Salary comparison (Lakeland, Ocala, Crystal Lake: mortgage broker, real estate, insurance)

[macguy]

Originally Posted by Halfback

Fourteen years here in Florida and either you work for your self or you flip houses . Read the Tampa Tribune . There is a place called New Tampa its a mecca for NYC residents who transfer with their current jobs to Tampa. Catch is they transfer here with a NYC salary buy a dream house for $400,000 , train new hires for their newly located company and in six months are left with no job . Because they trained their replacements who are willing to work for far less . After appling for similar jobs they find out they will also have to settle for less pay .
Now stuck with an outragous mortgage payment and no way to sell their overpriced new custom home .(because everyone it seems from NYC wants a new custom built and interior decorated mini castle and not sombody' cast off)
From what i have seen they sell their house at a loss and head back north.
Sell their house for more and then become realators or house flippers.
Open a buisness like one in NYC because their are so many Yorkers that want it like home , pizza shop ,franchiese , chain , etc.
Or become a contracter who hires a sub-contracter who in turn hires mostly illegal immigrants who build more new custom homes .Which raises taxes for everyone who lives in older holmes that donot sell for what they are appraised for. Which forces existing residents , whom a lot are retirees who did not plan on working over 40 hours in their elder years to sustain the Florida lifestyle to sell for what they can and move to more reconably priced states. Like Tennesse or Arkansas. (Georgia and N.Carilona have already been overpriced about twenty years ago)
My $135,000 home which was recently appraised for tax purposes for$210,000 because the ranch next to our old florida fish camp was raised paved developed cookie cutter style (they are even painted the same puke tan)development where there ar affordable house between $249,000 and $380,000 , at least that's what all the real estate speculators(House flippers)are asking . Most of the for sale signs stayed even after they were built and moved into by the owners.
Wow if the new utopia they built here in Odessa known as Ashley Lakes (Trashley Retention Ponds is what the kids here call them)is so great with its waterfront properties(Large storm run off ditches required for watershed)then why are its residents so eager to crash our gate to use our boat ramp and ski lake? Every morning I see people jogging or riding their bikes in our neighboorhood trying to get some shade while they exercise.I guess the developers forgot to leave some of the majestic grand father live oaks .Except for the row of tres where they tried to cover up the fact that they were going to bull doze over an old slave cemetary. POLTERGEIST!
Buy my hose . It was built here in 1991 where an old fishing cabin from the 40's stood . Its on the MLS listings .Lots of trees .Awesome deep well water!thats why the old log mill and turpine workers use to live in this oak forest.There are even gopher tortises that wonder around and lots more since they bulldozed to make way for the new development. I hope that when they build the publixshopping center at the end of their new road that they actualy move them this time than plow over this protected species.
A new resident who closed on a house in here today (who's sister in law? is flying in from jersy to look at my house tommorow) said he thought he saw Opie walking to the lake with his fishing pole. He said he just sold his $500,000 home in the area ,to downsize. He said after nine years in that neighborhood he has never met the neighbors. He said he drove in to look a house and was invited to three Barbeque's by six difrent people. He said he found Mayberry. We do have a big lake front community volleyball, horseshoe, beach ,picknick, grill, boat ramp recreation area where everyone parties at on the weekend . Drink a beer meet neighbors, kids play together under the mature cypress trees ,jetski, boat,bass fishing, i do not want to move. But when i leave the neighbor hood the city of tampa has sprawled all the way out here and its nerve wracking to me. i m use to quiet rural roads with no traffic so i am going to my mountain property i purchased 15 years ago for an early retirement .
Oh by the way i cannot remember the last time i went to the gulf Deep sea fishing or to the beach with the red tide pollution and its been too crowded plus the new condos cast a shadow on the sand.I Do like snorkeling in the crystal clear springs in n. florida. Going "Halfback" home as they call my kind a yankee who lived in Florida and only went halfback home to the southern mountains)

Wow, that was a really long post. Where is your place in the mountains?

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by SunnyDog

There is no place I can think of as being desirable that has cheap houses. Remember the three most important things in real estate--location, location, and location. 50K houses anywhere in America are nearly always boarded up crack dens that need 100K in work to meet code and be liveable, and nobody will invest that kind of $$ because the neighborhood is slum. There's more to life than cheap houses. Job availability, pay, weather, recreation define a location and a property's worth. Cheap housing is cheap for a reason, you get what you pay for.

You keep mentioning "house", but what about a condo? They're usually cheaper and will allow you to live in a nice area for less money. Rent for a few years, save as much as you can (preferably 20% of your net income), keep your credit good, increase your income through promotions, overtime, and/or getting a second job. Prices 3-5 years from now will likely be the same as now or even less for condos in South FL, and by then you will have enough saved plus a higher income to buy. The last time condo prices here spiked up was 1977-1982, and then prices remained flat with some declines up to 2000. So the last condo recession lasted over a decade and a half, this current downturn just started, and only realtors are saying buy now it'll last only 6 months. Be patient and you'll do OK.

Location is everything, how true! Explains why some chose to live in tiny million dollar houses in south California! One of my friends online told me their parents sold a tiny house in silicon valley for just under a million to a vice president of a company! I am likley to stay in south Florida for the time being and not rush things. I will keep reserching other cities/states and reading the posts here. I prefer not to live in a bad neighboor with high crime. Even some of the mobile parks ive checked out, the neighboor appeared OK. I was talking to one single white lady who was selling her doublewide for like 25k and moving back to Alaska! That mobile home was quite nice and had one really huge bedroom, master bathroom and even a jacuzzi! She said with the crazy house prices, none of her friends can afford houses either! She makes 30k a year and that mobile home is all she could afford!

Condos arent as "good" as houses and many of them approach the price of a house, especially per square foot. Houses here go for around $200 a square foot(including lot!) condos go for around $150 a square foot for the larger ones. The tiny one bedroomers are expensive square foot wise, being $200-250! You are right, itll be a good idea to rent at $400 month lot fees, buy a mobile for almost free and have a larger percent of money to save. I will catch the next house bubble from the bottom and sell at the peak and retire on the equity!

[Need_affordable_home]

Originally Posted by chocomom

The problem is the farther north you go in FL the worst the wages and the jobs get. We considered doing just what you said but looking at the pay and positions available knew that we wouldn't be solving anything; just transferring the problem to a new location and zip zode.

So true! I visited Gainsville and checked the job classifieds and was shocked to see how low the wages were! A college grad applying for manager gets only 30k a year! Here in s. Florida youd make 40k easy! A tree trimmer makes $11/hour vs. $14.5/hour in s. Florida! Many job openings offered around $10 an hour! I would not be able to afford land or a mobile home on those dismal salaries!

[lulu]

ready2move...

Yes..we have our unique issues, that only someone that lives in S.FL could identify with. Anyhow, I hope they never understand cause that would mean the disease is not spreading. So, in a way that's good, in that case I don't mind even being seen as negative... so, it's really ok.
But you know...even if I speak of local realities and local concerns that need solving, I'm still a happy go lucky kind of gal....

[Halfback]

Originally Posted by macguy

Wow, that was a really long post. Where is your place in the mountains?

Walden's ridge- dirt cheap . Its rough country.I didn't see the nuclear plant until I drove off the backside of the mountain and noticed an emergency evacuation siren and then saw the cooling tower as i drove off the mountain.That would be Spring City down there.
Lots of tomato growers and an apple orchard up here. Lots of retirees are buying land in deed restricted areas on the other side of the sequatchie valley towards Fall creek Falls on the cumberland plateau.
My land came with mineral rights and no building permits required for houses or other structures its a carpenters dream(other than a septic tank permit to establish electric).
My new neighbor built a house logged ,cleared and was starting to plant what looked like 100 or so acres since last year that i was up there. My neighbor beside me logged a 13 acre pasture for his mountain mules that he breeds for sale .My brother has planted wine grapes for a hobby . I think breeding and raising meat goats will be a good supplemental income for me.
Every year there are more lights on that mountain.Its stedily getting more residents.

[cmdavis]

I make around 50k, I work as a RN and I can not afford a house these houses in lake county are 250,000-400,000 for what I need, I have a 4/2 (2,200sf) rental 1295.00/m, electric 430.00/m water 175/m, no public transportation and we all know about the gas prices. Lived here all my life I'm ready to go north. come back when I'm 62.
cm

[SunnyDog]

Originally Posted by cmdavis

I make around 50k, I work as a RN and I can not afford a house these houses in lake county are 250,000-400,000 for what I need, I have a 4/2 (2,200sf) rental 1295.00/m, electric 430.00/m water 175/m, no public transportation and we all know about the gas prices. Lived here all my life I'm ready to go north. come back when I'm 62.
cm

Just a friendly suggestion---dump the 2200 sf rental (that's a BIG place!) and get a smaller house or condo. I make and spend on rent about what you do, but my electric is only $75/mo max in the summer! (1000 sf unit) And the water is included in the rent! You have the option of downsizing instead of moving north where your budget may or may not be better but your hiney will definately be colder

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by SunnyDog

Just a friendly suggestion---dump the 2200 sf rental (that's a BIG place!) and get a smaller house or condo. I make and spend on rent about what you do, but my electric is only $75/mo max in the summer! (1000 sf unit) And the water is included in the rent! You have the option of downsizing instead of moving north where your budget may or may not be better but your hiney will definately be colder

This forum needs a thumbs up smiley!

You would defnitely get one Sunnydog

[cmdavis]

I can't see dumping the 2200 sq ft it, I really need more room. I was in a smaller house last year rent free my moms house , but it was too cramp.
Me and my husband 7 kids 18-2yrs. so that is why moving out of state seems to be a good option.
cm

[GSpeed]

Came accross the following while researching Crystal Lake, Ocala:

by: GYPSYCHIC
08-04-2007

"Funny you should ask about Crystal Lake - we just closed on our house in the Lake Hollingsworth area, and I was getting new locks on our door. I asked the locksmith about our neighborhood and he said it was very safe, so I asked about the BAD area and he mentioned Crystal Lake! So I would stay away from that area! Overall, Lakeland is a very safe and beautiful city, but another area that looks rough is up there north of downtown near the hospital. Personally I love the South side are where we bought - very convenient and charming.
I would recommend checking out the online paper, the Ledger, and each week they publish the crime map - you can see where the bulk of the crimes occur. Here is the link to their main page".


Does anyone have any additional information/comments (Community, housing etc.) on Crystal Lakes, which is a sub-division of Ocala? Any additional information would be appreciated.