New to Orlando~ (Oviedo, Winter Park, Conway: for sale, real estate, apartment complex)

[pinkhelen]

Hi all,


As stated in the title, we are a family of 3 with a 6 yrs old girl plan to move to Orlando, though still waiting the final offer from the company. We are currently living in Montreal, CA. The new company is willing to pay 86k as the salary for my husband to move to Orlando. If we move there I may not find a job in a short term. Therefore, my questions are:

1. If 86k before tax will be sufficient for a family of 3 to live comfortably in Orlando? We need to have locate in a good neighborhood, like a good elementary school. I was thinking of Villages at Baldwin Park. The rent is roughly 1700 per month for a 2 bedrooms. We seldom eat outside. The company also pays a good insurance. I assume to spend

rent:1700
food:1000
utility:300
others:700

86k after tax will be 5800 per month, then still have got 2000 saving each month. Please correct me if i calculate wrong.

2. Any other good recommendations for me to find the appartment? My husband's office is near the airport, but he can drive, so the main incentive for the apt is with a good elementary school.


Thanks a lot!!!

[Crane's Rooster]

Yes you should be just fine on that budget. As far as places, Baldwin Park is fine, the elementary school there is good. You can also consider renting a single family home in that price range, it would also give you access to good schools. Other areas I would recommend for good elementary schools and reasonable commute for your husband would be Lake Como area, Delaney Park/Lake Cherokee, College Park (Princeton Elementary), Lake Nona and Dr. Phillips areas.

[pinkhelen]

Thanks Crane's rooster.

Which website do you recommend for looking the apts or single house? I actually prefer the single house, as my girl is big.

[Crane's Rooster]

Both Trulia and Zillow are good.

For local agency try Olde Towne Realty, Wilson Management Group, Urbanista, Downtown Orlando Remax.

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by Crane's Rooster

Both Trulia and Zillow are good.

For local agency try Olde Towne Realty, Wilson Management Group, Urbanista, Downtown Orlando Remax.

Realtor.com is the only site that offers accurate listings via the varying Multiple Listings Services in terms of price and active listings. The site is updated every 15 minutes.

http://www.realtor.com/

[annerk]

I would be looking at Lake None. Good schools, close to the airport, safe (moreso than Baldwin park in my opinion), and a lot of younger families such as yourselves.

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by annerk

I would be looking at Lake None. Good schools, close to the airport, safe (moreso than Baldwin park in my opinion), and a lot of younger families such as yourselves.

Lake Nona is still "up and coming" IMO. I'd personally go with Dr Phillips. It's 20 mins or less typically in the morning, maybe 25 on the way home with traffic.

[cdmco]

Hi pinkhelen,
All of the areas mentioned would be suitable (Baldwin Park, Lake Nona, Dr. Phillips) and I would suggest Oviedo as well. Top rated schools and since it is further from downtown, the prices are a little lower, yet it would still be an easy commute. Good luck!

[Pete C]

Craigslist is also a great resource for finding a rental home. Many people do not rent through realtors. I know a few landlords that only use Craigslist.

[totsuka]

BP is a great choice and not a long drive for your husband. Real estate has recovered in Orlando and especially BP so it's a bit expensive there now. But you can walk to school and Publix in BP and it's a good launching point to find a home to rent. I would not rent in Conway which is closer to the airport. I looked at Zillow and don't see anything cheaper to rent in BP and nearby. I live in BP for four years and and enjoy it. I'm not so keen on FL but stuck here for a few more years. Look at Maitland area and there are some older but really nice homes back in there. You really have to do your homework on schools.

Your spending budget looks good. We shop at Publix for fresh food/meats and Walmart for the dry stuff. Walmart just built one of their neighborhood stores right outside of BP. We don't eat a lot of meat so our spending is about 600 per month. Publix is the nicer of the two, very good staff, no waiting, a bit more expensive compared to WM but they have a lot of specials, 2 for 1 stuff too. The larger Walmart is about 7 miles from BP. Target is about 2 miles, same with movie theater. There is a big mall there too. There is a Whole Foods about 3 miles away so if you want to pay a lot for very little and see a bunch of people that look like they have not eaten in a few months you can go there.

"Downtown" BP is not really much. The rents are really high so the shops have come and gone. I do like 5 guys burgers and the coffee shop too. There is a CVS and bank that you can join. I wish we had a really good deep dish pizza place.

There are large green spaces in BP, 3 pools, 1 heated (but not yet, maybe they turn on the heat in a month, but very close to your apartment). BP is really a great location. Everything that we need to do is within 5 or 6 miles of our house. There is a very nice green space about ten minute walk from your apartment. There are nice bike/sidewalks to walk down by the lake too. BP is a very nice area to walk around. The homes are rather nice and people are very friendly. Your apartment complex was finished about six months ago so is very nice too. A good location.

There are some townhouses for sale in BP. David Weekly is finishing up the last set. Really expensive and not worth the money. There are some older ones for sale so just act like you are interested and go look at them. It will give you an idea of prices etc...for town homes at least. The homes in BP are pretty darn expensive now.

Utilities - electric can get expensive if you don't watch it. Now it's cooler so not much need for ac but the heat is usually a heat pump and there is a heat strip in the a/c system to provide heat. When you use it, it's expensive. We bought a space heater, pretty high tech and safe and that worked out very well to lower the electric bill.

We dumped the cable tv except for internet 3 years ago and don't miss it a bit. We have Netflix and regular over the air tv. Cable was just getting to expensive.

Library - About a 10 minute drive right outside of BP. That is the Orange County Library. They offer free delivery to your house, but you have to take them back. You can order the books on their webpage and they are usually delivered by a very nice gentleman within a few days. If the book is checked out you will have to wait a bit longer. You can ask them to buy a book and they have bought about 10 out of 20 of my requests. So can't beat that. Also, you can join the Winter Park Library which is about 5 miles away. They won't let you reserve books since you are Orlando vice Winter Park resident but you can check out plenty of books. Their library is nicer and they have story time for kids too. We do have a great library system in Orlando.

Gas - WaWa is right outside BP on both sides, clean, cheapest gas in town and the best customer service. 3.15 per gal today.

Well...welcome to Orlando Fl and don't forget to visit Dinosaur World (60 miles away), but it is a nice attraction.