Millennial Making $120K/year: I Can’t Afford to Buy a Home in Florida

• Jorge Argota, 35, runs his own digital marketing agency in Miami and made about $120,000 last year.
• He said the mortgage for a house he’d want would start at around $3,000 a month. His rent is $2,300.
• Argota prefers to rent without worrying about the additional expense of homeownership.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jorge Argota, 35, who runs his own digital marketing company in Miami. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I specialize in marketing, mostly for law firms. I’m netting about $120,000 each year.

I make a good amount of money for my age, but my income is just a drop in the bucket in Miami.

So many people relocated to Florida after COVID-19 from New York, California, and Texas. For that and other reasons, the cost of living has skyrocketed — everything from groceries to housing. (Editor’s note: According to Zillow, the median sale price in Miami was $580,297 in August, up 7.5% from 2023. The median rent in Miami was $3,200 in September.)

When I was in my early 20s, around 2013, and first started my business, I nearly purchased a house in Miami for around $300,000. But I didn’t go through with it, and it recently sold for more than double that price.

For me, renting an apartment in Miami is more affordable than buying a nice house with a $3,000 or $4,000 mortgage.

If I were to buy my own home, I would lose too much money. It just doesn’t make sense.

If I were to make more money — if I had double my income — then sure, I could consider buying a home. But even then, it would be a stretch financially. There are a lot of costs associated with running my business, like paying employees and buying tools. It all adds up and becomes quite expensive.

I’m renting in the Miami neighborhood where I grew up

I live in an apartment with my younger brother in Little Havana.

Our apartment is about 1,000 square feet, has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, and our rent is $2,300 a month. Our apartment complex is inexpensive compared to some places in Miami, especially for the location.

We’ve lived in our apartment for about a year and a half, but our lease ends in January.

Little Havana is a special place. Growing up in that area, I would frequently go to 8th Street, where, in the afternoon, people would play dominos and chess at parks. At night, there was more Cuban music and dance.

There were a bunch of Cuban restaurants, and thankfully, there still are. Even with all the new tourists, there is still that cultural vibe, just more commercialized.

At least for me, Little Havana has always been a place of culture, history, and community.

There aren’t a lot of Miami homes for sale that meet my needs and wants

I was hoping there still might be affordable homes in my budget in Miami, so I got prequalified for a home purchase a few months ago.

I was approved for a loan of up to $700,000 and was ecstatic, thinking, “OK, finally I can buy a house.” But I was wrong.

When browsing Zillow, I couldn’t find anything in my price range except for a house that looked like it had been through a battle. It was probably worth about $50,000 — maybe even less — 10 to 15 years ago.

I thought that maybe I could buy a similar home and fix it up. I can handle the repairs myself. But then I talked to my brother, and he pointed out that we’d need tools and probably have to hire professionals.

It was clear that it would be way more expensive and involve more work than I expected. I’m so busy with my business and life that I don’t have the time.

Renting is the best choice for me right now

There’s a lot of money that goes into a home to maintain it, aside from buying it.

If there’s a leak, a broken faucet, or a burst pipe, you must deal with those issues. Additionally, maintaining the yard and landscaping costs money. In Florida, you also need home insurance to protect against hurricanes.

These hidden expenses are often overlooked. People may think, “Oh, a house!” without considering all the associated costs.

I love the peace of mind that renting provides. I don’t have to manage repairs or worry about paying an electrician or plumber. I also don’t have to deal with maintenance, which takes up time.

It makes me think: How much is my time really worth?

If I want to buy a home, I may have to move

I just don’t have the flexibility, even with my income, to buy the kind of house I really want. It’s hard for me to fathom that people in my age group have that kind of money.

A buddy of mine owns an environmental company and earns more than I do, but he doesn’t own a home for the same reason.

I’ve also had many friends who have had to move further north in Florida because it’s impossible for them to pay rent or buy a home in Miami.

In the future, I definitely want a family and to be able to comfortably afford a home. So, if I can’t buy a house in Miami, I might consider moving to another state.

Miami is a nice place, but it’s not worth the price.