Newbie - House hunting in North Port - Any advice??? (Sarasota: home owners insurance, loft)

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Articpaz

Well thanks everyone for the replies, I didnt expect to get answers that quick!

Yes Big House I am from somewhere pretty cool - or should that be pretty cold - England!! hence the dream of a home in Florida and thanks for the link to your experiences!

So SoFLGal would you say to try and avoid short sales?

Well right now it's a bit hard to just avoid them since they are the majority of what's being listed. My opinion would be that if you could grab a good foreclosure deal then try to go that route first. Sometimes this is not always possible. So, I guess the answer is yes and no. Try to get a foreclosure and if you can't go the short sale route.

Also, you might not want to limit yourself to only pool homes. You might be able to pick up a fantastic deal on a foreclosure and then add a pool on, I think you should leave that option open. There are many more homes that don't have a pool in that price range then that do.

[mr&mrssunshine]

Articpaz -we are also from the Uk and recently bought in Rotonda. There are some real bargains there albeit it alittle over your budget.

Can thoroughly endorse the recommendation for SFG -she will love your accent (be sure to ask for a GARage at least a dozen times )

If you need any hints on a brit buying in Fla feel free to DM me

[mr&mrssunshine]

by the way she is also now a bit of an expert on rugs............... :-)

[JTdesert]

Originally Posted by Big House

That was a great list of questions SoFLGal!
Now you can help two people at a time! Quite Ingenious!

JTdesert,
Welcome to the board as well.
As you guys go through the process you are going to have a milliion more questions. There are lots of nice people here willing to help you out.

If you have any questions that you want to take off line and ask you can DM any of us, by clicking on the name in the upper left hand corner of the thread, and you will see a pop up menu. It works like email, and maintains your privacy, until you feel comfortable and want to share your actual email address or phone number which you can do through the DM without sharing it with everyone. If you have any other questions, you found the right board. Especially if you want to learn about this area.

I went through the buying process a year ago, and everyone here helped me out a lot. On the Florida Board, I have a thread that I started, that was kinda like a journal it is called "Punta Gorda Anyone". It will help you out with many more questions and experiences that I went through. I'll find the link to my summary, but the whole thread is an interesting read.

There is the link: http://www.city-data.com/forum/florida/340159-punta-gorda-anyone-post6307260.html

Big House

Thanks for the info. I'll check out the link. Going through the board I totally agree with you as I do see a lot of good folks providing very pertinent information. I will let you know how it pans out and I know I will have a lot more questions

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

by the way she is also now a bit of an expert on rugs............... :-)

Hahaha!

[JTdesert]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

OK, let me see if I can get you going in the right direction. Since you mentioned that schools are very important to you and it looks like you want a fairly large home (by Florida standards). I would look close to Pine View School for the Gifted in Osprey. Pine View School has grades 2nd-12th all on one campus and was rated the number one school in the state of Florida and one of the top schools in the Nation. It does however require special testing for entrance. I have attend as a child many of the schools in Sarasota, Charlotte and Manatee counties or my kids have attended or I have friends that have kids that have attended many of the schools in the area. In my opinion, this school is by far the best fit for my kids. They absolutely love it there and we have been there for about seven years now.

A few subdivisions that come to mind are: Palmer Ranch (south Sarasota), -Silver Oak, Deer Creek, Stonebridge, The Hamptons, and Turtle Rock are some communities in Palmer Ranch that come to mind. Rivendell in Osprey and it actually abuts Pine View and Oscar Scherer State Park. Possibly Sorrento in Osprey, maybe the Oaks in Osprey (depending on pricing), also there's South Bay Yacht and Racquet Club in Osprey that has it's own marina and then there's Willowbend in Osprey, which I would put a little lower down on the list do to the size of the lots, etc..

Palmer Ranch is one of Sarasota's most popular master planned communities. Palmer Ranch actually consists of many neighborhoods, all individually operated under their own HOA. The common areas of Palmer Ranch are maintained by a master association. The overall look and feel of PR is "green" - the roads are grass and treelined, the sidewalks wind throughout the entire community, and they have recently been able to add the Legacy Trail to the many great aspects. The Legacy Trail is a paved walking/biking trail that winds through the woods along the path of the old railroad track.

Palmer Ranch is districted for great schools, is only 10-15 minutes to the beach, and is next door to the mall, new 12-screen movie theater and a fantastic YMCA complex, including a huge waterpark. Palmer Ranch is very popular with families.

Turtle Rock is one of the most popular communities on Palmer Ranch. The community has a manned security gate. The homes vary from villas to huge single family homes; the community has lakes, mature landscaping, walking trails , playground, community pool. Its a very large, spread out community and has both traditional and maintenance free homes.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you have anymore questions

Since I haven't researched Sarasota much, I really appreciate the data SoFLGal. It will take me a couple of days to look up all the areas that you mentioned above. In addition, I am planning on coming out there in August for a couple of weeks to get a feel for the place and perhaps nail something down. I'll send you a DM on budgets etc and see if I am on the right track. Thank You

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by JTdesert

Since I haven't researched Sarasota much, I really appreciate the data SoFLGal. It will take me a couple of days to look up all the areas that you mentioned above. In addition, I am planning on coming out there in August for a couple of weeks to get a feel for the place and perhaps nail something down. I'll send you a DM on budgets etc and see if I am on the right track. Thank You

OK, sounds good to me

[WAwannabe]

I can endorse SoFLGal also..! I'm tired - the house buying is tiring, and she's tireless..

[JTdesert]

Thanks WAwannabe, your endorsements are valuable.....and I totally agree that house buying is tiring....but it's worth it when you find what you want at the correct price...

[Articpaz]

Can anyone list all the approx costs involved in the buying process as I have read sometimes most of the fees can be paid by the seller, is this true?

It would be great to have a list of average amounts I will have to pay, also yearly running costs like tax, water, electric, insurance etc.. as Im from the UK it would be good to have an idea of how expensive it is to run a house in Florida.

mr&mrssunshine, I should be ok with regards to rugs as I still have most of my own hair.... although maybe for not much longer..