Buying Vacation Pad (Miami, Tampa, Cape Coral: mortgage, real estate, cheap house)

[kinkytoes]

Reading the posts about Cape Coral have given me pause. I found some muy barato for sale houses and I just had to see them! The ones I liked are already on city sewer and water, many have pools and look great. Many of the houses I am looking at are in NE or Lehigh Acres. . . I found out these areas are dangerous and crime-ridden

Neverthless, I am still tempted to buy one of them! I could never live in Florida because I have bills to pay, but I LOVE warm weather, beaches (Sanibel is close) and "latin" culture. Not the gang culture, but music, food and dance. I also speak fluent Spanish. Sigh.

How can I have my cheap house, drive to Sanibel beaches and swim in my pool and live to tell the tale?

I think I will disregard the negative posts and jump in with both feet. I can always come back to whine on this post and let ppl say "I told you so." But I also think all of the negativity may be good. The lower home prices are, the more house I can afford! To me crime is a problem, but having no jobs is much worse. I live in MD now. Nevertheless, I am not going to live full-time in FL, so I have a plan:

1. Buy a house -- BTW, my bank says I have to put 30% down because they estimate the real estate market in Cape Coral will go down another 35% in a year! But the short sales are so cheap, so what? m i Crazy?

2. Secure the Perimeter - Have 6ft fencing installed around the house, install lights and an alarm system. $5K

3. Hire a caretaker - Have someone maintain the place once a month $50.

4. Get Involved - Do they have any community associations there? Maybe I can start one. Somebody needs to attract companies or get the ppl there to start businesses (legal ones) to jumpstart the economy.

5. Plant lots of Palm Trees, Fruit Trees and flowers - The only problem will be irrigation or getting a caretaker. $1K

From my viewpoint the place sucks so much now that it can't possibly get any worse. And, well it's what I can afford. Don't let my dream die! I have X per month and I can just afford a vacation home there. With the mortgage, taxes, ins. and maintenance it's under 700 per month. Not the best, but it sure looks good compared to here. . .

I hope I won't go down in a hail of bullets on vacation. . .

I have already booked a trip and I will take pictures and post them on this forum for other curious people. I will be staying at a gulf beach resort so the trip won't be a total waste. My realtor also tried to steer me away from Lehigh Acres, but she didn't say it was a crime-ridden hellhole. . .

Cape Coral residents, what do you think?

[MikeP]

Clearly the posts on this forum have mis-led you. For some reason many people have nothing better to do than spend all day exaggerating and lying. Cape Coral is far from crime ridden. I drive through the NE section on my way to work every day and know many that live there. It's fine! There is more crime than there was 5 - 10 years ago, but that's because there was no crime back then. Anyone who says the Cape is dangerous has never been to a dangerous place. I do not live in Lehigh Acres so I don't have first hand knowledge, but there are nice areas there. I wouldn't want to live there though.

[kinkytoes]

Thanks for making me feel better! I spent all night last night reading negative posts and worrying! I also spent beaucoup bucks on my trip next weekend, and my husband is trying not to say "I told you so" I did chuck the NE Cape Coral listings, but I think I'll fish them out of the trash again. One thing I can say is that there was a short sale I was interested in a few weeks ago in NE, and somebody has already bought it!!!

I was bummed. But I see that there are a few houses that are actually cheaper. Some of them have the assessments paid and have POOLS and lovely landscaping. If the place is so terrible, why would someone install a pool? Also, if a pool costs 30K to install, why shouldn't I buy a house that's on a short sale for (example) 50K-70K?

To me those prices look to be in line with what Florida should cost. Also, I have been looking for a place in Florida for YEARS. I LOVE it, and I love the West coast. I like Tampa, and I even like Miami. Yes, I know they are ghost towns, but prices there are still too darn high. For a place that I won't be able to rent (too many hotels) and I won't be able to live in (unless I take up consulting) then Cape Coral looks FAB pricewise!

I have been all over Florida, the trailer-park ridden north, the southern keys, Southbeach, the east coast and the west coast. It's a great state to vacation in. I met so many wonderful people and i love the parks and beaches. I also loved the beautiful crystal clear springs! There is canoeing, boating, swimming, fishing, hiking, snorkeling, clubbing and more! I even love the humidity. I love manatees, I love Salvador Dali, I love FLA!

When prices were 250 - 300+ for FLA, now THAT was crazy, I think. But 1/3 that for a place I already like to vacation? Now we can talk.

At any rate, thanks so much for making me feel better. I will take TONS of pix etc when I am down there and post them on the site. If I really like the place, I'll post them after I put in an offer. Thanks for letting me know to stay away from Lehigh Acres, though. But I wonder why ppl who lived there installed pools. I also would like to thank ppl for the info about crime. Now I'll make security a priority.

I was going to spend tons on decor, but I think a good fence and other security features might be a better bet. I'd also like to ask you guys if there is so much crime, why don't people secure their houses better? Security should be a priority no matter where you live, esp if you have a nice house. I don't see any gates for instance. Is there some ordinance against them? I love lacey, white caribbean-style wrought-iron fencing. . .