Moving to Niceville (Destin, Eglin AFB, Shalimar: real estate, insurance, buying a home)

[GatorGirl5]

We are moving to Niceville, FL this summer and are looking at some new build, single family homes in the Walton Oaks subdivision. It appears to be west of 85. Is that in a good area of town? Are there any areas that you recommend staying away of? Thanks so much for your input! It's so hard looking from afar!

[beachmouse]

It's a part of town people tend to forget is there. I'd call it generally safe, and it's good to have both Turkey Creek Park and Edge Elementary school in easy walking distance. Nothing wrong with the neighborhood other than you want to make sure the property is well soundproofed because you're kind of underneath the approach for Eglin AFB's north-south runway, but unless you're waterfront, there's a tendency to call the area along Palm Blvd. and parts eastward the nice parts of town.

[GatorGirl5]

So good to hear! Thank you so much for responding Beachmouse. Your posts are so helpful, but I was worried they'd be too dated. The new-ish Arrowhead Subdivision looks promising too! We're excited to relocate and be back in the great state of FL

[beachmouse]

I remember them building Arrowhead and took it as a sign that the housing market was recovering because they didn't seem to be having a problem selling homes that backed up to the busy and noisy FL 85. (IMO, Walton Oaks would be a much better location, especially if your yard backs up to Turkey Creek Park) Sub-$250K and less than three years old is hard around here though, and apparently there is a decent amount of pent-up demand.

[SunnyD1250]

Beachmouse,

We are looking at Niceville to retire but are fearful of the hurricanes, insurance, sinkholes and I guess pretty much fearful of losing everything if... We have looked on line and see that there are outstanding reviews for the area. Of course, we have no idea where to look for real estate (i.e. where to buy to have the least damage from storms). We have seen you post helping others. Any chance you could give us some pointers? Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

[beachmouse]

This isn't a sinkhole area, which I tend to think of as a more central Florida problem. Insurance is always going to be an issue in Florida, but you can mitigate that a fair amount by buying a home built to the 2001 code or newer, and located in Flood Zone X (ie up the hill and not in a flood-prone area)

The northern Gulf Coast is quite prone to tropical cyclones. 95% of the time, it's just a bunch of rain, but there is generally a serious one about once a decade. Again, newer construction codes in that regard, as do older homes that have been retrofitted. Another important and underrated thing is to understand what kind of trees are in your yard, and keeping them trimmed properly. The trunk of a live oak tree is exceptionally sturdy, but you can get dead branches on them that will become projectiles in high enough winds.

We've been down here since 1998, and our hurricane damage has been a couple hundred dollars of having a tree taken off our garage roof after Hurricane Ivan. (since it was leaning before it went down, it didn't have far to go when it hit the house, and the only damage we could find was a slight dent in the ridge vent- no need for blue tarp at all) during the same time, my inlaws in Michigan had $15K in flood damage to their finished basement when the remnants of a Hurricane thar had hit Texas stalled out over the Great Lakes.

[slduvall]

I agree with Beachmouse, the infrastructure of the ground here is different than south/central Florida which is more prone to sinkholes. Not as much limestone. Niceville itself is rather hilly as well compared to other parts of the immediate area, so it easier to see the natural flow of water and see which areas are more likely to flood. I grew up here - moved here in 1966 and left in 1990 - and just retired to Niceville, after researching the whole country. As beachmouse said, the hurricanes can give us rain or a tornado or two, but so can any storm. We are slightly buffered by the bay, so the areas along the gulf get the most damage (in the past). New construction has come along way in terms of hurricane protection.

Before we decided where to live, we looked at neighborhoods during rainstorms (last springs rain caused alot of flooding in the area, and a home I own in Shalimar had $40K in damage - not covered by insurance since nobody in Shalimar has flood insurance if they aren't on the water!) so I was very concerned about flooding. Of course they called that the 200 year flood or something! All the newer neighborhoods are required to have retention ponds, as ugly as they are, they serve a purpose, and homes are being built to allow for flow of water. So if flooding is a concern new or newer construction might be what you are looking for. In the north it is always recommended to look at houses during a snow storm, so you can see if the snow melts too fast (poor insulation) here I highly recommend shopping during or right after a major rain. Lots of standing water in a yard isn't good.

But really your biggest problem here is the humidity!!

[drfranklin]

Originally Posted by slduvall

...But really your biggest problem here is the humidity!!

I love the FL Panhandle - but the humidity in July and August is oppressive - several years ago, I vacationed near Destin in late July - I was sweating at dawn - never again - I go only in October - amazing weather in the fall (water is still warm to swim, no humidity)

[SunnyD1250]

Thank you Beachmouse, Slduval and Drfranklin for your comments. I really appreciate the information!