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This forum is filled with folks asking about home ownership here in Florida. I know it is different depending upon your location, but the only way I know to help those interested is to describe to them a home and the costs involved. Looking at realtor's websites online doesn't always show the true picture as we all know. I'll go first...
We live in east Orlando. We contracted our home in 2003 and it was built in 2004. We visited the site daily to make sure it was built according to blueprints and all the work was well done. DH has a background in construction so that helped alot.
We built a 3200 square foot, 6 bedroom, 4 bath home with a game room, formal living and dining rooms and family room/breakfast room/kitchen. We have upgraded appliances, 18x18 marble tile in all wet areas, family room/breakfast room and hallway. 6x8 upgraded full wall tile in all bath surrounds. Granite countertops, a spa bath, upgraded stair railings, Solid wood Maple Cabinets, and all rooms are wired for full house cable/computer/phone etc. with 1-2 jacks in every room, all bedrooms, family room and game room are wired for fans. It has a whole house security system, water filtration system and irrigation system. The home is built on a 1/3 acre lot - set back with a 60 foot long drive - surrounded by woods on two sides. It is built to the latest hurricane code. It cost us $241,000.
By the time we closed, similar homes were selling for close to 400K.
After we moved in we built a custom pool with brick paver deck, pebble tec finish and 10 foot Blue Ridge Stacked Stone grotto and Blue Ridge stone coping - also added a summer kitchen and lanai area and a brick walkway connecting the back pool deck to the driveway in front. The back yard is fully enclosed with a black aluminum fence. We contracted the pool ourselves and spent another 50K.
According to what other homes in our subdivision are selling for - our home would now sell for about 450-475K.
Our 2006 taxes (which did include the pool) were based on a value of 274,000 and were $4600. We did qualify for homestead exemption and will qualify for Save Our Homes this year, that means taxes cannot go up more than 3% a year as long as we live there.
Our homeowners insurance went up this year - from $700.00 to $1600.00.
Our electric bill averages about $300 a month, but it is a large house - plus there are at least 3 computers that are on all the time, a total of 8 televisions - at least 3 are on most evenings, 2 refrigerators and a freezer.
Our water bill runs anywhere from $50 to $100 a month depending on how often we have to run the sprinklers and put water in the pool. During the rainy season it is low.
We also pay $14 a month for garbage pickup.
Right now, I can buy gas for 2.17 a gallon and the food here is cheaper than my mom can buy in her small town of South Carolina. Plus we have infinitely better quality produce here than there. However, that is the only comparison I can speak to - I don't know about other places.
I hope this will give others an idea of what they may expect here in the central florida area.
While I know this is expensive - I don't think it is unreasonable. Especially considering that we have no state income tax.
HOLY COW!!!!! A house like that for $241K????!!!!! You couldn't have done anything NEAR that size house here in Ohio for that price- and we aren't even in the real estate boom that Florida enjoys! You'd be lucky to build that for $450k here!
But thank you for the details. Even your insurance doesn't sound as bad as I thought it would be. Geez, I'm paying $1100/year now and we don't exactly have a hurricane risk up here. All the other expenses you listed are also right in line with what we now pay.
Ohio is that expensive? I guess to me a house on a tiny 1/3 acre lot isn't very desirable, but my taste in homes is...well...unique. Got to have a 5+ acre lot, got to have the flat concrete roof, and the long narrow home. Would be nice to have a basement 100 feet long to install the bowling lanes. Just keep away the wood and drywall...YUCK!
HOLY COW!!!!! A house like that for $241K????!!!!! You couldn't have done anything NEAR that size house here in Ohio for that price- and we aren't even in the real estate boom that Florida enjoys! You'd be lucky to build that for $450k here!
But thank you for the details. Even your insurance doesn't sound as bad as I thought it would be. Geez, I'm paying $1100/year now and we don't exactly have a hurricane risk up here. All the other expenses you listed are also right in line with what we now pay.
Good info to know- thanks!
You can get nice houses for under $100k in OH, just not in the upscale neighboorhoods in the metro cities. Look into smaller cities or towns. Well the house also would be early 1900s but its built well back then and has basement!
Wow $241k is a good price! That comes to $75 a square foot! You got a good deal but now at $450k it arent worth it! If I had $240k id have a nice new house built in Georgia or Texas for that price comparable to those $450k houses in Florida!
Quote:
Originally Posted by tallrick
Ohio is that expensive?
Only in the best, richest most upscale areas. I can easily get a nice house(not new!) for $50k in Ohio.
We did get a good price even in 2003. We got in in the beginning stages of a new development and chose a plan that was preliminary since the builder had not built it before. We went into it knowing there could be changes since this was the model plan and there were - but we got to talk with the architects and designers and agreed that almost all the changes were good. That's why we got such a good price - even for those days. Whether it's worth 450K today - I can't say - but that's still only about $144 a square foot and that doesn't include the pool, summer kitchen, etc. I can't imagine you could build a decent home too many places today for less than $100-125 a sqaure foot - even in the cheapest areas.
Anyway, my purpose for posting was so that people could have actual figures and compare apples to apples on utilities, taxes, insurance, etc. Florida is certainly not the deal it was before about 2001, but compared to alot of places, parts of Florida are still liveable.
We built a 3200 square foot, 6 bedroom, 4 bath home with a game room, formal living and dining rooms and family room/breakfast room/kitchen. We have upgraded appliances, 18x18 marble tile in all wet areas, family room/breakfast room and hallway. 6x8 upgraded full wall tile in all bath surrounds. Granite countertops, a spa bath, upgraded stair railings, Solid wood Maple Cabinets, and all rooms are wired for full house cable/computer/phone etc. with 1-2 jacks in every room, all bedrooms, family room and game room are wired for fans. It has a whole house security system, water filtration system and irrigation system. The home is built on a 1/3 acre lot - set back with a 60 foot long drive - surrounded by woods on two sides. It is built to the latest hurricane code. It cost us $241,000.
By the time we closed, similar homes were selling for close to 400K.
After we moved in we built a custom pool with brick paver deck, pebble tec finish and 10 foot Blue Ridge Stacked Stone grotto and Blue Ridge stone coping - also added a summer kitchen and lanai area and a brick walkway connecting the back pool deck to the driveway in front. The back yard is fully enclosed with a black aluminum fence. We contracted the pool ourselves and spent another 50K.
I didn't say you couldn't find anything lower priced in Ohio, I said you couldn't build THAT HOUSE in Ohio for THAT PRICE!!!! Pianogal got one heck of a deal!
But, even more important, her other expenses were not out of line with what we are currently paying in Ohio.
They locked in their price in 2003. This is almost 2007. Prices didn't go crazy until about 2-3 years ago. They did real good, got in just before everything went crazy. FWIW, I'd expect that house to sell for about $600,000 depending where about in east Orlando.
This forum is filled with folks asking about home ownership here in Florida. I know it is different depending upon your location, but the only way I know to help those interested is to describe to them a home and the costs involved. Looking at realtor's websites online doesn't always show the true picture as we all know. I'll go first...
We live in east Orlando. We contracted our home in 2003 and it was built in 2004. We visited the site daily to make sure it was built according to blueprints and all the work was well done. DH has a background in construction so that helped alot.
We built a 3200 square foot, 6 bedroom, 4 bath home with a game room, formal living and dining rooms and family room/breakfast room/kitchen. We have upgraded appliances, 18x18 marble tile in all wet areas, family room/breakfast room and hallway. 6x8 upgraded full wall tile in all bath surrounds. Granite countertops, a spa bath, upgraded stair railings, Solid wood Maple Cabinets, and all rooms are wired for full house cable/computer/phone etc. with 1-2 jacks in every room, all bedrooms, family room and game room are wired for fans. It has a whole house security system, water filtration system and irrigation system. The home is built on a 1/3 acre lot - set back with a 60 foot long drive - surrounded by woods on two sides. It is built to the latest hurricane code. It cost us $241,000.
By the time we closed, similar homes were selling for close to 400K.
After we moved in we built a custom pool with brick paver deck, pebble tec finish and 10 foot Blue Ridge Stacked Stone grotto and Blue Ridge stone coping - also added a summer kitchen and lanai area and a brick walkway connecting the back pool deck to the driveway in front. The back yard is fully enclosed with a black aluminum fence. We contracted the pool ourselves and spent another 50K.
According to what other homes in our subdivision are selling for - our home would now sell for about 450-475K.
Our 2006 taxes (which did include the pool) were based on a value of 274,000 and were $4600. We did qualify for homestead exemption and will qualify for Save Our Homes this year, that means taxes cannot go up more than 3% a year as long as we live there.
Our homeowners insurance went up this year - from $700.00 to $1600.00.
Our electric bill averages about $300 a month, but it is a large house - plus there are at least 3 computers that are on all the time, a total of 8 televisions - at least 3 are on most evenings, 2 refrigerators and a freezer.
Our water bill runs anywhere from $50 to $100 a month depending on how often we have to run the sprinklers and put water in the pool. During the rainy season it is low.
We also pay $14 a month for garbage pickup.
Right now, I can buy gas for 2.17 a gallon and the food here is cheaper than my mom can buy in her small town of South Carolina. Plus we have infinitely better quality produce here than there. However, that is the only comparison I can speak to - I don't know about other places.
I hope this will give others an idea of what they may expect here in the central florida area.
While I know this is expensive - I don't think it is unreasonable. Especially considering that we have no state income tax.
That was the price in 2003. But would you buy the same home today at 475k ? the market just went nuts.
WOW!!! You pay only $1600 to insure a home valued at $400K!!!!!!! Thats amazing because I pay $3600 to insure a house that is 2400 sq foot valued at $250K and on 3.1 acres my brother pays $5300 to insure a 900 sq foot home valued at $150K (no property) and my mom and dad pay $4200 to insure a 1800 sq foot home valued at $150K (no property) It just goes to show how corrupt these insurance companies are. ALL of our homes are NOT on the water, no flood, and are currently up to the highest codes!
Quote:
Originally Posted by pianogal
This forum is filled with folks asking about home ownership here in Florida. I know it is different depending upon your location, but the only way I know to help those interested is to describe to them a home and the costs involved. Looking at realtor's websites online doesn't always show the true picture as we all know. I'll go first...
We live in east Orlando. We contracted our home in 2003 and it was built in 2004. We visited the site daily to make sure it was built according to blueprints and all the work was well done. DH has a background in construction so that helped alot.
We built a 3200 square foot, 6 bedroom, 4 bath home with a game room, formal living and dining rooms and family room/breakfast room/kitchen. We have upgraded appliances, 18x18 marble tile in all wet areas, family room/breakfast room and hallway. 6x8 upgraded full wall tile in all bath surrounds. Granite countertops, a spa bath, upgraded stair railings, Solid wood Maple Cabinets, and all rooms are wired for full house cable/computer/phone etc. with 1-2 jacks in every room, all bedrooms, family room and game room are wired for fans. It has a whole house security system, water filtration system and irrigation system. The home is built on a 1/3 acre lot - set back with a 60 foot long drive - surrounded by woods on two sides. It is built to the latest hurricane code. It cost us $241,000.
By the time we closed, similar homes were selling for close to 400K.
After we moved in we built a custom pool with brick paver deck, pebble tec finish and 10 foot Blue Ridge Stacked Stone grotto and Blue Ridge stone coping - also added a summer kitchen and lanai area and a brick walkway connecting the back pool deck to the driveway in front. The back yard is fully enclosed with a black aluminum fence. We contracted the pool ourselves and spent another 50K.
According to what other homes in our subdivision are selling for - our home would now sell for about 450-475K.
Our 2006 taxes (which did include the pool) were based on a value of 274,000 and were $4600. We did qualify for homestead exemption and will qualify for Save Our Homes this year, that means taxes cannot go up more than 3% a year as long as we live there.
Our homeowners insurance went up this year - from $700.00 to $1600.00.
Our electric bill averages about $300 a month, but it is a large house - plus there are at least 3 computers that are on all the time, a total of 8 televisions - at least 3 are on most evenings, 2 refrigerators and a freezer.
Our water bill runs anywhere from $50 to $100 a month depending on how often we have to run the sprinklers and put water in the pool. During the rainy season it is low.
We also pay $14 a month for garbage pickup.
Right now, I can buy gas for 2.17 a gallon and the food here is cheaper than my mom can buy in her small town of South Carolina. Plus we have infinitely better quality produce here than there. However, that is the only comparison I can speak to - I don't know about other places.
I hope this will give others an idea of what they may expect here in the central florida area.
While I know this is expensive - I don't think it is unreasonable. Especially considering that we have no state income tax.
Right now, you can build a 2300 heated sq ft home with a true 24x24 2 car garage on over 1/2 acre for about $169K. Sure it is only 3 bed 2 & 1/2 bath, with a bonus room over the garge, but add a basement roughed with a 3rd bath and 2 or 3 more bedrooms and it can be purchased new for $189K in NE Ohio. This is with a block & pour footer system (It is not Hurricane proof, but it has no need to be). It is even cheaper to build a PolySteal home.
Here is an Example of homes within 1 hour of Cleveland & Youngstown OH and also Erie PA. Insurance ran us less than $650 a year and our Electric bill was never over $180 on our home (all electric). Taxes varied wildly from one town to another in that area as well.
Here is another example: Not New, but has over 25 acres and still less than 1 hour from Downtown Cleveland... realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?snum=143&mlsttl=&frm=byzip&mls=xml s&js=on&target=&ct=&st=&sbint=&sbls=&sblo=&stype=& zp=44041&zp=44004&zp=44057&zp=44086&zp=44010&zp=44 084&mnsqft=&fid=so&vtsort=&mnprice=0&mxprice=32500 0&mnbed=4&mnbath=0&typ=1&poe=realtor&x=15&y=11&sid =07A816653BFCC&pgnum=15&snumxlid=1058499709&lnksrc =00002
I know that you can build here and save tens of thousands of dollars by being your own contractor and excepting bids from sub contractors for work that you can not do. I am sure that it will become easier to hire sub-trades here in the near future as well.
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