Home Owner's Insurance (Jacksonville, St. Augustine: apartments, rent, condos)

[Jammie]

One of the members of the forum suggested that we look at condos in the Jacksonville area. I'm wondering what people in the Jacksonville/St. Augustine area do for home owner's insurance since you're so close to the ocean. Does everyone have Citizen's Insurance or do other companies write policies there?

[Karla with a K]

hey jammie
we have USAA for our HOI we pay $937 a year.
We have friends that just built a new home and they are with state farm . they were told that state farm is only "allowed" to write a certian number of policies each month so they did a "renters" insureance through themat first.
I woudl check with who you have you HOI with now and ask them if they are writing in Jacksonville. I think it is important to be sepcific on the area.
Condo prices are anywhere from $175 (1 bdrm) up around here there are some good deals I know of one person who was sellign their 3/2 condo for $199k
let me know if you want me to get you some names of some of the different condo developments

karla

[Jammie]

Thank you for replying. Guess you know who's advice I've taken for this search. Unfortunately, my insurance company would no longer carry our home or our vehicles when we move to Fla. It's more of a midwestern company and not a national one. I also had a chance to search apartments in that area and found a few that look nice that are reasonably priced. We would definitely rent to start with until we're sure about the area we want to stay at. I know I've already said it, but this is our first big move~EVER. Still in the same place we were born at. It would just be too stressful for me to leave my employer, start with a new employer, sell our home, and buy another one right away. Since the employment would be at the top of the list, we would like to get to know an area before we'd want to buy a home there.

Also, how reliable is the transit system in Jacksonville? Naturally I have a car and drive here, but I live in a town of population 15,000. I don't think I'd feel too comfortable driving in Jacksonville. Of course, my husband would be able to do it, but not me.

[Karla with a K]

jammie
forget the transit system. yes there are busses but believe me you will be ok with driving.
what fields are you both in ?
I have friends just move here from another country and she said she was worried at first about driving but enjoys it

[Jammie]

Well, that's comforting to know. I really don't like to drive, but it's necessary here during the winter because I live two miles away from work. It's a nice walk in the summer, but way too cold when it's 20 below.

I don't know if my husband will be working anywhere or not. In one more year he'll be able to draw on his state pension and would also be eligible to draw social security. But I don't know if he'll do that at 62 already or wait, but he definitely plans on staying with his job until he's 62. And as for myself~I will do whatever it takes to earn a paycheck and have healthcare benies. I have no formal education so I've done blue collar work my entire life. I've worked in a couple factories until they closed down. I've also done a bit of cashiering and a bit of restaurant cooking. (WHEW~that's hard work sometimes) I hope to find something that I can do as I age. I'm not much into changing jobs and have been at my present job for over 10 years now. Does there seem to be a lot of those kind of jobs in the Jacksonville area?

[Karla with a K]

jammie there are actualy places you could live where you could walk to work or at least be close enough so it wouldnt be a long drive