Important things to know when buying a home in FL (Miami: real estate, 2013)
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I am located in Palm Beach Gardens and we are searching for a home.
Since I am new to Florida, I was wondering if you all could share your knowledge on what to look for when buying a home in FLORIDA?
We have lived in many different states from CA to NY, AZ, TX, etc. Now we are in Florida and since the weather is tropical, I figure if you are not from these parts it might be a smart thing to ask the people who actually live here what the important things are to watch out for when buying in Florida.
For example, roofs. Is there a difference in materials so much that it makes a difference in quality of a tile roof or a more traditional one.
Flood insurance, roofs, bugs, grass, sand, paint, foundation, Chinese drywall, etc.
Wow, this is a major one, and a very important question to ask. The answers could easily fill a book - but sadly, I don't know of a book that it does! It is so needed...
Some of the answers are on the threads already, if you search for "flood insurance," or "citizen's" (which is your wind insurance), "hurricane-proof," etc. You want a really good local inspector. There are endless rules about FEMA compliance in flood zones, building codes, etc. that will affect you - especially if you are near the waterfront.
It would help if you narrow down what areas you are considering buying in, and what type of home. Your answers will be really different if you are well inland in the state, versus on the coast, in a condo versus a single-family home, in an above flood property versus below-flood. That will affect answers about structure and roofing, bugs, flood insurance, really all of it.
Generally speaking, insurance will be lowest if you have a house built after 2002, which will then employ the most recent building code and should also be FEMA compliant (no living structure below flood - which has a very complicated definition in itself). The best building material would be all-concrete. Older concrete buildings though were built with poor use of the rebar, and thus homes near the sea will have a problem called spalling. Lower insurance involves a thorough inspection of the roof construction of the home, which needs ties and jointing and all kinds of things to keep the roof on in a hurricane. A flat roof will cost more because of water pooling. You can get maximum wind credits (lowest discount) without the house having every single one of the best features.
You can also try calling local insurance companies and asking them specific questions about houses you are looking at to compare costs, or about which feature is better.
You will want hurricanes shutters or impact windows and doors, if you can get a house that already has them. This too will lower insurance costs.
If your house is below-flood, just to give you a ballpark you'll likely be looking at a minimum of 4k/yr total for flood, wind, and homeowner insurance. You will not be allowed to get a mortgage without these. The cost could be as low as 2k if you have a new home with all wind credits though, if the house is not very big or fancy.
Aside from what the insurance company wants, try not to buy a house with significantly non-aerodynamic features. Many houses in FL are built with one very long roof side that extends to create a porch cover, or other features that will catch a significant amount of wind. This is just poor design and stupidity, because a hurricane will come along and rip that entire roof right off and possibly compromise the entire house structure in doing so. It's hard to fix house structure, it's better to pick a house that is not poorly designed for the location in the first place. You can put up an awning if you want shade or plant a tree, you don't need it to be part of the structure of your house.
Take a look also at the landscaping and see if there will be any headaches. Florida plants can grow fast with all the rain, and people often plant things far too close to the house - causing both disruption to the foundation and a place for termites to fester against the house. Look for trees that if they fell, could hit the house or power lines. Notice if neighbors have trees that can fall on your house or utility lines - you can cut the trees in your own yard down, but you have no control over what your neighbor does.
Consider that some parts of Florida have environmental laws in place that will affect what you can and cannot do. Some areas also require heavy permitting for absolutely everything. And then of course there are the HOAs, which are common in FL and are a whole other story.
If you do buy and it is your primary residence, be sure to apply for a Florida Homestead Exemption with your county appraiser's office. This will cap your property tax from rising by more than 3% per year, which can be very important if you buy in an in-demand area. Property taxes can kill you if they suddenly jump to 3 times what you paid earlier without warning - some areas of Florida have a volatile market so this can happen, and then of course as we saw in the last few years, it can all come crashing back down again. It's good to have some protection for the rollercoaster.
I personally would be careful of wood houses in Florida .We have such a problem with termites and rot, and I think concrete block is stronger in a storm. Most wood houses are older also and may not be well insulated so they cost more to heat and cool. Be careful also of hoa houses (home owner's association) we have some of the strongest home owners protection in the country,if you declare bankruptcy for instance they cannot take your house no matter how expensive it is, very few other states have that generous a rule, but if you sign an hoa agreement you give them foreclosure rights on your home. They can take it for any reason they want. I would not buy in an hoa community for that reason.
I have people say to me, "come on it can't all be good." Tell me something bad about Florida. So here goes, the negative side to living in Florida. Well, negative for some people.
Some people find it to hot for their liking, especially in the summer months June-August. It does get really hot here. I usually plan my day and if I'm gonna go for a jog it's probably not going to be at 12 noon, if you're gonna mow the lawn it's probably best to do it in the early morning or late afternoon. I suggest planning a trip here in the summer to make sure you are comfortable with the heat. You don't want to move here and then find out you're not all that fond of hot weather.
It's a tropical climate and tropical climates bring bugs. You will find a myriad of different species of bugs in Florida. There are many natural remedies to getting rid of the pests as well as having your home sprayed for bugs on a quarterly basis.
Mosquitoes are one of the most talked about bugs in Florida. Mosquitoes are most prevalent in in the rainy season, June-August. They lay their eggs in standing water of ditches, buckets of water and stagnate water. This area has airplanes that fly over in mosquito season and they spray for them. To cut down on the mosquitoes around your home make sure you eliminate any standing water around your house. There are many sprays, candles and bug zappers you can use to get rid of the pesky bugs.
Snakes are an issue that I hear about regularly. There are 45 different types of snakes in Florida with only 6 being venomous. Most won’t bother you and just eat things like small rodents, rabbits, rats, mice, and other types of small animals. The majority of snakes are good to have around the yard and control any over abundant rodent populations.
Many of the venomous snakes like to live in wooded areas under rocks or around swampy, marshy areas. Generally, they don’t want to be bothered when encountered, so if you leave them alone usually they’ll run the other way. Often times when people get bitten is when they try to handle a snake, not realizing that the snake is poisonous. If you kill a snake the snakes reflexes are still “live” for a short period after you have killed it, so don’t immediately handle it or you might get bitten.
The six snakes that are venomous are The Southern Copperhead, which is only found in the panhandle area and not in SW Florida. The Cottonmouth, commonly called a water moccasin, which is primarily found around brackish water and marsh areas. The Eastern Diamond Back, they like palmetto thickets, under brush and Gopher Tortoise holes and are found throughout Florida. Next is the Timber Rattlesnake which is only found in 9 counties in Florida and SW Florida is not included in it's range. Moving on to the Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake, which is found throughout Florida around ponds and in underbrush. And lastly we have the Eastern Coral Snake, which of my 37 years living here have never seen one. Supposedly they are found throughout Florida. If you absolutely hate snakes you could get this stuff called Snake-Away and I heard this keeps them away from your house or where ever you put it.
The latest news reports state that there is now an invasive species of Burmese Python known to inhabit the Everglades and they are large enough to eat goats. Although they are not poisonous they can be a danger to humans due to their large size. I have never seen this type of snake in SW FL.
Another animal that some people are concerned about is alligators. Alligators tend to stick to the rivers where the water is brackish (a mixture of salt and fresh waters) and they also like the golf course water traps.
Alligators seldom attack humans, and fatalities from such attacks are extremely rare. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans, but they lose that fear when people feed them. There has been several alligator attacks due to people feeding them.
The most likely time to see alligators is at dusk. Often during the day you can catch them sunning themselves on the shoreline. Once the sun goes down they become more active. I wouldn't recommend swimming in a place known to be inhabited by alligators. It's also wise to keep dogs and cats away from the shoreline of waters known to be inhabited by alligators. Most dogs and cats are about the size of the animals alligators prey on-raccoons, birds, fish, turtles, etc Stay away from any small alligators or nests because the female alligators can become extremely dangers when protecting their young. Also don't go trying to get a lost golf ball a golf course water trap. They love to hang out in places like that.
If you live on a freshwater or brackish water canal and have small children or pets I always recommend getting a fence as an extra precaution.
You can greatly reduce your chances of being attacked by an alligator by just using some common sense. Generally speaking, if you don't swim in the rivers or the water traps you should be pretty safe. If an alligator shows aggression toward human you can call Florida Fish & Game and they will remove it.
Then you have the Chinese Drywall. This certainly has been an issue. Most of the CDW was imported from Chine between 2001-2007. Hundreds of millions of sheets of Chinese drywall were imported from 2004 to 2006, but Chinese drywall has recently been found in homes built or remodeled as early as 2001. Chinese Drywall has been found in 30 states and the District of Columbia and is estimated to have been installed in over 100,000 homes in the United States. See Map. Unfortunately, this does not paint an accurate picture as most affected homes have a mixture of safe and tainted drywall.
The majority of Chinese drywall is 1/2", but not always. Here are some clues that the home has CDW. Does your home smell like rotten eggs or ammonia (sometimes a sweetish smell)? I've also been in homes where it smelled like raw sewage. Is it more noticeable when entering your home and then seems to dissipate? The level of odor varies greatly in each home as does each person’s ability to detect the odor. Of course, the strength of the odor also depends on how much drywall was used in the home. The home may not smell and still can be affected by CDW. In short, do not rely on your nose alone, particularly since many develop olfactory fatigue after being exposed to Chinese drywall.
Chinese drywall corrodes electrical wiring. Check the electrical receptacles in your walls to see if the wires are blackened. Pull off the electrical plate and look inside. Obviously, do not touch anything - you could get shocked. There should be a copper wire inside. The wires in this photo have been corroded from Chinese drywall. The breaker panel should also be checked. I've also seen plumbing fixtures that are pitted and if the A/C has been replaced and the home is relatively new-that's also a clue that the home may have Chinese Drywall. Some of the sheets of drywall are stamped Knauf or National Gypsum on the back.
Signs of an electrical problem include, a circuit breaker which frequently needs resetting without an apparent cause (particularly a GFCI or AFCI); lights that flicker without any apparent cause; bright flashes or sparks anywhere in your electrical system (this may indicate arcing conditions in the wiring); buzzing from electrical systems, switch plates, dimmers and outlet covers that are discolored from overheating; and a smell from overheating plastic. CDW was manufactured during the time that hurricane Charlie hit so even if your home is older it could be effected. I always recommend a home inspection
Moving on to the next concern I hear is hurricanes. Really a hurricane can hit anywhere in Florida. I think that the Miami and Key West have the highest possibility of a hurricane strike. You need to be prepared where ever you live. I am a native Floridian and have lived in or close by Sarasota county my whole life and have never evacuated, not to say that I wouldn't but I've never felt the need to.
Anywhere you live in the world you will be faced with some kind of natural disaster-tornadoes, typhoons, tidal waves, earthquakes, blizzards, etc. At least with hurricanes you will have advance notice before they hit. If you choose to leave you have the opportunity to do so. This is not the case with most other weather situations.
Since 1992 Hurricane Andrew, the Florida Building codes have been up graded in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 to deal with damage from wind. Even new manufactured homes are safer than site built homes pre-94 The newer the home since 94, the less insurance you will pay. Insurance for pre 94 homes is difficult to get/keep and you will pay a lot of money for coverage.
Some hurricanes are large and can cover the whole state, while some like 2004 Charley was an oversized tornado. Some years we have to watch for a dozen and other years only one or two. The hurricane season runs from June to November with the peak amount in September.
Here's a chart that shows the probability of a hurricane strike in each area: Florida Hurricane Coastal Strike Probability
Hurricane strike probabilities are only statistical
estimates. Be prepared as storms approach.
Another concern I hear is about sharks. I get asked quite a bit if I’ve ever seen a shark at the beach or if it’s dangerous to swim out at the beach. Fact is that since they have been keeping records on shark attacks there has never been a fatal shark attack from Bradenton to Naples. If you're talking shark attacks, the Atlantic side has far more attacks than the gulf side. One reason you get more attacks over there is the amount of surfers. Surfers mimic a wounded animal and in turn look like lunch to a hungry shark. Most of the sharks that are off the coast of New Smyrna are Tigers, Spinners, Bull, Reef and Blacktips. Ponce Inlet is specifically known to be pretty active with sharks. You really don't have that great surfing on the gulf side unless a storms brewing. The gulf side is also much warmer than the Atlantic side. http://www.underwatertimes.com/news....id=10863094725
Speaking of beach. What about the stingrays and riptides or what about red tide? Well, I always recommend doing the "stingray shuffle" when entering the water. To do this you shuffle your feet along the sand instead of lifting your feet up and placing them down. The shuffling motion usually scares the stingrays off so you don't step on their poisonous barb. If you do happen to get stung, soak the area in hot water.
Rip tides are unusually strong currents that run perpendicular to the shore and can be very dangerous. If you're caught in one, don't panic or try to swim back to shore against the tide. Swim parallel to shore until you are out of the current or it has subsided, then return to shore.
Red tide is a naturally occurring algae that blooms and can kill marine life and cause respiratory irritations in humans. People with respiratory problems should avoid the beach when red tide is present.
Florida is the lightning capital of the world. Folks, if it starts lightning and you're golfing or at the beach, it's time to come in. And don't go hide under a tree and wait for the rains to end. That's probably the worst place to be during a lightning storm.
Next concern I hear is about the job market. Yeah it's pretty bad here. The unemployment rate is hovering somewhere around 10% right now. It's usually easier to find a job on the medical field then some other markets. The construction market is pretty tough right now. I would not suggest moving here without a job lined up.
There are some areas of town that are better than others which is pretty easy to figure out in the Sarasota area.
On the sex offender issue. I wouldn't say there are any more here than anywhere else. I just think we have a better system of keeping track of them. Which I think is a good thing. You can go here to check to see if any live in the neighborhood you are considering: http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/off...yyt!-928531442
So, if you can live with the bugs, the heat isn't an issue, aren't afraid of mosquitoes, snakes, sharks or gators, can prepare for hurricanes and stay away from lightning, have a stable job lined up, are willing to have your home inspected for CDW, you can go to the beach and stay clear of the stingrays and not get caught in a riptide and can figure out where you want to live...you should be good to go
Wow, this is a major one, and a very important question to ask. The answers could easily fill a book - but sadly, I don't know of a book that it does! It is so needed...
Some of the answers are on the threads already, if you search for "flood insurance," or "citizen's" (which is your wind insurance), "hurricane-proof," etc. You want a really good local inspector. There are endless rules about FEMA compliance in flood zones, building codes, etc. that will affect you - especially if you are near the waterfront.
It would help if you narrow down what areas you are considering buying in, and what type of home. Your answers will be really different if you are well inland in the state, versus on the coast, in a condo versus a single-family home, in an above flood property versus below-flood. That will affect answers about structure and roofing, bugs, flood insurance, really all of it.
Generally speaking, insurance will be lowest if you have a house built after 2002, which will then employ the most recent building code and should also be FEMA compliant (no living structure below flood - which has a very complicated definition in itself). The best building material would be all-concrete. Older concrete buildings though were built with poor use of the rebar, and thus homes near the sea will have a problem called spalling. Lower insurance involves a thorough inspection of the roof construction of the home, which needs ties and jointing and all kinds of things to keep the roof on in a hurricane. A flat roof will cost more because of water pooling. You can get maximum wind credits (lowest discount) without the house having every single one of the best features.
You can also try calling local insurance companies and asking them specific questions about houses you are looking at to compare costs, or about which feature is better.
You will want hurricanes shutters or impact windows and doors, if you can get a house that already has them. This too will lower insurance costs.
If your house is below-flood, just to give you a ballpark you'll likely be looking at a minimum of 4k/yr total for flood, wind, and homeowner insurance. You will not be allowed to get a mortgage without these. The cost could be as low as 2k if you have a new home with all wind credits though, if the house is not very big or fancy.
Aside from what the insurance company wants, try not to buy a house with significantly non-aerodynamic features. Many houses in FL are built with one very long roof side that extends to create a porch cover, or other features that will catch a significant amount of wind. This is just poor design and stupidity, because a hurricane will come along and rip that entire roof right off and possibly compromise the entire house structure in doing so. It's hard to fix house structure, it's better to pick a house that is not poorly designed for the location in the first place. You can put up an awning if you want shade or plant a tree, you don't need it to be part of the structure of your house.
Take a look also at the landscaping and see if there will be any headaches. Florida plants can grow fast with all the rain, and people often plant things far too close to the house - causing both disruption to the foundation and a place for termites to fester against the house. Look for trees that if they fell, could hit the house or power lines. Notice if neighbors have trees that can fall on your house or utility lines - you can cut the trees in your own yard down, but you have no control over what your neighbor does.
Consider that some parts of Florida have environmental laws in place that will affect what you can and cannot do. Some areas also require heavy permitting for absolutely everything. And then of course there are the HOAs, which are common in FL and are a whole other story.
If you do buy and it is your primary residence, be sure to apply for a Florida Homestead Exemption with your county appraiser's office. This will cap your property tax from rising by more than 3% per year, which can be very important if you buy in an in-demand area. Property taxes can kill you if they suddenly jump to 3 times what you paid earlier without warning - some areas of Florida have a volatile market so this can happen, and then of course as we saw in the last few years, it can all come crashing back down again. It's good to have some protection for the rollercoaster.
This should be a sticky since it has some of the best information that a person buying a house in Florida could use!
I have people say to me, "come on it can't all be good." Tell me something bad about Florida. So here goes, the negative side to living in Florida. Well, negative for some people.
Some people find it to hot for their liking, especially in the summer months June-August. It does get really hot here. I usually plan my day and if I'm gonna go for a jog it's probably not going to be at 12 noon, if you're gonna mow the lawn it's probably best to do it in the early morning or late afternoon. I suggest planning a trip here in the summer to make sure you are comfortable with the heat. You don't want to move here and then find out you're not all that fond of hot weather.
It's a tropical climate and tropical climates bring bugs. You will find a myriad of different species of bugs in Florida. There are many natural remedies to getting rid of the pests as well as having your home sprayed for bugs on a quarterly basis.
Mosquitoes are one of the most talked about bugs in Florida. Mosquitoes are most prevalent in in the rainy season, June-August. They lay their eggs in standing water of ditches, buckets of water and stagnate water. This area has airplanes that fly over in mosquito season and they spray for them. To cut down on the mosquitoes around your home make sure you eliminate any standing water around your house. There are many sprays, candles and bug zappers you can use to get rid of the pesky bugs.
Snakes are an issue that I hear about regularly. There are 45 different types of snakes in Florida with only 6 being venomous. Most won’t bother you and just eat things like small rodents, rabbits, rats, mice, and other types of small animals. The majority of snakes are good to have around the yard and control any over abundant rodent populations.
Many of the venomous snakes like to live in wooded areas under rocks or around swampy, marshy areas. Generally, they don’t want to be bothered when encountered, so if you leave them alone usually they’ll run the other way. Often times when people get bitten is when they try to handle a snake, not realizing that the snake is poisonous. If you kill a snake the snakes reflexes are still “live” for a short period after you have killed it, so don’t immediately handle it or you might get bitten.
The six snakes that are venomous are The Southern Copperhead, which is only found in the panhandle area and not in SW Florida. The Cottonmouth, commonly called a water moccasin, which is primarily found around brackish water and marsh areas. The Eastern Diamond Back, they like palmetto thickets, under brush and Gopher Tortoise holes and are found throughout Florida. Next is the Timber Rattlesnake which is only found in 9 counties in Florida and SW Florida is not included in it's range. Moving on to the Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake, which is found throughout Florida around ponds and in underbrush. And lastly we have the Eastern Coral Snake, which of my 37 years living here have never seen one. Supposedly they are found throughout Florida. If you absolutely hate snakes you could get this stuff called Snake-Away and I heard this keeps them away from your house or where ever you put it.
The latest news reports state that there is now an invasive species of Burmese Python known to inhabit the Everglades and they are large enough to eat goats. Although they are not poisonous they can be a danger to humans due to their large size. I have never seen this type of snake in SW FL.
Another animal that some people are concerned about is alligators. Alligators tend to stick to the rivers where the water is brackish (a mixture of salt and fresh waters) and they also like the golf course water traps.
Alligators seldom attack humans, and fatalities from such attacks are extremely rare. Alligators are naturally afraid of humans, but they lose that fear when people feed them. There has been several alligator attacks due to people feeding them.
The most likely time to see alligators is at dusk. Often during the day you can catch them sunning themselves on the shoreline. Once the sun goes down they become more active. I wouldn't recommend swimming in a place known to be inhabited by alligators. It's also wise to keep dogs and cats away from the shoreline of waters known to be inhabited by alligators. Most dogs and cats are about the size of the animals alligators prey on-raccoons, birds, fish, turtles, etc Stay away from any small alligators or nests because the female alligators can become extremely dangers when protecting their young. Also don't go trying to get a lost golf ball a golf course water trap. They love to hang out in places like that.
If you live on a freshwater or brackish water canal and have small children or pets I always recommend getting a fence as an extra precaution.
You can greatly reduce your chances of being attacked by an alligator by just using some common sense. Generally speaking, if you don't swim in the rivers or the water traps you should be pretty safe. If an alligator shows aggression toward human you can call Florida Fish & Game and they will remove it.
Then you have the Chinese Drywall. This certainly has been an issue. Most of the CDW was imported from Chine between 2001-2007. Hundreds of millions of sheets of Chinese drywall were imported from 2004 to 2006, but Chinese drywall has recently been found in homes built or remodeled as early as 2001. Chinese Drywall has been found in 30 states and the District of Columbia and is estimated to have been installed in over 100,000 homes in the United States. See Map. Unfortunately, this does not paint an accurate picture as most affected homes have a mixture of safe and tainted drywall.
The majority of Chinese drywall is 1/2", but not always. Here are some clues that the home has CDW. Does your home smell like rotten eggs or ammonia (sometimes a sweetish smell)? I've also been in homes where it smelled like raw sewage. Is it more noticeable when entering your home and then seems to dissipate? The level of odor varies greatly in each home as does each person’s ability to detect the odor. Of course, the strength of the odor also depends on how much drywall was used in the home. The home may not smell and still can be affected by CDW. In short, do not rely on your nose alone, particularly since many develop olfactory fatigue after being exposed to Chinese drywall.
Chinese drywall corrodes electrical wiring. Check the electrical receptacles in your walls to see if the wires are blackened. Pull off the electrical plate and look inside. Obviously, do not touch anything - you could get shocked. There should be a copper wire inside. The wires in this photo have been corroded from Chinese drywall. The breaker panel should also be checked. I've also seen plumbing fixtures that are pitted and if the A/C has been replaced and the home is relatively new-that's also a clue that the home may have Chinese Drywall. Some of the sheets of drywall are stamped Knauf or National Gypsum on the back.
Signs of an electrical problem include, a circuit breaker which frequently needs resetting without an apparent cause (particularly a GFCI or AFCI); lights that flicker without any apparent cause; bright flashes or sparks anywhere in your electrical system (this may indicate arcing conditions in the wiring); buzzing from electrical systems, switch plates, dimmers and outlet covers that are discolored from overheating; and a smell from overheating plastic. CDW was manufactured during the time that hurricane Charlie hit so even if your home is older it could be effected. I always recommend a home inspection
Moving on to the next concern I hear is hurricanes. Really a hurricane can hit anywhere in Florida. I think that the Miami and Key West have the highest possibility of a hurricane strike. You need to be prepared where ever you live. I am a native Floridian and have lived in or close by Sarasota county my whole life and have never evacuated, not to say that I wouldn't but I've never felt the need to.
Anywhere you live in the world you will be faced with some kind of natural disaster-tornadoes, typhoons, tidal waves, earthquakes, blizzards, etc. At least with hurricanes you will have advance notice before they hit. If you choose to leave you have the opportunity to do so. This is not the case with most other weather situations.
Since 1992 Hurricane Andrew, the Florida Building codes have been up graded in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 to deal with damage from wind. Even new manufactured homes are safer than site built homes pre-94 The newer the home since 94, the less insurance you will pay. Insurance for pre 94 homes is difficult to get/keep and you will pay a lot of money for coverage.
Some hurricanes are large and can cover the whole state, while some like 2004 Charley was an oversized tornado. Some years we have to watch for a dozen and other years only one or two. The hurricane season runs from June to November with the peak amount in September.
Here's a chart that shows the probability of a hurricane strike in each area: Florida Hurricane Coastal Strike Probability
Hurricane strike probabilities are only statistical
estimates. Be prepared as storms approach.
Another concern I hear is about sharks. I get asked quite a bit if I’ve ever seen a shark at the beach or if it’s dangerous to swim out at the beach. Fact is that since they have been keeping records on shark attacks there has never been a fatal shark attack from Bradenton to Naples. If you're talking shark attacks, the Atlantic side has far more attacks than the gulf side. One reason you get more attacks over there is the amount of surfers. Surfers mimic a wounded animal and in turn look like lunch to a hungry shark. Most of the sharks that are off the coast of New Smyrna are Tigers, Spinners, Bull, Reef and Blacktips. Ponce Inlet is specifically known to be pretty active with sharks. You really don't have that great surfing on the gulf side unless a storms brewing. The gulf side is also much warmer than the Atlantic side. http://www.underwatertimes.com/news....id=10863094725
Speaking of beach. What about the stingrays and riptides or what about red tide? Well, I always recommend doing the "stingray shuffle" when entering the water. To do this you shuffle your feet along the sand instead of lifting your feet up and placing them down. The shuffling motion usually scares the stingrays off so you don't step on their poisonous barb. If you do happen to get stung, soak the area in hot water.
Rip tides are unusually strong currents that run perpendicular to the shore and can be very dangerous. If you're caught in one, don't panic or try to swim back to shore against the tide. Swim parallel to shore until you are out of the current or it has subsided, then return to shore.
Red tide is a naturally occurring algae that blooms and can kill marine life and cause respiratory irritations in humans. People with respiratory problems should avoid the beach when red tide is present.
Florida is the lightning capital of the world. Folks, if it starts lightning and you're golfing or at the beach, it's time to come in. And don't go hide under a tree and wait for the rains to end. That's probably the worst place to be during a lightning storm.
Next concern I hear is about the job market. Yeah it's pretty bad here. The unemployment rate is hovering somewhere around 10% right now. It's usually easier to find a job on the medical field then some other markets. The construction market is pretty tough right now. I would not suggest moving here without a job lined up.
There are some areas of town that are better than others which is pretty easy to figure out in the Sarasota area.
On the sex offender issue. I wouldn't say there are any more here than anywhere else. I just think we have a better system of keeping track of them. Which I think is a good thing. You can go here to check to see if any live in the neighborhood you are considering: http://offender.fdle.state.fl.us/off...yyt!-928531442
So, if you can live with the bugs, the heat isn't an issue, aren't afraid of mosquitoes, snakes, sharks or gators, can prepare for hurricanes and stay away from lightning, have a stable job lined up, are willing to have your home inspected for CDW, you can go to the beach and stay clear of the stingrays and not get caught in a riptide and can figure out where you want to live...you should be good to go
This was a very informative post also. Perhaps one of the mods could move this to a different file also and put a sticky on it.
I knew about everything you posted about except the red tide. Thanks for alerting me. Having come from the Palos Verdes area of Los Angeles I am used to polluted water. LA has some of the most polluted water around - it's disgusting.
As far as the heat goes, well, I brought my kids us in Scottsdale, AZ. Doesn't get much hotter than that. The heat is easier to deal with here, although it's humid, the heat (and SUN) is less intense than there. I've been coming to different areas of Florida nearly every year since I was a small child. My daughter went to the University of Miami and I have spent many, many weeks in Miami at a time.
Where I am (PGA National) the bugs aren't an issue. But I have been told that further inland they can be a problem. When we lived in DC - THAT was buggy!!!! Massive, huge bugs and a ton of flying moths about the size of Mothra.
Snakes? Meh - we had copperheads in our backyard in Nashville, and rattler's in Scottsdale (along with scorpions and flying cockroaches) and I've run across several when camping in the mountains in NY.
The alligators are an interesting breed. We have seen a couple sunning themselves. Freaked me out at first, but I will follow your advice - I PROMISE not to ever go near one and to make sure my pets are behind a protective fence! We had javelina's in our yards on a constant basis in AZ. Along with cougars, snakes, coyotes, mountain lions, gila mosters, and the like!
The hurricane info is priceless so thank you. Lightening, rain, etc. common sense rules.
I do know about the Chinese drywall and have been on the lookout for it. I haven't run across it yet, but you never know!
Thanks for all your help, it's always nice to get advice from someone who has been here for a long time.
As a note since it has been mentioned, as of late 2013 when I bought my house anyway, no instances of Chinese drywall had been reported found in all of Monroe County. I am told it has to do with where the particular Keys companies sourced their materials, so just got lucky. They continue to monitor for it, of course, in inspections. But so far apparently no house has been affected from Key West to Key Largo.
Sometimes you can also get lucky with the termite issue. In order to afford a house in the neighborhood I wanted, I had to compromise on age and construction, so my house is wood and from the '80s. It is a long story as to making the decision whether it was worth it - and generally I would say, try not to get too stuck on a house or area to the detriment of choosing the best house for your safety and investment. But it just so happened that this one house I felt might be able to overcome its shortcomings because of how well it was cared for, and the way flooding and wind works in the neighborhood (this property is very protected compared to some others), particularly if I don't stay in it for too many years to keep testing its strength! We'll see in time. So even though it was wood construction (called "frame"), and older, it had no evidence of termites anywhere. It was also well designed for wind, and fully FEMA compliant, so I had no trouble getting insurance and even got the max wind credits allowed - even though it's certainly not a new construction! So I guess the point is, look for the best situation, but if it comes down to you not being able to afford the best, if you look carefully there are some good exceptions to the rule out there.
My neighbors have termites and are planning to tent for them soon. BUT, they bought their house in a foreclosure and it was abandoned for 5 years, and they knew full well the destruction of the house at purchase. The Keys do not have subterranean termites, only airborne, so hopefully they don't decide to fly off onto my house. But with careful attention and some prevention measures, one should be able to avoid a major issue if you know you have started with a clean slate.
It's a good point to bring up registered sex offenders. I am unfamiliar if their numbers are higher in FL than other states, but I do suspect the numbers are higher in Monroe County than in much of the rest of FL. I am not basing that on numbers I know of, but on the fact that the Keys are known as a place for people to run from their problems. We have a major transient population, people who come in and out a lot and perhaps are not registered locally, and a lot of people who are homeless and maybe should be registered but aren't. It's hard to say. I looked on maps (which you can find online) before selecting my home, and the number of "serious" offenders (they have a rating system of mild to severe convictions) I saw was disturbing, but at the same time they were several miles from me. Predictably, most but not all of them lived in low-cost neighborhoods, since it can be extremely hard to get a job and re-integrate into society with that record.
On the other hand, I am always mindful of the unfortunate fact that the majority of sex offenders in this nation, both violent and non-violent, have never been convicted or even reported, so they live everywhere and we must always be mindful. I think the registered sort who have been convicted are just a different type within the overall population, and so it's worth considering if one lives in an area where a higher number tend to be. Maybe this is like hurricanes, it's better to have the warning ahead of time, versus unreported offenders that are perhaps like tornadoes - they can pop up anywhere at any time. Then again, some people prefer not to live in an area that has hurricanes at all and thus avoid the risk, and the same certainly goes for registered sex offenders. I would suspect that individual regions and neighborhoods of FL are likely to have higher populations than others - particularly again in some cheaper areas because making money as a felon - and especially that type of felon - is a lot harder. So it's something to consider, whether or not one has children - it can potentially impact the value of your home if you have to sell, although one cannot predict if someone will move in next door, or for that matter move out. And with estimates that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 6 men suffered child sex abuse, it's likely to skeeve a lot of people out whether or not they have kids themselves.
Be aware of something that I did not know prior to moving to FL - that hurricanes and tornadoes can happen at the same time! I thought one either lived in an area that had one, or the other. Some areas are more prone to tornadoes than others, so know your region ahead of time. Broward county, for instance, especially in the wide flat areas, gets a lot of tornadoes. But in a bad hurricane they can kick up kind of anywhere - they don't tend to be as bad as the Midwest, though. Definitely put together a hurricane kit and plan with your family soon, well before the worst of the season strikes (for us, usually starting in August). You can get information on hurricane preparedness all over, including in a booklet from your local Publix. Get used to watching the news regularly, but not obsessively, to keep an eye on development in the ocean. You never totally know where they're going to be or how strong, sometimes they completely change direction, and they change strength often, but prediction has gotten pretty good that you do have decent warning. Decide ahead of time under what conditions you will voluntarily evacuate, and don't leave it for the last minute when the roads and airports are jammed. In most cases it's better to be in your house than stuck in the middle of the highway.
And one other thought on the discussion of alligators - here in the Keys/Everglades is the only place one can find both alligators and crocodiles living in the same place! There is a massive crocodile who lives just a few houses down from me and hangs out in broad daylight, but so far has never bothered anyone. He seems to have plenty of fish to keep him placated for now.
Florida has good and bad, like anywhere. If you do good research before plunking down and do what's right for you, you'll be so happy that you'll never want to leave.
I also wanted to add to these very informative posts on here, that I feel very concerned that the housing market is inflated and is heading down. I would be very careful not to spend more then you can afford with the assumption that real estate will keep rising. It may actually start dropping again.
I also wanted to add to these very informative posts on here, that I feel very concerned that the housing market is inflated and is heading down. I would be very careful not to spend more then you can afford with the assumption that real estate will keep rising. It may actually start dropping again.
A lot of people are saying that. I think it depends on the area, unless it is going to be caused by a major national disaster again in which case of course it will mess up all of us. The Keys generally have stable property values compared to other places, because they're islands so will always be in demand and have limited real estate available (unless something like a major hurricane makes people stop liking islands in particular). We barely just started going up, so it's hard to imagine that as a bubble - but some houses that are completely unsafe for hurricanes have definitely reached a point of bubbledom bursting as the simultaneous issue of having to insure flood zones has also become a national problem that is financially unsustainable. In turn insurance companies have made it so that ownership of such houses is virtually impossible - $20k a year in insurance just to keep your mortgage - and thus their perceived value with buyers is freefalling rapidly. So I would say that bubble maybe is affecting some homes more than others, as the nation re-evaluates what is worth the risk of homeownership to them.
In general though, one should never buy a house unless you have enough savings to ride out an unforeseen disaster right after purchase, like an illness affecting your income ability, or a natural disaster damaging it, or a national crash. That's very hard to do, but otherwise you get stuck with the house and can't sell, and end up in foreclosure like what happened to millions just recently. Don't put yourself at more risk than this house is really worth to you. Like with anything financial, don't risk more than you can afford to lose, either monetarily, or emotionally.
As a note, one way I tried to mitigate my risk, was to pick a house that was on a lot that had a lot of value in itself. (You can check how much the lot is worth versus the house on tax records, such as those found on Trulia -not Zillow.) That way if the house got completely destroyed in a hurricane - mine is well-built but not hurricane-proof as some new construction concrete homes are - at least the lot would still be worth something, lol. Of course that doesn't work if you buy a house further North in the state that ends up being on a sinkhole, though... In the end, it's all risk.
Number one most important thing: PROPERTY TAXES ARE OUTRAGEOUS!
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