Retiring this year 2015- considering Barefoot Bay...Maybe? (Orlando, Vero Beach: house, buying)

[ReachTheBeach]

Originally Posted by Rabflmom

Use BrevardMLS instead of any of the internet realy places like Zillow and Trulia....you get more accurate info on MLS and usually the listing agent to get more info etc.

Thanks. I just used that and found 42 places between 45k and 150k, 33 of which are under 100k. Clicking around some I find one built in '95 for 84.9k that might be a better example. The lower priced ones are built in the 70s and 80s and have obviously survived a few storms.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by CarvedTones

Thanks. I just used that and found 42 places between 45k and 150k, 33 of which are under 100k. Clicking around some I find one built in '95 for 84.9k that might be a better example. The lower priced ones are built in the 70s and 80s and have obviously survived a few storms.

Even when buying a concrete block home, going back to 60s and 70s always wise to check if wiring and plumbing have been updated.
What I have noticed in older mobile/manufactured homes is the floors start giving and when I walked in my friends to pick up the kids, if I wore heels they sometimes would go through even with carpet on them.

We had friends who bought a new manufactured home in 2004 just a few months before the hurricanes started coming through. They sheltered at the store we worked at, and had extensive damage that took months to get rebuilt. They sold it and live in a condo instead. They had downsized but ended up losing almost all they had kept for the smaller home. Wondering if you can pull permits to see what work has been done on pre hurricane homes.

Had another friend who lives at the one on the golf courses at the Indian River, St. Lucie county just of !-95. Lots of activities and seems like a good place to retire from up North.
They started building houses on double lots instead of bringing in more manufactured homes in 2000/2001. They have buildings to shelter in too. In 2004 they rented a U Haul truck and would just drive whatever way the storm wasn't going to hit with all their keepsakes and furniture they didn't want to lose. They did not have much damage on their home.

Usually if you see a home that says remodeled or new roof in 2004 or 2005 it means it had damage in a hurricane. Many of the homes repaired by the construction crews who swarmed the state -mostly from Texas were not built well. To get things repaired when we were the blue tarp cities, permits were not needed and inspections were not done. Crews from other states did not know the codes so did not always use the correct number of nails or right distance between studs etc. . Many have had to redo or replace already.

[ReachTheBeach]

Good point - surviving a storm and being unaffected by it are two different things. I am in a stick built house in NC and some things still aren't quite right from Fran in '96.

You mention another one. Are there some others similar in how they are set up as far as owning the lot and HOA providing so many amenities at a reasonable price? I have found a few other similar communities where you have to pay lot rent of $600 or more per month after buying the home.

There is definitely a risk/reward proposition in buying a manufactured home. I believe that risk (disaster damage/destruction) is still quite low for any individual home but is higher than block construction. The reward is that your money can go further and you can afford to retire in a community with amenities and activities.

EDIT - BTW, I am not the hard core type that would hunker down and try to survive a storm. BTDT. I would head for higher ground and come back afterwards. Hurricanes are generally not surprises by the time they arrive. Tornadoes are another matter but odsd of one hitting a particular spot are even lower and there isn't much that stands up to them anyway.

[ReachTheBeach]

BTW I did some more searching for manufactured homes with clubhouse and pool as keywords and found a couple of similar smaller space coast communities that are restricted deed and low HOA fees instead of rent. Like Palm Bay Colony. Not as big, not as much variety, not as pretty to my eye (no ponds and layed out like a grid). Stil haven't found any CBS homes like that.

[Stowedaway1]

We too are looking very hard at Barefoot Bay (dying to get out of Orlando)! Was VERY concerned when I found out it was not a 55+ community. Have yet to really find an answer as to how families (children, teens) are affecting the community and what proportion of the community they make up.

[pinecone lady]

Hi are there any safe {weather wise manufactured homes in Brevard ? I lived there yrs ago and loved it would like t retire there but never saw a tornado.thanks

[ReachTheBeach]

Originally Posted by pinecone lady

Hi are there any safe {weather wise manufactured homes in Brevard ? I lived there yrs ago and loved it would like t retire there but never saw a tornado.thanks

They passed new codes ~10 years ago so anything newer meets those codes. I just used Zillow to search Brevard:
Brevard County FL Real Estate - 9,039 Homes For Sale | Zillow
and changed Home Type so that only Manufactured was checked, then under More I entered 2006 as the minimum for Year Built. I get 42 hits as of right now.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by ReachTheBeach

They passed new codes ~10 years ago so anything newer meets those codes. I just used Zillow to search Brevard:
Brevard County FL Real Estate - 9,039 Homes For Sale | Zillow
and changed Home Type so that only Manufactured was checked, then under More I entered 2006 as the minimum for Year Built. I get 42 hits as of right now.

Wow....like I keep saying Zillow can be way behind. MLS for Brevard only has 3105 listings for the whole county, all styles, any age, and price. I know every home does not get listed but thats amost 6,000 difference. A lot of homes listed on those internet sites are just not for sale. We have had people walk up and try to stare in our neighbors and our windows and taking pictures from the street thinking our houses were for sale. When one was snooping around our neighbors house my husband went out to see what he was up to, he had a picture of the house copied from one of those sites in his hand.

[ReachTheBeach]

My bad. You gave me that link earlier and I forgot. I keep bouncing between locations that are spread widely across the state so I went back to using Zillow. I just use them to get a feel for the options. When I get serious I will ask for recommendations for an actual local human to help me find what is really available and well suited to my needs.

[Rabflmom]

Originally Posted by ReachTheBeach

My bad. You gave me that link earlier and I forgot. I keep bouncing between locations that are spread widely across the state so I went back to using Zillow. I just use them to get a feel for the options. When I get serious I will ask for recommendations for an actual local human to help me find what is really available and well suited to my needs.

For the homes listed in Barefoot Bay, I think there were only 2 built in 2005 and the rest were older mostly 70s and 80s but they look pretty good.