Moving to Tampa- need help! (Spring Hill, Riverview: short sale, condo, crime)

[Lycali]

Hello all,
I currently live in a suburb south of Atlanta, and I am considering making the move to Tampa. Any feedback is welcome. A little bit about myself: I am a young single mother of a four year old daughter. I am currently working on my masters and plan on completing my program in Tampa. I work in a Georgia state prison as a behavioral health specialist, so I will be considering similar positions in the Tampa area. I would prefer to a 3br/2+bath townhome under or around 200k. Schools are important considering my daughter will be starting kindergarten soon. I do not mind a suburban area, as long as the commute to the city isn't too bad. Safety is key. The community does not have to be gated but I do not want to feel like I have to fear for my life just by walking from my car to my front door. I have tried to do some research on my own, but it's difficult to grasp the vibe of the neighborhoods if you've never been. Once again, any and all constructive feedback is welcome! Thanks
[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

[Tampaite]

[quote=Lycali;26602123] I would prefer to a 3br/2+bath townhome under or around 200k. Schools are important considering my daughter will be starting kindergarten soon. I do not mind a suburban area, as long as the commute to the city isn't too bad. Safety is key. quote]

You can find good townhomes for under 200K in a very good neighbourhood in Tampa.

I would suggest first lining up the job since housing/schooling are excellent around the Tampa bay area.

[algia]

Check out Wesley Chapel, and Behavioral Consultants of Tampa Bay...

[annadenise]

Check out the Westchase area in Northwest Hillsborough County. There are several nice townhome communities, a number of good schools and easy commute to Pinellas county, where the beaches are. I raised my sons in that area there from birth. After my first husband died I sold a large house there and moved only 4 miles down the road to Oldsmar, in Pinellas county and live on Tampa Bay in a townhouse community. When I was looking at townhomes I found more than a few in this area in the price range you are looking at.

[FloridaKash]

I say, why spend the maximum of your budget if you can find a good place with good schools for less? For that price you could buy a nice home in Northdale or a Condo for almost half.

Great elementary, middle and high schools. Quite a few hospitals within a short drive.

The secret about Tampa. There is no need to be near Downtown... there's nothing there. Northdale is in Carrollwood, which has a lot of things going on in and around it.

[Lycali]

Thanks for the advice so far! I am definitely not aiming to spend my max budget. I am just a little unsure how the market is down there. I have seen some places well under my budget; I just didn't know if they were sketchy areas of town.

[algia]

Check greatschools.net for school ratings, then take the zip codes and check for housing/crime etc.
I do agree with Carrollwood/Northdale.

[FloridaKash]

Example of what you can buy if you look. We picked up a 4bed 4 bath 2200SF Pool home with a spill over spa. Pool is screened in. Corner lot and next to a wooded easement. $179K. Family friendly neighborhood, excellent schools, convenient location.

There is an Civic Association (kind of like an HOA), but it is very lax. They're only there so you can call them if people are leaving out trash, have huge boats in their drives or their grass is about 3 feet tall. Civic Association dues are voluntary at a.... ready?.... a whopping $35 per YEAR. It is voluntary, not required, but well worth the $35 a year to help support the community IMO.

[gulfer]

FloridaKash. Where and when did you buy? Those are so very hard to find right now unless it is a REO. I intentionally omitted the Short Sale, because the market is more than likely higher for those right now unless you are getting far away from the center of Tampa. Spring Hill and Brooksville have plenty of these and you can find something like this down by Apollo Beach, Riverview and Valrico. But generally if you want a 4 bed/4 bath with a pool you are easily over 200K. I have seen 12 properties alone sold in my subdivision that were less bathrooms and no pool for more than that and I live in Land O Lakes.
New Homes such as these are selling for 225K without a pool. That market has changed in the last 6-12 months. Too bad, it was priced where many people could get into something like that less than a year ago.

[FloridaKash]

Originally Posted by gulfer

FloridaKash. Where and when did you buy? Those are so very hard to find right now unless it is a REO. I intentionally omitted the Short Sale, because the market is more than likely higher for those right now unless you are getting far away from the center of Tampa. Spring Hill and Brooksville have plenty of these and you can find something like this down by Apollo Beach, Riverview and Valrico. But generally if you want a 4 bed/4 bath with a pool you are easily over 200K. I have seen 12 properties alone sold in my subdivision that were less bathrooms and no pool for more than that and I live in Land O Lakes.
New Homes such as these are selling for 225K without a pool. That market has changed in the last 6-12 months. Too bad, it was priced where many people could get into something like that less than a year ago.

I bought at the right time. (Shamless Plug... TampaKaren was my realtor).

It was not a Short Sale or REO. It was a regular deal. We bought in Northdale, a little over a year ago. It even had a new kitchen! Also included a wet bar and fireplace in the rec room, which we updated.

Oh, one thing. For those of you who may look into Northdale. It is under air traffic. I didn't notice this until after we bought the home. The plane are still pretty high, so your house doesn't shake and it's not deafening or anything like that. In fact, I have come to like it. We're a loud family and will party in the pool into late evening. I think more people are tolerable of this because A) we don't do it all the time and B) nobody expect COMPLETE silence since there is air traffic.