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Old 06-13-2009, 05:49 PM
 
Location: Palm Island and North Port
7,511 posts, read 22,868,567 times
Reputation: 2877

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Quote:
Originally Posted by ctr88 View Post
I would like to get a house over a condo. A older house with character, front porch, close to downtown sounds like what I'd be looking for based on on everyone's posts. I would imagine a house that is an easy walk to the beach would be in the stratosphere price-wise?

What does homeowners (hurricance) insurance run in Sarasota for the typical house? What are property taxes per year?

Anyone on this site have moved from Coastal Cal to Sarasota and can comment on how they like it?

I definitely need to make a trip...but I'll probably wait until November.
Well, I can't tell you what the typical charge would be but I can tell you some things that will make it less money. The age of the home, obviously the newer homes are less money to insure because they meet more of the current hurricane code. A hip roof is better than a gable roof. What kind of hurricane protection the home has is pretty important-impact resistant glass, hurricane shutters, etc. Whether the home is in a flood zone and if it is what zone is it in. How close the home is to a natural body of water of fire hydrant. As you can see there are many things that come into play when insurance companies are figuring rates.

You can usually get a substantial discount by having your home inspected by the state of Florida for wind safety. Go here to find out about it: www.MySafeFLoridaHome.com My rates dropped from $1987 to $727 per year after having the inspection done, which should run around $100.

Here's another website you might find useful: Compare Homeowner's Insurance Rates

Now on to taxes. The milage rate for Sarasota county is 14.8. If you find a home that interests you you can go here: Sarasota County Tax Collector to see what they are paying in taxes. If you were planning to make Florida your permanent residence then you would also qualify for homestead exemption and have extra savings on your taxes.
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Old 06-13-2009, 05:57 PM
 
414 posts, read 1,241,458 times
Reputation: 98
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsychic View Post
There are plenty of young people in Sarasota. Yes, we have our retirees also. But this is a college town so you have the very young, retirees, but also plenty of professionals in your age group - you will find them around downtown, museum area and Siesta. These are the "hip areas." Sarasota has plenty of great food, Whole Foods (downtown), organic farms, eco-friendly stuff, thousands of artists, and a big drum circle on Siesta on the weekends.

The oldsters tend to like Longboat and more of the gated communities. This is a great place to live, but of course, it all depends on what you look for in a town and what you like to do. If you have any more specific questions, we are always glad to help. Seven months out of the year the weather here is the best in the country (IMO) And the rest of the time I don't find it that bad at all, it is milder here near the coast in winter and summer.

P.S. We have the most beautiful beaches in the world - or at least in Florida - hahaha but I am biased!
I would agree with your assessment. One thing that really sold me was that on a Sunday night at 7:30 PM the downtown was mobbed and my wife and I were the oldest people around. And we are in our mid 50s.
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Old 06-13-2009, 06:18 PM
 
62 posts, read 194,468 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by gypsychic View Post
There are plenty of young people in Sarasota. Yes, we have our retirees also. But this is a college town so you have the very young, retirees, but also plenty of professionals in your age group - you will find them around downtown, museum area and Siesta. These are the "hip areas." Sarasota has plenty of great food, Whole Foods (downtown), organic farms, eco-friendly stuff, thousands of artists, and a big drum circle on Siesta on the weekends.
I totally agree with gypsychic. We were at the drum circle a few weeks ago and there were people of all ages there having a great time. If you love the beach, there's no place better. Siesta Key is wide and flat and I love to go running there. Sarasota is a great place for all kinds of outdoor activities. I've noticed also that a lot of the "older" folks here have a very young attitude. I hope you'll come check it out.

To Peter the Brit--Please stop telling people Sarasota is not for the young. You said yourself in another post that you don't go out much once you get home from work. Come on out every once in a while
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Old 06-13-2009, 06:58 PM
 
62 posts, read 194,468 times
Reputation: 15
Quote:
Originally Posted by ctr88 View Post
The Southeast Coast of FL just seems a little too congested and "plastic" to me. Miami Beach is a possibility, but I'm not really deep into the party scene anymore and it's a little over the top at this stage of my life (maybe when I was 25).
BTW, we just moved from the Miami area and you're absolutely right. We couldn't wait to get out of there. People in Sarasota are way nicer and more laid back.
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Old 06-13-2009, 07:45 PM
 
Location: North Port
42 posts, read 98,881 times
Reputation: 30
To Peter the Brit--Please stop telling people Sarasota is not for the young. You said yourself in another post that you don't go out much once you get home from work. Come on out every once in a while[/quote]

I have to agree with you about Peter the Brit. It does get monotonous to keep hearing him put down Sarasota. To me, if I hated a place, I would quit complaining and do something about it. Also, seems funny how he is definitely in the majority when it comes to people complaining how Sarasota isn't for young people and there's nothing to do. I came from New England and think its a great place to live....and not just in the winter. In the summer we have some of the best beaches in the world...and its not wall to wall people like you find on New England beaches. I think you should come, check it out and see for yourself.
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Old 06-13-2009, 07:47 PM
 
Location: Sarasota, Florida
84 posts, read 354,241 times
Reputation: 50
Quote:
Originally Posted by ctr88 View Post
I would like to get a house over a condo. A older house with character, front porch, close to downtown sounds like what I'd be looking for based on on everyone's posts. I would imagine a house that is an easy walk to the beach would be in the stratosphere price-wise?

What does homeowners (hurricance) insurance run in Sarasota for the typical house? What are property taxes per year?

Anyone on this site have moved from Coastal Cal to Sarasota and can comment on how they like it?

I definatley need to make a trip...but I'll probably wait until November.

Dude!,....have we got a house for you! It's on 5th St., near US 301. It's "an older house with character, front porch, close to downtown", and although it wouldn't be practical to walk to the beach, you can walk to downtown and the bayfront easy. It might not be in the quietest area of Sarasota, and you'd have to be ok with an ethnically diverse neighborhood.

Just somewhat kidding about that house, as I photographed it today for another member who inquired about renting it. A neighbor of mine owns the place, and it was for sale for quite a while, but wasn't realistically priced. It's probably worth $150,000 tops, or even less! Check the thread titled "5th St and US 301, is it safe",...as there are many photos there.

Now, back to reality,....I've seen lots of nice Short Sales for way less than $150,000, which even I have been tempted to make an offer. Sarasota is a great place to live, especially if you can make a San Diego salary working remotely, while taking advantage of SW Florida prices.

I lived in San Francisco for several years, and I love it there too. In fact, if I could afford it, I'd probably choose SF. I was raised in Ft. Lauderdale though, so I've always had the Florida lifestyle in my upbringing. Sarasota is probably the best little city I've experienced in my decades of living in Florida.

As for Homeowners insurance, I was paying about $1800/year a few years ago, but rates have come down, and I'm now paying something like $1100, or so. We're expecting rate increases beginning next year. I live in an older frame home, built in 1925, and I'm about a mile or less from salt water. So, my insurance could be worse.
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Old 06-13-2009, 10:10 PM
 
2,174 posts, read 4,390,346 times
Reputation: 3547
Thanks. There have been some very nice and helpful responses to my thread.

I lived in San Francisco and the Bay for 15 years before moving to San Diego 3 1/2 years ago. I agree with you, SF is a good place if you have a gazillion dollars and can afford a sweet house in Marin and can fly to Hawaii for a few months during the rainy, chilly winter. SF Bay just has no midde class any more. Either you are the super wealthy elite, or you are struggling financially renting a little shoebox for $2,500/mo. There is also a LOT of traffic there. And the city of SF iteself has no real consistent summer weather you can count on, that always bothered me.
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Old 06-14-2009, 01:31 AM
 
175 posts, read 542,842 times
Reputation: 69
Hi CTR,

My wife and I had many of the same criteria as you for a winter and vacation house. We just bought one in Sarasota. In our "real life" we live downtown in a major city, don't own cars, walk to everything including work or take public transportation or taxis, etc. I can tell you that the only place we considered in FL was Sarasota. In fact, we don't think Sarasota is really "Florida". You have art, theater, interesting people, a real downtown, cafes, bookstores, etc. The median age is 41. The beaches are spectacular and you can either go to beach areas where there are lots of people or find your own isolated corner. You can get to Tampa in an hour if you want a larger city and yes, USF is the closest Div 1 university. You can live downtown and walk or bike to stuff. Some of the neighborhoods others have mentioned are really cool with interesting architecture and local shops. On the downside, you would have to drive from downtown to the beach, though it would be a short drive. The traffic can be bad. But you're used to that in SD. And Sarasota is more expensive than some other areas of FL for housing.
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Old 06-14-2009, 08:51 AM
 
2,174 posts, read 4,390,346 times
Reputation: 3547
Thanks Scots, again good info. What major city do you live in when not in your Sarasota house?

Searching rental listings on Craigslist in Sarasota it really jumped out at me how much cheaper it is to rent than buy. It seems like there is more of a disparity than a lot of other cities I have checked out in rents vs. your PITI on a home purchase, especially when you include fairly high Florida property taxes and homeowners insurance into the equation. San Diego definately has much higher rents for what you get.

Sarasota definately seems like one of the nicer places in Florida. It seems like there are a lot more people positive about it vs. many other areas in Florida that have a lot of negativity on the city-data forum.
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Old 06-18-2009, 07:15 AM
 
175 posts, read 542,842 times
Reputation: 69
CTR, I live in the UK, in Edinburgh. I live downtown. I've also lived in Washington DC without a car. I'm not certain about rental prices versus purchase prices in Sarasota since I didn't look into rentals. But the house I bought in Sarasota happened to have had a renter in it, and I know that her rent was higher than my PITI is going to be. But of course it depends on the purchase price and what you put down. Property taxes are actually not that bad compared to other places I've lived, and insurance really varies depending on whether you're in a flood plain (don't be!) and whether your house is built to withstand strong winds (houses built more recently, after mid 90s, tend to be better). My insurance is going to be under $1k per year. I used an insurance broker who looks at and finds the best policy. I can give you the name if you're interested.
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