Land in Tampa area (Brandon, Plant City: foreclosures, chapel, houses) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

jeffreda30238 · 12-11-2008, 03:26 AM

Greetings All,

I am currently overseas serving a tour in Germany and me and my better half were wanting to settle in Tampa. The thing is we want to buy land and have a house built. Where is a good area that has upscale homes (or potential), good schools, and not to far from "what's happening" (i.e. mall, restaurants, etc). We are looking for a nice upscale area with maybe a golf course, lake etc. All insight would be greatly appreciated.

Nav · 12-11-2008, 11:15 AM

Can you be a bit more specific? Are you looking for a standard lot in a subdivision or acreage?

Nav

jeffreda30238 · 12-12-2008, 02:50 AM

Standard lot or maybe some acreage. We do not want more than an acre, but would prefer a standard lot that is already set for building with some back yard and front yard. We're planning on having a home b/w 3500-4000 sqft. Any insight would be great!

Mike1306 · 12-12-2008, 05:54 AM

There really is no such thing as a standard lot but for a 3500-4000 sq ft house I would think you would want to have a 1/2-3/4 acre since you don't want acreage.

Depending on where you want to be you will be looking between $21,000 and $1,000,000.
I really would suggest looking at resale homes though. There are many foreclosures out there that you could not come close to matching in price if you were to build new.

bby07 · 12-12-2008, 07:24 AM

Wesley Chapel and Land O' Lakes have some nice homes and land. And there are 3 malls being built in the are too. Lutz is also nice, Lutz is a little bit more country with farms and such.

Nav · 12-12-2008, 12:43 PM

Wesley Chapel, Land O Lakes and Lutz are nice as long as you dont have to commute into Tampa for your Job. I-75, I-225 and DaleMabry are all parking lots during Rush hour. Most "Upscale" areas are artificially created by the developers and they do not sell just the lots. You will have better luck finding an area and seeeing whats available. Most likely, you can pick up an acre for around 50-70k and a 4000 sq ft house will run another 400k on top of that. If you go into developments you can probably pick up a 4000 sq ft house for the mid to high 300's including the tract house size lot. Most standard developers lots are 60w x100d . Their "Deluxe Oversized" lots will be an upcharge and are typically 90wx100d. The developers will not let you use your own builder. You must use theirs. (And dont forget the HOA/CDD fees too!)
Tampa has a shortage of land due to the building boom of a few years ago. (you can still find large acreage tracts but they will set you back close to a million+ but hardly any 1/2 to 1 acre plots) You will not find many areas where you have subdivisoins with houses on larger pieces of land. Plant City has a few, so does Odessa, but they are rare and most often pricey. You can find some in Pasco County (north of Tampa) as well. Most of Florida, (including Tampa) is no longer an inexpensive place to get a home. Housing prices are pretty much on par with the rest of the country.

Nav

jeffreda30238 · 12-16-2008, 05:48 AM

Okay..well if I will be working at MacDill AFB, then where would be a good area to buy a home? Good schools and the "family feel" to it. We want a nice neighborhood and looking to pay no more than 350K for a 4+/3+. Thanks.

Nav · 12-16-2008, 07:52 AM

You may want to try the south eastern part of the bay area. Say Brandon, Valrico, Lithia, Riverview, Apollo Beach Area. You can still find nice houses on larger lots there within your price range. With the Crosstown Expressway (Selmon Expressway) you can pick it up on I-75 in brandon and it will take you almost directly to McDill. A Lot of Military live in these areas since the commute is not that bad. If you are not set on a large piece of land, you can easily find houses in your size/price range on the market right now.

Nav

jeffreda30238 · 12-17-2008, 02:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nav

You may want to try the south eastern part of the bay area. Say Brandon, Valrico, Lithia, Riverview, Apollo Beach Area. You can still find nice houses on larger lots there within your price range. With the Crosstown Expressway (Selmon Expressway) you can pick it up on I-75 in brandon and it will take you almost directly to McDill. A Lot of Military live in these areas since the commute is not that bad. If you are not set on a large piece of land, you can easily find houses in your size/price range on the market right now.

Nav

Thanks Nav..you have been extremely helpful!