Looking to relocate to FL

[recoil]

Hi,

My wife is interested in moving to Florida. I know nothing about the area. I hear there are some deals to be found down there.

What are some good cities to take a peek at? I was going to look at Naples, Lake Mary and Coral Springs/Coral Gables.

Any places to specifically avoid?

Steve

 

[dquarasr2]

Hi,

My wife is interested in moving to Florida. I know nothing about the area. I hear there are some deals to be found down there.

What are some good cities to take a peek at? I was going to look at Naples, Lake Mary and Coral Springs/Coral Gables.

Any places to specifically avoid?

Steve

That's a pretty large spread of geography and look/feel.

What kind of place are you looking for? What kind of feel? Big town, metropolitan, small-town, etc? Hard to answer without knowing your tolerance to congestion, whether you can deal with "small town" limitations, big-city-style impersonal treatment, etc.

 

[recoil]

I know my request is a little broad.

But I don't know what I don't know.

Not looking for a big city... wouldn't mind living maybe 30 minutes outside of a big city.

This would probably be just a winter get-away for the time being. We may relocate full time in a few years.

I have a two year old so I'd like to have access to decent schools (public or private).

I saw on Realtor.com a former $360K house going for $99K. Is that for real?

Steve

 

[steveny]

I saw on Realtor.com a former $360K house going for $99K. Is that for real?

Steve

yes it is. Homes that sold for 1.4 million are 600k now. It's nuts. Good luck getting a loan. Wait until the end of 09 to the beginning of 2010 and houses will be buy one get one free.

 

[recoil]

Figured I'd just buy one in cash. Might have a better chance of that appreciating in ten years than my stock portfolio. Hahaha.

 

[HTN]

If you are looking in the Tampa area, let me know. I'm a local broker.

Good luck.

Huy

 

[recoil]

Right now my wife is looking in the Orlando area. Can any offer some advice on what to look out for?

 

[DocL]

Right now my wife is looking in the Orlando area. Can any offer some advice on what to look out for?

Yeah, look out for a mouse with big ears. He's an a$$hole!

 

[clr1024]

Yeah, look out for a mouse with big ears. He's an a$$hole!

LOL

Orlando has many different areas so it depends on what you want. Do you want a community where you can walk to stores or do you want a fair bit of land. Do you need to be near tourist attractions? Will your job, if relevant require you to commute?

If I were moving from out of town to hear the three areas I like a lot are college park, winter park and thornton park. All have differing demographics but all with redemable qualities.

You will probably not get a house of decent size for $99K in anyone of those neighborhoods though, so as I said before it depends on your priorities.

 

[FeetFxr]

LOL

Orlando has many different areas so it depends on what you want. Do you want a community where you can walk to stores or do you want a fair bit of land. Do you need to be near tourist attractions? Will your job, if relevant require you to commute?

If I were moving from out of town to hear the three areas I like a lot are college park, winter park and thornton park. All have differing demographics but all with redemable qualities.

You will probably not get a house of decent size for $99K in anyone of those neighborhoods though, so as I said before it depends on your priorities.

College Park and Thornton Park are perfect...if you're gay. :biggrin: Now, that I said that, I hope you don't live there Carl. All these places are nice and tend to be on the more expensive side. There are some good deals to be made now with the economy changes and short sales available. Winter Park always has over-inflated home prices and ridiculous taxes. For $99K you'd be lucky to find a decent condo. Here are a couple of the better known realtor's in Winter Park so you can get some ideas: (from $8 million and down)

http://www.kellypriceandcompany.com/
http://www.fanniehillman.com/

 

[drwnsx]

Right now my wife is looking in the Orlando area. Can any offer some advice on what to look out for?

I live in an area called Dr. Phillips. You can get some good deals in Pine Hills. Just don't plan on making it through the night! I personally love SW Orlando....food and fun out the wazoo. Close to all the parks, nightlife, and tourist areas that they keep immaculate. Downtown is getting better everyday too if you want 20th floor condo living with great views. I have a one bedroom condo as an investment that I paid $156k.....selling it this friday for $47,000!!!! FU_____!!!!!!! I lost lot. It was out by the airport though. Not a bad area, but not a good area either. I would look for condos or townhomes in Soutwest Orlando, Winter Garden, downtown, or back end of Windermere. You should have no problem finding a killer deal. I am hunting for one now too for my folks. You can pick up a townhome or condo foreclosure for real cheap if you got cash. SW and downtown being a bit more $$$. Good luck!

 

[clr1024]

College Park and Thornton Park are perfect...if you're gay. :biggrin: Now, that I said that, I hope you don't live there Carl.

LOL - no don't live there, but I have many friends that live downtown or in the thornton park neigborhood. It's a mix I suppose with definitely a higher populous of gay people. However there are always things going on down there around lake eola, you can walk to many non-chain restaurants and now Publix, and it's an easy walk to downtown. I enjoy the ability to not have to drive.

College park I am not too familiar with, just that it's a nice area, same for Winter park but there is definitely a premium to live in any one of these places.

As I said before it depends on what the OP wants. If he is looking to have a large house on some land then those probably won't be the areas he is looking in especially if he is thinking of a $99K house, $300 K won't get you too far there either....

 

[recoil]

Not looking for land or anything big. Just going to buy a winter condo down there in cash.

 

[jmp]

I relocated 7 years ago from Northern Virginia to the Southeast Coast of FL and more recently Naples. As several have noted, while Florida generally affords great weather, it is a fairly diverse place. Real estate bargains abound throughout the state.

You should sit down with your family and come up with some key drivers/priorities and then re-solicit opinions/recommendations.

If you pm me I would be happy to provide my insights and thoughts.