Florida Real Estate Advice

BISCUT

BISCUT

Joined
Dec 28, 2011
Messages
5,311
I'm retired and living in NY. Single father 3 kids, oldest is graduating HS this year, plus a sophomore and 12 year old. I have 5 years to go. My senior and sophomore are in a private school playing Varsity baseball and headed to Tampa area next week for spring training with their team for 12 games. I rented a 4-bedroom home with my queen and her older (mid 20's) sons and my daughter in Cape Coral. We are spending a day with a realtor we contacted looking at 400k places expecting an eventual escape from NY. She has 3 years left to retire. I have 5 for my daughter to grad HS. We can buy it immediately and rent it out.

I built 2 homes in NY so I know a lot but I'm humbled by not understanding building in FL. We are looking at Cape Coral, Siesta Key, Naples, Sarasota homes. WHat are the questions to ask? WHat to look into? Construction details to seek? Flood and wind resistance? Insurance zones? Totally different animal than I'm accustomed too.
 
Have family that moved to Cape Coral two years ago, just visited them last month. No way I'd move there mainly due to the storms. There seemed to be a lot of builders advertising all cinder block construction homes, I'd look into one of them if I had to live there.
 
BISCUT said:
I'm retired and living in NY. Single father 3 kids, oldest is graduating HS this year, plus a sophomore and 12 year old. I have 5 years to go. My senior and sophomore are in a private school playing Varsity baseball and headed to Tampa area next week for spring training with their team for 12 games. I rented a 4-bedroom home with my queen and her older (mid 20's) sons and my daughter in Cape Coral. We are spending a day with a realtor we contacted looking at 400k places expecting an eventual escape from NY. She has 3 years left to retire. I have 5 for my daughter to grad HS. We can buy it immediately and rent it out.

I built 2 homes in NY so I know a lot but I'm humbled by not understanding building in FL. We are looking at Cape Coral, Siesta Key, Naples, Sarasota homes. WHat are the questions to ask? WHat to look into? Construction details to seek? Flood and wind resistance? Insurance zones? Totally different animal than I'm accustomed too.
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Sarasota and Naples are really expensive. The problem I have with Cape Coral is that the main access is over two toll bridges. Not cheap. The Ft Myers area is growing mainly around the I-75 corridor. At present, house sales in parts of Florida are stagnant. Sales are stagnant but sellers haven’t figured it out yet. They are still asking for top $$ and they are sitting on the market. The problem with new homes is that they are only building expensive homes. I just got back from a month in the panhandle and there is a glut of million $$ houses. Check out the area and wait and watch.
 
BISCUT said:
I'm retired and living in NY. Single father 3 kids, oldest is graduating HS this year, plus a sophomore and 12 year old. I have 5 years to go. My senior and sophomore are in a private school playing Varsity baseball and headed to Tampa area next week for spring training with their team for 12 games. I rented a 4-bedroom home with my queen and her older (mid 20's) sons and my daughter in Cape Coral. We are spending a day with a realtor we contacted looking at 400k places expecting an eventual escape from NY. She has 3 years left to retire. I have 5 for my daughter to grad HS. We can buy it immediately and rent it out.

I built 2 homes in NY so I know a lot but I'm humbled by not understanding building in FL. We are looking at Cape Coral, Siesta Key, Naples, Sarasota homes. WHat are the questions to ask? WHat to look into? Construction details to seek? Flood and wind resistance? Insurance zones? Totally different animal than I'm accustomed too.
Click to expand...
Ask about homeowners insurance! That is where I would start if you are set to move there.
 
I left Florida in '20 after living there for 40 years and you couldn't pay me to go back. But that's not what you asked.

Two obvious questions off the top of my head are to ask if the property that you are looking at is in a flood zone. Secondly ask if the home has had a wind mitigation inspection. New homes are wind mitigation compliant by law but older homes may not be and it can be expensive to insure and/or to get into compliance.

I owned five homes in west central Florida over the years and I'm certainly no expert but feel free to PM me.
 
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Above is spot on. I would NOT buy a home in an area that requires flood insurance. It’s getting harder and harder to get a policy and more and more expensive. Dealing with insurance is a pain in the neck. They won’t even insure a new policyholder if your roof is older than 15 years old, or will drop you if you refuse to replace a roof (at your cost) that is over 15 years old.

Almost every home built in the last 10 years or so will be required to have hurricane impact glass or shutters. They will be built to the latest updated codes, usually of block construction. My 2016 house did extremely well in the 150 mph hurricane Ian. Lost just a couple shingles.

I don’t know what exactly is making you chose SW Florida (I live here too) but traffic is getting horrendous. Also, it’s hot hot hot. North Florida has much better weather. Most years I can only open my windows perhaps 3-4 days in winter, while my sister in Jacksonville can open her windows 25-30 days a year in winter. It can be 10-15 degrees colder in north Florida than south Florida, so you’ll be cooped up in the house using the AC almost year round.
 
Don't ask but instead look up the addresses yourself about flood areas etc. Same for sink holes and if older look into the termite issues and abatement.

I personally am trying to find the homeowners insurance sweet spot...the difference can be 10 fold until and if ever they can resolve it.

Good luck...
 
Definitely look at the cost of homeowners insurance as others have said. If you buy something newer and can do it with cash, then I’d seriously consider self insuring against storm damage. Save the premium in a fund for any repairs and I’m thinking you come out ahead.

If you are planning to rent this out, be certain you can do what you’d like to do if there’s an HOA or any restrictions. My in-laws are in Naples during the winter couldn’t rent their home if they wanted as a short term rental. I think the minimum length is one or 3 months, so look at that as well.

Personally, I’d wait to see what happens with the market in Cape Coral but I’ve been wrong before and should have bought some stuff in Naples 10 years ago when I thought it was too expensive.
 
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I dont think the OP is concerned about cost, we all know Florida is no longer inexpensive.
I think he is concerned about construction.

Personally for me. I would prefer a new construction or construction within the last 10 or so years. It will be built to the latest wind standards, flood standards etc. So as far as particular kind of construction to me personally doesnt matter as much as being recently built because they all have to conform. To me in this case, the newer the better.
I do have a prejudice against stucco. Maybe no longer an issue but I just could never trust any stucco installation, Moisture and mold issues that could arise. It may even affect resale value.

Keeping in mind the OP may not be concerned about costs. I do think checking home insurance availability is smart. Lots of funky stuff going on in Florida depending on the area. Some best ways maybe to talk to others in the community and to local agents. He will want to make sure he can get insurance if he is not going to self insure.

If he is curious on the flood zones it is easy to pull up by going to the respective county website where he is looking, they typically all have the FEMA Flood Maps tied into there area and makes is easier sometimes vs through this source. Even with this said, again, if it is a newer home built to the new standards the home will have to be built at a certain higher ground level than many years ago.
www.fema.gov

Flood Maps

Floods occur naturally and can happen almost anywhere. They may not even be near a body of water, although river and coastal flooding are two of the most common types. Heavy rains, poor drainage, and even nearby construction projects can put you at risk for flood damage.
www.fema.gov www.fema.gov
 
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I'd have the house elevated. As in with a crawl space. For some reason builders don't do that in flood prone areas, presumably because it's guaranteed job security when the house floods. It's not just for flooding potential. I want all the pipes put someplace where I can maintain them.
 
Insurance is the big one. My mom lived in Englewood, beautiful area but house insurance was a huge expense for her.
My buddy just let me know his kid totalled his car and the insurance company just dropped him for it. I have the same insurance company in PA, my kids have had accidents and my rates just have gone up.
Ins in FLA is bad. Good luck
 
As mentioned multiple times. Insurance is an issue, it will add significantly to your monthly payments if required unless you are paying cash.

To me FL is great if your house is paid off but the storms scare me. Every year as an adjuster I would be offered Catastrophe Duty to deal with hurricane damaged / flooded cars. You should look into UT or ID, seems pretty safe and low cost of living. No ocean though.
 
BISCUT said:
I'm retired and living in NY. Single father 3 kids, oldest is graduating HS this year, plus a sophomore and 12 year old. I have 5 years to go. My senior and sophomore are in a private school playing Varsity baseball and headed to Tampa area next week for spring training with their team for 12 games. I rented a 4-bedroom home with my queen and her older (mid 20's) sons and my daughter in Cape Coral. We are spending a day with a realtor we contacted looking at 400k places expecting an eventual escape from NY. She has 3 years left to retire. I have 5 for my daughter to grad HS. We can buy it immediately and rent it out.

I built 2 homes in NY so I know a lot but I'm humbled by not understanding building in FL. We are looking at Cape Coral, Siesta Key, Naples, Sarasota homes. WHat are the questions to ask? WHat to look into? Construction details to seek? Flood and wind resistance? Insurance zones? Totally different animal than I'm accustomed too.
Click to expand...
All homes built after 2001 are required to have hurricane ties at the roof. Hurricane windows are required if you live within 1-mile of the coast. The insurance market is broken in Fla. Too many people moving there which increases the $$ of total claims in the state combined with scammers around every corner to "fix your roof" and bill your insurer whenever a bad storm comes through. In addition there are parts of Fla which are known to have sinkholes (Decaying plant matter is slightly acidic and it dissolves the limestone underneath it.). These zones will impact your insurance rates as well. Some homeowner have chosen to self-insure.

Hope you don't suffer from allergies and can embrace the damp.

If I were to move to "God's Waiting Room" I would build a raised house out of concrete on concrete pilings with a metal roof.
 
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Owen Lucas said:
As mentioned multiple times. Insurance is an issue, it will add significantly to your monthly payments if required unless you are paying cash.

To me FL is great if your house is paid off but the storms scare me. Every year as an adjuster I would be offered Catastrophe Duty to deal with hurricane damaged / flooded cars. You should look into UT or ID, seems pretty safe and low cost of living. No ocean though.
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I recommend SC away from the coast.

You can really stretch your dollar and stay away from Florida.
 
BISCUT said:
H Double hockey sticks NO! Big difference!!!! I grew up in the whites! I'll throw you a curve for sure. Which state has hotter gals???????????
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Well, I've been to both states and everyone there seems very nice, no bad experiences. Very granola and small towns produce wonderful people.
 
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