Cape Coral, FL. (Fort Myers, Lehigh Acres, North Port: good credit, buying a house, neighborhoods)

[NOTINYUMA]

you mention taking issue with the comment on corruption? DID YOU ALREADY FORGET ABOUT MICKEY ROSADO??? he should go to prison and just might still.... also you doubted bill t paying $12,000 yearly for insurance? that is right in line with what i was paying before i moved jan. 2008.

also, cape coral was safe BEFORE the latino gangs came from miami. you must live in a bubble, or have your head buried in the sand? yes you are a true example of cape coral city government. CLUELESS..... with half the info.

Originally Posted by Connie PIO

First, let me introduce myself. I am the Public Information Director for the City of Cape Coral. Obviously, I would take issue with the "corruption" comment about City government. It simply is not true.

I also would advise one to read the information on the News-Press and its forum with a healthy dose of skepticism. The paper has proven time and time again that it is incapable of printing fair and balanced articles. Their goal is to "inflame" rather than "inform."

As for the information posted, I believe I can clarify. It is expensive to live in Cape Coral. Our market values have increased by unprecedented amounts the past 4 years. However, Cape Coral is not unique. All of Florida is experiencing the boom. All of Florida also is experiencing the sticker shock of two consecutive active hurricane seasons. Homeowners insurance has gone up considerably, although the $12K amount Bill T mentioned probably was referring to the deductible and not the actual premium.

Another byproduct of the hurricane seasons, and the damage inflicted, is that the cost of building materials has soared. This partially explains why costs have increased for utilities extension. The cost for building materials in Florida is "insane," as one national building publication described.

The current amount for water, sewer and irrigation lines is about $18K for a typical, two-lot site (the typical single-family building site in Cape Coral...you cannot build on one lot). The price initially was about $22K, but the City and construction manager created some savings due to redesigning the project and changing the methodology for calculating the amount that large parcels pay. There also was savings from using lesser-quality materials on some parts.

You have several options for paying these assessments. There are three assessments -- water, sewer and irrigation. You can pay one or all of them upfront. You can finance one or all of them for a 20-year period. The annual amount for debt service on this option is added to your property tax bill and collected each year. You do not have the choice of not paying any part of your property tax bill, or the County issues a tax certificate on your property. The third method is to defer one, two or all of the assessments for 20 years. You can pay whatever amount you can afford each year toward the debt, and the entire amount has to be paid should you sell the property at any time. The drawback is if you choose not to pay anything because the the deferred amount does accumulate interest. This can balloon into a large amount over time if nothing is paid toward the debt.

There is a big misconception out there that people are being forced out of their homes; however, we have no reports of anyone being "forced" out. Some people may choose to move to avoid the assessments, but that is a choice. There is no reason why anyone should lose their homes, especially with the deferrment option.

The areas that still do not have utilities are in some parts of the southwest Cape and all of the north Cape. The expansion project is scheduled to continue through 2017. We always encourage potential buyers to purchase or build in areas currently served by City utilities. It just makes more sense. But if the north Cape has more attraction for you, then please prepare for the costs associated with utilities extension.

As for the Nile monitor lizards, we do have some in Cape Coral. They were an "introduced" species, and the City is working with the State to try to eradicate the animal.

The beach at the Yacht Club is a nice, little beach. However, it is a beach that abuts the river, so the you are not getting the blue-green saltwaters of a Gulf beach. The water is brackish, but not like the beaches at Ft. Myers Beach and Sanibel. Plus, there are several beaches in Bonita Springs and Naples about an hour away. If you want to have some fun, plan a weekend each month to travel to some of the many beaches up and down the west coast of the state. Lots of nice ones.

The crime rate has NOT skyrocketed. Cape Coral has the 3rd lowest crime rate in the state of Florida for cities with populations over 100,000. We are adding police officers and continue to work on policing methods that help protect the citizens.

To correct a number NYBill put out there, Cape Coral is about 116 square miles, not 163 miles.

Just like any city, Cape Coral has ordinances. Some people dislike some of them (like the boat trailer parking) and other people love them. They are not out of line with other communities.

That wraps it up for me. Let me know if you have other questions.

[Don'tmovetoleecounty]

Cape coral is mostly senior citizens... Most are dying.then banks will own houses they lived in. they will sell to lower income peopple.the city is soon to be like the worste of miami

[Don'tmovetoleecounty]

have lived here for 35 yrs cape coral sucks
the police will stop you for every thing
every other stop light some gangster looking immagrant will look at you all hard. lee county is like third worste police force in nation

[landr1]

thank you nybill! You gave alot of info. We are from illinois. I am a hairstylist and we are just looking to rent for a year or so. An hour to the beach? Maybe we should look closer in ft myers, but we don't want to live in a run down area. We have two boys- 13 and 15. They like to skateboard,too. They like to go to the mall, and theyre looking forward to working at some point. Theyre are alot of nice looking homes for rent in the cape, ft.myers, and lehigh acres What ever that is- is it a town?) thanks bill!

[landr1]

The only way for us to make any decisions is to visit for week . I wonder if there are areas where even in a rental home you have water/ sewer problems? I guess i need to reread some of the forums.

[bobbi5608]

Originally Posted by NYBill

Ft Myers Beach during the toursit season is crowded as any tourist area is. But if you where a full time resident you pick and chose your own time as most of us do

Beaches at Sanibel and Capitiva Islands are very nice, Sanible has a fishing pier close to the light house and plenty of things to do and see.

The Yacht Club has a small nice beach ( few hundred yards) on the River with playground for small children. It also gives sailing lessons, has a boat ramp, tennis courst, handball courts large in ground pool compltete with diving boards and plenty of lounge chairs for all as well was a wading pool. A Snack bar on the fishing pier ( geat Burgers BTW)and fuel dock for boats is also there as well as about 100 slip Marina.

They also have a large meeting room that has catering avaiability.

All this owned and operated by the City as well as our water park called Sun Splash.

Sports for the kids is amazing, football, base ball fields are manicured with bleachers, dugouts, scoreboard, fenced field with padding on the outfield fences.

I look at them and think about what played on as a kid, this is like a minor league set up

BMX course and a new Skateboard Park

Bottom line..no one likes paying big bills but we sure get a big bang for the buck here.

NY: you seem to know lots about some of the areas I am looking to buy in. Seems like most of foreclosures right now are builders have gone bust. These houses look really nice and I see they all have well and septic so that probably means the 18,000 assesment. Do you have any information on when that will happen and if they intend to work out a payment schedule? Planning a trip down next month to look around some, just not sure about the area. Thanks for any and all info you can update me on.

[NYBill]

Just got back from a fishing trip back In Long Island NY. 4 trips in 8 days including a tournament...Gettin to old for that struff...not realy but need a few days to chill out and maybe put on a pair of shorts.

I can tell I am turning into a Floridian with my reaction to some cold.

Make a post/reply to remind me and I'll get back to you ASAP.

[NYBill]

Originally Posted by bobbi5608

NY: you seem to know lots about some of the areas I am looking to buy in. Seems like most of foreclosures right now are builders have gone bust. These houses look really nice and I see they all have well and septic so that probably means the 18,000 assesment. Do you have any information on when that will happen and if they intend to work out a payment schedule? Planning a trip down next month to look around some, just not sure about the area.

As far as I know there are a few ways to incorporate that 18K into either payments with your taxes or a deffered plan, both of which carry and preety good sized interest rate over the life of the loan.

I couldn't really give you an honest answere but I would suggest going to the city's website and contact the proper people.

If it was me and I had the cash I would just pay it and get it over with.

City of Cape Coral > Home

[LovingCapeCoral]

OMG! None of that is true! I have lived here since early August and I have never been stopped by the police, there is not a gangster on every corner, and if you think about it - if the police stopped everyone all the time crime would be low and not high as this post indicated. I also find the "gangster looking immigrant" comment offensive, and I am a caucasion female origionally from Ohio - so I have no stake in this personally. Look at the actual data for the city and you will see the demographics - don't trust what this guy said.

Originally Posted by Don'tmovetoleecounty

have lived here for 35 yrs cape coral sucks
the police will stop you for every thing
every other stop light some gangster looking immagrant will look at you all hard. lee county is like third worste police force in nation

[Catchsnook]

Ha ha ha

These posts are crazy.

One poster said they lived here for 35 years and hates it. Ha ha
There are 52 states.......move for God's sake!

Then you have one poster saying the crime is bad but another poster
saying the police are everywhere and stop you for everything. ha ha

Judge for yourself. Come visit and look around. There are so many good
opportunities for buying a house right now. We have had RECORD sales
in Cape Coral with house sales this last six months and that is in the
middle of an economic down turn. There are foreclosures and House prices are down about 40% if you look real good.

The only downside right now is employment. The construction has all but stopped and that was about 35% of the employment down here. It has
had an impact on all businesses.

If someone is retiring or has a job already secured than there could not be a better time to move to Cape Coral. Today it is going to be 80 degree's and Sunny. We are going down to Fort Myers Beach to play mini-golf and have dinner on the beach and watch the sunset. We were in the pool swimming yesterday on Thanksgiving day. It is a new tradition we have just adopted.

Some people will be miserable.....no matter where they live. I am thankful I live in Cape Coral.