Cape Coral (Tampa: real estate, foreclosure, to rent)

[timsgirl7]

My husband and I are looking to purchase a home in the Fort Meyers/Cape Coral area. We are looking to buy now and rent and then perhaps in about 10 years retire there. Can anyone give me their opinion on that as far as the area is concerned? The houses on the Northwest side are very reasonable now and it seems almost too cheap. Is there something I am missing? Also, does anyone know how much the rents are going for and is it easy to rent there.

Thanks so much for you help.

[MikeP]

The homes are so cheap because there are so many available. Renting has the same issue. You can certainly still rent, but with many available you'll need to have a competitve price. Things are slowing picking up and IMO it certainly the time to buy.
Dispite all the doom and gloom I still firmly believe in real estate as the best long term investment. It sounds like you have a good strategy. Good luck.

[jessez]

One of my good friends has a second home in Cape Coral - MikeP is correct, the reason for the pricing is a glut of homes on the market. Lots of homes went into foreclosure and there are quite a few that just never got finished. The market crashed hard there. That said - its a lovely place and its a great time to get into a home there at a great price.

Check out the neighborhoods before jumping though - and try to get one that is already on the city sewer and water or else you'll have to pay assessments - they went through a building boom and quite a few homes were built with their own systems and are now being hooked in.

[MarketingGuy]

I lived in NW Cape for over 18 years.

NW Cape is cheap because its isolated. SW and SE are the areas you want to live. Pricing shouldn't be any different. Avoid NE, as it has highest crime (coming from my best friend, who happens to be a Cape police officer).

If you don't mind being isolated (10 miles from everything), then NW is fine. Quiet, serene, and growing slowly.

[motorcyclemano]

How about property taxes and insurance?

[MarketingGuy]

I can't really comment on either, only because I didn't own the house while living there. I was living with family.

I don't imagine it's too bad. I believe you can research taxes by address with the Cape Coral property appraiser's website. A quick call to an insurance broker will answer the insurance questions... but compared to Tampa, Cape Coral ought to be extremely affordable.

[motorcyclemano]

I ask because I read somebody elses comments and he was saying stuff like $12K for hoome owners insurance and 7.2K for taxes on a 300K home. If that's true, then who in the world could afford to live there? That's more than a mortgage payment. I appreciate your comments though.

[MarketingGuy]

Extremely doubtful, unless its waterfront. There are TONS of canals and waterfront homes in the Cape.

A standard 1800sqft home in Cape Coral should never cost that much.

Read this.Moderator cut: linking to competitors sites is not allowed


As of 2005, the median property tax bill was $2k. I would guesstimate, for a non-waterfront home, that 2-4K for taxes, and standard 1K-1500 for home owners.

As I mentioned above, a quick visit to the property appraisers website will give you all the info you need, as long as you have an address to research. If one is seriously looking to move here, than researching these things is an easy task.

[motorcyclemano]

Just checked out the link Spiro. Like you said, that info is 3 years old. What's the tend been like in genaeral for the last 3 years? Going up, going down, remained steady?

[MarketingGuy]

I haven't lived there since 2002.. so hard for me to guess.

I know hundreds of people that live there, however.. and the trend in HOI and property taxes, in my educated guess, is that it's leveled out.

I'll reach out to some family today to verify this and will update the thread.