in Florida

... And the Hidden Loophole No One Talks About!

Thinking about retiring in Florida in 2025? 🌴 In this interview, Tim Jones from Foreclosure.com sits down with real estate broker Mark Gilbo to reveal the real cost of retiring in the Sunshine State — and the hidden housing loophole that could save retirees thousands.

We cover what’s changed in Florida’s retirement market, surprising expenses most people overlook, where you can still find affordable homes without sacrificing lifestyle, and how to uncover deals most buyers don’t even know exist.

Whether you’re planning a move or just curious about the market, this conversation is packed with insights you won’t want to miss.

Learn more about Florida real estate with Mark Gilbo: https://www.gilborealty.com

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Transcript

0:01

Welcome.

0:01

My name is Tim Jones with Foreclosure.com.

0:03

I want to introduce our guest today, real estate broker, Mark Gilbo.

0:07

Mark, it's a pleasure to have you back on.

0:10

Thanks, Tim.

0:11

I appreciate it.

0:11

It's awesome.

0:12

Great to be back.

0:13

Well, let's get started.

0:15

So, Florida has long been a dream destination, but has cost of retiring there changed in 2025?

0:25

I think so.

0:26

I think there's a lot of expenses or unforeseen expenses coming from COVID that are now people are now experiencing after the fact.

0:36

A lot of that's coming from the money printing that happened, towns and villages.

0:42

They all spent that money.

0:43

Now they're trying to recoup some of the money they no longer get.

0:47

And yeah, I think it's, it's tougher for someone on a fixed income.

0:52

We deal with a lot of 55+ communities and they are on a fixed income, they come here making what, 456, whatever, $100 a month.

1:00

They are noticing it.

1:02

Yeah.

1:03

I, I do see it when it comes to them, how many times they're playing golf, groceries they're buying, how many times they go out to eat.

1:09

I'm big time seeing it, absolutely.

1:11

, yeah, I think, I think, probably across the country, you know, as you said, COVID, I don't think it was just isolated in Florida, but definitely, so what's the biggest surprise for most people that don't expect when they move down here?

1:28

is it insurance, healthcare,, the, the village is just kind of unique.

1:33

They're in the, you know, Central Florida, you know, north of Orlando and They don't really get hit too bad by storms here, so the insurance is still OK.

1:42

So I don't think insurance has been a major boost.

1:45

I think the biggest thing really has been prices.

1:47

I think they're ramped up so much in the villages, and the villages is already anywhere between 10 to 30% overpriced compared to other communities around them.

1:58

And they hold their value better.

2:00

It's a big community.

2:01

It's probably number one community in the country when it comes to 55+.

2:05

So I think prices have not corrected enough based on where rates have gone.

2:12

So when you get a rate of 7%, you still have prices way up.

2:16

They the prices should have come down much faster than they currently are, just to accommodate for the rate.

2:22

And what people need to understand when it comes to rates and prices.

2:26

Whenever rates go down, prices typically go up to accommodate.

2:31

OK, so you're trying to keep the same payment, whether rates are high or low.

2:36

So when rates go up to 7%, prices need to accommodate to keep that mortgage payment the same.

2:44

That's not happening right now on the first time in history.

2:47

It's the first time.

2:48

Wow.

2:49

It's a great point, yeah.

2:52

Yeah, I remember in our last interview you were talking about how the villages.

2:58

You know, hold strong in comparison to a lot of the other Florida markets similar to Miami, so yeah.

3:05

That's interesting.

3:06

A year later, you're starting to see a little bit of Dips or is it still holding strong?

3:14

No, I, I mean, I'm, we're seeing slowing sales.

3:16

I just checked today, the days on markets are up just year over year, July, they're up 24 days longer.

3:22

Houses are sitting 24 days longer in the market.

3:25

So you're definitely seeing changes across the board.

3:28

I don't think it's just Florida in general.

3:31

I think it's every all 50 states in the country.

3:33

They're seeing some form of form of it, whether on a larger scale or a smaller scale.

3:40

What I do see in the villages and other areas around it.

3:44

Is that there's so much inventory, rates are so high that prices should be much lower than what they are today.

3:51

And until that happens, You're gonna have a slowing market, you're gonna have declining prices, and that's just the way, that's just the way it's gonna go.

4:01

Yeah, I think a lot of people are seeing that around the country.

4:04

, I know, I, I've heard you mention, a housing loophole, that can save retirees thousands.

4:13

can you explain that a little bit further?

4:15

Yeah, I think, you know, one thing you can look at is definitely foreclosures, bank owned properties, tax defaults.

4:22

There's a lot of way for someone to hop in this market.

4:26

Where, you know, I don't like to take advantage of someone who's having difficult times.

4:31

I, I don't think that's what it's about.

4:33

But, and honestly, I used to do foreclosures.

4:36

I used to do a ton.

4:37

I used to do probably 150 a year.

4:39

I used to manage it for large banks.

4:41

And I know what people go through, and I used to be in charge and probably half of them is, you know, trying to work out a solution with the bank and with the client, you know, in the house.

4:50

So I used to help them try to get the money, help them move.

4:54

So people are really Happy when they can solve the problem and move on from a property where they're constantly being harassed by the bank and their attorneys.

5:05

Believe it or not, 99% of everybody is 100% thankful you're helping them, they can get out of their situation.

5:12

That bodes well for people like investors, people looking for maybe some discounted properties where the people in these homes weren't able to maintain them.

5:22

Yeah.

5:22

And I think it's awesome, and I think your site really does a great job of it in the sense of it's all 50 states, you have many ways to see a bunch of different properties.

5:32

And, I, I say take advantage of it.

5:34

I think if closures are increasing, you'll probably see that on your site.

5:38

At some point, and they're gonna continue to increase as well, across the board.

5:46

Yeah.

5:47

I, I've heard a lot about investors focusing on maybe I, I think it's called a friendly foreclosure flip or, you know, where you're, you're really helping someone get out of a tricky situation or even before they get into a foreclosure, you know.

6:02

If you can, if you can help.

6:04

Take over their payments, subject to is big in Florida, they retake over their mortgage.

6:09

, in some states that's hard to do that like New York, they stop all that, you can't do it, it's tough.

6:15

but yeah, there's ways to help people out if you can get them.

6:18

The biggest thing people have, the biggest problem, they don't have the money to move.

6:23

Yeah, you're gonna need first, last, and security deposit, and they don't have it.

6:28

If you can solve that problem for them, they're more than happy to leave where they are, typically.

6:34

OK.

6:35

cash flow is king, right?

6:37

So I feel like that's, that's dealing with, not just people, but businesses everywhere, you know, I mean, especially nowadays seems like things have slowed down in a lot of different sectors, so, Yeah, yeah, I'll be, I'll be, I'm more worried about the economy than I am real estate, you know, I, I, and I want to say really worried, you know, cause it's way above our pay grade, right?

7:01

And there's a bunch of people that are manipulating the economy, and they're all trying to benefit from it.

7:06

And they're probably all loosely connected, and at the same time, they don't want to come out at the bottom.

7:13

So you're having a bunch of countries around the world now that, you know, could affect everybody right down to your local school board, when it comes to income.

7:22

So there's, there's things going on around the world today that weren't happening the last time I talked to you a year ago.

7:28

Yeah, different world in one year.

7:32

The world is changing at a rapid pace, that's for sure, you know.

7:35

One year, man, 1 year we're not gonna be talking, it's totally different subjects, right?

7:39

Yeah.

7:40

Yeah, 100%.

7:43

so, where in Florida can people still find affordable homes without sacrificing their lifestyle?

7:49

.

7:51

A ton of rentals right now.

7:52

I see, I think rentals are great deals.

7:55

I know people want to buy a house, but rentals are still a good deal.

7:59

there's a ton of inventory.

8:00

I see builders offering a lot of incentives.

8:05

the problem is they may be offering those incentives because their homes are overpriced, right?

8:10

So you got to watch out for that.

8:12

But even around us, the villages, they're building a lot.

8:16

I don't, they've slowed, but nowhere near where I thought they would be.

8:20

But there's a lot of other smaller builders around the villages that are building, and they're offering great incentives, reduced rates.

8:27

, and you can get into upgrades, upgrade lower, you know, 1520, 30 grand and upgrades.

8:34

So, you know, new builds are still a halfway decent deal if you're gonna buy new because existing homes are still overpriced.

8:41

Yeah, that's the problem.

8:44

Definitely seems like a problem.

8:49

so why do you think Florida continues to outperform other states for retirement, even with higher housing prices?

8:56

I think the biggest reason is because you get a, you get an income increase right off the bat just by moving here.

9:03

So let me give you an example.

9:04

New York State, OK, we have income tax, right?

9:07

Florida, you don't have income tax, right?

9:09

So I could bring my money, my income from New York.

9:13

Live in Florida and I get a pay increase right off the bat from day one without doing anything.

9:20

And then, if you look at all the states where a lot of people are coming from New York, New Jersey, you've got Alaska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, you have all these states, they're so taxed to the max that people just, they're like, look, I'd rather be in Florida where the real estate prices are dropping.

9:41

Because where I am, it's worse.

9:44

They're coming from states where they think it's even worse.

9:47

They come to Florida and they feel like it's Cloud nine as far as I'm concerned, and that's the way they look at it.

9:54

They could deal with some hot days and a couple of mosquitoes for a nice little tax break.

9:59

Oh, there's there's no mosquitoes here.

10:01

This is cake.

10:02

Go to go to New York in summer.

10:03

That that's mosquitoes.

10:04

They'll carry it away.

10:05

I've heard up north there near the.

10:09

My backyard's got more mosquitoes and the whole village is 20 miles long.

10:13

Wow, it's crazy.

10:15

I did not know that.

10:16

Thank you.

10:16

No, it's not bad, not bad here at all.

10:18

That's good to know.

10:19

Yeah.

10:20

So, you know, how are you using foreclosure.com to find deals that others don't have or don't even know exist?

10:27

Well, the good thing is, again, you're in all 50 states.

10:31

A lot of people though, they'll call a local broker, they'll try to get information.

10:36

And, you know, we've had a previous interview, like I said on that one, it still holds true today is that I can only look at what I have access to as a realtor.

10:46

So, you can go to any state, any town, any city, any county, and go to your website and find properties that need help.

10:56

And I don't call foreclosures, I just call them properties that need help.

10:59

And where you can find deals, potentially send them a letter, try to reach out to them, get a phone number, skip trace them, try to find information on them.

11:08

And then try to help that person out and and just keep an eye on the property because eventually at some point in time, it is going to go in for closure, Tax auction, it's gonna go somewhere at some point.

11:22

Just keep an eye on it and hopefully you can pick it up before it gets to that point.

11:25

Yeah, hopefully helps them get out of a tricky situation as well.

11:29

yeah, it's, it's tough.

11:30

It's not easy.

11:31

It's not easy getting out of foreclosure.

11:35

Well, Mark, thank you so much for your perspective.

11:37

We always appreciate your time.

11:39

that's all the time we have for today, but if anyone's, you know, has questions about the Central Florida market or even New York, how can, how can they get in touch with you?

11:48

, they go to my website gilborealty.com.

11:52

Go on there.

11:52

I have a bunch of information on there for closures as well, and we'll be putting your information up there as well.

11:57

Then go to your website and look even.

12:00

Deeper into the foreclosure market and I'll be happy to help them.

12:04

We help anybody in Central Florida from the villages and also outside of about a half hour to 1 hour away.

12:09

So we can, they can call me anytime.

12:11

OK.

12:12

OK, great.

12:12

We'll make sure to add a link at the bottom of this video in the description.

12:18

if you found this video helpful, please like and subscribe to our channel.

12:22

Don't forget to sign up for our free foreclosure email alerts.

12:26

Until next time, I'm Tim Jones with foreclosure.com and thank you for joining us today.