Port Saint Lucie, FL Stay or Go?

[jodyj1622]

Hi Ling,
Thanks for the confirmation on my figures. I hope your figures for taxes and insurance are closer to the truth than mine are. I am assuming with home values going down, the taxes will follow but I am not going to count on it. Once the local government gets used to a certain budget, they are very reluctant to reduce their intake. They may readjust the taxable value of a house, but will more than likely raise something else like the millage rate to make up the "shortfall". It does seem to me that they need to do something because people are being taxed right out of their home. This is not unique to Florida. I appreciate you enlisting the help of TriMT7 to guide me with any info on non HOA neighborhoods. I have a ton of questions about Port St. Lucie that can only be answered by someone who lives there or by coming down and renting to see for myself. So anyone who is willing to give me an honest opinion of the area, I welcome your imput. When I visited that area a few years ago, it seemed like it was more of a strip mall than an actual town. Does Port St. Lucie have a downtown area?
Thanks again Ling for all your help, Jody

[TriMT7]

JodyJ, Port St. Lucie is HUGE, landwise. It really could be broken up into 4 or 5 different towns.

That being said, there is not an official downtown yet. However, they are in the process of building a downtown area off US-1 and Walton Road. There is actually a planned "new urbanist" community right near it called East Lake Village that will have it's own little downtown area as well that you might look into. It has convenience to the Treasure Coast Mall, the river, Savannas preserve, and beach.

Prices are good right now as well, though I believe it's an HOA neighborhood (though I don't believe it's as high as Tradition). Other than that, there are non-HOA neighborhoods just down the road from it that range from working class options, to solid middle class options.

Homes by Kennedy and East Lake Village ~ "Another Great Place to Live" !

That link above is for a townhouse developer in East Lake Village, listing HOA at 176/month.

I know there are single family homes there, but do not know who builds them and can't find a website about it.

Terraces On The Square - Home (http://www.terracesonthesquare.com/main.html - broken link)

The link above is for some type of development within East Lake Village... maybe condos around the city center.


Other than that, there's the Southbend area, which last I checked didn't have an HOA.....


Like anything though, you really need to VISIT an area, speak to the residents and check it out yourself. I'd recommend renting somewhere (anywhere) in PSL first anyway to make sure you like it. It may look nice in person, but maybe the quality of people aren't the best, or it wasn't what you expected.

[Wendyb0077]

Hi All, It's been almost six months since I posted this and things have changed a lot since then. PSL is still a beautiful city, but yipes the prices have come down.. The rates have come down more, and there are a lot more motivated Sellers out there. I am noticing now that the real good deals are going "pending" pretty fast. How are you JQ public now feeling about the PSL market?? Love to hear your input.

[jodyj1622]

Hi Wendy,
I don't know about JQ public but I am still a little concerned about buying in Florida. I would love to take advantage of the low prices and move to your beautiful state with all the palm trees. I have my preapproval level, excellent credit rating, a good down payment, and I have been online looking at homes. I have found some really nice ones that I can afford if, the taxes are assessed at the todays true value, not the inflated value of a few years ago. How does one know what the property appraiser is going to value a property when it is resold? I have my doubts that the county is going to take a hit and give up that extra money they have become used to. If someone can answer this question, it would make it a lot easier for prospective buyers to take the leap. The other question that is concerning me is how is this forclosure crisis going to affect the neighborhood that one buys in. I know this is not a question that anyone can answer, only time will tell. I have read some stories of people buying a home in what they thought was a great area and ending up living on a street where every house is up for sale or vacant with unkept yards and increasing crime. How is Port Saint Lucie doing really???
Thanks, Jody

Also thanks TriMT7 for all the info, I will check out those places. We are considering coming down in August and renting if I don't find a home that is just too good to pass up in the meantime.

[jodyj1622]

Wendy, If you have any homes listed that are in the "too good to pass up" category, with no HOA fees, please DM me.
Jody

[outsider1]

Home prices have gone down some. Gasoline headed into the opposite direction though. If you can't pay cash for the house and are buying with some 10% down, then for most folks the price is still not low enough to make those payments while being employed locally... still need to head towards West Palm for that
And among soon-to-be-retired crowd there are "the sky is falling, undesirables are moving in from further south" kind of rumors. With the current economic climate the retirees were the only hope for this area. But they are just not biting at this point. The whole housing thing might keep stagnating well until the boomers begin to retire in major numbers. Many of them got themselves heavily involved with credit cards at some point in their lives, so don't expect them to have a lot of money stashed away. By the time they are ready for sunshine and smiles, parts of PSL might just become their best option.

[Wendyb0077]

Originally Posted by jodyj1622

Hi Wendy,
I don't know about JQ public but I am still a little concerned about buying in Florida. I would love to take advantage of the low prices and move to your beautiful state with all the palm trees. I have my preapproval level, excellent credit rating, a good down payment, and I have been online looking at homes. I have found some really nice ones that I can afford if, the taxes are assessed at the todays true value, not the inflated value of a few years ago. How does one know what the property appraiser is going to value a property when it is resold? I have my doubts that the county is going to take a hit and give up that extra money they have become used to. If someone can answer this question, it would make it a lot easier for prospective buyers to take the leap. The other question that is concerning me is how is this forclosure crisis going to affect the neighborhood that one buys in. I know this is not a question that anyone can answer, only time will tell. I have read some stories of people buying a home in what they thought was a great area and ending up living on a street where every house is up for sale or vacant with unkept yards and increasing crime. How is Port Saint Lucie doing really???
Thanks, Jody

Also thanks TriMT7 for all the info, I will check out those places. We are considering coming down in August and renting if I don't find a home that is just too good to pass up in the meantime.

Very good questions Jody. I live in NW PSL off Saint James Drive. The neighborhood here has held up well. The prices have come way down. In the Saint James Club HOA area they can't give the houses away! I don't live in an HOA area. I think that PSL's general housing market is still evening out, but in no way is it right yet. Eg: I showed a bank owned property last night, east of US 1. Not a fancy area. Lots of older homes. They have this 3/2 pool home listed at 69k (in pretty decent condition) Where will it end??? Your other question Re: Taxes. There is a tax estimator on the PSL website. Property Appraiser - St.Lucie County, FL But does that mean they will come down and take a hit??? Who knows??? It is really to soon to tell if they will or not. If you bought in 2007 you won't see your new tax bill until Nov of 08 when the tax bills come out. I think it is July that the prelimiary Bills go out. (this is not a bill) You know what I mean. I really feel that a 3/2/2 pool home in a decent area should go anywhere from the low 100's to the low 200's. Depending on the area. Which would put the average price of a pool home somewhere in the mid to upper 100's. Anything above prices out most of the PSL population. Pushing it would be very low 200's. Lots of homework involved in buying... Best of luck to you.. Wendy