Looking at houses in Central Florida

[mickeysaver]

Gabby and I are seriously working on pushing our "3 to 5 year plan" up to asap status in our quest to move to FL into the last home that we ever hope to have to purchase and move into.

Gabby is going to look at a couple of houses tomorrow in South Daytona and Daytona Beach. Sunday, she is going to go look at a house in Clermont. We have found a couple of dozen houses that we think are "ok enough" with the best of the bunch being seen first. Of these three houses two of them were built in the 1920's and have been restored and updated. The other house was built in 1950 and has been very well maintained and updated through the years. We are also looking at many newer construction houses, but we really dig the older houses for some reason.

We are avoiding looking in Orlando, Kissimee, Deltona, & Edgewater areas and a few other places due to bad schools, gangs, and/or the presence of large amounts of KKK members. Do you guys know of any other bad areas from the Tampa side to the Daytona side in the central Florida area? TIA

 

[ConcKahuna]

I'm working on getting my DP's credit up another 40 points, then we can qualify for an FHA mortgage. We're headed further south, back to my home town of Ft. Lauderdale!

 

[mickeysaver]

Good luck on the credit bumping and the ability to move sooner rather than later. As of today, we are now considering new construction. I am not big on new construction, but we are both thinking that we should give it a solid look and a chance. If we weren't so darn picky about what we want, it would help. lol

 

[ConcKahuna]

Good luck on the credit bumping and the ability to move sooner rather than later. As of today, we are now considering new construction. I am not big on new construction, but we are both thinking that we should give it a solid look and a chance. If we weren't so darn picky about what we want, it would help. lol

If you want an agent who's "family", check out http://www.daviddorman.com/

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Winter Garden is a very good area and has some incredible older homes (that are very affordable right now) as well as brand new construction (from townhomes to free standing single family homes). The schools are great for the most part (A ratings) and the commutes are made easier due to the proximity of major thoroughfares.

Ocoee is generally very nice too, and Oakland (between Winter Garden and Clermont). Windemere can be nice but also can be wicked for pricing, and they have dirt roads! LOL. Taxes are high there too.

Avoid Pine Hills, Orlo Vista, and certain areas of DTD Orlando (as a matter of course, not only just for living).

Not sure about the coast, but did have friends in New Smyrna Beach and they had a GREAT little older house. Concrete block with sunken living room. Too cool (about 3 miles off the beach).

How are things going otherwise?

 

[cm8]

Good luck on the credit bumping and the ability to move sooner rather than later. As of today, we are now considering new construction. I am not big on new construction, but we are both thinking that we should give it a solid look and a chance. If we weren't so darn picky about what we want, it would help. lol

 

[mickeysaver]

If you want an agent who's "family", check out http://www.daviddorman.com/

Thanks for that referral! We might need to call him if we find a house in the area that he covers.

 

[mickeysaver]

Well, the two houses that we like from the 1920's did not work out, both had issues that we could not overcome and the one from the mid-1950's also was a bust.

So, we have focused our efforts today on which home to have built. We have pretty much decided that we have given up on buying used cars and that now might well be the time to give up on used houses. We have two potential places to buy the house with exterior design that we like. One of those places is Titusville. It's the cheaper base price option, but it is closer to the beach, which is more of a hurricane risk. Also, with the last shuttle going up this year, their tourism is going to go way down and they really depend on that for their economy. So, God help me, we are looking to build in the same town that most of her family lives in. We will be in the nicest part of town instead of in the more rural part where the farms are, but still really close to the drama, which I was hoping to avoid. We would still only be a little more than an hour away from WDW, so weekend's with Mickey are very doable. We have friends that have begged us for years to move back to FL and even have tried to bribe us with offers to buy us AP's for life if we do. I am thinking that they are going to die when they find out.


We really hate boring looking houses. The builder that we are most likely going to work with offers a craftsman design for their exteriors that is really pretty and Gabby just loves it. The design we are considering is a one story house with 1,877 sq ft. It has 4 bedrooms and 2 baths with a 2 car garage. Since we are hoping to have a baby in the next year or so, we love that we can put in a nursery in the rooom that will be right next door to the master.

Gabby is also going to make her presence known at the build site. I know that it's not common, but I want to follow this from the ground up. That foundation had better not be slanted, pitted, or cracked. The rest falls into place from there. I want to make sure that doors and windows are installed correctly and that the place is insulated to keep our cooling and heating bills low too. Not to mention proper electric and plumbing installation is essential too. And did I mention that it had better be built square or I am going to hurt someone?

We are going to "bling" this house out with every bell and whistle that we can afford and feels that it will make sense in our new home, so that it's as perfect as possible. We are already looking at some custom tile designs to have installed. We have been discussing cork flooring too. We know that we do not want any wallpaper, carpet, or vinyl flooring at all. We are committed to doing this the right way from the start, so that it will be in good shape still when we are super old.

Now, I just have to get my employers to agree to let me telework from a state away and we are all set to sign paperwork. Luckily, I think I can make a pretty good case for it, so I am thinking that I won't have to worry about finding gainful employment in FL where the wages suck for people in my line of work.

 

[crimowls]

Hi there, Mickeysaver! My wife and I live in New Smyrna Beach, which is nice and very laid back. We moved here just about a year ago and my wife taught Kindergarten at the charter school nearby. She was very out at the school and never had any issues. We bought a new house from a builder and it is lovely but unfortunately for us, we need to sell our house. I am making a career change and we are looking to buy a house in Vermont. Our house is in a new area and neighborhood with a lot of friendly people. It is near I-95, about an hour from Disney, and about 10-15 minutes from the beach. I have no idea what your price range is but if your building plan doesn't work out or you just want more information about New Smyrna, Port Orange, Daytona, Ormond, Deland, etc., send me a message.

 

[bevgray]

Not sure how things are in Florida, but, after 30+ years living in apartments, I finally took the plunge and built my very first house last spring. The builder was Ryland (they do have subdivisions in Florida) and they've been great to work with throughout the process. Here in Indianapolis, their subdivisions are NOT cookie cutter but provide a variety of floorplans, exterior treatments, etc. In fact, it is their policy that adjacent houses NOT be identical. Their website is very interactive and it is easy to navigate the very floor plans and try out different options.

Good luck on your house hunting/building. I must say it was a lot of fun picking out my own colors and knowing that no one else had ever lived in my home.

 

[SpectroMan71]

I can't stand new houses either and was really disappointed to hear that the first 3 didn't work out, but if you're finding a builder who can emulate a Craftsman look, I guess that's a good start