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My husband and I live in New England and hate the winters ( how unique!) . He will retire from the police force in 4 years. We have no children, are financially solid with zero debt, and own a nice home. We have three dogs from the rescue we support and volunteer for ( all done volunteering is done via the phone, verifying adoption applications...). We are incredibly interested in Punta Gorda, and considering pre-buying our retirement home. We would spend just a couple of months ( I don't work outside the home) annually at the house until DH retires in 2017, setting it up, going down for the Christmas Holidays, spending a few weeks in the summer when DH takes a lot of time off decorating it and exploring. Our budget is 200k, we would put 100k down, and finance the balance. Despite trolling this board endlessly, I have many questions and have benefited from lot's of helpful information in reading others posts. What should we expect for insurance costs for home/hurricane/and flood? I make sure to check the US Gov Flood site to ensure any interesting property is not in the "high risk" zone. It seems a seasonal resident pays an absurd amount for flood insurance nonetheless. I can't pretend to be a year round resident as we are conservative ( and honest . With dogs, it seems we really can't be in a gated community as we very much want a tidy yard with a fence, although it doesnt have to be huge. I would LOVE for specific recommendations from folks, rather than " call an insurance agent", please tell me who you found helpful ( I emailed one and called another w poor results, and suspect they think they may be wasting their time as we havent actually purchased anything yet....) What about the annual costs for yard work, pest spraying, checking on the property? Rough estimates on all of the ancillary costs would be so appreciated! I read about Fema's considerable changes and further rate hikes in October of this year, and it makes us so nervous. The internet is fantastic, but it has been hard to get the "full picture". It seems there are some wonderful values, and then I see lot's of homes for sale built in 2006 and have read about "Chinese Drywall" that was used largely in 06....Sorry this post is so long, in a nutshell I am looking for a cyber friend who may have gone this route and is willing to share their experiences, or, folks who considered a pre-retirement buy and ruled it out. We don't really see ourselves as renters, we like to be in our own space, and the dogs add an element of complication to that anyhow. We want to be close to shops, restaurants and events, despite being in bed with a book most nights by 9, so are all ears if folks have suggestions for areas to consider ( provided we can have a fenced in yard) . Many thanks in advance!
Hi Shelter Dogs... I just moved here two months ago from the east coast of florida...I didn't know much about this side of florida....I h ave a sister in Naples but she only knows of Naples....anyway I bought a home here in Port Charlotte....I do love it here......I wish I would have done more homework though...as I LOVE PUNTA GORDA!!!! Such a great little place...very artsy..very quaint...just a great little place......Port charlotte has a lot of local shopping..so everything is close by..Northport also has great shopping and everything is close...but my choice would have been Punta Gorda......we have a lawn guy..and he charges $85/month our pool guy also charges $85/month We are still working on pest control...it was cheaper on the east coast of florida...also our electric bill is considerably higher over here on the west coast of florida...but its worth it...its a much nicer side of Florida in my opinion...Our home that we bought was built in 2007 but we are in a flood zone...there is a canal across the street and there are homes on the canal..very nice homes I may add......and we are across the street form that ..insurance does not come cheap..but its a necessity....There are many homes available in Northport and in Port charlotte...don't know but I thinmk Punta gorda is a little more expensive.....but again I think it would be worth it.....In my neighborhood the house across the street is owned by a snowbird..so they are never here....the people in back of us are snow birds and are never here.....and the across the street on the other side are snowbirds and they are never here..so needless to say its pretty quiet here!! Many Many Many people leave their homes unattended but they have lawn people taking care and neighbors checking on the homes..i know all of our neighbors take care of each other...we were invited ot a July 4th party and we just moved here 2 weeks earliet...very friendly people and helpful......Hope this post helped you a bit...my husband is retired and I am semi retired..(I work one day a week..I am a woman barber and an artist..I sell my stained glass and paintings.....so that's it...hope this helped a bit...
I don't think ive seen many or any fences in PGI. assuming you want a canal in that price range I think you could find a lot more in port charlotte and have a fence
For myself I wouldn't want to buy a place not to be used much four years in advance.Taxes,insurance,electric,water,yard work and pool upkeep could cast as much as $4000 per year.
We really like Punta Gorda but bought a place in Port Charlotte in part is there seems to be more places out of the flood zone and seem to be a little cheaper.We do visit Punta Gorda quite a bit as we are only about seven minutes from the 41 bridge.You can get to Punta Gorda from most places in Port Charlotte within fifteen minutes.I would never buy a place in the high risk flood zone while there are so many places for sale that are on higher ground and are out of it.If I ever do decide to live on a canal and have a boat will find a place with at least eight foot elevation which would still be flood zone but would gamble the flood would never come and not buy the insurance.As for spending time in the are a couple months a year rent is more that reasonable in the warmer months but the rates from December to April are about twice the rate as summer month's.You might want to rent a place for a month and spend some time getting familiar with the area and the homes for sale.
whilst kyjake is correct in saying your costs may be high for the 3 to 4 years you don't live here you can balance that against what the potential increases in property prices/mortgage rates may be
we have typically seen home prices rising well over 10% pa in the past 12 months
so a home that's $200k today COULD cost you $260-270 in 3 years, that far outweighs the savings on power costs etc
i have always believed property if bought at the right time is a sound investment and would say -do your budget and if you can afford it -do it now.
however a week spent down here checking different areas might be a good idea. we live in Rotonda with our 3 dogs, just about to fence our yard and can walk them off leash every day without any hassle as we hardly have any neighbors. North Port is also a good area
power ave $100pm (if unoccupied most of the year)
water ave $75pm
taxes ??????????? not sure about PGI - expect Big House to pop up and answer that - we pay $3000pa
insurance -again being on the water etc can affect this dramatically , $1-4kpa
flood ins...........how long is apiece of string ? ours is $400pa
home management $300 pm if you have a pool (word of advice -HAVE ONE)
things like TV internet etc will be similar if you feel you need them
when we bought our home we were in the Uk for the first 2 years, I think we allowed around $10k a year (exc mortgage) to keep it......we spent 5-6 weeks a year here which would have cost us around $4k to rent so our thought process was it was only another $5-6 just to have our own home.
looking at recent prices we could sell and make a tidy profit
Thanks all, and thank you Mr.andMrs.sunshine for the insights and information! It is so appreciated. I actually figured the reality would likely be 10k year "carrying costs", and like you, we almost feel like to rent for 4 or 5k, or buy and ideally have an appreciating home, might just make more sense for us. Rotondo is an area that looks quite appealing as well, although the sum total of my knowledge about it is via the internet. Homes look appealing, and I would love to hear what you love and are not so thrilled with about the area. While are interests are generally low key-reading, walking w the dogs, I love to run, dining out..we absolutely want to be in an area where shops, dining, and outdoor events are a part of the local scene. We both expect to get involved to some degree in our new hometown via volunteering, joining a running club....We would like to be someplace where you could almost ride your bike to a quaint downtown for lunch...The dogs are our "kids", we would spend summer at our camp in Maine which is extremely rural and quite, so it would be nice to be able to get out on occasion and interact with the community. We have a 13 yo German Shepherd from the dogpound, who sadly won't likely be making this move with us, and a Great Pryenees, a senior Black Lab, and a Yellow Lab ( all from a southern dog rescue
Our budget is 200k, we would put 100k down, and finance the balance.
......... What should we expect for insurance costs for home/hurricane/and flood? I make sure to check the US Gov Flood site to ensure any interesting property is not in the "high risk" zone
.......... It seems a seasonal resident pays an absurd amount for flood insurance nonetheless.
......... With dogs, it seems we really can't be in a gated community as we very much want a tidy yard with a fence, although it doesnt have to be huge.
........... What about the annual costs for yard work, pest spraying, checking on the property? Rough estimates on all of the ancillary costs would be so appreciated! I read about Fema's considerable changes and further rate hikes in October of this year, and it makes us so nervous.
........... It seems there are some wonderful values, and then I see lot's of homes for sale built in 2006 and have read about "Chinese Drywall" that was used largely in 06....
....If prices keep increasing as they did for the past year or so, they may shortly exceed your budget (for a decent, non-fix-r-up house, especially canal front).
......Insurance rates seem to be dictated more so by age and elevation of a house than strictly the flood zone it's in. We have a house built in the mid-70's. Our elevation is about 7' and our flood insurance is around $1,800 /yr. I have a friend across the canal from us with a newer, and thus higher, house and he pays only several hundred dollars. Plus, flood insurance will only be going up for the next several (or more) years, regardless of flooding history here (or should I say lack of floods). Gotta luv our government! Homeowners/Hurricane is about $2,000 /yr. for our house. If you call for estimates, the price you get probably won't be accurate if you don't have a "wind mitigation" report. The WM report will earn you credits for things like how well your roof is nailed down and hurricane shutters. The better your house is constructed or protected, the more credits you get towards your insurance costs.
......Is an "invisible" fence an option? I don't think (but may be wrong) that you can have a fence in PGI.
.......Grass cutting cost us $25/cut, pool service $90/month, and a home watch (they check on the house twice per month, inside and out) $45/month when we're away. Water cost about $45/month and elec. $100. Water and Elec are somewhat less if we're away for a month, but not by much since the AC is still on to dehumidify the house and the pool pumps still runs a few house everyday.
....... I think (another "I think", so I may be corrected on this) that the county property records will indicate if a house has Chinese drywall.
I hope that helps some. I'm no expert on any of the above subjects, just inserting my two cents from my experience with buying and living here. BTW, I LOVE it here (Port Charlotte) and have no regrets about living in this area. Good luck with your decision.
Thank you for the thoughtful and detailed response MikMal. We aren't fans of the invisible fence, although I know some folks find it an excellent choice. We aren't locked on PGI, and are all ears if folks have suggestions. It is hard ( as we don't board the dogs) to make lots of trips down, and we don't want to lose out on what seems to be excellent house values presently. Ideally I will fly down and write up a contract once we finish gathering info and getting input. I worked in RE for 12 years in New England, so have a generally good sense, but limited knowledge of all the "hidden gems" that would be worth a close look. Being in a quaint, peaceful town with decent cultural/dining options, and the ability to purchase a newer/updated home under 200k that could be fenced are priorities for us. We don't want to be in a massive subdivision with 100000 identical concrete homes, and ideally could bike to a downtown to engage in the community and be near the ocean. Thank you again!
My neighbor here in Deep Creek has a fenced back yard with a dog. Front fences are verboten. I do love my location though...5 minutes to Wally World, 5 mins to 75...not that schools matter to you but we are very pleased with the schools. Yeah you can't sling a cat without hitting a curmudgeon but I still love it.
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. With dogs, it seems we really can't be in a gated community as we very much want a tidy yard with a fence, although it doesnt have to be huge. I would LOVE for specific recommendations from folks, rather than " call an insurance agent", please tell me who you found helpful ( I emailed one and called another w poor results, and suspect they think they may be wasting their time as we havent actually purchased anything yet....) What about the annual costs for yard work, pest spraying, checking on the property? Rough estimates on all of the ancillary costs would be so appreciated! I read about Fema's considerable changes and further rate hikes in October of this year, and it makes us so nervous. The internet is fantastic, but it has been hard to get the "full picture". It seems there are some wonderful values, and then I see lot's of homes for sale built in 2006 and have read about "Chinese Drywall" that was used largely in 06....Sorry this post is so long, in a nutshell I am looking for a cyber friend who may have gone this route and is willing to share their experiences, or, folks who considered a pre-retirement buy and ruled it out. We don't really see ourselves as renters, we like to be in our own space, and the dogs add an element of complication to that anyhow. We want to be close to shops, restaurants and events, despite being in bed with a book most nights by 9, so are all ears if folks have suggestions for areas to consider ( provided we can have a fenced in yard) . Many thanks in advance!
