Milton/Pace Area - Why so cheap? (Pensacola, Titusville: insurance, crime)

[JuneyWC]

I have been watching the housing market in the Milton/Pace area for the past couple months and can't get over how inexpensive these houses are. Plus half of them are empty.

Why is this?
Pensacola also has a lot of beautiful houses at great prices but I'm not excited about the crime rate.

We will be visiting the area in June (Yes, we understand it is hot & muggy) and look forward to exploring the area.

I would like to find a local realtor that knows the area and market very well. Any suggestions?

Any feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[foxysmom336]

Milton/Pace is more of a drive to any where. It's more of a "country" feel as far as the people and amount of open land. I lived in Milton a few years ago and while I liked the fact properties had more land and it didn't feel as congested as Pensacola, it seemed like the population is less educated and there are a lot of meth users around thus resulting in strange occurrences. Example, I lived there for 3 months and in that very short amount of time, we had a neighbor hit his wife in her head with an axe, a man who killed 5 women (all over the news) roaming in our backyard at night and our kids school shut down while this same man was on school property. To top it all off, we found out the man who lived in our home prior to us had shot and killed himself. We moved within a week of finding this out.
Pace looks decent to me, I don't really know about the people. I do not like all the chemicals blowing across the water from the Pensacola side. It fills the sky over Pace! Thats what stopped me from moving there.
Ferry Pass and Cantonement are better suggestions in my honest opinion. If you like a lot more property for your dollar, Cantonement is the better bet.

[Chumaniwolf]

Milton/Pace is not too far away from Pensacola (about 30 mins) and an hour from Ft Walton Beach. I was active duty Air Force for 20 yrs and chose to retire here due to the awesome area. I live in Milton but work in Ft Walton Beach. I intentionally bought my home so far away due to the cost of living and the area amenities. While I agree with some of the comments from Foxy, I must say that those comments can also be said for most areas nowadays. I have been living in Milton for 5 yrs now and while I don't like my one neighbor, all of my neighborhood is amazing. They are nice and quiet and friendly. All in all, Milton/Pace is a good place to live.

If you are still looking for a realtor, my other next door neighbor is one. Her name is Rachel Locklear.

[PDitto]

Originally Posted by Chumaniwolf

Milton/Pace is not too far away from Pensacola (about 30 mins) and an hour from Ft Walton Beach. I was active duty Air Force for 20 yrs and chose to retire here due to the awesome area. I live in Milton but work in Ft Walton Beach. I intentionally bought my home so far away due to the cost of living and the area amenities. While I agree with some of the comments from Foxy, I must say that those comments can also be said for most areas nowadays. I have been living in Milton for 5 yrs now and while I don't like my one neighbor, all of my neighborhood is amazing. They are nice and quiet and friendly. All in all, Milton/Pace is a good place to live.

If you are still looking for a realtor, my other next door neighbor is one. Her name is Rachel Locklear.

I've been going back and forth between Crestview and Milton to settle down.
How are your homeowner insurance rates?
I get drawn to Milton due to more amenities and seems the hospital/medical systems has better ratings.

Thanks so much in advance.

[jghorton]

In the first place, the Panhandle of Florida is not really "Florida" at all, but, rather, lower Alabama (in terms of weather, access to cultural amenities, main road tourist traffic, etc.). However, some Panhandle cities are at least near the beach and look like Florida.

Not so with Milton and Pace, both of which are nice, but, sort of 'back woodsy' communities with very limited access to the weather, beach and "Florida" life that attract most folks moving to Florida. The fact that both are "warmer than Wisconsin" will soon lose its novelty.

Having lived 35+-years in Central Florida and 10-years in the Panhandle, I would suggest you look further South where there are still many small towns and lower RE prices.

[PRenee]

Milton and Pace aren’t bad areas at all but woodsy country compared to other Florida towns. We did NOT like Crestview at all -traffic killed Us. We saw more drug users when we lived in TN. Honestly drugs are everywhere now. Go out and look at the area you are moving to.
We found we liked Milton over Pace because Pace is very congested and homes on top of each other. It feels and looks like Florida to me not an AL feel at all. You are coming from a pricey area so expect homes to be cheaper. We searched for almost a year before finding a home. Homes in the last few months sold as soon as they hit the market. Our house we finally got was on the market for less than 5 hours. I have found people moving here are making offers sight unseen so many go quickly. We made offers on 5 other homes we lost out to. I rather this side of FL rather than Central or South but that’s just a personal preference. My suggestion is to get a realtor - we didn’t have one and it caused a headache. Finally got one and he was a life savor!

[sasie123]

Originally Posted by jghorton

In the first place, the Panhandle of Florida is not really "Florida" at all, but, rather, lower Alabama (in terms of weather, access to cultural amenities, main road tourist traffic, etc.). However, some Panhandle cities are at least near the beach and look like Florida.

Not so with Milton and Pace, both of which are nice, but, sort of 'back woodsy' communities with very limited access to the weather, beach and "Florida" life that attract most folks moving to Florida. The fact that both are "warmer than Wisconsin" will soon lose its novelty.

Having lived 35+-years in Central Florida and 10-years in the Panhandle, I would suggest you look further South where there are still many small towns and lower RE prices.

When you state "further south," do you have any specific towns in mind? Thank you,

[jghorton]

Once you get below Gainsville in the Central Florida area there are a wide range of towns with affordable housing ... and also a warmer winter climate. For example: https://www.point2homes.com/US/Cheap...l-Florida.html

Even ON the East Coast, there are a range of towns offering affordable housing (Satellite Beach, Indialantic, Indian Harbor, Titusville, Port St. John, etc.