[sunshine809]

I just want to hear the process other people went through in relocating to Florida..questions to be answered:

Where did you relocate from?

Did you move there and then start looking for homes or were you in another state?

Did you rent while looking for a home and if so was it an apartment, hotel, vacation rental?

Was your realtor helpful in finding services in relation to your move?

Did they recommend good neighborhoods or was it up to you to research this yourself?

If you were trying to buy a home long distance, did you fly down for a couple of weeks to look at homes and then do the rest long distance? How long did it take to find your home, do all the paperwork, and then close.

Would you do it the same way if you had to do it all over again?

I know this is a lot of questions and thank you in advance for sharing.

[beachmouse]

We moved down here when we were in our 20s for husband's job offer. He did one trip for the interview, one a few weeks later to look for a place to rent (we has massive student loans and no savings at that point) when the semester was over and then drove the U-Haul down a few weeks later.

Had been in rural west Tennessee for a miserable two years after growing up in Michigan, and it was the first decent offer we'd had to get us the heck out of Tennessee. We did a combination of newspaper & internet ads (this was the late 90s) and a list from a realtor, and when we saw a two bedroom apartment a block from a public beach for $615/month, we figured that yeah, let's go for that one, even if it was a little bit run down.

We stayed in the beach rental for three years to clear up some student loan debt and save up for a down payment on a house, and when we were about two years in, we started doing 'Sunday driving' to see different areas for oursevles. By the time we were serious about buying, we'd figured out a specific area we were going to buy in. We worked with a realtor for about a month, had a falling out with her, and decided to take a break from the house hunt for a while. A few weeks into our break, we went on another Sunday drive, and saw the FSBO sign up for the house we ended up buying and ended up paying $500 over asking price because we were one of three bidders for the home. (It was pretty much priced exactly where it should have been, so the extra was no big deal.)

[macrodome2]

I think the relocation experience is different if you need to continue to work versus retiring. Which are you considering?

We purchased a second home with the intent of moving down here to FL permanently one day. We are retired so we could take our time, come down to different areas for a week or two, rent for a month in places we were considering, then make our decision. If you're working, you need to factor in getting a job and how much time you'll have to investigate where to move. If I were doing that I would definitely rent first.

Since we essentially rented for a week, two or a month, we didn't have to do a long term rental to get established- plus we still own the home up north so we can decide how much time to spend at each as we go along.

We seriously considered two towns- Naples/Bonita Springs and Venice. I worked with a realtor in each. Once we narrowed down the location- both town and community, I had the realtor we were working with go over to the house to make sure there wasn't anything the pictures weren't showing that would be a deal breaker. We then made the offer and negotiated remotely. We put a stipulation in the contract that we would come down within 20 days and we could cancel if we didn't like the house for any reason. We came down for 4 days. We went to see the house the afternoon of the day we got in. The realtor set up an inspection the next day which was the first full day we were here. We waived the remaining time on the 20 days and closed about 2 weeks later.

We found a home monitor, through the realtor, and he set up a lot of things like- painting the interior, cleaning the tile, etc. We closed mid June, but did not actually get down until late September (that had more to do with the cataract surgery I had to have than anything else). We stayed last two weeks of Sept and returned Nov 1 and stayed until mid April. This year we plan to stay from Oct to May.

I would do it the same way as we were able to see different areas by coming down a week or two at a time, then do a more in depth look when we stayed for a month. The longer stay also gave us the advantage of being able to talk to people at the pool who lived in the community so we got a feel for what it was like before we purchased.

[froglipz]

Retired from northern Illinois, rented for a few years in Charlotte County, FL ,learned where we didn't want to be, and are now building a new home in Citrus County - Sugarmill Woods, FL. Good luck with your relocation.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by sunshine809

I just want to hear the process other people went through in relocating to Florida..questions to be answered:

Where did you relocate from?

Did you move there and then start looking for homes or were you in another state?

Did you rent while looking for a home and if so was it an apartment, hotel, vacation rental?

Was your realtor helpful in finding services in relation to your move?

Did they recommend good neighborhoods or was it up to you to research this yourself?

If you were trying to buy a home long distance, did you fly down for a couple of weeks to look at homes and then do the rest long distance? How long did it take to find your home, do all the paperwork, and then close.

Would you do it the same way if you had to do it all over again?

I know this is a lot of questions and thank you in advance for sharing.

1) Australia/Alaska (moved there 3 times, soon to be 4th and hopefully final time from California lol)

2/3) Made offers on homes from out of state, once accepted contingent upon inspection, would fly out to view the property and also line up some other properties to see. One time rented a vacation home in while looking for a house.

4/5) Not really, did research on areas then visited in person then found an agent in that area.

6) Once both parties sign the contract it usually takes 30-45 days to close depending if you get financing or not. Flew down only after an offer was accepted besides one time moving there first then looking.

[Restrain]

We have timeshares in FL, been visiting for 20 years. Last year, after 30 years, in the 3rd ice storm to hit Dallas, wife had turned 65, and we looked at each other and said 'we are outta here'. Did our research, got the regional MLS public feed, made an offer, closed and by June we were moved. Haven't looked back. Wife is still working part time (real estate appraiser).

[StreetSmarts]

Originally Posted by beachmouse

We moved down here when we were in our 20s for husband's job offer. He did one trip for the interview, one a few weeks later to look for a place to rent (we has massive student loans and no savings at that point) when the semester was over and then drove the U-Haul down a few weeks later.

Had been in rural west Tennessee for a miserable two years after growing up in Michigan, and it was the first decent offer we'd had to get us the heck out of Tennessee. We did a combination of newspaper & internet ads (this was the late 90s) and a list from a realtor, and when we saw a two bedroom apartment a block from a public beach for $615/month, we figured that yeah, let's go for that one, even if it was a little bit run down.

We stayed in the beach rental for three years to clear up some student loan debt and save up for a down payment on a house, and when we were about two years in, we started doing 'Sunday driving' to see different areas for oursevles. By the time we were serious about buying, we'd figured out a specific area we were going to buy in. We worked with a realtor for about a month, had a falling out with her, and decided to take a break from the house hunt for a while. A few weeks into our break, we went on another Sunday drive, and saw the FSBO sign up for the house we ended up buying and ended up paying $500 over asking price because we were one of three bidders for the home. (It was pretty much priced exactly where it should have been, so the extra was no big deal.)

TN is fantastic. You were in the wrong area (West TN / Memphis). East TN is beautiful with the friendliest people you'll ever meet.

[beachmouse]

West TN was where his job was. If it had been Nashville or Knoxville instead, we'd probably still be there.

[jhlcomp]

Where did you relocate from?

McLean, VA (Washington, D.C. area)

Did you rent while looking for a home and if so was it an apartment, hotel, vacation rental?

Yes. We rented a condo for 1 year.

Was your realtor helpful in finding services in relation to your move?

We didn't use a realtor. We rented in North Miami Beach and from there we did daily trips within 50 miles of where we were living. Plus we were already familiar with the area having lived in Miami for over one year several years before.


Would you do it the same way if you had to do it all over again?

Absolutely. Rent first. However, I need to throw in a caveat. If you are transferring here and know that you will only be here for a few years, then I would say find a relocation expert and fly down to visit and get the job done. In our case, this was a permanent move.

[sunshine809]

Thanks for the answers so far.

jhlcomp - I live in Colorado Springs now but I actually grew up in McLean, VA!