[kela]

We are still searching for a second home in Florida. I looked at Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area but read about some sort of water assement and we don't want to get into that. I've also heard that Naples is a bit smaller and a nicer area.

Can anyone share their thoughts on Naples? We are in our upper 30's and have two school age children. We hope to find a home where we can spend 9 months out of the year in Florida and summers in Michigan. Obviously this would require we put our children in school in Florida, so good schools are important.

Is there certain neighborhoods in general in Naples that I should steer clear of when looking?

I don't know how many of you may be out of state and considering purchasing in Florida but I'm finding it quite a challenge since distance is a factor. I hope to take a trip down there maybe the end of summer to get a better sense of homes that are available. We would love to purchase a bank owned property, but again distance and time constraints may make that even more challenging.

[leavingCT]

Naples is very nice and to be honest I'm not sure of any "bad" neighborhoods there. You can get a LOT more for your money in Cape Coral, though. In fact you can probably even get a canal-front home with Gulf Access for a steal.....definitely at least half what they were selling for 2 years ago. Naples is more upscale for sure. You can also get some nice homes there for a good price. Cape Coral is a nice community, safe, quiet, but easy access to Fort Myers. I am not sure what water assessment thing you read about....sometimes when you build a new home, they assess a fee....are you building?

As for schools.....I may offend some people here but I'm not a fan of any Florida public schools. I don't have children but if I did I would likely put them in private school.

Good luck!

[121804]

Originally Posted by kela

We are still searching for a second home in Florida. I looked at Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area but read about some sort of water assement and we don't want to get into that. I've also heard that Naples is a bit smaller and a nicer area.

Can anyone share their thoughts on Naples? We are in our upper 30's and have two school age children. We hope to find a home where we can spend 9 months out of the year in Florida and summers in Michigan. Obviously this would require we put our children in school in Florida, so good schools are important.

Is there certain neighborhoods in general in Naples that I should steer clear of when looking?

I don't know how many of you may be out of state and considering purchasing in Florida but I'm finding it quite a challenge since distance is a factor. I hope to take a trip down there maybe the end of summer to get a better sense of homes that are available. We would love to purchase a bank owned property, but again distance and time constraints may make that even more challenging.

The NE & NW sections of Cape Coral are having public sewer/water installed over the next several years. The property owners are being charged about $18k for this service. Right now, majority of homes in this particular area of the Cape are on well water & septic.

The SE & SW sections of CC are mostly all hooked up to public sewer/water & hence the prop owners do not have this assessment coming.

Purchasing bank owned can take months. Unless you physically see some of these properties & know the area very well, it is not a wise move at all.

Take your time & keep researching.

IMO, suggest further north in FL if you have young ones.

[Tarastomsgirl]

Originally Posted by kela

We are still searching for a second home in Florida. I looked at Cape Coral/Ft. Myers area but read about some sort of water assement and we don't want to get into that. I've also heard that Naples is a bit smaller and a nicer area.

Can anyone share their thoughts on Naples? We are in our upper 30's and have two school age children. We hope to find a home where we can spend 9 months out of the year in Florida and summers in Michigan. Obviously this would require we put our children in school in Florida, so good schools are important.

Is there certain neighborhoods in general in Naples that I should steer clear of when looking?

I don't know how many of you may be out of state and considering purchasing in Florida but I'm finding it quite a challenge since distance is a factor. I hope to take a trip down there maybe the end of summer to get a better sense of homes that are available. We would love to purchase a bank owned property, but again distance and time constraints may make that even more challenging.

There are a lot of posts on moving to Naples on here. You can look it up on the search button and will find good and bad things about it

[RMD3819]

What is your housing budget?

The vast majority of Naples is nice and safe. There are some areas to avoid.

Schools in Naples do not have a good reputation in general. Standardized test scores can vary widely so you must choose wisely.

I saw your other post. I have never heard of a snowbird with school age kids.