Help with Buying A Home In Florida

[chaoscent]

I am approaching retirement age. DH is in school to be an Occupational Therapy Assistant. When we were down in August he noticed that the housing was cheaper and there were many jobs for him in the Florida area. I never thought about moving to Florida. I like the seasons. I am from Philadelphia PA and figured I would retire out in the boon docks somewhere. We are starting to look at housing in our area and really can't find anything nice for under $150,000. Now we haven't started "really looking", but have done some on line searching. I did the same searching in Central Florida and found tons of houses for under $100,000. Am I looking in bad areas or is housing really that cheap? Is there a place I can go that talks about the different neighborhoods and where to buy and where to stay away from. We have no children and it is only the two of us. We own a duplex in Philly now, so we really want a single home with at least 3 bedrooms, hoping for four and a little bit of land. Any suggestions where to look, any websites I should check out? We have a year or two before we buy so we have lots of time. Just wondering if Florida is really an option?
thanks for any and all advice, Penny
(I am coming to WDW Thursday without Hubby and without a car so I will pick up a couple of local papers.)

 

[chesterpdt186]

If it is a forclosure then maybe under 100k
but you can get a great 3/2 1600sqft plus for around 155k.

check the age of the house anything built after 1994 and concrete walls.

I live in waterford lakes, I love it here. Close to alot of things quickly.
45min from disney
45min from the beach
traffic is ok
shopping is close
overall crime is low
airplane traffic is really minimal.

ovideo and clermont are also nice places.

 

[CMHusband]

Geez. the the cheapest house in our area (and I'm talking a lame little 3 bedroom) is about $575,000 - I gotta go to Florida!
What would be the closest nice neighborhood near WDW and what is the aprox price for a home there? What do they rent for in that area??? (So Cal is getting too expensive)

 

[chaoscent]

If it is a forclosure then maybe under 100k
but you can get a great 3/2 1600sqft plus for around 155k.

check the age of the house anything built after 1994 and concrete walls.

I live in waterford lakes, I love it here. Close to alot of things quickly.
45min from disney
45min from the beach
traffic is ok
shopping is close
overall crime is low
airplane traffic is really minimal.

ovideo and clermont are also nice places.

Thank you, just what I was looking for. Why 1994 & why concrete walls?
Clermont was one of the places I was looking at.
Thanks Penny

 

[LilGMom]

Yes, houses (unfortunately) are that cheap in FL. In my area of NW FL, in my neighborhood alone, houses have dropped over $50k since we built in 2005. A few things you can do is check ZILLOW for general prices. If you know the county that you want to buy in check the Property Appraiser's website to see what recent sales have been and what houses are being assessed for. And you can see what the property taxes are going to run you. In my county our house value has been dropped yet we are paying more in property taxes - ugh. MLS websites are good for finding current sales - Example is www.pensacolamls.com for the NW Fl area and includes at least three different counties.

Home owners insurance is another thing to consider. USAA had stopped writing new policies for awhile but I'm not sure if they are still doing that or not. Will your current HOI cover you in FL.

Just throwing things out there. Good luck and even if you are in the most northwesterly area of FL you are just a half-day drive from WDW.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I live in an "active adult" community called Solivita, which is Northeast Polk County. Check out www.solivita.com for lots of information. We currently have about 3,400 houses, and they plan to eventually go to about 6,100 homes. The development is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this month.

All the houses are concrete construction. There are lots of activites. From my house to work at WDW is just under 45 minutes.

The requirements are that at least one of the purchasers is at least 55 years old, and there may be no permanent resident under age 18. You are permitted to have visitors under age 18, but no one person under 18 may live with you for more than 30 days during a year. (These are the Fedreral rules for over-55 communities.) We even have a club here made up of people who work at WDW.

 

[CMHusband]

I live in an "active adult" community called Solivita, which is Northeast Polk County. Check out www.solivita.com for lots of information. We currently have about 3,400 houses, and they plan to eventually go to about 6,100 homes. The development is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this month.

All the houses are concrete construction. There are lots of activites. From my house to work at WDW is just under 45 minutes.

The requirements are that at least one of the purchasers is at least 55 years old, and there may be no permanent resident under age 18. You are permitted to have visitors under age 18, but no one person under 18 may live with you for more than 30 days during a year. (These are the Fedreral rules for over-55 communities.) We even have a club here made up of people who work at WDW.

Thanks, that's cool, We're only 51 but something to keep in mind. Doesn't the 45 minute commute end up being an Hour and a half after you travel from your car to where you work? It is here in California, we live 26 miles from the park but my wife leaves 1.5 hours before her shift starts, so she can park and shuttle, etc.

Also, how is the CM camaraderie over there, She has made lots of friends here and loves working for the parks - she is hesitant to relocate to Florida because she doesn't think it will have the same feel. Any thoughts?

 

[bellaminnie]

Well i don't know if you'll find one for $100,000 but when we visit diseny we rent a home in a gated golf course community called Ridgewood Lakes. It's in Davenport, Florida. I think its a really nice area. Someday i'll buy a house there, hopefully. They do have an over 55 section. Sorry i don't remember how old you said you were or if you said at all.

I found this website when i was looking for homes in the area:
http://www.ridgewoodlakesresales.com/

I can't recommend this company but at least you can search for homes in this community on their site.

High Vista is the over 55 area.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I tend to leave my house no more than an hour prior to my scheduled start of shift. Usually I am clocked in within 45 minutes of leaving my house. It has been a few years since there were enough traffic problems for me to actually clock in late.

 

[CMHusband]

I tend to leave my house no more than an hour prior to my scheduled start of shift. Usually I am clocked in within 45 minutes of leaving my house. It has been a few years since there were enough traffic problems for me to actually clock in late.

Wow, that's actually pretty cool. Thanks!

 

[chaoscent]

Thanks so much for all of the advice. I head to the World tomorrow. I am over 55 so that isn't a problem. Jim (DH) will be in school for 23 more months so we have time. Much as I don't want to move so far from "home" it looks like we will get more bang for our buck then here in the Philly area. I will check all the sites you all have mentioned. Thanks so much, Penny

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

We just relocated down here from the Philly area. We settled on the East Coast in a town called Viera. There is a good mix of retiree's and family. John and Christy live in our area in the 55 plus community and we live on the other side in the family area but it is mixed here too. Look up the Villages of Solerno in Viera and I think you will find alot of great deals. Homes that were once 375K going for 155K. 10 min from beach and 50 min from Disney.

 

[mrzrich]

Is proximity to WDW a priority? The reason I ask is that there are parts of FL MUCH cheaper than the Orlando area. I live on the West coast of FL, north of Tampa, Less than 2 hours away from WDW. Lots of homes around here are going for less than $100,000.

Another thing you'll want DH to be aware of is salary. Although there are lots of medical jobs in FL, the pay is a fraction of what he'll make in Philly. I am an RN, I make peanuts compared to my counterparts in NY, PJ and PA.

 

[chesterpdt186]

1992 hurricane andrew changed housing code. I think the changed were enforced starting in 1993.
Concrete better then wood during hurricanes, also termites.

I haven't heard the news about the monster termites near Tampa-> Ocala but defiantly don't buy wood home near those areas.

Forgot to mention: check the flood plane of the area, we are below sea level so you need to make sure the house is above the 100yr flood plane map, or you will have to get flood insurance.

side note: Everyone please come buy all these cheap houses in Florida. So maybe my house value comes back up, currently worth 155k (245K is the mortgage)

 

[chaoscent]

Thanks everyone. You are giving me lots to think about. Duh, didin't think about Jim's salary. (Plus I will miss the fall). I will continue to look and and think about this. We have two years (that's when DH graduates), even though I would like to buy in a year or so while I am still working. Penny
ps - maybe I will win the lottery and be able to buy the home of my dreams in Bucks County. Now that would be great.

 

[cm8]

1992 hurricane andrew changed housing code. I think the changed were enforced starting in 1993.
Concrete better then wood during hurricanes, also termites.

I haven't heard the news about the monster termites near Tampa-> Ocala but defiantly don't buy wood home near those areas.

Forgot to mention: check the flood plane of the area, we are below sea level so you need to make sure the house is above the 100yr flood plane map, or you will have to get flood insurance.

side note: Everyone please come buy all these cheap houses in Florida. So maybe my house value comes back up, currently worth 155k (245K is the mortgage)

,that was too funny! Here is to hoping that you get your wish

 

[LilGMom]

1992 hurricane andrew changed housing code. I think the changed were enforced starting in 1993.
Concrete better then wood during hurricanes, also termites.

I haven't heard the news about the monster termites near Tampa-> Ocala but defiantly don't buy wood home near those areas.

Forgot to mention: check the flood plane of the area, we are below sea level so you need to make sure the house is above the 100yr flood plane map, or you will have to get flood insurance.

side note: Everyone please come buy all these cheap houses in Florida. So maybe my house value comes back up, currently worth 155k (245K is the mortgage)

Building codes were made a little more stringent but don't necessarily have to be made out of concrete. The roof has to be able to withstand a higher wind now than before and I believe that the spacing of the clips might be closer than before. We have a wood frame, brick veneer house (NW FL) and as long as you treat the house for termites prior to building and get your property treated every five (I think it is five) you shouldn't have a problem. You can check the FEMA site for flood maps which will determine if you need a seperate insurance policy for flood insurance.

OP, if you don't need/want to be within an hour +/- of WDW you might want to look a little farther north in the state. In North FL (NE FL, NW FL) we might not have four season but we have at least 2.5.