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We're retired at the usual retirement ages, so we're not spring chickens. We're lucky we can make the snowbird decision and still keep our house in the frigid north and buy a winter home where it is warm. We are water activity lovers & have decided on either Florida or Texas as a place to escape the winter. Initially we'd thought a condo for sure, but now as the house hunting is reality and we are looking for the right place for us, we are wondering if perhaps we should also consider a single family house. In addition, we are also thinking about how to meet people during the snowbird months when we'll be away from all of our friends and family. So, that adds to our conundrum and probably throws the choice back towards the condo choice I'd think.
I guess I should also add in that we are not at all considering high rise condos with lots of apartments. We'd be thinking a low rise condo building or townhouse or villa situation. Also, we've always lived in a single family in an urban area with smaller lots and aren't used to vast acreage. And, we've never had to deal with HOA regulations since everyone around our neighborhood takes good care of their property without needing stringent rules enforced. We are handy and have put a lot of sweat equity into our house and like puttering around a bit. But, we also know as we age perhaps those tasks will become less enjoyable and more drudgery or physically impossible.
We've come up with a list of pros/cons for each situation, but I'd appreciate it if you'd chime in with your experiences or with your thoughts because I am sure we haven't thought about everything.
The place we stayed had a lot of activities for snowbirds and it was easy to meet people. This was a condo complex. Also, the entire area had clubs such as Michigan Club, Wisconsin Club for people to get together. (Gulf Coast of Alabama).
I can't speak to house vs.condo as we always rented. Why don't you rent for a few years to see how you like the area?
Do you have relatives or close friends in the retirement location you will choose?
It seems to us when anything decides to go wrong with your "other" place, it does it at a time when you are not there. This is one reason we chose communal living instead of a single family house in our "other" location. The HOA will start to work on the problem if it's monumental, but only an interested neighbor or family member will be able to help you if there's water pouring out your front door because some pipe broke. For this reason also, one of our "other" places requires you to have a condo watcher and requires you to give them their name. A condo watcher will, for a minimal fee, come into your home every week or whenever the two of you agree, and check on things, maybe pick up mail or whatever else you agree on. This came in handy recently for us when our thermostat went out in 90° weather, while we were up enjoying 75° weather and hadn't a clue anything had happened.
This is just one facet of retirement living to consider, but for us it seems to be an important one.
The place we stayed had a lot of activities for snowbirds and it was easy to meet people. This was a condo complex. Also, the entire area had clubs such as Michigan Club, Wisconsin Club for people to get together. (Gulf Coast of Alabama).
I can't speak to house vs.condo as we always rented. Why don't you rent for a few years to see how you like the area?
Just wondering - is it hard finding a condo to rent for only part of the year? Or do you rent full time but only stay down there part of the time? If so, do you sublet when you're not there?
I second, third and fourth the idea of going down and renting at your chosen location to be sure you like it.
We have chosen a retirement location, studied it to death on Google Earth, general searching, and the real estate listings to keep track of trends and neighborhood s, get updates on housing regularly thru Trulia and such.
We've done everything that we can except study it boots on the ground.
Then, we were turned on to two other locations as possible retirement locales.
But back to our original location, we decided that getting a small RV is ideal to go exploring the area. There is a nice RV park on the outskirts of the small City, and we can get mail forwarded to a PO box there. That might not work for you, but we figured everything we take is only loaded once, and if we don't like the area, we can move on to try another hopeful.
As far as getting to know people in your new area, go join a church, play bingo, go to senior events, volunteer for things, in short, get involved in the community!!!
Now the condo vs SFH. No, I would not take an apartment like condo in a high rise, but that's me/ us. My aunt and uncle have a villa style condo in Florida. Not sure how they handle things while away, but it does have a property Management on site.
Personally, I like SFHs. In a no HOA neighborhood. My grandma had one in a very nice neighborhood, with an HOA. She could do little outside without approval. Because the lot was large, backed up to another future lot, she had to have an extra server done, the lot marked out and had to wait for approval to put in a chain link fence. That's a good idea even without an HOA, but it took a year for her to get the approval, and only a see-through 4' chain link fence with no slats installed. No wood privacy fence, for instance. When my aunt inherited it, they found they couldn't keep their RV parked there. They had to store it off site. That disappointed as they wanted to also tour all of Florida while down there. Since the neighborhood was built around a lake, boats of under certain length was allowed, but no RV s and no guest's RVs allowed either, not even temporary.
I would not want to live with a HOA, and since you have no experience with one, I'd suggest you thoroughly investigate the rules and regulations BEFORE you purchase. They may even tell you what kind of plantings you can have or not, what colors you can paint, etc. If you are familiar with Historical Preservation Societies, you might have an idea of what an HOA means.
If it's a condo in an HOA, even could be worse! Two agencies to deal with, and from other posts on here, HOA s are really popularity contests and if you aren't in the poplar clique, it'll be rough on you.
There are so many snowbirds throughout Florida, that they seem to develop circles of friends - both with other snowbirds, but, also with locals. For example, in Destin, there is a large snowbird community that registers at the local community center, which conducts a large range of activities and local connections.
A major connection point between snowbirds and locals is the church, where snowbirds join and return to various classes and groups over many years. Many of the local businesses also offer 'snowbird specials.'
With regard to condo's, we moved from SFH's to condos about 17-years ago ... and would not move back. Condos are particularly advantageous over sfh's for snowbirds, since there is always someone there to maintain the property and landscaping and keep an eye on things.
We are actually considering "snowbirding" from Destin, Fl. (where it gets "cold" in the winter) to Central or Southern Florida, where it stays warmer ... and where we lived for about 30-years. We may buy another condo to gain property appreciation, but, are also considering condo rentals in different areas -- until we decide where we want to be. (We may also rent-out a condo, for the April-November, non-snowbird season ... in which case, we would depend on a property management company).
A major condo consideration is short-term rentals (LT 90-days), which we've learned to avoid. A higher ratio of short-term renters invariably produces higher maintenance costs (and higher HOA fees), plus more problems and less privacy, undesirable intrusion and other 'condo-hotel' issues.
So far you've given me some very interesting things to think about, including some that had never occurred to us.
Also, it's interesting to hear that one person recommends the Alabama Gulf coast for snowbirds while another person from Destin (approximately same weather I'd assume) says the winters are too cold there.
I guess I should have mentioned that we don't do church, so that avenue for making new friends won't work out for us.
Thanks all. I'll be looking forward to hearing more thoughts and perspectives.
We maintain residences in Nevada and Texas. Texas has the wonderful cities of Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio. But the weather is pretty awful all the time, especially North TX. The winters always have a few bad ice storms and Spring brings some very dangerous hail storms. This makes property insurance very high. In addition, property taxes are very high. I moved to TX in 1978 for career purposes and so my kids grew up and continue to live there....the reason I still have a home there. But if you are moving for weather, be very careful to do your research.
That said, we have found that most 55+ communities have the social aspects and resources very well suited to snowbirds.
Just wondering - is it hard finding a condo to rent for only part of the year? Or do you rent full time but only stay down there part of the time? If so, do you sublet when you're not there?
Not hard at all, they are vacation rentals. Gulf Coast is ON season in the summer when everyone wants to head to the beach, and off season in the winter. Condos are set up for weekly to monthly rentals and are furnished with everything you need.
Good place to look is VRBO website (Vacation Rentals by Owner). That is how we found ours. It is cooler in that area than southern FL, but the cost reflects that. Still no snow. That area is popular with golfers, who don't mind playing in 50 degree weather.
The best place (for me) to meet new friends is the golf course.
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