Kensington Park (Sarasota, Southgate: short sale, foreclosures, insurance)

[bettyplaya]

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are thinking about buying a house in Sarasota. We found some nice looking homes in Kensington Park? Is that a safe neighbourhood? Clean? What area would you recommend? We are looking for a place under 100k. I have been to the area of Sarasota many times, but never looked into these neighbourhoods, because I just visited.

Thanks in advance.

[d4g4m]

Kennsington Park is one of the oldest sub-divisions in Sarasota. The main road is 27th Pkwy but the name changes to Martin Luther King Way from Lockwood Ridge Rd going west. It borders on a not so nice area. It was developed in the 1960's Most homes are in the 1000-1200 SF range, small rooms, with carport or one car garage. If you found homes for under $100000, I hope you have a remodeling reserve. Most all re-sales need work. Don't be surprised if you see harvest gold, sea green and blue bathtubs/toilets/sinks, kitchen range, refrigerators. It is in zip code 34235

[gypsychic]

Even in this declining market, homes in Sarasota under $100,000 are going to be very rough (and/or a short sale) and more than likely in or near a bad area. I would be very careful and do plenty of research before you buy.

Actually, I would recommend looking in areas of Southgate or Gulfgate, for just a LITTLE more money there are some great deals around there right now - zip code 34239 and 34231.

Good luck!

[Big House]

You have found a great site! There are so many people here that can help you. If you're in the process of buying a home and have questions you just hit the jack pot.

What size house are you looking for?
What kind of house / home are you looking for?
Do you have kids, what ages, so if you need to be near a school people can give you some guidance.
Are you retired, or do you need a job. . . if you need a job - that is tough right now. What kind of work do you, or did you do?
Do you live in the area, or are you from out of town?
Do you need to sell first, or is this your first home?

Good Luck!
Have fun too.

[atroxanautin]

I know some people who live there and they say its a changing neighborhood (for the worse). But, I wouldn't say its a bad neighborhood.

[bettyplaya]

First of all thank you everyone. You were very helpfull with your comments.

I was looking in the area of Southgate and found two nice homes in our price range. We hope to visit Sarasota soon to take a closer look at the properties and the area, of course. We are thinking of remodelling an older house. My husband and I love the retro feel of houses from the 50´s and 60's.

I have another question. How much are aprox. the closing costs?

Thanks again for your help.

[SoFLGal]

Let's just use 100K for a purchase price. Some of these figures depend on the title company, for example some of the title companies that handle the foreclosures seem to come in way high.

Say you have an 80% mortgage-80K mortgage.
Title would be about $900-this is negotiable on who pays it. If it's a foreclosure the bank almost always pays title and they pick the company.
Doc stamps, which the seller usually pays are about $900. If the mortgage is 80K, the doc stamps on the mortgage would be $280-you would pay this.
Then you would have pay one years property insurance and put three months into the escrow. My property insurance per year is $737, I'm not in a flood zone and I have a newer home. This would vary from company to company.

Taxes have to be prorated at the time of closing. You take the whole tax bill for the year and divide that number by 365. Then you multiply that by the number of days in the year that you own the property. At closing, the seller gives you a credit for the number of days that he owned the property in the year. Then you pay the entire bill when it comes due.

Then you have a small fee for closing, usually $100-$300. You could also have mail away fees, maybe $40.

Most of the buyers fees that are large amounts come from the lender. The lender should give you a good faith estimate of his fees and all the other fees that I have covered.

Hopefully, I haven't confused you too much--good luck with your home search

[d4g4m]

The insurance for a 50', 60's house would be closer to $2737

[bettyplaya]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Let's just use 100K for a purchase price. Some of these figures depend on the title company, for example some of the title companies that handle the foreclosures seem to come in way high.

Say you have an 80% mortgage-80K mortgage.
Title would be about $900-this is negotiable on who pays it. If it's a foreclosure the bank almost always pays title and they pick the company.
Doc stamps, which the seller usually pays are about $900. If the mortgage is 80K, the doc stamps on the mortgage would be $280-you would pay this.
Then you would have pay one years property insurance and put three months into the escrow. My property insurance per year is $737, I'm not in a flood zone and I have a newer home. This would vary from company to company.

Taxes have to be prorated at the time of closing. You take the whole tax bill for the year and divide that number by 365. Then you multiply that by the number of days in the year that you own the property. At closing, the seller gives you a credit for the number of days that he owned the property in the year. Then you pay the entire bill when it comes due.

Then you have a small fee for closing, usually $100-$300. You could also have mail away fees, maybe $40.

Most of the buyers fees that are large amounts come from the lender. The lender should give you a good faith estimate of his fees and all the other fees that I have covered.

Hopefully, I haven't confused you too much--good luck with your home search

Thanks for all the information SoFlGal. But we are buying the house cash without a mortgage. I guess then it's a little diffrent? We wouldnt have to pay any doc stamps, right?

[bettyplaya]

Originally Posted by d4g4m

The insurance for a 50', 60's house would be closer to $2737

This is crazy. How can people afford this? Is that hurricane and flood insurance? Do you own a older home and speak out of experience?