Young couple consider moving to FL (Tampa, Orlando: real estate, rentals, HOA)

[lakeside_cruise]

Hey guys/gals, I need alittle help here.

I'm 27 yrs old, and recently got married 2 years ago. We are considering moving to FL to live. I am looking into Davenport, Clermont and certain part of Orlando.

JOBS: My wife has an A.A.S in Accounting and about 1.5 years of working experience. I have my A.A.S in Computer Technology and my A+ Certification and about 5 years of working experience. What are our chances of getting a decent paying job.

Housing: We are looking to buy a house also, and are trying to stay on a budget around $150K, and trying to stay around a monthly mortgage of $1000 +- $150, that include taxes and insurance.

Traffic: I've read here traffic is not the best there, that's not a problem because I am moving from NYC and it does not get any worse than here.

Suggestion: What other areas close by would you recommended, I've heard of ST. Cloud and Haines City, how are they and what is the job market like?

Any other and all suggestion are welcome.

Thanks Guys.

[cmj_fla]

The job market is not the best right now. My father-in-law is an IT and has been looking for months now for a decent paying job with no luck. I highly suggest looking for work before making any decisions. I do not know much about the accounting field. I think Clermont is a great town and close enough to Orlando for a commute. However, Haines City and Saint Cloud are much further. Davenport is nice but it made up of mostly vacation rentals and lacks shopping. Traffic is bad throughout Central Florida but finding the right route will help you cope with that.

That all being said, I am around the same age as you and really enjoy Central Florida for all the activites and warm weather. Spend as much time here before making a decision and most importantly look into finding a job before making the move.

Good luck!

[cfIfan]

Hi there. I cannot echo enought cmj in that make sure you have a job here before you make the move, and i would also recommend coming down for a week to look around and check out neighbourhoods.

Davenport does offer a number of options and i work with builders who have brand new homes for around the $130,000-140,000 price range. Of course i cant answer regarding how much your mortgage payment would be because you need to talk to a mortgage broker about that purely because if you dont have good credit your rate will be higher etc. Just keep in mind in addition to taxes you will have HOA dues etc etc.

In terms of traffic, if you are looking at the Davenport area then you will bare the brunt of the traffic as I4 can get horrendous during peak hours.

People complain about jubs etc etc, but in my experience there are quite a few jobs here, the problem is the amount of people chasing them, and for that reason there are alot of people who arnt highly qualifies and companies can pick and choose the best.

If you have any questions feel free to ask.

[lakeside_cruise]

cmj-fla - thanks for the reply, my first move is to secure a job there before I plan to move down, so no worries there, but I also want to secure a job with a well known company, not one that will let me go within a year or so. I did spend some time in Florida, but mostly in Tampa. I was also in Clermont for a few weeks and like the area, so I am fimilar with Orlando, and Clermont, alittle with Davenport as I have not explor it much yet. But my wife and I will be down there Sept 18-21, I want to show her the area and also try to see if I can setup some interview in that few days as I'll be there or visit some Temp agency, if you guys and recommend some to me.

clIfan - as I mention above, that will be my most important task to get a job there before I actually move, I can pick up myself and go in less than a week if I get a job, and wife can move later after I settle, we're willing to make sacrifices. I'll be down there to check a few places and house out. My sister-in-law is doing real estate there, and her husband also works for delta, I mention that because she'll help me find a house for a decent price, and her husband get us free flights to come to FL anytime, we only pay the tax so it's a$115 round trip for me to NY to FL, so coming down to interview or checking places out won't be a hassle for me.

Can you name some of those builders, or link me to a webiste where I can contact them or an office I can go into, I'll love to have an estimate of building a new house. As I said I do construction so I can take all the basic stuff and upgrade later as needed.

Sorry for the lost post...

Cliff Notes:

I need Temp Agency office for IT jobs (phone, website etc..)
Home builder info (phone, website etc..)
Other smilar places to live close to Orlando, like Ocee? and some info about them town.

Thanks again
Mike

Edit: Concern the credit thing.

I just file bankruptcy and it was discharged in Aug 2008, I am working on my credit since then, and it my avg score back up to 660, by the end of the year to mid next year, I am sure I can get it to 700.

My wife has all clear and good to go credit with a score of 741

My mom and co sign for us, her credit is over 730 and she have a house in NY here with $250K in equity in it.

So if the house have to go into my wife and mom name until I have some time past with my bankruptcy that's fine.

[corderobrown]

I would really make sure that you guys have jobs lined up first before you move here. I have a Master's Degree in Business Administration and the best job that I have been able to find since I moved here in 2007 is as an Administrative Assistant for $30,000 a year. A lot of people are getting layed off in my company and these are Managers and Senior Directors. Not much you can get for 150K. The average home price around here is about $200,000 which was posted in the Orlando Sentinel Today. I've given up on this place, I am moving back to North Carolina next week, where I found a job for $44,000 a year and the cost of living is cheaper.

[lakeside_cruise]

I dont know i've seen alot of house in clermont and davenport for 125K-150K, decent home that build less than 5 years with 3 bed 2 baths some even got pool... i check on realtor.com and other places.

[ConfusedInDFW]

Moving without a job - not a potential job or a buddy who can hook you up, but a "Here's your offer letter sir" job is a great way to ensure disaster. Unless you want to end up cleaning up puke on Space Mountain (which I heard even those jobs are harder to come by these days) you may want to get that important piece of life handled before you pack up the U-Haul.

Finally, don't confuse Mickey Land or Vacation Land with Orlando. Two very different scenes there. I lived in Orlando for 8 years (2 in Tampa) and I loved it. But I had to move for work before I starved to death! Orlando is not a place to start a career or family (in general - no flames!) but it is a great place to work and live if you play your cards right.

[lakeside_cruise]

I've seen several jobs there an apply for them yesterday, using a friend address on my resume, I can fly down anytime for an interview, as I can get time off my job here and only pay tax on airline tickets. I WILL NOT LEAVE NY UNLESS I GET A JOB OFFER THERE, that's mention already. Many of the IT jobs I apply for are in Orlando, though I don't plan on living there, I plan to settle for a home in Clermont. I don't mind the commute as I travel 60 miles a day here to work and back. I've spent 2 months in Clermont, and 6 in Tampa, and I visit Orlando quite often, so I am some what familiar with the area, I just never really looked into the job market.

Thanks for your input

[ucfjtm]

Originally Posted by lakeside_cruise

Many of the IT jobs I apply for are in Orlando

The problem for you is that UCF is in Orlando, and UCF is a MAJOR supplier of BS in Computer Science grads (like me). Unless you know someone, or get *incredibly* lucky, most companies are going to pick from the massive pool of Bachelor's degree grads for any jobs with a halfway decent salary. I'm not trying to tell you to stay up there, but definitely don't move down here until you've secured a job. Also keep in mind that Florida has some employment laws that you may regret. Just as you have a right to leave a job at any time, most employers are free to lay you off without reason within your first 90 days on the job (for example, they hire you then they feel you aren't the right person).

I don't think it's particularly fair, since I know many pure programmers with no college degree who are better than quite a few people I graduated with, but that's just the way business works. There's usually less risk with each step higher on the degree list: none, HS, AA, AS, BS, MS, PhD. Honestly, your best bet is to get that BS in IT/CS if you want to open a lot of job options down here. Even with that degree, it can take some time - there's a ton of competition.

[bdpop]

Originally Posted by ucfjtm

The problem for you is that UCF is in Orlando, and UCF is a MAJOR supplier of BS in Computer Science grads (like me). Unless you know someone, or get *incredibly* lucky, most companies are going to pick from the massive pool of Bachelor's degree grads for any jobs with a halfway decent salary. I'm not trying to tell you to stay up there, but definitely don't move down here until you've secured a job. Also keep in mind that Florida has some employment laws that you may regret. Just as you have a right to leave a job at any time, most employers are free to lay you off without reason within your first 90 days on the job (for example, they hire you then they feel you aren't the right person).

I don't think it's particularly fair, since I know many pure programmers with no college degree who are better than quite a few people I graduated with, but that's just the way business works. There's usually less risk with each step higher on the degree list: none, HS, AA, AS, BS, MS, PhD. Honestly, your best bet is to get that BS in IT/CS if you want to open a lot of job options down here. Even with that degree, it can take some time - there's a ton of competition.

I agree with this post. In Orlando, more so than in other cities, it is very important to have at least a Bachelor's Degree in order to get a decent job.