Florida Real Estate Advice

Funny a lot of folks say the storms are to be careful of but that is what I miss the most. We would get storms in the afternoon and the clouds were so tall and would get so black you would think it was the coming of God, beautiful. Water spouts are beautiful and amazing to watch. The hurricanes are not that bad, I lived through many of them as a kid and then multiple ones as an adult, so they're okay. Lost a lot and saw a lot of damage. They can be beautiful and very underappreciated.
 
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Owen Lucas said:
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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Well Sir!!! You skirted the matter. I'll tell ya from 30 years of experience I've had ladies in Vt and NH. The true answer is both have a lot of beauties in the southland and the farther north you get the slimmer Pickens are. BUT if you can find a northern beauty, there is nothing to compare. great women to be with.
 
wlk said:
Funny a lot of folks say the storms are to be careful of but that is what I miss the most. We would get storms in the afternoon and the clouds were so tall and would get so black you would think it was the coming of God, beautiful. Water spouts are beautiful and amazing to watch. The hurricanes are not that bad, I lived through many of them as a kid and then multiple ones as an adult, so they're okay. Lost a lot and saw a lot of damage. They can be beautiful and very underappreciated.
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Uh………NO!!
 
Wat_MPG said:
Whatever you do, do your research on Homeowner's insurance. It is insane down here. Worse on the West Coast by Tampa. There are people paying well over $10k a year for insurance.
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There’s no limit what they will be charging in the future for insurance with all the hurricanes, storms, insurance fraud, lawsuits, etc….
 
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Having moved multiple times to brand new places - my suggestion is to rent for a year - see what you like and don't. Its amazing what a difference a mile or two can make - or a block or two in some cases.

Flood insurance and homeowners insurance are generally two separate policies - the flood being from Fema. I would familiarize yourself with the flood zones and decide up front what you will accept and will not. No point in looking at a place you won't buy anyway.

I would avoid single family built between like 2004 - 2008 unless you can confirm it doesn't have the Chinese drywall issue. I don't know how that played out. Ditto for polybutylene pipe from the 70's and 80;s.

And if your looking at Condo's you need an expert to help with that, because after that one collapsed a couple years ago they have been going through them and many people are getting giant assessments to get them back up to code.

Anyway, good luck with your move. I can assure you - you won't miss winter.
 
SC Maintenance said:
Having moved multiple times to brand new places - my suggestion is to rent for a year - see what you like and don't. Its amazing what a difference a mile or two can make - or a block or two in some cases.

Flood insurance and homeowners insurance are generally two separate policies - the flood being from Fema. I would familiarize yourself with the flood zones and decide up front what you will accept and will not. No point in looking at a place you won't buy anyway.

I would avoid single family built between like 2004 - 2008 unless you can confirm it doesn't have the Chinese drywall issue. I don't know how that played out. Ditto for polybutylene pipe from the 70's and 80;s.

And if your looking at Condo's you need an expert to help with that, because after that one collapsed a couple years ago they have been going through them and many people are getting giant assessments to get them back up to code.

Anyway, good luck with your move. I can assure you - you won't miss winter.
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Sound advice, thank you.
 
As others have stated Cape Coral is low lying and prone to flooding but it does not happen that often. If you must go to that area just shop carefully. Home sales are not stagnant, we have about 1300 people per day moving here.

Construction norm is CBS with stucco, impact rated doors windows or impact shutters. All roofing is tied to structure. Metal roofing performs better in storms, followed by tile then shingles. Upgrade A/C systems if possible as it will save you money. I'm not a big fan of the solar houses but have to admit I do not know enough about them. Insurance killers will be any roof that is over 7 yrs old, any roofing design that has a gable end, pools, etc. Your insurance rate will also depend on your claim history. Flood insurance is cheap and generally can be had for under $600 per year. Pay attention to your wind policy and adjust deductables as much as you are comfortable with paying out of pocket as a deductable. Property taxes will be based on your purchase price and then are limited to no more than a 3% increase per year as long as it is homesteaded. Make sure you also look into all of our proeprty tax exemtions as they can save you a fortune.
 
Ausfahrt said:
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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And ask about what flood zone the house is in. Zone 1 is a no no. I had a place in Zone 2 that had never been flooded until Ian, a 500 year flood.
 
Back in 2018 we airbnb'd a place in Cape Coral. Large home. Super nice, quiet neighborhood. All the homes backed up to a canal grid. Nearly all of them had boat docks. I loved it there, but so much has transpired since 2018, it's out of reach for me.
 
Florida housing inventory back up to pre COVID levels (if measured by months supply)
https://www.floridarealtors.org/tools-research/reports/florida-market-reports

This tool provided by Florida Realtors® gives up to date data on the market. Both SFH and Townhouses/condos months of supply on inventory has now eclipsed the levels seen on Jan 2020.

SFH at 3.8 months currently, 3.4 months 4 years ago.

-Townhouse/condos at 5.8 months currently, 5.5 months Jan 2020.

Prices still high, foreclosures are low, but the inventory has been increasing.

Lots of supply currently getting built all over the state that has yet to come to the market.
 
zzyzzx said:
Only if it's on a roof. If your soler panels are ground based it isn't going to make your roof leak.
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True but to me it's a joke anyways. And with most lots being .25 acre or less you don't have a field for it. I'd just put a few more $$$ in my Hvac and insulation instead.
 
Zee09 said:
True but to me it's a joke anyways. And with most lots being .25 acre or less you don't have a field for it. I'd just put a few more $$$ in my Hvac and insulation instead.
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True, but I'd prefer to have the geothermal heat pump, super insulation, and a ground based solar field, on a half acre or more.
 
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