[JunoAqua]

What do you think will Homes in Sarasota,Venice,Bradenton Area SW Florida drop even more or will it stay like it is.? I went to see an Adams Home which are selling in Northport for 170K BRAND NEW, with all the closing costs paid.

[121804]

Originally Posted by JunoAqua

What do you think will Homes in Sarasota,Venice,Bradenton Area SW Florida drop even more or will it stay like it is.? I went to see an Adams Home which are selling in Northport for 170K BRAND NEW, with all the closing costs paid.

Everywhere you look in SWFL you will find a major builder doing the same thing Adams is doing. It is called sheer desperation.

They are going to drop & they are going to drop drastically. There is such a saturation of the market in this area it is not even funny.

Majority of these homes were built quick & cheap. They meet occupation codes which are strict in FL (but that only has to do with the exterior construction & certain plumbing & electric). After that, shotty workmanship.


DO NOT BE FOOLED BY ALL CLOSING COSTS PAID!! You still have to pay for points (which they will for sure charge you; all banks get their money somehow). You will also be responsible for interest, & state & fed taxes that go along with closing. Send & done, this could be an easy $3000. And you will still need to come up with at least a 3% downpayment for majority of mortgages that are legit.

Most of these mortgage companies will make up for supposedly covering your closing costs by 1) charging you a higher interest rate 2) charging you points.

We are buying a home in OH & intially were dealing with Bank of America who is stating they pay all closing costs. Came to find out after much research & asking questions just how not true this was. If everyone could do this, they would. But 3 different lenders told me the same thing: banks get their money. Adams is NOT giving you ANYTHING for free. They are giving you a mediocre home that they are so desperate to sell they will do anything to "sell" it to you.

There are a reason these homes are supposedly cheap. BUt, in reality, they are not. Prices will be dropping in the next 1-3 yrs.

Even more important...where are the jobs to support people who move into these communities in SW FL? Again, reason why there is such inventory. There is no job market.

Ask Adams what that home in Northport was trying to sell for 6-12 months ago... Ask them what their inventory is...ask them about their sale the past year.

I am not being sarcastic, I am being honest. We asked these things months ago when we were considering buying down here. Start asking questions; start looking around; start to notice things that some do not want you to notice; all of a sudden it will become very clear to you what is going on in SWFL.

[Ladywithafan]

The above post is right on.

[LM1]

121804's post is right on the money.
The houses in SWFL weren't built to satisfy an actual housing "need" - rather, they were built to satisfy a totally irrational real estate "investors" market. Now that said market is starting to get real again, people are asking the questions about housing they should've been asking from day one.

A lot of these "New Development" houses will be selling for prices that are nearly equal to the sum of their parts, in the next year or two... Overall, I'm very bearish on SEFL to begin with. Yes, a few communities will always carry a stiff premium, however, for the most part, the demographics are becoming very undesirable for real estate and a lot of people who go and actually look at the place find themselves without any desire to actually live there.

[Racelady88]

Originally Posted by JunoAqua

What do you think will Homes in Sarasota,Venice,Bradenton Area SW Florida drop even more or will it stay like it is.? I went to see an Adams Home which are selling in Northport for 170K BRAND NEW, with all the closing costs paid.

They will have to come down. Salaries here simply do not support buying with the prices that are out there right now, hence the foreclosures.

I have been looking to buy since March and I have CASH. I am not willing to pay for someone else's poor decision making or to finance someone's retirement.

If you go a little farther south from North Port into Charlotte County you can get into a brand new townhome for under $90K.

[JunoAqua]

Originally Posted by Evey

They will have to come down. Salaries here simply do not support buying with the prices that are out there right now, hence the foreclosures.

I have been looking to buy since March and I have CASH. I am not willing to pay for someone else's poor decision making or to finance someone's retirement.

If you go a little farther south from North Port into Charlotte County you can get into a brand new townhome for under $90K.

Thanks where in particular in charlotte county and is it a safe area?

[kwick release]

We are going to be buying in February in Brevard county, but I am worried that maybe we should rent for a year or 2 and let the market drift down some more.



Prodromos Borboroglu

[MrTudo]

Building quality sucks in the South in general. However if you travel to MOST parts of the country you'll find todays building codes "tougher" but the quality is less than what the quality was from years ago.

Many houses built from Dade County pine withstood Hurricane Andrew while their contemporary neighbors were blown away. Our house here in Port Charlotte, while losing some shingles on the roof ( it was in need anyway ) suffered NO structural damage while newer houses in the same half mile radius were essentially blown away.

More government regulations and interference equals higher costs and more cut corners. It would cost 300/sq ft to build a house that compares with the quality of homes built up north in the early 1900's and earlier. Nobody can afford that. So the government passes laws that apparently makes everyone feel good, and creates an environment where the actual buildings are laughable.

We finally found a good handyman here as a case in point. He's from Mass, about 60 years old and was a real life bonafide builder up there. When he went to transfer his license to Fla, they wouldn't accept his license telling him that "our codes are tougher than yours up there". Really? There's homes built before the American Revolution still standing up there ( I'd like to buy one! ) and here we have houses that are considered "dated" at 10 years, and "old" at 25 years. Spare me.

Adams has some great floor plans. I personally have thought of buying one that has a combined living/great/dining room that's 35 feet long and 17 feet wide. Great combination pool table/home theatre room. If prices contract another 10-15% , we'll change our plans and buy one and be quasi-neighbors to Sunrico ( Hi Sunrico ) However the houses are VERY economically built and before we would ever move into one, we would have a contractor go in and do a considerable amount of bracing for the structure as well as install wind up shutters and a while house generator.

And now I will start to ramble so I better stop

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by JunoAqua

Thanks where in particular in charlotte county and is it a safe area?

You can buy a single family home in Port Charlotte, right now for 125K. Easy.

In a quiet neighborhood of a mix of retirees and younger couples. Look in the Haverhill area of Port Charlotte.

[bhoyle]

I'm not sure where you've been looking or how old some of these comments are but I've seen fabulous buys right now in Charlotte County! The prices are back to 2002-2003 levels in several areas.
Obviously you should have a good look and use a pro that knows the market well.
Also have the home inspected by a pro.
Use the negotiation skills of a good Buyer Rep (Realtor) and you'll get a good deal.
The rest of you can freeze up north until your dieing day if you want, all for the sake of a supposed investment but have you ever heard of Location, Location, Location?
Snooze you lose. Maybe I'll see you on the harbor fishing or the golf course this January and then maybe I won't.
Jobs are coming into Sarasota and Cape Coral right now if you read the news. Look at the commercial development. Do you think these huge companies don't do demographic studies?
Yes, the late comers from 2005 are in their homes upside down for right now but they were late-comers. Don't be a late-comer in this excellent buyer's market. Remember, real estate is more of a long term investment and then there's a matter of your quality of life.
My son is going to get a full ride to college here in Florida for having good grades. He's going to avionics Embry Riddle. Check out what the state has to offer.
Good Luck!
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