If Socialist California sucks, what say you about Florida

[VicBee]

Where I live in Alameda County you need a permit to replace a window in your dwelling. There are homes in Berkeley that are designated "historical" near the campus where you can't replace or change anything without permits that take years to approve. There is no comparison to Florida or Texas, California has gone bonkers with regulations.

I don't disagree, but the South Florida situation is also pretty bonkers. It reminds me of countries like Turkey or Bangladesh where every few years buildings collapse because the builders fail to follow construction standards.

Historical building around the world are a nightmare to own. A friend owns a historical house in North Sydney, facing the Opera House. He's just letting it fall apart because anything he tried to do over the years was scrutinized by various gov bodies and rejected.

 

[UsualName]

I don't disagree, but the South Florida situation is also pretty bonkers. It reminds me of countries like Turkey or Bangladesh where every few years buildings collapse because the builders fail to follow construction standards.

Historical building around the world are a nightmare to own. A friend owns a historical house in North Sydney, facing the Opera House. He's just letting it fall apart because anything he tried to do over the years was scrutinized by various gov bodies and rejected.

There’s two very noticeable things you notice when you’re from the northeast in America and travel to the other regions of America. 1. Most of the water systems outside of the northeast are swamp water or wells and the water smells and 2. There is shoddy building standards, especially in the southern states, including Florida.

 

[Frederick Foresight]

Underfunded contingency reserves are a pretty widespread issue these days.

Apart from that, I read that the reason old people move to Florida is because when they die they don’t mind so much.

 

[VicBee]

If it's any consolation, I'm going through the same shit with my apartment in Mallorca. A majority of local retirees with little money to spend on maintenance versus 30% or so foreigners like me who are looking to add value to the building and possibly sell in a few years. Conflicts within the HOA are a nightmare and, as far as I'm concerned, demonstrate the failure of government to establish clear rules.
I believe it's the role of government to create and enforce rules to protect the safety and investments of owners, and that it's wrong for government to disengage by delegating their responsibility to builders and lawyers. Regulatory red tape can be a hindrance to quick construction, but it's supposed to be a guarantee that a property meets all the standards, including maintenance and such. And if there's a catastrophic failure, owners should go directly to government for redress versus having to hire a lawyer, to create a class action and take the construction firm to court, provided they still exist.