Florida Builders

[Dave Hess]

Yep. $300K can get you a decent house in FL.

My son a daughter live north of Austin and like it.

 

[Zee09]

Yesterday I found a builder and a house plan i really like and toured a model. As usual 7 month backlog and they have a bunch of lots with okay prices but they are leftover lots
in places I don't care to be but luckily they will build on your lot.

I am amazed most people have no idea of the evacuation rating of their own neighborhoods...Flooding is something im not interested in...lol

 

[Zee09]

Open floor plan homes will always have some strange acoustics, the best way to change that is the wall texture. There used to be a lot of "popcorn" ceilings down here for just that reason. Almost everyone has removed them now.

They don't really make a garage door to deal with high outside heat. Most people keep the garage door open to deal with that. I insulated my own, but would do it a bit differently next time. Don't forget, near the coast they also need to meet hurricane specs. so there's that.
As to the side door, it depends on a lot of things, three of my neighbors have walk in doors to their garage, I don't. That's fine with me, if I go to the garage, the car or bike is usually going out anyway. It also serves as the Redneck Porch Enclosure! Get some sun while protected from the wind. It's a FL thing!

You need better appliances. I can't even hear my dishwasher running, standing right next to it!
Make sure you get a laundry room, we just close the door if it gets too loud.

As to the water situation. I'll agree, there is not of economy when long runs of piping are installed under a slab. My neighbor had all her piping moved into the attic. INSTANT hot water everywhere! So the answer is, Hot water pies up in the attic, cold water under the slab, but the builders haven't figured that out yet! I guess the get a kickback from the people that make instant, point of use, electric water heaters!!!

I would think a central location like a maintenance room with a thankless water heater would solve the water issue and like a mobile home it could be a closet installation.
Great post by the way..thanks.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Florida Mediterranean homes have horrible acoustics. I'd have to address that. Also nobody uses insulated garage doors. Why??

Then I see a bunch of garage doors open all day because that is the only way the owner can access the garage. No walk in door.. Why ?

In this Seagate home the structure is top notch. But turn on the washer or dryer and the house is super loud.
Don't even turn on the dishwasher.
Open plans thrill buyers but there are negatives too.

I noticed the hot water heater is 75 ft away for the master bath...the transit time is crazy...lol
One plus for the two story home..

Tile floors and slab on grade construction. You generally want to avoid having wall-to-wall carpeting in Florida because of the humidity. Makes for a noisy existence.

I never noticed if garage doors were insulated but it's essentially useless because garage doors are by design not air tight and the insulating value is abysmal anyways.

 

[Zee09]

Tile floors and slab on grade construction. You generally want to avoid having wall-to-wall carpeting in Florida because of the humidity. Makes for a noisy existence.

I never noticed if garage doors were insulated but it's essentially useless because garage doors are by design not air tight and the insulating value is abysmal anyways.

True but it does help some and is sound insulation as well as prevents dents from showing up outside the door and looks better as it removes the cheapness factor.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

I would think a central location like a maintenance room with a thankless water heater would solve the water issue and like a mobile home it could be a closet installation.
Great post by the way..thanks.

They use heat-pump water heaters in Florida. Much better than tankless. It's also why they're typically in the garage because it's warmer in the garage which makes them even more efficient.

Central maintenance rooms take up square footage and builders are loath to give up interior living space.

 

[Zee09]

They use heat-pump water heaters in Florida. Much better than tankless. It's also why they're typically in the garage because it's warmer in the garage which makes them even more efficient.

Central maintenance rooms take up square footage and builders are loath to give up interior living space.

Actually I'm not seeing anything but tank electric water heaters here.
I assume an economy move.
Florida is the king of sq ft fraud..lol
Some houses list flower boxes as sq footage...true

A closet is sq footage too.
I do hear how thankless water heaters outlast tank models.
Up north tankless have short life spans and require frequent cleaning

 

[zzyzzx]

^^^ yes it does. That’s why you have to figure out your total cost of living versus where you you want to move to including the cost of the home and the tax bill on it for the square footage and the price of the home.
We like Florida but the prices have gone so crazy that we could not come close to purchasing the 3000 square-foot home that we have here.

Yes, I plan on doing the math to see if Florida actually still makes sense.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

People are flocking to Florida and Texas like its going out of style. Half my family from NY relocated to Florida, so its a second home for me. Cheap flight to Florida and fast over the Gulf.

It's pretty interesting what's happening up here in Central / Upstate NY. A lot of people are leaving this part of the state. But as quickly as they are moving out, people are moving up here from NYC.

 

[AutoMechanic]

Better get it built while you can Jim LOL. I’ve never really moved but we used to own two different houses in two towns about 250 miles away so when we sold that house we had to move all our stuff to this house lol and that was a chore.

 

[thescreensavers]

I am currently closing on a house here in S.FL and it took a few months and "bidding wars" with some asking us to remove appraisal contingency.... its been crazy. I did look at new construction and there were lots available but, they were too expensive. 1 acre of land was 120k iirc.

Yep. $300K can get you a decent house in FL.

Florida is a big state, im sure 300k can get you a decent house in other parts of the state but, in S.FL unfortunately that is not the case.

 

[jtwrace]

I moved from Charlotte, NC and FL is best move I've made.

 

[JohnnyG]

They use heat-pump water heaters in Florida. Much better than tankless. It's also why they're typically in the garage because it's warmer in the garage which makes them even more efficient.

In reality, they SHOULD use heat pump water heaters exclusively here in FL, but it really hasn't caught on that well due to the initial cost.
I installed one in my home, and it's great. 66 gallon, since I have a large Jacuzzi tub, but only runs for about an hour each day. I also put it on a timer, and it comes on when the garage is at it's warmest. That should also be a built in feature, but it isn't.
Most of them do allow for the "smart meter" interface, so the power company can shut them off. Unfortunately, most of those system vary too much to make it useful, it's done on the power supply side instead.
They should also be "outlawed" anywhere north of Georgia. Just kidding really, but they make more sense than electric tankless heaters.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Actually I'm not seeing anything but tank electric water heaters here.
I assume an economy move.
Florida is the king of sq ft fraud..lol
Some houses list flower boxes as sq footage...true

A closet is sq footage too.
I do hear how thankless water heaters outlast tank models.
Up north tankless have short life spans and require frequent cleaning

Interior closets should be part of the square footage. Just saying.

Builder probably got a deal on the tankless electric. Seems at little expensive, but at least electric models can be inside the house. I don't know if tankless will outlast tank models. I suspect either will outlast most of the occupants in Florida who buy these homes.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

In reality, they SHOULD use heat pump water heaters exclusively here in FL, but it really hasn't caught on that well due to the initial cost.
I installed one in my home, and it's great. 66 gallon, since I have a large Jacuzzi tub, but only runs for about an hour each day. I also put it on a timer, and it comes on when the garage is at it's warmest. That should also be a built in feature, but it isn't.
Most of them do allow for the "smart meter" interface, so the power company can shut them off. Unfortunately, most of those system vary too much to make it useful, it's done on the power supply side instead.
They should also be "outlawed" anywhere north of Georgia. Just kidding really, but they make more sense than electric tankless heaters.

Ya. Builders have for the better part of a decade been putting water heaters in garages now that Georgia residential code requires that homes have at least some sort of air sealing. Most of these heaters are gas so the builder saves money by putting it in the garage since it allows him to use a cheap atmospherically vented model rather than a power vented (closed combustion) or heat pump model.

 

[PandaBear]

I heard good reviews on Rheem heat pump water heater and not the AO Smith. For hot climate this seems to be the obvious choice if the electrical panel is big enough to support it. Free AC and let you seal the house for better insulation, what's not to like?

 

[PandaBear]

Interior closets should be part of the square footage. Just saying.

Builder probably got a deal on the tankless electric. Seems at little expensive, but at least electric models can be inside the house. I don't know if tankless will outlast tank models. I suspect either will outlast most of the occupants in Florida who buy these homes.

I think they also can save the space that the vent would have wasted if it is in the middle of the house. You know if there is a water heater in a downstair closet you need to have the vent all the way upstair as well, and you really limit how you can layout the house. The same goes for dip sticks and column hand brakes in cars.

 

[alarmguy]

Yep. $300K can get you a decent house in FL.

My son a daughter live north of Austin and like it.

I am currently closing on a house here in S.FL and it took a few months and "bidding wars" with some asking us to remove appraisal contingency.... its been crazy. I did look at new construction and there were lots available but, they were too expensive. 1 acre of land was 120k iirc.



Florida is a big state, im sure 300k can get you a decent house in other parts of the state but, in S.FL unfortunately that is not the case.

I guess decent is relative. Maybe we need to stick to a sq ft number.
We cant find anything decent in a nice community, with pool, strong HOA ect. ect. In Destin, Pensacola Area (preferred) or Panama City gulf areas.
and ...
Second choices would be possibly Jacksonville, St Augustine (preferred) , Daytona areas

Everything we see in the above areas on the newish side are 50% more then our current (now 15 year old home bought new) 3000 sq ft home here in SC. We could settle maybe going down to a 2400 or so sq ft that is more then 10 feet from the house next store, community center with pool, master on main level, strong HOA, ect ... and just not seeing it anymore.

Dont mis read my posts like we are looking to move to Florida, its just a statement that we like Florida, and IF we were ever looking to move one more time in our life that would be a strong contender.
SC has a lot to offer us right now and another location in SC would be the other strong contender, 2 hours and Im in the Smoky Mountains on my motorcycle, 2 hours the other way and I am on Folly Beach on our motorcycle, plus of course, kids are now grown and settled in this area.

Born, raised, spent most my adult life on Long Island NY, great place to grow up in the 60s, 70, 80s but never, ever would I want to go back there.

 

[Dave Hess]

I am currently closing on a house here in S.FL and it took a few months and "bidding wars" with some asking us to remove appraisal contingency.... its been crazy. I did look at new construction and there were lots available but, they were too expensive. 1 acre of land was 120k iirc.



Florida is a big state, im sure 300k can get you a decent house in other parts of the state but, in S.FL unfortunately that is not the case.

I agree.

$450K is now the price for a nice house. $300K is for a smaller house somewhere in Ocala or Gainesville.