[cubanjennie]

My husband is a physician and has been offered a job in Sebring. We're in our late 30's and have two small kids (5 & 7). Our main goal is a good place to raise our kids. I used to live in Miami and we now live in a "small" town of TX (close to 200,000 people). I want to move back to FL because of weather and to be closer to family but my husband will only move to a small or smaller town. any advice about Sebring, Springhill, New Port Richie, Ocala, or any other small towns of FL. PLEASE!!

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by cubanjennie

My husband is a physician and has been offered a job in Sebring. We're in our late 30's and have two small kids (5 & 7). Our main goal is a good place to raise our kids. I used to live in Miami and we now live in a "small" town of TX (close to 200,000 people). I want to move back to FL because of weather and to be closer to family but my husband will only move to a small or smaller town. any advice about Sebring, Springhill, New Port Richie, Ocala, or any other small towns of FL. PLEASE!!

Sebring is about 25 minutes north of Lake Placid ... my parents live there and love it . Lake Placid is more of a rural retirement community , while Sebring is quite a bit larger , with more to do including a large mall with a larger one being built soon , some good restaurants and water sports activities , it is much more family oriented and there are some neighborhoods with really nice homes for lot less than what you would pay in South Florida .

[cubanjennie]

thanks for the info. I heard Sebring is getting a Michaels, circuit city, and panera bread in their new shopping center? Is there a Target in Sebring?

[MrTudo]

We'll be back again tomorrow. Ready to make another offer but these sellers need to get realistic.

[dottye78]

Panera Bread, Circuit City and Michaels, among others, are now open. Olive Garden will be opening up next summer.

[Jammie]

Originally Posted by MrTudo

We'll be back again tomorrow. Ready to make another offer but these sellers need to get realistic.

Have things worked out for you yet on your house deal?

[MrTudo]

Originally Posted by Jammie

Have things worked out for you yet on your house deal?

We're going to wait until after Xmas when more reality has set in. The sellers realtors have been made aware of our interest, having made an offer if you recall on one of the houses which was dismissed ( that house has since been lowered $50,000.00 and STILL no offers ).

Beyond that I think that after Xmas, especially considering the slump now almost thruout the country MUST mean less tourist money buying or for that matter holding on considering the taxes........I see the market falling smoe.

Maybe a lot more.

[ChristinaCav]

My husband and I are a young family that have Loved Sebring for many years. There is not a lot of excitement, but not all young people are looking for night clubs and stuff like that. We fully enjoy the Spring Lake golf course, it's Club house and good food. The community is beautiful, there seems to be more young families moving in all the time. Spring lake is located right off of HWY 98 only a few miles away from Sebring. It is actually really close to the Sebring Race Track. If you LOVE cars, Corvettes, Lambos, Panoz, Fords anything that races....you would love this area! It is home of the 12 hours of Sebring Race that brings in all kinds of people and business. I understand that you believe there is a slump in the market, but think about it....where in FL can you buy a home that is 2,000 sq ft with a large garage and yard for under $250,000???? Come on now....lets be some what realistic! It's not my younger generation that can afford high end expensive homes especially for 30-50 years with a mortgage. OK so the market takes a plunge, but we are coming into an election year....EVERY THING takes a plunge especially with the war. After the election though....things will start to get back on track. You may not want to wait tooo long! Then there is always the other thing of interest rates, so you save some money on the home, but will the bank make it back up on you with a higher rate at that time. Just need to look at the whole picture. Buyers do have an advantage right now....USE IT!

[cubanjennie]

My husband is right now looking over a contract for Sebring. So it looks very positive that we'll end up there. However, we've decided to rent not buy for now. My husband has been studying the market and getting info from the experts and it's predicted that next year things will get worse. Right now people are still waiting and hoping for the market to change but unfortunately some people wont be able to afford waiting for much longer and they'll lower a lot or foreclosed. This is especially true for all those people who refinanced their homes and now can't afford their mortgages. They may be a lot of foreclosures next year -mid year. Interest rates will be lowered to try to compensate the market but they may not always help. Of course, these are all predictions. It's definitely going to continue to be a buyers market for a while!!
Another reason for us not buying yet is that I want to make sure which neighborhoods and schools are best for our kids. I want to live in the area for a while before we decide where we want to be. I heard Crackerbarrel is the "best" public school and that they have good advanced and gifted programs. I have not heard anything about private schools. We're looking for a school with good advanced academic programs since both our children are ahead of their grades academically.

[TKramar]

I found the "circle" in downtown Sebring to be confusing. Maybe that's just me.

I lived nearer to Hammock...the road that goes down to Hammock State Park anyway. Over towards the YMCA. Nice homes in that area. Worked at the Home Depot, but I had that job lined up before I ever left Port Charlotte. Traffic can be a bit much, and again, I found downtown area confusing, what with some of those streets being one way only and off a big circle.

Can't say much good or bad for it...I only lived there six months, but I know it had a museum, library, movie theaters, stage theaters, shopping, restaraunts, and bars.