Looking for waterfront

[runswithscissors]

Although I would never go into a canal, or casually walking without carefully watching near any standing body of water especially at night, incomplete research is dangerous and incorrect. Dangerous to alligators who have been victims to hysteria and endangered status before.

Ms Jimenex was three times the legal limit for intoxication by DMV standards and had toxic levels of alcohol and Xanax in her system.

QUOTE:
In an unexpected follow-up to the story of the first recent alligator attack in Florida, in which 28-year-old jogger Yovy Suarez Jimenez was killed near a canal in Sunrise (http://maproomsystems.org/memoranda/?p=401 - broken link), the coroner has just released details of their autopsy findings.
Ms. Jimenez had toxic levels of alcohol and the anti-depressant Xanax in her system, as much as three times the legal limit in Florida for operating a motor vehicle. The amount was so high, in fact, that the coroner has suggested that she quite possibly lost consciousness as a result, and could have collapsed near the water’s edge, at which point the alligator wandered along and discovered her. No further updates have been forthcoming involving victim #2, 43-year-old Judy Cooper, but it’s suspected that she was also unconscious when attacked by an alligator, had a history of substance abuse, and drug paraphernalia was found near the scene of her death.

Thus, two of the three attacks are now appearing to have been situations where the word “attack” might not even be appropriate.

June and July, incidentally, marks the end of the breeding season for alligators, during which time males of the species were looking for mates, engaging in territorial behavior, and generally being aggressive, and indeed, all three incidents in May involved males. Following the mating season, though, males become more docile and less of a threat to humans.
However, at this same point, the female alligators begin nesting, and themselves grow more aggressive, thus the next several months of hot weather, low water levels, and attentive mothers (broken link) could easily lead to an even more dangerous scenario than the one I’ve already been reporting on.





Wikipedia lists the attacks by decade (not many either) and several show various factors of dementia, alcohol and drugs as well as leaving 2 year olds unsupervised outside to wander away.

IMO you'd have to be either IN water or not paying attention to your surroundings since even on Steve Irwin's TV show you can see how an alligator can only strike a few feet at a time. It's Florida. There are alligators and snakes here. Up North you have sharks, and they come right up to you at the beach.

There's also the issue of the pet trade where idiots buy animals and release them randomly everywhere including fish who don't belong somewhere being released in the wild wiping out populations of native.

There should be a license plate for alligators that says "We Were Here First".

[night0wl]

For $450k, you're going to have a bit of a tough time finding waterfront in perfect condition. Fort Lauderdale is where I live on a Ocean Access, but west of I-95 canal. There are compromises, specifically a 55 foot bridge meaning no huge sailboats in my neighborhood...but lots of big ol' Hatterases and Bertrams.

That being said, if you're willing to put in some work then $450k can find you a nice 3/2 in Lauderdale Isles. If you're aggressive, it can even get you east of I-95 in Citrus Isles. In September of last year, I was able to buy a fixer upper in Lauderdale Isles for under $400k. If I had been buying now, I warrant that I could have picked up this same home for $350-$360k...so $450k can likely get you a home thats partially, if not fully remodeled.

Here are things to look out for in *EVERY* waterfront community in S. Florida:

First...the listing agent. Espeically watch out for waterfront specialists, they have been scamming people for decades (like Peter Maloney, Shana Munden, Rich Thompson...etc). I cant stand them all...I had one of them actually claim that at closing, I would love all the shabby furniture, drug paraphenalia and other crap that the prior owner had left in the hosue. Needless to say, we didnt close and walked away from that deal.

Second - road noise!!! Some communities (Flamingo Park, Lauderdale Isles) are right up against I-95 or I-595. The road noise is practically unbearable in some Lauderdale Isle homes (those near the point on the New River) if there is a South Wind. Make sure you visit not just on weekends or mid-day when road noise is quiet...but at 6 pm on a Tuesday evening with the rush hour traffic going. Also go late at night to see how ambient noise is...your agent will think you're nuts...but do it if you plan on buying close to any Interstate. Nothing worse than wanting to have a few drinks on your patio and hearing some 18-wheeler engine-brake...BRAPAPAPAPAPAPAPA. Blech.

Third - airport/airplane noise! There are many battles fought between Davie residents and Fort Lauderdale residents on the second runway being expanded at FLL. The fact is that there is a lot of airplane noise if the landing/takeoff pattern is on the crosswind runways...sometimes the jets scream right over peoples roofs in Lauderdale Isles and Flamingo Park. Perhaps even over Citrus Isles. Takeoffs are worse than landings...although those damn FedEx MD-11's widebody are a PITA! I cant wait for all those MD-80's to go the way of the dinosaurs...geez, noise abatement much?

Fourth - Canal *AND* Dockside water depth. I rent out my dock (yeah, I know its technically not legal). But the guy renting out my dock notified me he found a killer deal in Flamingo Park...great house, remodeled, lease to own..yada yada. Turned out, at low tide the middle of the canal had barely 4 1/2 feet depth! His sailboat which was fine in my canal (7-8 feet control at low tide) would have been hard aground on coral/rock at low tide. Lucky for him, he saw the home at low tide and was able to make a hasty getaway. The same goes in Citrus Isles. I have seen some beautiful sailboats practically listing on their hulls, masts at 45 degree angles because they're on the bottom at low tide. Its important to do your due dilligence and measure dockside and middle of the canal for channel depth. Also know that the tides are really impacted by what they do with Everglades flood control. For some reason, in August/September we get really really high tides...the lower level of my dock is often covered with an inch of water.

Fifth - bridge clearance/distance from inlet. Some may claim ocean access! No fixed bridges! Well....except for that 55' bridge on I-95...or the hundred or so draw bridges you have to go through to get to the inlet! If I had known what I do now, I probably would have bought east of I-95 and paid the extra $100k. You are doing the right thing by renting. This is more important for all the sailboaters out there also.

Sixth - watch out for massive building code and permit issues in all of these homes. They tend to be older, unless you plan on a teardown (not a bad idea...you can get a teardown for around $300k, put in $250k on a home and have a brand new house!). My home had the prior owner do the following shady renovations: 1) Shoddy roof (warped/bubbling/leaking after 2 years) 2) Shoddy kitchen remodel which the city caught after a neighbor complained. After the fact permit remodels are a mess...this one involved near litigation between the prior owner and I. 3) Electrical is a disaster. New panel and outlets...old wiring! I had a massive inspection done on the house, and this guy didn't find any of the above! Regardless, we are learning our lessons...and they are expensive. You have to have to have to get inspections done not just by a home inspector....but at least an electrician and a roofing guy. A lot of the homes are also settline since the builders just took the backfill from canals and put the houses on top. Lots of small coral rocks that settle, requiring expensive foundation pinning. Watch out for big cracks hidden in laundry rooms, garages...or terrazo cracks. Scrutinize that owner disclosure form for every detail and question, question, question until the listing agent squeels. Many of the homes have had owners do remodels and rarely are they up to code...and in worst case scenarios are down right dangerous. If you see "As-Is" sale and it isn't a foreclosure/bank owned deal...I'd run away unless you're a GC by trade

Seventh - WATCH THE SEAWALLS! Get a seawall inspection, and insist the guy dives the wall. Some of these inspectors get lazy and dont want to see whats going on down there. The good thing is, the older seawalls are holding well...ours is original and is in great shape. If you get a bad one though, thats an easy $20-$40k to repair...or your whole home will slide into the muck. Nasty.

Hope we didn't scare you too much...we love our home, its just much more expensive than I ever thought it would be. We would have been way ahead if we had rented in the area instead. BTW, a $400k home can easily be rented for $2000 or less in our neighborhood. Even with a 20% down payment, you come out way ahead renting than owning.

[sdmike]

Originally Posted by runswithscissors

All the listings in Ft Lauderdale will/should tell you which canals have access to the ocean, that would be for a boat I dont even know if it's legal to jet ski to the ocean but I would not attempt it. Perhaps some do, but I doubt it.

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but this had me curious. I'm not a local so I don't have a clue, but why wouldn't you attempt jet skiing in the canals? Only due to the possibility of alligators, or is/are there some other reason(s) as well? And can someone verify whether it is illegal or not to jet ski in the canals? I couldn't find any info online.

Thanks!
Mike

[fauve]

I would guess they're not allowed because of the wake they cause. Do they produce much noise?

[sdmike]

I would assume a larger boat would create a larger wake than a smaller jet ski, but I've never thought about it. And a jet ski at "cruising speed" would make about the same amount of noise as a boat, I would assume. I'm far from an expert, though.

[fauve]

There are limitations on speed in canals to keep boats from creating wakes and to keep engines at minimal noise levels. Im no expert on any of this either, but I cant recall ever seeing a jetski going slowly. This must be dealt with somewhere in city ordinances. Maybe a call to Fort Lauderdale City Hall?