Waterfront versus woods in Tampa? (houses, neighborhood, to buy)

[seajoy88]

[SIZE=2]My husband and I are planning to move to Tampa very soon. We have bid on one house that has a small lake in back, but there is another offer pending on this same house. We may not end up with this one, but we have a second choice that backs up to a wooded conservation area. There are just trees with Spanish moss in back but no water.

I wonder which type property would be most sought after if we ended up selling later. Obviously the market is bad now, but in 10 years I have hope that it will have recovered. Does anyone feel that a wooded back yard is better or worse than a waterfront (meaning a small pond or lake)? I love the view of the water, but maybe there are drawbacks to waterfronts that I am not aware of right now. This house we bid on with water is not in a flood zone. I do have a small dog and I know I'll need to watch him carefully when he's outside, but other than the fear of gators, what are drawbacks to a waterfront home?

Thanks, Joy
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[Keeper]

Is it a natural pond or a retention pond? If it is a retention pond, the draw back IMHO would be it will likely dry up during a dry spell, turn yucky green and smell. If it is a natural pond with an underground spring then the lake will get low during a drought but not likely to dry completely up. If it isn't in a subdivision then you can swim/fish in a spring lake.

Either one can entice gators as long as there is a food source.

[bnepler]

Your property will be worth more with water behind it but the water will attract wildlife and bugs/snakes/mosquitoes.

[mikewu9900]

i don't see a benefit with living on a lake in florida. you cant swim in it, because of alligators, they attract a lot of insects, spiders and mosquitoes, and i notice they smell funny. up north, there are great benefits with living on water, except in the winter, it gets much colder.....

[seajoy88]

Originally Posted by mikewu9900

i don't see a benefit with living on a lake in florida. you cant swim in it, because of alligators, they attract a lot of insects, spiders and mosquitoes, and i notice they smell funny. up north, there are great benefits with living on water, except in the winter, it gets much colder.....

The only benefit I know of immediately is that it's beautiful and private. I suppose the other things you list could be bad. It's a fairly big pond that stretches across the back of several houses.

I mainly want to know how popular waterfront lots are in Tampa. If they are popular it might be a better house to buy for re-sale down the road.


Thanks for all the responses so far!


Take care, Joy

[seajoy88]

Originally Posted by Keeper

Is it a natural pond or a retention pond? If it is a retention pond, the draw back IMHO would be it will likely dry up during a dry spell, turn yucky green and smell. If it is a natural pond with an underground spring then the lake will get low during a drought but not likely to dry completely up. If it isn't in a subdivision then you can swim/fish in a spring lake.

Either one can entice gators as long as there is a food source.

Thanks Keeper. My guess is that the pond is man-made, so I suppose it could get icky with poor upkeep. However, the house is in a very nice gated community where they seem to keep the property looking very nice. The pond is not tiny. It stretches across the back of at least 5-6 houses.


Take care, Joy

[Mozart271]

You will certainly keep higher value on waterfront property than wooded, although the concerns about it drying up or getting swampy are serious, considering the climate is getting hotter. (Maybe with a few good hurricanes...) You may also want to consider this--is the pond surrounded by houses so that you see them all the way across, as compared to a nature view with trees? I can't generalize this, but if I were personally placing a value, I would put the no-house view higher.

The best waterfront values will be the gulf, followed by the bay, the river and large lakes. My feeling would be, choose which one you think is the most peaceful, beautiful view--the view you want to see every morning--and go for that!

Good luck,
Teresa

P.S. I live on the river, and other than gators and a lot of bugs, I can't think of any disadvantages.

[annesg]

The bottom line is that if you have no back neighbors it's worth the most. If the pond view also includes someone else's fence or back yard, that's less desirable than conservation (just make sure it's conservation that's not buildable later). Personally, if it's not a natural lake I think I'd pick woods just b/c standing water always means tons of mosquitos!

[sueinge]

I was wondering this too, so thanks for asking the question!

[Floridaobserver]

Warning: If anyone tells you your home is on a conservation lot, GET IT IN WRITING and check the zoning. We moved in a home on a "conservation lot," and 3 years later it was developed into a neighborhood. It was never a conservation lot to begin with.