Question 1

Why does insurance matter more here than in most Florida counties I've bought in?

Accepted Answer

Because Palm Beach County has the highest homeowners premium on the Florida mainland. As of March 2026, the average homeowners premium including wind ran $6,323 in Palm Beach County, ahead of Broward at $6,136 and Miami-Dade at $5,975, and second only to Monroe County statewide. Against Orange County's $3,610, that's about $2,713 a year of extra carry on an otherwise similar house. Insurance goes straight into your qualifying ratio on a conventional file, so get a real quote for the parcel before you commit to a purchase price, not a metro-average guess.

Question 2

What should I actually budget for property tax on a Palm Beach County investment purchase?

Accepted Answer

Budget by city, and don't trust the seller's tax bill. The county-wide base is 12.2580 mills, and 2025 adopted municipal rates stack on top: roughly 20.45 mills all in for the City of West Palm Beach, 18.45 in Delray Beach, 15.92 in Boca Raton, and 14.65 in Jupiter, with fire and library districts adding more in some areas. An investor gets Florida's 10% non-homestead assessment cap, not the 3% homestead cap, and that cap resets to market value on a change of ownership, so a seller's current bill understates your first full year. Pull the parcel's real millage stack from the Property Appraiser before you underwrite. DSCR uses the same carry math if your income doesn't fully document.

Question 3

I'm looking at a condo. Does the milestone inspection law affect my conventional financing?

Accepted Answer

It can be the reason the deal doesn't qualify at all, regardless of your income. Florida law requires a milestone inspection for condo and co-op buildings three habitable stories or more by the year the building turns 30 (or 25, at a local enforcement agency's option for salt-water proximity), and every 10 years after. Associations can no longer vote to waive structural reserves, and funding now has to come from a special assessment, a line of credit, or a loan. A building behind on its inspection, its structural integrity reserve study, or its reserve funding is commonly non-warrantable for agency financing, which is a lending-industry fact, not specific to this county. Palm Beach's condo index is down 5.8% year over year and 17.0% off its late-2023 peak while single-family homes are down only 0.6%, which is the price signature of this exact problem. Confirm the association's inspection and reserve status before you write an offer.

Question 4

Is the 1.02% effective tax rate I keep seeing quoted for Palm Beach County what I'll actually pay?

Accepted Answer

No, and quoting it on an investment purchase will get your numbers wrong. That figure blends in homesteaded properties carrying decades of Save Our Homes-capped assessments. An investor buys in at market value with the cap reset, and pays the actual millage stack: roughly 1.42% of assessed value in Royal Palm Beach or Jupiter, 1.59% in Boca Raton, 2.04% in West Palm Beach, and 2.22% in Mangonia Park, before fire and library district adders. Underwrite off the mill rate for the specific city, not a county-wide average built on homestead protections you won't have.

Question 5

Does the Miami-Dade transfer tax surtax apply to my Palm Beach County closing?

Accepted Answer

No. Miami-Dade is the only county in Florida with a discretionary documentary stamp surtax on deeds. Palm Beach County charges the plain statewide rate: 70 cents per $100 of consideration on the deed and 35 cents per $100 on the note or mortgage. If you've closed deals in Miami-Dade before, don't carry that extra line item into a Palm Beach County closing statement.

Question 6

Should I underwrite this like a Miami-Dade or Broward rehab, since it's all South Florida?

Accepted Answer

No, and getting this wrong overstates your rehab budget. Palm Beach County sits outside the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. The HVHZ wind-load and product-approval provisions of the Florida Building Code (2023, section 1620) apply only to Miami-Dade and Broward counties, which carry a separate and more expensive set of window, door, roof and shutter approvals. A Palm Beach rehab builds and repairs under the general Florida Building Code, not the HVHZ regime, so don't price materials off a Miami or Fort Lauderdale bid sheet.

Question 7

What is a conventional investment property loan?

Accepted Answer

It is standard, competitively priced financing for a non-owner-occupied investment property, the long-term loan you take when your file fits the conventional box. It usually carries a lower rate than a bridge or DSCR loan, in exchange for full documentation.

Question 8

How is it different from a DSCR loan?

Accepted Answer

A conventional loan qualifies on your documented personal income and credit, while a DSCR loan qualifies on the property's rent. Conventional pricing is often lower if you can document your income and you are within the limit on financed properties; DSCR is easier to scale and skips the income docs. We compare both and put you in the one that fits.

Question 9

How much do I need to put down?

Accepted Answer

Plan on roughly 20% to 25% down on an investment-property purchase, with the best pricing at lower leverage and higher credit. Cash-out refinances are typically capped a bit lower than purchases.

Question 10

What credit score do I need?

Accepted Answer

Conventional investment financing generally wants a credit score around 580 or higher, and your rate improves meaningfully as your score and reserves go up. We will tell you up front where your file lands.

Question 11

What can I use it for?

Accepted Answer

Purchases, rate-and-term refinances, and cash-out refinances on non-owner-occupied 1-4 unit investment property. If you will live in the property, that is owner-occupied financing, which we refer to a trusted partner rather than originate here.

Question 12

What documents are required?

Accepted Answer

Because it is fully documented, expect to provide income verification, tax returns, bank statements, and the standard conventional paperwork. If that documentation is a hurdle, our DSCR and bank-statement programs are the no-tax-return alternatives.

Conventional Investment in West Palm Beach

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Conventional Investment in West Palm Beach: local questions

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