Sarasota Vs. Tampa (Oldsmar/Safety Harbor) (Lakeland, Palm Harbor: short sale, 2013, insurance)

[wenmiz777]

Pros, Cons? We are a family trying to decide where in Florida would be better - Tampa Bay Pinellas County area or Sarasota area. We would like to be within 20 minutes (or less) to a nice beach, be in a safe area, good schools and where there are things to do, ie festivals, events. Our budget is between $250,000 - $310,000. Community feel would be wonderful, and friendly people. We also would like to be near food stores like Whole Foods, and organic farms, etc, if there are any around?

Any feedback on why one area would be better than another (yes I know much of this is personal opinions, which can vary, but I am still interested in hearing input) and why?

Thanks!!!

[beninfl]

Ask someone in Dallas what they like about Dallas vs other cities, you'll hear Dallas is the best a lot! :-)

But thinking critically, your budget and beach requirements are easy in Sarasota. House for around 3000sqft at that price, perhaps even a few hundred sqft more. And beach access within 5-10 minutes at that price. There arent too many Whole Foods around here, but there are some around. A quick Google Maps preview will help you a lot.

Personally, I'd choose to live right where I am all over again without a blink. Near University Ave between I-75 and 301S. Close to everything, especially all of the new commercial & residental construction, takes 10 minutes to get to downtown Sarasota and 10 minutes to get to downtown Bradenton. There's plenty of festivals and things do do every day.

Tampa, in my opinion, is more of a younger person town or businessman town. It's congested, busy, and more like a big city than a Florida paradise. There's more going on there, but nothing we dont have here really other than football & hockey games. And for those you can easily drive anyhow. I cant comment on the schools in Sarasota/Bradenton because I dont have human children yet.

Anyhow, good luck and let us know what you find.

Ben

[wenmiz777]

Thank you for your response! Is there a particular zip code I should be searching in? The houses I keep finding are under 2,000sq ft, which isn't a huge deal to me, but my husband would like a house bigger than that. All the threads on crime has me more confused than anything? People saying that is high crime? Thanks.

[beninfl]

34243 is me. And ignore the crime rates, the crime rates are proportionate to the house prices, higher the price lower the rate.

[photoman_6]

Originally Posted by beninfl

34243 is me. And ignore the crime rates, the crime rates are proportionate to the house prices, higher the price lower the rate.

ditto

[Sunshine Rules]

South Sarasota (Palmer Ranch, Gulf Gate, Beneva Oaks, Beneva Woods, Country Place, etc) is very popular with buyers because of closeness to Siesta Key & the mall, plus good school districts. So rule of thumb is the more sought after the location, the higher the price/sq ft -- especially if it's newer construction. Zip codes: 34238,34233, 34239

To find larger homes in your price point, you may have to look either further east of I75, south into the Osprey area or north into the University Park/ south Manatee county area (near Lakewood Ranch). Since you mentioned school districts being important to you, some of these areas I mention may have school districts that meet your requirements, some may have say a good elementary & high but the middle school.... So be sure to ask specific questions about school districts. Both Sarasota and Manatee school districts do have school locator functions on their web sites where you can put in an address and see the school districts. It's always good to verify as school districts can and do change boundaries periodically.

It's harder to give zip codes for these other areas due to size of the area covered by the zip code - some parts may fit your criteria, others won't. But you may want to use for reference 34243, 34203, 34202, 34211, 34212 to the north and 34229 to the south and 34240 to the east of I75 (in Sarasota). You may find a larger home within your price point within some SE Manatee neighborhoods such as Mote Ranch/ Palm Aire area, Mill Creek (off of SR64), possibly Greenbrook Village in eastern Lakewood Ranch, Greyhawk Landings (also SR64) to name a few. Those out SR64 are going to be more like a 40 minute trip to the beaches, so there is a trade off for getting more sq ft.

I have been to Oldsmar several times over the years, my husband has friends there. It seems like a nice area but the Tampa forum would be a better place to ask specific questions.

You may also wish to pay attention to hurricane evacuation zones in Pinellas county as a good part of that area is at a low elevation and IF it were to be hit by a storm surge, a significant area would be flooded, both from the west and from the bay side as well. (As we were told multiple times by the Tampa area news stations when hurricane Sandy hit the NJ - NY area.) There are higher areas of Pinellas county, so finding out elevation of specific lots/neighborhoods might be a good idea. The hurricane evacuation maps might also give you some general info - evacuation zones 1 & 2 are generally the areas with the greatest risk of impact.

A couple of other topics you may not be familiar with when buying a home in FL -- sink holes in the Tampa area is one. There have been several that have destroyed homes this past year alone. The sink hole area runs mainly just north of Tampa and then east towards Lakeland in the Tampa bay area. Fortunately for us in Sarasota, Manatee and Sarasota counties are not prone to sink holes because the ground underneath has a different composition than the Tampa area.

The other topic is flood insurance. If a property is in a flood zone and you are purchasing with a mortgage, your lender will require you to carry flood insurance. Thanks to changes to the flood insurance program that went into effect October of 2013, SOME properties with lower elevation will see significant increases in the cost of flood insurance over the next 4 years. There was a recent thread on the Sarasota forum in which I went into the flood insurance program changes in detail.

I am not trying to scare anyone, but buyers should be aware of these topics if buying.

One other thing I would mention to home buyers. Because the inventory of homes in the Sarasota - Bradenton area has been tight, especially in certain price ranges, it pays to have your finances in order before you start shopping. If you plan to get a mortgage, obtain a pre-APPROVAL letter from your lender that you can submit with any offers. If paying cash, a Proof of Funds letter is good to have prepared and ready to submit. Bank REO and short sale listings will require one of these two letters be submitted with all offers or the offers will not be considered. Many "regular" sellers are also now requiring proof of the buyers financial ability to purchase to be submitted with offers as well. So having your financial documentation ready up front will put you in a better position as a buyer should the right property come on the market. It is not unusual these days for a well priced home in a popular neighborhood to get multiple offers within 24 hours of going on the market.

[sugarat]

I currently live in Sarasota (34243) and used to live in Oldsmar and North Tampa area. I liked Oldsmar and Pinellas County, alot to offer but I always preferred Sarasota. Like the previous posting Sarasota has everything except the sports, but we do have Spring Training. The feeling of Sarasota is better than that of Oldsmar. Palm Harbor was always a quiet palce that I could see living if that was what I was looking for but I do like the idea of getting out and being active on the water or catching some entertainment. There is a little of everything here and within a short distance. I can travel to Tampa for a game or two or go for a drive now and than. That's my two cents on the matter. Hope it helps.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

in Pinellas county as a good part of that area is at a low elevation and IF it were to be hit by a storm surge, a significant area would be flooded, both from the west and from the bay side as well. (As we were told multiple times by the Tampa area news stations when hurricane Sandy hit the NJ - NY area.)

Wow! Good to know!!!

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules View Post
in Pinellas county as a good part of that area is at a low elevation and IF it were to be hit by a storm surge, a significant area would be flooded, both from the west and from the bay side as well. (As we were told multiple times by the Tampa area news stations when hurricane Sandy hit the NJ - NY area.)

That's right. Pinellas County is a PENINSULA off a peninsula. It would be chaos if a big storm comes, and evacuation would also be a nightmare, as you mostly have to cross bridges depending where you are. Traffic is so much worse up there also, Pinellas is the most densely populated county in the state.

Sarasota/Manatee has so much to offer considering it's fairly small size. Plus there is still lots of open land. Even though we live by the airport, I only have to go a mile or two east and I can still see cows! LOL Anyway, I vote for this area over Pinellas for many reasons. And it's easy to get to anything you want from here. By the way, Sarasota has some of the best schools in the state.