I accepted a job offer in Alva... help on places to live! (Cape Coral: real estate)

[*Sunnie*]

Hi,

I just accepted a job offer in Alva and will be relocating in October with my boyfriend and our dog (we're both almost 30 yrs old, no kids). We're from PA, live on 2 acres of open land with a lot of big trees along the perimeter, and no neighbors. We don't do well in crowded areas and the suburban life doesn't sound very enticing.

I've been looking online for single family homes to rent in Alva (not purchasing until we're comfortable and familiar enough with all the neighborhoods), but haven't had much luck. Lehigh Acres has plenty, but many of the comments I've read on here say there are sketchy areas of that 'neighborhood.' Is there a block/blocks we should avoid if we schedule appointments with a realtor for homes there?

I also saw a few homes in Buckingham, which seems to be similar to Alva in the 'rural' type of setting. Comments?

Also, are there areas I'm missing? I'm confused on what North Fort Myers is vs Fort Myers vs Fort Myers Shores. Differences? What should we avoid?

There's so many conflicting comments on this forum that it's making me have a hard time figuring our where to look for houses and what to avoid.

Any help is very much appreciated. This is a very new and exciting time in our lives - I just don't want to pick an area that we'll end up hating and ruin this new chapter for us.

Thanks so much,
*Sunnie*

[MikeP]

Sounds like Alva would be perfect for you. It's a nice (very) little rural town. I worked there years ago and thought it would be a nice place to live. I'm not an expert on the other areas, but from what I know and hear Buckingham is mostly nice, North Fort Myers along 78 (bayshore rd)east of I75, 31 and N River RD is rural and has nice areas, plus it's close to Alva. Fort Myers Shores could be nice but I'd personally avoid it and Lehigh Acres. There are nice places in Lehigh, but a lot of it isn't and it's hard to find anyone with a good thing to say about Lehigh.

[hsmomof2]

How much are you looking to spend on rent- that will make a difference as to where and what areas. We are renting in a nice developement in the shores area, not far from alva and there are several homes on our street that will be getting ready to rent soon- not sure what they are asking though, but most are 2-3 brm homes on the water which is fun when you first move down here. Safe to walk at night, most are dog friendly rentals.

We moved from NJ in Nov but I'm originally from PA- it's great but be prepared for double/triple car insurance rates.

[TamRE]

Here is a rental agency that I would recommend you contact. You can go to their web site and check their current listings in the Ft Myers area. If you give them your criteria and price range they can look for something to meet your needs.

Douglas Realty
Property Management, Douglas Realty Property Management, Residential Properties, Residential Properties, Rentals Cape Coral, Rentals Ft Myers, Rental Properties Cape Coral

[hiknapster]

Originally Posted by TamRE

Here is a rental agency that I would recommend you contact. You can go to their web site and check their current listings in the Ft Myers area. If you give them your criteria and price range they can look for something to meet your needs.

Douglas Realty
Property Management, Douglas Realty Property Management, Residential Properties, Residential Properties, Rentals Cape Coral, Rentals Ft Myers, Rental Properties Cape Coral

Looking at their list of rentals, there is not much available and what they have I would not rent.

[*Sunnie*]

Thanks so much for the feedback! We're in upper Bucks County, living amongst farms and the boonies. It's geat - but time for a change (and this whole Florida thing is a BIG change).

Our price range is up to $950, preferrably more in the $800's. What's the electric bill situation like? Right now we're spending $50-60 a month, and we're on well water here so we don't have a water bill. What kind of cost is that?

Car insurance going up sounds a bit crappy - I'm using Geico with full tort and spend $100+/mo, which is more than what most people I know spend up here. Similar to this part of Fl or no?

I checked out the areas to the North of the river, which looks spacious and sparse (bonus!) - however, there are no homes to rent (in my price range) listed on any websites I go to for that particular area. Kind-of a bummer :-(

Living on/near the water would also be perfect - my bf and I spent a couple years living right on the Delaware River and loved it!! I've been keeping my eye on the "water" houses I find but again, I'm confused on whether it's a good area or not.

That Douglas Realty website also has very few homes listed and apparently this computer needs a new GoogleMap API key, so the listings don't fully load. However, I can just type in the address and use the GoogleMap street view - I must say, that tool has been very helpful in seeing what houses look like and how close the neighbors are! :-D

Question - do people sleep with their windows open during the "peak season" or is that a dangerous thing? I have a feeling we'll be on tight lockdown once we move to Florida... so many people talk about crime (which is everywhere), it's almost like they're scaring people so they don't come down there. What's up with that?

[MikeP]

In some cases that's exactly what they're doing. We leave our windows and sliders open all winter. I live in a rural area too, to far away from Alva for you though. Of course there are some places where I wouldn't do that, but only you will be able to determine if you're comfortable doing that in your area once you've settled in for a while.
Have you tried craigslist for rentals? Good luck

[*Sunnie*]

Thanks MikeP... I have tried Craigslist. There's repeat listings on a Duplex (no thanks). The more I research Fort Myers Shores, the more I like it. Alva has no listings unless I want to live in Riverhall (but most of these listings are 55+ ??). What about the area's on the water just south of 75... kinda near the intersection of 80 and 75. The listing calls it safe and quiet. How far a drive is this area from Alva?

[hsmomof2]

Easton/Phillipsburg area. but we would take the kids to Hacock camp for homeschool days- that was fun. I also lived in Montco for a couple years, so welcome. It is a big change down here. We keep our windows open as much as possible. I hate the AC- it will really depend on where you move to- Ft myers shores can be a bit rough in spots becareful, we are in river forest and it's pretty safe there- you can walk the dogs anytime of the night and you feel safe. I can check around to see if there is anything in your price range- most everyone wants top dollar for a small home, but then again you are on the water. We have town water- that's $65/month family of 4, electric is without AC $50-70/month and $180-255 w/ ac going. I would pick a random address down here and do some online quotes for insurance to give you an idea of cost- progressive and I think Geico will give you quotes w/out harassing you. I know someone in the area a bit east of here- he might know of some rentals - he's in the real estate biz and his family started a developement here years ago so he's really familar with what is available.

The only thing about the east of ft myers is it can get quite rednecky...big trucks, swamp buggies, not sure how that works for you- but if you are going to be in Alva you will have to get use to that.

I will ask around the developement about rentals, but I know everyone pretty much charges $1200+ for a 3bdrm...you might get lucky though- but it's SAFE that makes a huge difference- just outside the developement it can be rough.