yet another moving to Viera question (Andrews: real estate, HOA fees, credit)

[nhkev]

We are relocating to Central Florida in 2-3 months. We have concentrated on Viera. We seem to be favoring the subdivisions around St Andrews blvd. Does anyone have any knowledge that wouldn't necessarily be known to outsiders of things to watch out for. For example in some parts of Florida where I own real estate they had issues with Chinese drywall, or assessments for City utilities that ran in the tens of thousands, failing seawalls that could cost in the tens of thousands. Or high HOA fees or other fees that weren't called HOA but were for paying off bonds for infrastructure. Some have poor drinking water , or ridiculously high water , sewer bills. Areas that are prone to Flooding or some big project that is coming that will adversely affect the area. Sometimes it's simple stuff like " oh that area has horrible cell reception". I guess overall I'm looking for something that locals realize that would sway me away from this area and towards a better alternative.

[hmdmodi]

Originally Posted by nhkev

We are relocating to Central Florida in 2-3 months. We have concentrated on Viera. We seem to be favoring the subdivisions around St Andrews blvd. Does anyone have any knowledge that wouldn't necessarily be known to outsiders of things to watch out for. For example in some parts of Florida where I own real estate they had issues with Chinese drywall, or assessments for City utilities that ran in the tens of thousands, failing seawalls that could cost in the tens of thousands. Or high HOA fees or other fees that weren't called HOA but were for paying off bonds for infrastructure. Some have poor drinking water , or ridiculously high water , sewer bills. Areas that are prone to Flooding or some big project that is coming that will adversely affect the area. Sometimes it's simple stuff like " oh that area has horrible cell reception". I guess overall I'm looking for something that locals realize that would sway me away from this area and towards a better alternative.

I am in the same boat, I need more information on that too.
thanks in advance.

[mommster]

I live in a subdivision right off of St. Andrews. I can't think of anything that we were shocked by other than utility costs. I called FPL twice prior to going forward with our home to see what kind of bills the previous owner had. The owner told me electric bills were just under $200 per month which aligned with what FPL stated. Our bill is $500-700 with keeping the ac set at the same temp as the previous owner. We've since installed solar panels.

Some things that might not be known:
-You will most likely have rust spots on your house and sidewalk unless your sprinklers pull water from a retention pond.
-People can park on both sides of the street here. I am not used to that.
-It's not always easy to get workers to show up. You can't just call a company and expect that they'll want your money to do a job.
- Getting a house inspection is pretty much worthless. (Que attack arguments.). We spent $30k on new ac a month after the inspector told us ours was fine. Other problems were not found in the inspection and there us zero recourse. My father had a similar experience in Florida as well. I wouldn't waste the $500.

[Nypafl4u]

Originally Posted by mommster

I live in a subdivision right off of St. Andrews. I can't think of anything that we were shocked by other than utility costs. I called FPL twice prior to going forward with our home to see what kind of bills the previous owner had. The owner told me electric bills were just under $200 per month which aligned with what FPL stated. Our bill is $500-700 with keeping the ac set at the same temp as the previous owner. We've since installed solar panels.

Some things that might not be known:
-You will most likely have rust spots on your house and sidewalk unless your sprinklers pull water from a retention pond.
-People can park on both sides of the street here. I am not used to that.
-It's not always easy to get workers to show up. You can't just call a company and expect that they'll want your money to do a job.
- Getting a house inspection is pretty much worthless. (Que attack arguments.). We spent $30k on new ac a month after the inspector told us ours was fine. Other problems were not found in the inspection and there us zero recourse. My father had a similar experience in Florida as well. I wouldn't waste the $500.

Just out of curiosity, how many square feet is your home?
What year was it built?
Some of those quotes, to me, do seem high for a typical house.

[budlight]

30k on AC? Are you serious?

[mommster]

100% serious about $30k and the sick thing is that we've had to spend more over and over. If I could go back in time, I'd rip out everything that was here and start from scratch. The ac problems have made me consider selling this house more than once.

Our home is 3864 sqft and is 15 years old. I thought that $200 for a house this size was very low, but there are some energy efficient features that I thought might make the difference. We set part of the house at 85 and don't cool it unless we have company. We keep the house at 73 and turn the master bedroom down to 71 at night. I'm trying to inch the temp up, but starting menopause in the Florida heat and humidity is a pain. Lol. We've installed a ore efficient pool pump and washer and dryer...still high bills. Solar panels were a no brainer if we plan to stay in the house. The prices on solar has improved and the tax credit makes it a pretty affordable option. I'm honestly surprised that more homes don't have them.

The house has gone up in value since we bought it. If it hadn't, I'd really be pushing to move. I really like our neighborhood, though. It's a great place for kids while not being overrun with children everywhere.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by mommster

I live in a subdivision right off of St. Andrews. I can't think of anything that we were shocked by other than utility costs. I called FPL twice prior to going forward with our home to see what kind of bills the previous owner had. The owner told me electric bills were just under $200 per month which aligned with what FPL stated. Our bill is $500-700 with keeping the ac set at the same temp as the previous owner. We've since installed solar panels.

Some things that might not be known:
-You will most likely have rust spots on your house and sidewalk unless your sprinklers pull water from a retention pond.
-People can park on both sides of the street here. I am not used to that.
-It's not always easy to get workers to show up. You can't just call a company and expect that they'll want your money to do a job.
- Getting a house inspection is pretty much worthless. (Que attack arguments.). We spent $30k on new ac a month after the inspector told us ours was fine. Other problems were not found in the inspection and there us zero recourse. My father had a similar experience in Florida as well. I wouldn't waste the $500.

So the high electric bills started after putting in a new air conditioning system? Ours dropped by a hundred. Are you sure you have the right size for the house? It must be running all the time.

[mommster]

No. The bills haven't changed with any of the ac changes, even though we were told that we'd get better efficiency with the new units.

[mommster]

We might not have replaced the units literally a month after the inspection, but definitely close enough to the inspection that any problems should have been noted.

[SuiteLiving]

sounded like you had separate zones in the house, so I assume that $30k was for 2 a/c units? Probably the ultra high efficiency model. Curious because I replaced a single one for a 3,000 sf home about 6 years ago and it was $10k so I could see how you get to $30k if you have 2 units for 2 zones, otherwise it seems awfully expensive.