[hiknapster]

Pianogal: I can always count on you to be honest!

[Margel]

The cost of living just about everywhere is harsh especially if you have kids to raise. Where it is cheaper to live, is also where good-paying jobs, or any job for that matter, exist. So there is definitely that trade-off. Where I live, we complain about the same things....high taxes, houses not worth what is being asked for them, crime, traffic..and just the need for money, money, money! I think that is why so many people move around so much in the last several years. When I was a kid, no one moved anywhere. In fact when kids grew up and married, they bought homes in the same area. Because we now look for that "better deal" we move and search, move and search. That is why I am glad I found this forum, whether bad or good, an honest opinion is always appreciated.

[pianogal]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Pianogal: I can always count on you to be honest!

Thanks....I just call 'em like I see 'em. Have a great evening and enjoy your beautiful mountains. I'm hungry to see them.

[Ladywithafan]

...do not rely on the Bradenton Herald for your information.

#2 The diverse position of "location, location, location"...this is what you will find here in FL when looking to buy property...it's all about the location.

There is waterfront & there is waterfront....i.e...creek, pond, canal (end, middle, beginning), which leads to bay, which is better canal than end...and then we get into bayfront, open bay, bay view, ocean view/ocean front etc.....

And, let me tell you, anything with water is not going down in price...on Anna Maria Island, here on the Gulf coast, because of recent articles in the NY Times as well as Parade magazine, they are drumming up so much interest...it's always been a hidden away secret. Well, the property is out of reach, whether you're on a street with no water or god forbid, on water....unfortunately, the island charm is going the way of Nathan's....just a name soon, because of the over-development of an island that can't even widen it's roads to accomodate more traffic....this is just one little sector of Florida living....for years people have just left their for sale signs up here...it's not that they want to sell...they're just "testing the market".....

And, that may be the case in more cities than this one....so don't let the FOR SALE SIGNS SCARE YOU!.....it's not what it seems to be.

[Audacious]

Originally Posted by Ladywithafan

...do not rely on the Bradenton Herald for your information.

#2 The diverse position of "location, location, location"...this is what you will find here in FL when looking to buy property...it's all about the location.

There is waterfront & there is waterfront....i.e...creek, pond, canal (end, middle, beginning), which leads to bay, which is better canal than end...and then we get into bayfront, open bay, bay view, ocean view/ocean front etc.....

And, let me tell you, anything with water is not going down in price...on Anna Maria Island, here on the Gulf coast, because of recent articles in the NY Times as well as Parade magazine, they are drumming up so much interest...it's always been a hidden away secret. Well, the property is out of reach, whether you're on a street with no water or god forbid, on water....unfortunately, the island charm is going the way of Nathan's....just a name soon, because of the over-development of an island that can't even widen it's roads to accomodate more traffic....this is just one little sector of Florida living....for years people have just left their for sale signs up here...it's not that they want to sell...they're just "testing the market".....

And, that may be the case in more cities than this one....so don't let the FOR SALE SIGNS SCARE YOU!.....it's not what it seems to be.

Nicely said. Anna Maria Island is gorgeous and the locals are fighting tooth and nail to save what they have. I hope they succeed. You are right on the money re what waterfront property really is and how expensive. Port Charlotte still has a few bargains but they are getting squeezed from the south by Ft Meyers and from the North by Sarasota, pretty soon those bargains will be history.

[lostbuyer]

"for years people have just left their for sale signs up here...it's not that they want to sell...they're just "testing the market".....

And, that may be the case in more cities than this one....so don't let the FOR SALE SIGNS SCARE YOU!.....it's not what it seems to be."
this statement doesnt make any sense at all,its like saying the for sale signs are for decorating and not to sell houses,"yes i was calling about the house for sale?oh its not for sale i just like the way the yard looks with the sign..I bet 99% of signs are for selling purposes,and maybe 1% for testing the market as you say....

[Audacious]

Originally Posted by lostbuyer

"for years people have just left their for sale signs up here...it's not that they want to sell...they're just "testing the market".....

And, that may be the case in more cities than this one....so don't let the FOR SALE SIGNS SCARE YOU!.....it's not what it seems to be."
this statement doesnt make any sense at all,its like saying the for sale signs are for decorating and not to sell houses,"yes i was calling about the house for sale?oh its not for sale i just like the way the yard looks with the sign..I bet 99% of signs are for selling purposes,and maybe 1% for testing the market as you say....

Gotta disagree on that one. In Port Charlotte where Charley converted all those waterfront houses in to waterfront lots, there for sale signs all over the place, myself included. Wierd how prices go up after a hurricane. Anyway today there are plenty of realtor for sale signs on those lots and houses but not even a third of them are still in the MLS. Me guess is the realtors are a little too depressed right now to bother with old signs.

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by Audacious

Gotta disagree on that one. In Port Charlotte where Charley converted all those waterfront houses in to waterfront lots, there for sale signs all over the place, myself included. Wierd how prices go up after a hurricane. Anyway today there are plenty of realtor for sale signs on those lots and houses but not even a third of them are still in the MLS. Me guess is the realtors are a little too depressed right now to bother with old signs.

Actually most Realtors will leave the sign up after the listing expires or sells until the owner asks them to take it down, just for the free advertising.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

Actually most Realtors will leave the sign up after the listing expires or sells until the owner asks them to take it down, just for the free advertising.

Alrighty then!

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by lostbuyer

"for years people have just left their for sale signs up here...it's not that they want to sell...they're just "testing the market".....

And, that may be the case in more cities than this one....so don't let the FOR SALE SIGNS SCARE YOU!.....it's not what it seems to be."
this statement doesnt make any sense at all,its like saying the for sale signs are for decorating and not to sell houses,"yes i was calling about the house for sale?oh its not for sale i just like the way the yard looks with the sign..I bet 99% of signs are for selling purposes,and maybe 1% for testing the market as you say....

This is how they do it on the islands on the gulf coast... I was in the business; I know. The signs were called "fishing"......however, taking the place on Anna Maria of the signs are the 2 for 1's...they are tearing down the beautiful old island shacks and replacing them with two homes squeezed onto one lot...with the bare minimum between the two....now that's development, isn't it? Island charm has been replaced with civilization...