Moving to Fort Lauderdale area - Nervous! (Hollywood, Plantation: real estate market, foreclosures)

[ELP03]

I am moving to the Fort Lauderdale area soon. I am very lucky and already have a job lined up making a decent income, a little under 50k a year. My fiancee has been living in the Plantation area now for about 6 months and is working toward his masters degree.

I have been researching the area and am some what nervous as I see so many negative posts about the area. My fiancee loves SoFlo, but I am wondering if this is just because he has only been there such a short time. Has anyone moved to SoFlo from the midwest and do you still enjoy it?

Second, where are the best places to rent? I would love to live in Fort Lauderdale by the water, but financially I just don't think we can affort it. Our second choice is Weston. I have not found many rentals communities in Weston. Do they exist?

Any other incite about the area would be greatly appreciated!!

[Wild Style]

what do you want to spend per mth in rent?

[ELP03]

We would like to stay under 1400. Really 1350 would be ideal.

[StilltheSame]

With the current real estate market you should do some footwork and you may be able to either find a condo/apt rental near the beach or a nice home in the Weston area. Use a reputable service though - even if it costs. We've just moved to the midwest and are amazed at how trusting people are - in S. FL? Not so much - be very cautious not to pay a landlord who is either not paying her/his mortgage or association fees and then face foreclosure - check CityData for posts on how common this is becoming. In SFL I had a number of neighbors in a great neighborhood (homes over $600K) that this happened to. Good luck and enjoy SFL!

[Wild Style]

Originally Posted by ELP03

We would like to stay under 1400. Really 1350 would be ideal.

river side, victoria park and colee bend have older buildings that should be around your price range easily. All close to the beach.

[rkumar3]

West Plantation is a pretty nice area... I know there are negative posts on the board against Plantation but please do take them with a grain of salt. If you stay west of University Dr, you will enjoy the area.... it is very central with easy access to freeways, airport, shopping, night life and entertainment. Oh and the beautiful Fort lauderdale beach (or even Hollywood beach) are not that far at all, probably 20 to 30 mins or so!!

Welcome to the sunny paradise!

[heydade]

There are plenty of rental houses in Weston....go with a house. Congrats on the job and good luck. yes..its definitely different down here, but you will get the hang of it in the future, so don't worry too much.

[runswithscissors]

And if you can't get anything where Wild Style mentioned you can check Port ROyale Apts up at 65 and Federal. Its a complex and only a couple miles from the beach. A bit north of all the "action". It's on a small slice of the Intracoastal Waterway. Be careful renting from private owners alot of problems can happen. Port Royale is in your price range and even less ...and near alot of shopping and only a few minutes drive to Las Olas etc. You shoot down to Commercial a couple blocks, swing a left and go over to the beach quickly. They're ok and when I was looking everything inside was new. Some have pretty small living rooms but nice windows. Several have a water view and some of the garden views look out through mature palm trees for a decent ambiance.

For me, renting in a complex when relocating long distance isn't the most charming but alleviates alot of aggravation that can happen here with owners and foreclosures, deferred maintenance, and overall sketchy behaviors. jmo.

Also across the street on the south side of Federal are two buildings of brand new units, one building is private owners but the other is rentals. (right next to the AT&T building)...I wasn't in them because they dont have a balcony/patio door I don't think but look pretty nice.

I looked for months down there from long distance and it's very challenging that's why I say think about the complex. Once I flew down to see a duplex in Coral Ridge and the attached apt had a freaking mattress on the front porch. Alot of wasted time. Another guy scammed me out of 2400.00 on the HOllywood beach and he was the actual homeowner but a professional wack job scammer. The county clerks records showed him in court 140 times in about 5 years and mostly for landlord tenant and believe it or not, mostly actions he brought. Cuz he's a scammer. Even allegedly forged a womans name on a lease.

Other than that, don't be nervous you'll have a blast here.Especially if you're from the midwest, just prepare for culture shock (in alot of ways like people doing things slowly at their own pace)....takes quite awhile to adjust imo. My son's been here since college and laughed all the wackiness off (as you do in your 20's) whereas for me, it took a bit more patience.

[ELP03]

Thank you everyone!

[Wild Style]

ELP03,

Yep what runwithscissors said!

Do not rent from a private owner right now. I have friends in real estate and they tell me horror stories about people who pay their rent on time only to be kicked out in a few months because the owner goes into foreclosure.