Milton-De - Looking to retire here (New Castle, Georgetown: low income, sale, renters)

[Delaware Way]

My sweetie and I moved to Milton almost three years ago. We rented while we scoped out the housing situation. That was the smartest thing we could have done. First: Sussex County has a laissez faire land use attitude, which means that you should never assume that pristine farmland on the eastern side of the county will remain so after you buy. Second: find out the developer and the builder names. Schell is a well-known builder but they have sweetheart deals with Schagrin Propane that involve 20+ year contracts for the entire development, that force homebuyers to stay with that company unless they want to pay big to get out of the contract. Most homes in SC are very poorly insulated and built, because the county won't pay for enough inspectors and, again, everybody knows everybody, and one hand washes the other. Propane bills ran $400/month or more for 1800 sq. ft. homes in Milton last year, because the houses are so drafty. Do not assume your home is built well, and absolutely insist on reading every line of every paper days before settlement. Don't go to settlement without reading all waivers and other docs in advance. People from MD, NJ and PA are typically shocked to discover how poorly regulated the real estate/construction industry is in DE in general and especially SC. Also, SC has mediocre schools, minimum wage jobs and major pollution/health problems from mercury contamination in ponds and waterways, and air pollution from the coal plant at Indian River (around 15 miles away). Ozone is off the charts in the summer. But the one guy who controls the Delaware legislature, Thurman Adams, is an elderly dude from Bridgeville and he won't allow legislation to be passed that would deal with these problems and others. The beach is great but this place has major problems for retirees if you want to live here year-round. Rent first. Get to know people, get a subscription to the Cape Gazette and research the area before you buy.

[JERSEY MAN]

Thank you Delaware Way for this information. I was interested in a property that I now find out is located about a mile from this coal plant. I have spoken to 3 realtors and not one mentioned the coal plant. All they mention is your 5 miles to the beach, it's beautiful here, the bays close and all the positive info. I certainly don't want to retire and live next to this plant spewing ash on me all summer long when I sit in the back yard.. I guess this is why you have to do your homework before you buy. I just spent about an hour reading up on this plant and the effects on the environment.(toxins leaching into the waterway froma 100 ft. mound on ash). I'm kind of annoyed that no one informed me of this as I have been looking at homes in this immediate area for about a year now. I'm still looking to retire to Delaware but not to a place where I can walk to a polluting coal plant. Thanks again. JM

[Delaware Way]

You will find that rights to notice of conditions such as a 20-year locked-in exclusive contract for expensive propane, a polluting coal plant in the area, and no regulation of future land use are par for the course in Sussex County, and Delaware in general. We can't even pass a Freedom of Information Act that would apply to the State legislature, because of one man who controls which bills come to a vote in Dover and which never see the light of day. The state's tax base relies more heavily on out-of-state incorporations and in-state corporation franchise taxes than on personal income/property taxes. They also contribute the most campaign money to the state pols. That's why all the important deals are done in secret in Wilmington and Dover. The state desperately needs to keep big players happy, including the banks, Dupont, Perdue, chemical companies, power plants, etc. Also check out the health insurance and homeowner's insurance rates. The beach is wonderful, the people are very nice, but the things that will hit you in the pocketbook are often hidden from public view. Thx for writing back.

[Delaware Way]

My wife and I are looking for any information or comments about buying a home and living in the Milton area. Concerned about:
1. Water table-well water safe to drink - Milton area is large. Water is safe to drink. However, waterways in certain areas of Milton (such as Waples Pond near Sylvan Acres and Prestwick) are contaminated by mercury from air pollution condensate. This doesn't mean your well near them would be contaminated but I would use caution when assessing the water table around an area of interest, as well as future risk of flooding and groundwater contamination.

2. Any area health concerns - you can google news stories about ammonia in the air from poultry farms and poultry processing plants around Milton and Harbeson, also ozone and air pollution from Seaford and Millsboro areas. The county's cancer, asthma and heart attack/stroke/cardiovascular disease rates are abnormally high for Delaware and nationally.

3. Is the area safe - Safe is a broad term but Milton scores high.

4. Medical facilities - What kind? Hospitals? Nearest are Milford, Seaford, Bebbe, none of which are major trauma centers. Nearest trauma centers would be Salisbury MD and Christiana Hospital in northern DE. There's a good cancer treatment center in Rehoboth (Tunnell). One of the bizarre things about SC is that there are so few dentists.

5. Quality of builders - The developments in Milton now are being done mostly by tract builders - Stover, Pulte, Ryan. Schell is a local builder but if you want a warm, energy efficient, cost-effective home for 10-20 years, in my opinion, I wouldn't buy from him. Look at the HOA fees for houses for sale in Paynter's Mill and you see what you'll be paying for the wow factor that makes Schell developments so attractive. There are good custom builders like Ron Coffin and Russ Palmer who have been in the area for years, but they build mostly at the beach. County and state building codes are lax, and there are ways builders can legally avoid inspections during construction if they submit approved engineering drawings in advance. Demand 3 independent inspections during construction even if it costs you. If they say no, that's your answer. Ask lots of questions about water retention ponds, drainage, wastewater treatment. Those are the areas of controversy and confusion in the county now. Find out if the HOA will be responsible for wastewater treatment, and how much treatment and drainage maintenance will cost you. And ask independents about the land trust programs under which many of the developments were built. Does the property revert after 50 or 70 years? If so, would future declining property value affect your decision now?

6. Areas to avoid - Harbeson. The swamp gas at Rts. 9 and 5 in the summer is horrendous. Any place around Rt 1 from Rt. 16 to Lewes. Rt. 1 is slowly but steadily being handed over to developers. Case in point: Rt. 1 and Cave Neck Rd has an application pending for construction of a 500,000 sq ft shopping mall in what is now farm land. It is to be located 1/4 mile from Schell's touted 2007 "Community of the Year." The county and state have no plans to build more infrastructure to handle the traffic that will result. That's because the county and state refuse to spend money on infrastructure around new development, and so far they've refused to require builders to do the same.

7. Traffic - will only get worse, see above. For now, summer traffic can increase your time to get to the beach areas.

8. Do they get a lot of snow? - No! The winter winds and high humidity make extra good insulation and 2x6 construction a must, however. Especially since most developments are built on bare farmland with no tree break.

[Cate Power]

Stay away from Milton and Sussex County. The areas are notoriously corrupt, and the Town of Miton in particular rips of newcomers who buy in new developments with totally out of whack property assessments. I guess somebody has to come up with the funds to pay the town's secretaries over $42,000 per year while they pay nothing for health insurance. Sweet deal if you can get it!

The propane tank rental fees for part-time residents are ridiculous, and the company did not stick to its commitment not to top off our tank even though we had used virtually no gas. Even the local nurseryman tried to rip us off when we bought trees.

You can see signs of the corruption that seem to define the area by walking around Governor's Walk, with its 3 parking lots and other unneccesary improvements, as well as the ridiculously large libary. How can a tiny town justify 3 municipal parking lots within walking distance of each other and a large library? Another sign, the tiny town next door, ELlendale, kas a 5-bay fire house!

Also, stay away from Marta Builders. Looks good from the outside, but the construction and materiais are shoddy and the builder wiil not satisfy its promises to fix pre-existing defects such as mail pops and wall board cracks.

I've learned all of this the hard way and sincerely wish I could undo the mess I have made for myself. I have never felt so helpless and vulnerable.

[jim kelly sells]

excellent comments above for sure. in most town you will have public water and sewer. most addresses are in one of our county's 29 or so towns but unless you are IN town limits, you'll be on well and septic. with septic, gravity type is best, next lpp and then a mound system for moister soils. i hear the deeper you drill your wel the better the water is - some do not even feel the need for a water purification system, i have one because my house came with it but my milton neighbor does not and swears it is not necessary. good luck jim

[kathy barrett]

Milton is a great town to retire to. It has its own historical society, great theater, two restaurants, and now the Milton Medical Park with state of the art medical facilities going in and soon, 4 primary care physicians in the area. Milton is about 10-20 minutes from everything, Milford, Long Neck, Lewes, Rehoboth, Georgetown, so it is nicely situated in Delaware, just out of the reach of all the summer traffic. Plus there are many back roads into Milton, so never a traffic jam. The three developments in town are walking distance to town, Cannery Village, Heritage Creek and Wagamons West Shore. Definitely worth a look!

[lookinginde]

I am moving from PA. I visited Nassau Grove on Rte 1. I heard they are doing very well and the community looks beautiful. I talked to some of the homeowners and they love it. The homes are close together but that doesn't bother me anymore. Does anyone know anything about them. I like Independence but the location is bad and they are not selling very well.

[jmc1]

We bought an Insight Home. Compared to other builders is why we chose them. In the top 1% in the nation for energy efficiency. We looked at a model in a Milton development. I just can't say enough about them. They built our home on an off-site lot. We dealt with Gheri, but everyone we dealt with was a pleasure.

[looking2movesouth]

Has anyone considering Heritage Creek development? We are considering moving from NJ in a few years. Looking for the appeal of this development. Don't know if the builder has a good reputation; have homes been built yet, etc?