relocating to Cape Coral (Orlando, West Palm Beach: appointed, for sale, real estate)

[needachange]

My family may be relocating to near Fort Myers (husband may have a job offer in Fort Myers). We talked to a real estate broker that said Cape Coral would be the place for us. I've researched the net, but would like opinions.

We are in MA and would like to compare prices i.e. housing, taxes, insurance. Has the automobile as well as the house insurance gone up a lot?
We are looking to spend max $275,000 for a 4 bedroom house.

Our children will be in middle school and one a freshman in high school. How are the schools? We were thinking about charter school.

Thanks for all your help.

[cjgsav]

Originally Posted by needachange

My family may be relocating to near Fort Myers (husband may have a job offer in Fort Myers). We talked to a real estate broker that said Cape Coral would be the place for us. I've researched the net, but would like opinions.

We are in MA and would like to compare prices i.e. housing, taxes, insurance. Has the automobile as well as the house insurance gone up a lot?
We are looking to spend max $275,000 for a 4 bedroom house.

Our children will be in middle school and one a freshman in high school. How are the schools? We were thinking about charter school.

Thanks for all your help.

I've lived in the area for the last four years. Live in Naples, work in Cape Coral. After spending fifteen years in the West Palm beach area prior to relocating to the west coast, I find the SW Florida area a train wreck.

The growth in the region has exploded so fast, it is putting a strain on the infrastructure, meaning roads, utilities, schools, ect. Now they are trying to play catchup and it's driving the cost of living through the roof.

Things to watch for:

Cape Coral Utility Expansion: The city of Cape Coral is fast tracking the expansion of the city utility system, water, sewer, and irrigation. They are doing it in one year increments. All areas south of Pine Island Road, except three, now have utilities.

If you buy a home in an area that does not yet have utilities, be prepared for a $20,000+ assesment fee in the future. All homes north of Pine Island Road will be subject to the utility expansion within the next eight years.

Property Taxes and Homeowners Insurance: There is a very good chance the type of home you are looking for will come with at least a $4,000 a year property tax. Coming from the NE, that may not bother you. The real problem to me is Homeowners Insurance. The supply of insurers keeps dwindling in Florida causing rates to skyrocket. I've gone from $850 a year to almost $2,000 in four years. Allstate has informed me there is another 40% increase coming this year. State Farm is trying to get a 75% increase!

Age Of Home: Try to avoid homes built prior to 92/93, pre-Hurricane Andrew. Newer homes are built under stronger codes. You want to avoid frame construction. They are difficult to get insured.

Hurricanes: Parts of Cape Coral had it's first evacuation last year. It's a reality down here and is predicted to be for a long while. You need to be prepared that may happen and decide if you can live with that and do you have a place to go. It is a stressful event, especially if you have pets.

Employment: Good paying professional jobs are difficult to come by in the Cape Coral/Fort Myers metro area. While many national articles rave about the low unemployment and local economy, be aware, it is mostly driven by the construction, service, and medical industries. Someone with a BS in Business looking for a fortune 500 type of company will be disappointed. Affordable housing is becoming a major issue in the area. The civil service sector is struggling to find affordable housing in the area causing many to live in undesriable areas further away.

Schools: Sorry I can't be much help here as I do not have children. I work with many who do and most are from other parts of the country as well. Some say the schools are ok while others don't care for them. As a whole, Florida ranks in the bottom third when it comes to education. There are some decent schools, you'll just need to do you homework.


No offense to anyone who enjoys the area, but after growing up in the NE and living in both West Palm Beach and Orlando for half my life, I find Cape Coral to be completely unappealing. Some parts of the south Cape are nice, but the north, where the the more affordable homes are, is completely cookie-cutter and lacks any character.

If you are a boater and can afford the cost of living on a river or ocean access canal, it's probably a great place. Even though Cape Coral is surrounded by water, there are hardly any commercial districts in the area. Most of the coastline is populated by homes. Other than crossing the two bridges, you sometimes forget you are surrounded by water, except when your homeowners policy arrives.

Hope that helps...

[bamboosmom]

Hi, well Cape Coral is getting expensive. As you have read above. You may want to consider Charlotte County. This area is inbetween Sarasota and Ft. Myers. It takes about 30 to 40 min. depending on where you will be working in Ft. Myers. The taxes are lower here and you can get much more for your dollar!

[needachange]

Thank you for your help...I guess we will look further up the coast. How about Punta Gorda?

[bamboosmom]

Punta Gorda has alot of affordable developments. Deep Creek is very nice and well maintained with nice pieces of property with great homes. The area is growing nicely with alot of young families. Taxes are well below Ft. Myers and Cape Coral as well as the home prices.

[jackie8689]

I am moving to Cape Coral as well, for now. It's posts like Bamboosmom that is so helpful because I don't know the whole area and appreciate knowing where else to look when I finally buy! Thanks!!

[bamboosmom]

Just heard that the Ft. Myers and Cape area are listed as homes going up higher and higher for sale. You have to be lucky to get into a nice community there for under $350,000.
Check out the area between Sarasota and Ft. Myers. Try Pt. Charlotte, but stay away from the neighborhoods that don't have the deed restrictions.
There people will leave 4 or more cars out on the lawn. Same goes for Cape Coral and Ft. Myers.
So sorry to burst anybody's bubble about waiting for the prices to go down in these areas, but you can check it out. Go to Winktv.com and click and look for tonight's report on home prices still rising down here.

[Milabs]

I suggest before you decided on living in Lee County you visit there for a full two weeks and really get a taste of what it's like to live there.

You will not find a house in Cape Coral for under $250K....and if you do you won't want to live in it..trust me..lived in the Cape for 24 yrs before the CRIME, the noise..the traffic and the insane ppl forced us out. The Cape is growing so fast that the city itself can't keep up...ppl are living on dried up wells..that they have to payfor out of their own pockets...and yet the city is still issuing buidling permits for more homes with more wells and more septics.

If you havent' already I suggest you read the Fort Myers News Press online...that will give a taste of life there..from crimes to home prices to jobs.

A teacher can't really afford to live in Lee County nowadays..they are looking to build affordable housing for new teachers because they can't afford to pay them a wage that will permit them to buy a house.


Bamboosmom:::Cape Coral has more ordinances than you can shake a stick at...you will never ever find a house with 4 junk cars parked in the yard..you will never ever see a garage door left open over night...you will never ever see empty trash cans at the street for any length of time..you never ever see lawns over a certain height...you will never ever see alot of other things happening in Cape Coral because you wil be fined for all of the above and then some. The Cape is one big deed restriction. North Fort Myers is a different story and so is parts of Fort Myers.

Whatever house you look at buying ask about mold. Ask about hurricane damage..by law they are supposed to disclose this info to you and the last thing you need is a sick house.

[bamboosmom]

Wow, maybe that is why I heard someone say that they call it Cape Communist...this is not a joke.

[cjgsav]

Originally Posted by bamboosmom

Wow, maybe that is why I heard someone say that they call it Cape Communist...this is not a joke.

Cape Coral may be one of the worst places to live in all of Florida.