comparable to bluewater bay (Niceville, Shalimar: condos, house, inspector)

[jeff9n]

Thank you everyone for the feedback. Due to the heat, I am guessing the AC must be on all day during July&Aug. I am curious to know the monthly electric bill during that period. Currently living in San Jose, CA, we never have to turn on the AC. Even though it is hot outside, it is very cool inside the house thank to the double-pane windows. BTW, anyone here used to live in CA and now living in the Panhandle area?

If I remember correctly, the last big hurricane in FL was Ivan in 2004. Did the resident at Destin and Niceville have to evacuate? More important, was the house flooded? I read that it has been many years since the last big hurricane in FL. Giving my luck, I am afraid of hitting it the moment I move there.

[osufeth24]

Yes, we evaucated for Ivan (only one we have evaucated for), no we were not flooded, nor did we have any major damage (just some roof shingles)

I do know some people in Niceville got major house flooding, but they lived on the bay

I will say we are due for a major hurricane (we get about 1 big one every ten years), but that shouldn't be a reason to stop you from moving down here

[slduvall]

Your AC bill will vary - vaulted ceilings, new construction vs old, updated windows and AC units, size of house, etc.

Also depends on what you think is tolerable. Friends in CA don't even have AC - while here they have to have it on, when the sweat beads on your arm while sitting in your house, you too will turn on the AC! Fans work, but nothing will relieve the humidity but AC. You also don't want to be in a house that hasn't had AC on all summer - it becomes gross, smelly moldy, etc. I'm pretty sure it isn't good for your things either.

On the bright side, you won't be running your heater as much in the winter..

[beachmouse]

Peak of summer, we'll average about 44 kWh per day for electric use- reasonably well-insulated home for its era (built in 1981) with energy-efficient windows from 2011, a SEER 15 heat pump that's about a year and a half old, water heater replaced in 2011 with nothing special, and a thermostat set to around 73-74F. 1700 SF one story with vaulted ceilings in the common areas and 9 foot ceilings in the bedrooms and baths.

So about $190-$200 a month at worst. Before we replaced windows and heat pump, it would max out at around $240 for January and August.

And the first $50 is pretty much all fees associated with being a CHELCO customer and 'wholesale power adjustment'. I think the lowest we get is about $125 a month in spring and fall when the heat pump never really kicks in for anything.

[jeff9n]

Beachmouse, thank you very much for the AC details. Would you say most homes for sale in the region have the new copper pipe or old one? I looked into many listings. If I remember correctly, only one listing states that new copper pipe was installed. Seem like most homes need remodeling (no stainless steel appliances, clam shape vanity in the bathroom, etc)

Osufeth24, do you live in Destin?

One thing I read about FL is the bug issues due to its tropical weather. My family might freak out at the flying big cockroaches. OK maybe I am talking about myself. LOL! Are they around a lot in the Panhandle region?

[osufeth24]

no, I live in Bluewater


and yes, there are a ton of Palmetto Bugs in this area (aka, big freaking flying cockroaches on steriods)

but those aren't the ones you don't have to worry about, as they just come from the outside and die pretty quickly inside, if you see the small roaches, that's when you have a problem

[beachmouse]

Our house was a mix of copper and poly pipe when we bought it in 2001. Inspector said that the connectors were in good condition, which is where the leaks generally happen, and we had no issues with it until we we replaced the poly with PEX during a bigger 2011 remodel.

As for remodeling, Bluewater has commonly been popular with military families, who will generally be good about regular maintenance, but don't want to put a ton of money into remodeling a home they're only going to be living in for 3-4 years before they PCS. And the market in the area is such that people are willing to put up with the clamshell vanities (looks in the direction of my own bathrooms) if they can find something with a decent roof and 21st century mechanicals for less than about $275K. That which is remodeled to modern House Hunters standards and is listed under $300K often doesn't command a huge price premium, but will also often get snapped up pretty quick by someone who has been waiting for that kind of home to come onto the market.

As for the bugs, yeah, they're there, but between a quarterly spraying from Terminix and landscaping that encourages a happy local small lizard population, only a few of the roaches make it into the house to die.

We are also having an explosion of the local tree frog population this year, which is generally cute until one of them who had been hanging out on the inside of your storm door decides to drop onto your face.

[jeff9n]

Beachmouse, thank you again for the information. So glad I found this forum because I have learned so much. BTW, I have some more questions if you don't mind answering. Since this would be a major move from the West Coast, I can't afford to make a costly mistake.

1) Do most houses there have popcorn ceiling?

2) Has there been any issue with the drywall? I recall reading about defective products imported from China that affected many Florida homes.

3) Is flood insurance mandatory? In CA, we have the earthquake insurance. But it is not mandatory. Thus the majority of homeowners don't purchase it.

I am actually very interested in several houses in Destin at the Indian Woods subdivision. It is a bit close to the airport. I wonder if noise level might be a factor. Do you know if this particular location might be flooded in a major hurricane? It is pretty close to the Choctawhatchee Bay.

BTW, I have been tracking home prices in recent weeks. There have been some drops up to $10K near the end of Sept. I wonder if the sellers are asking too much or the demands are dwindling due to the off peak season or possibly other factor I don't know about. In CA, it has been a seller market with crazy bidding and all cash buyers.

[beachmouse]

Popcorn ceiling- fairly common. If you do intend to remove it, note that it may be covering up some not terribly well mudded drywall seams.

There are zoomable flood maps here:

Northwest Florida Water Management

Anything in Flood Zone X is effectively not a flood zone. When we bought our house, we had to provide something like a 'flood zone certificate' to our lender. No government entity will make you buy flood insurance (and there are a few areas around Port St. Joe/Cape San Blas where the coastline changes so much that the Feds refuse to write federal flood insurance policies there) but if you need to take out a mortgage, the lender will require it in a non-Zone X situation to protect their own interests.

If you want to reduce homewoners insurance costs, there are assorted 'windstorm mitigation credits' that your home inspector can check for at time of inspection. And regardless you'll probably pay less in homeowner's insurance if you have a hipped roof instead of one that has any gables.

The Chinese drywall problem was somewhere around 2005-07, and there weren't many new construction homes being built south of I-10 at that point, though it may have been used in the odd remodel. But I think at this point if it was going to be a problem in a specific home, it would have happened already. There was also a problem with synthetic stucco with some homes built during, I think in the 90s. I remember that line from disclosure paperwork, but since our house doesn't have it, I was kind of 'blah, blah, blah, Ginger' about that bit.

[slduvall]

I just sold my mothers house in Shalimar (circa mid 80s) and it had the poly pipes. You can't sell a house now without remediation on the pipes ($4700K for 2 bathrooms, kitchen, water heater area) so do beware. Another issue in the older homes in this area is the aluminum wiring. Both looked for during a good home inspection. It could be difficult to insure with either.

The destin airport is mostly small private planes, leers etc. The bigger issue in this area is the F-35's roaring overhead