How to stop renting and buy a house in Miami-Dade or Broward
Nelson Paredes · REALTOR® · One Stop Realty Center Inc
Updated October 10, 2026
$40,800 a year
To stop renting without paying double or ending up with nowhere to live, the order matters: first know whether you are ready, then the lender letter and the home, and the notice to your landlord last, with a closing date in hand.
That is what a year of rent comes to at $3,400 a month. Waiting to see what prices do has a cost too, even if it never shows up on a bill.
The notice periods are those of Florida's residential landlord and tenant law (30 days month to month; a lease can ask for up to 60). Checked October 10, 2026.
Waiting to see if prices drop costs you in a way almost nobody mentions: the rent keeps running while you wait. What you can control is the order.
Nobody knows what prices will do. What you do know is your rent: at $3,400 a month that is $40,800 a year, and it does not come back. With a mortgage (a home loan), part of every payment stays with you, as the part of the home that is already yours.
That does not mean buying always comes out ahead: a home has costs rent does not (insurance, property tax, repairs). It means waiting has a price too, and it is worth knowing it before you decide.
- 1See if you are readyWhat you have saved, your credit, and what the home you want costs. With those three you know whether you can buy now or how far off you are. Do it before you look at homes, not after.See what I can buy
- 2Check when your lease endsLook for two things in your lease: the end date and how much notice it asks for before you move out. In Florida a lease can ask for up to 60 days of notice; if you rent month to month, it is 30 days. That date sets your calendar.
- 3Do not sign another year blindIf you plan to buy in the next few months and you are offered a one-year renewal, ask about a shorter term or month to month first, even if it costs a bit more. Breaking a long lease usually costs more.
- 4Line up the down payment and the lender letterWhile you keep renting: set the down payment aside, apply for down payment help (Miami-Dade, Broward and the state all have it) and get a pre-approval letter from a lender. Pay rent on time: the lender looks at how you pay.See which programs could fit
- 5Buy and set the closing dateMake the offer with the letter in hand. From the accepted offer to the keys it usually takes a month to a month and a half.
- 6Now tell your landlordWith a signed closing date, give the notice your lease asks for, in writing. If you can, leave a few days between getting the keys and handing back the apartment: closings sometimes slip.
- Telling the landlord before you have a closing date. If closing slips, you have nowhere to live.
- Counting on your rental deposit for closing. In Florida the landlord has a deadline to return it or tell you in writing what they are keeping; do not plan your closing cash around it.
- Waiting until you have everything saved to start. Down payment help and the lender letter take weeks: you start them while you save, not after.
We tell you if you can stop renting yet.
It depends on your savings, the home you want and when your lease ends, and a guide cannot tell you that. Leave us your number and we help you put a date on it.
This guide orients you, it does not advise you. The notice periods are Florida's general rules; your lease governs. Loan terms are set by your lender, and each kind of help is decided by the agency that gives it, based on your case.
