For owners and investors · Miami-Dade
What the numbers actually say about buying here to rent
I built a scanner that prices every active listing in the county against real closed rents, and the answer it keeps returning is not the one an agent is supposed to give you. So here it is plainly, along with the four things that make a yield calculation confidently wrong rather than merely optimistic.
Across a realistic sample of single-family and condo inventory, capitalisation rates landed roughly between 2% and 5%, and every one was negative on monthly cash flow at conventional investment financing — several past $1,000 a month negative. That is not a bad-deal filter catching bad deals. That is the shape of the market.
Why Florida breaks the rule of thumb
The familiar guidance is that operating costs run about half of gross rent. In this county they run closer to 65%, and the gap is almost entirely two lines.
| Property tax and insurance aloneon a typical older south Miami-Dade house | ~38% of gross rent |
| Everything else — maintenance, vacancy, turnover, association dues, management | ~27% |
| Total operating cost | ~65% of gross rent |
Insurance is the part that has moved. Roof age drives the premium, the premium decides whether a lender will close, and on an older roof it can decide whether the property is insurable at all — which is a different problem from being expensive. There is a whole guide on that, because it decides more deals here than price does.
The useful question is not "does it cash-flow"
If almost nothing clears at 25% down, then sorting listings by whether they cash-flow produces an empty list most weeks, which tells you nothing. The question worth asking is what down payment would make this particular property work.
That number is specific and actionable. "This one needs 41% down to break even" tells you whether a deal is in range. "No" does not. It also reframes the decision honestly: in this market, buying residential property to rent is largely a bet on appreciation and on paying down a mortgage with someone else's money — not on monthly income. That can be a perfectly good bet. It is simply a different one from the one most people think they are making.
Four things that make the numbers wrong
Each of these produces a confident number rather than an obvious error, which is what makes them expensive.
1. The tax figure on the listing is the seller's, not yours
This is the big one. Save Our Homes caps a homesteaded owner's assessment at 3% a year, and the non-homestead cap is 10% — neither survives the sale. A property held twenty years can be assessed at half its market value, and the MLS shows that capped figure.
On a $500,000 purchase the error runs $4,000 to $6,000 a year, which is roughly a full point of cap rate. Compute the tax from what you are paying. The calculator does exactly that.
2. Seasonal leases poison the rent comps
Miami-Dade closes a lot of one- to six-month leases at two to four times the annual rate. They sit in the same data as annual leases and look identical unless you read the lease term. One seasonal comp in a set of six turns a 4% return into 14% on paper.
If a rent estimate looks too good for the building, check what term the comparables were written for. What annual leases actually close at is published here from signed contracts.
3. Association fees are quoted on inconsistent periods
Quarterly dues read as monthly understate the expense by a factor of three, and the frequency field is routinely blank. Always confirm the period, not just the number, and confirm it in the association's own documents rather than from the listing.
4. Post-Surfside condo reserves
Florida now requires milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies for buildings of three or more habitable storeys once the building reaches 30 years, which a coastal local government may bring forward to 25. The old blanket vote to waive reserves is gone for the items a reserve study covers. The result has been five- and six-figure per-unit assessments, sometimes landing after a buyer closes.
But “no more waivers” is not the whole rule, and this is the part that catches buyers. Under s. 718.112(2)(f)2.e., for a budget adopted on or before 31 December 2028, an association that completed its milestone inspection within the previous two calendar years may — on the approval of a majority of the total voting interests — temporarily pause or reduce reserve funding for up to two consecutive annual budgets, for the purpose of funding the repairs that inspection recommended. It does not apply to a developer-controlled association, or one where the owners have had control less than a year. An association that paused must have a reserve study done before contributions resume. So a reserve line in the budget is not proof that reserves are currently being funded. Ask for the last two budgets, not just the current one.
No public feed lists which buildings are exposed. The only protection is reading the inspection report, the reserve study and the last two years of board minutes before the inspection period ends. A building with healthy reserves is worth paying more for.
What the yield sort actually surfaces, and why to ignore it
Rank any inventory by return and the cheapest units float to the top. In this county that reliably means things you cannot actually operate:
- 55+ and senior communities — these produced the best returns in the whole sample, and they cannot be let to a general tenant pool.
- Co-ops — conventional investment financing is generally unavailable.
- Land-lease properties, where you do not own the ground under the building.
- Buildings with rental restrictions — caps on the number of units that may be let, or minimum ownership periods before you can let at all.
A high number attached to something you are not permitted to rent is not an opportunity. Check the restriction before the return.
If you already own one here
The more common question I get is not what to buy but whether to keep what you have. That is arithmetic rather than sentiment, and it needs both halves: what it would net you if you sold, against what it genuinely produces if you hold — with the real tax figure, real insurance, an honest vacancy allowance and the cost of each turnover, not the rent minus the mortgage.
One timing point worth knowing: a proposed amendment on the 3 November ballot would cut the annual assessment cap on non-homestead property from 10% to 5%. If it passes, holding becomes cheaper over time than it is today.
Run it on a specific property
Send me an address — one you own or one you are looking at — and I will put real numbers against it: the tax as it will be assessed for you, what comparable properties have actually leased for on annual terms, and the down payment it would take to break even. If the answer is that it does not work, that is what you will get.
Common questions
Do rental properties in Miami-Dade cash-flow?
At conventional investment financing — around 25% down at current rates — mostly no. Across a realistic sample of single-family and condo inventory, capitalisation rates fell roughly between 2% and 5% and monthly cash flow was negative on essentially all of them. Properties that do work generally need a substantially larger down payment, or are small multifamily rather than single-family and condo.
What percentage of rent goes to expenses in Florida?
Closer to 65% than the commonly quoted 50%. Property tax and insurance alone account for roughly 38% of gross rent on a typical older south Miami-Dade house, before maintenance, vacancy, turnover, association dues or management. Insurance is the line that has moved most, and roof age is its main driver.
Why is the property tax on an investment listing misleading?
Because it is the current owner's bill. Florida's Save Our Homes cap limits a homesteaded owner's assessment increases to 3% a year, and the non-homestead cap is 10%; neither transfers on a sale. The assessment resets to market value the January after closing, so a long-held property shows a tax figure that can understate a buyer's by $4,000 to $6,000 a year on a $500,000 purchase — roughly a full point of cap rate.
What is a structural integrity reserve study and why does it matter?
Florida requires milestone inspections and structural integrity reserve studies for buildings of three or more habitable storeys at 30 years, which a coastal local government may bring forward to 25. The old blanket waiver vote is gone for the items a reserve study covers, but it is not absolute: under s. 718.112(2)(f)2.e., for budgets adopted on or before 31 December 2028, an association that has had a milestone inspection in the previous two calendar years may vote to pause or reduce reserve funding for up to two consecutive budgets to pay for the repairs that inspection recommended. This has produced five- and six-figure per-unit special assessments. Before buying a condo here, read the milestone inspection, the reserve study and the last two years of budgets and board minutes within the inspection period.
Why do the highest-yielding listings tend to be unusable?
Because a yield sort ranks on price, and the cheapest inventory in this county is usually restricted: 55+ communities that cannot be let to a general tenant pool, co-ops that conventional investment financing will not cover, land-lease properties, and buildings with caps on how many units may be rented. Check the restriction before the return.
About these figures
Milestone inspection and structural integrity reserve study requirements are set by section 553.899, Florida Statutes and chapter 718. The statewide trigger for a first milestone inspection is 30 years; a coastal local government may bring it forward to 25 within three miles of the coastline, so confirm what applies to the specific building rather than assuming.
The returns and cost ratios above come from my own analysis of active Miami-Dade inventory priced against closed lease data, run in 2026. They describe what the market looked like when I ran it, at conventional investment financing, and they are a general picture rather than a quote on any particular property — rates, insurance and tax all move. Nothing here is investment, tax or legal advice, and no return is promised or implied. Run your own numbers on the specific address, with your own accountant, before committing to anything. Equal Housing Opportunity.