Punta Gorda #7 (Tampa, Clearwater, Sarasota: real estate, insurance, houses)

[shannon94]

Punta Gorda was #7 on the 10 most overvalued areas according to the Real Estate Journal. Wow!! Worse than I thought!! Poor California and Florida! I hope everybody makes out ok!! Hang in there!

[Jewels36]

Shannon-

Is there an online link to the RE Journal? Can you PM it to me? I'd like to look it over.

We are trying to determine if we can get away with relocating closer to my husband's office without having to relocate to the exact area since he really doesn't have to go into the office on a regular basis. I'd like to see how other areas in Florida are rated and even southern GA.

[pattiv]

I just read article from CNN magazine Jan 3 2006.
Punta Gorda is #7 and overvalued by 73% according to them.
I believe it is CNNMoney.com
If that is true, thats pretty significant.

Tampa is at 37%

[mich2fla]

Originally Posted by Jewels36

Shannon-

Is there an online link to the RE Journal? Can you PM it to me? I'd like to look it over.

We are trying to determine if we can get away with relocating closer to my husband's office without having to relocate to the exact area since he really doesn't have to go into the office on a regular basis. I'd like to see how other areas in Florida are rated and even southern GA.

If that's the case, can you stay in KY? I've seen your other threads about your daughter might be in for a culture shock. Just curious, what line of work is he in?

I'm in mechanical engineering...I can work from home occassionally, which is real nice. I'm hoping that my next employer will give me the same option. We'll see!

Good luck!

[Jewels36]

Catastrophe adjusting.

Ky is a little to remote. We really need to be closer to his office but we are questioning how close we need to be. I am going down in a week or so to see the area. Then we are going to talk about it and see what we think.

It may be that we look up around Citrus County. This area may be rural enough yet my husband could drive in to the office and home the same day when needed. If he is on assignment in FL, or in neighboring states, we may be able to get a glimpse of each other a little more often than we do when in KY.

[mich2fla]

Originally Posted by Jewels36

Catastrophe adjusting.

Ky is a little to remote. We really need to be closer to his office but we are questioning how close we need to be. I am going down in a week or so to see the area. Then we are going to talk about it and see what we think.

It may be that we look up around Citrus County. This area may be rural enough yet my husband could drive in to the office and home the same day when needed. If he is on assignment in FL, or in neighboring states, we may be able to get a glimpse of each other a little more often than we do when in KY.

Punta Gorda is beautiful...my wife's grandparents have live there for over 20 years. There are jobs in my field in the Sarasota area. I really don't want to commute that far daily with the gas prices at $3.00/gallon. If I could work from home 2 days a week, it's something to consider. We are active in my kids' lives especially with their schools and their activities like soccer and girls scout. We have 4 girls.

You should look into Punta Gorda...it's more laid back compared to Clearwater and Tampa. I never been to the Trinity area so I can't comment on that.

[Jewels36]

Mich-

Do you know much about how the past several years of hurricanes have affected the area? What areas of Punta Gorda were hit hardest? Seems like a lot of the older homes (late 80's to early 90's) have had a lot of updating done. Just wondering if it is because of hurricane damage.

How did your grandparents fair during the hurricanes?

[mich2fla]

Originally Posted by Jewels36

Mich-

Do you know much about how the past several years of hurricanes have affected the area? What areas of Punta Gorda were hit hardest? Seems like a lot of the older homes (late 80's to early 90's) have had a lot of updating done. Just wondering if it is because of hurricane damage.

How did your grandparents fair during the hurricanes?

It seem the whole town of Punta Gorda got slammed back in 2004, especially the downtown area.

My wife's grandparents had to get their tiled roof replaced and fix some screens on their encloser. Their boat behind the house seem fine with no damage. Many homes on their street was worse off. We went down there 3 months after the hurricanes and the whole area was like a war zone. Their home along with many in their area is about 25 years old and has been updated over the years. Some houses are dated but most of them have been torn down and built again (especially on the water by folks with deep pockets) or been renovated.

Downtown Punta Gorda was severly damaged. Last we talked to them a month ago, they are still rebuilding the area. There were lots of changes and it's coming together nicely. We will visit them this November and look forward to the progress.

There's a town north of Punta Gorda called Port Charlotte. We will check it out since we always drive by it to visit the grandparents.

[Jewels36]

Mich-

How has this affected insurance rates for your grandparents?

I guess many of the older homes that have been updated recently were done so as a result of hurricane damage then. If that is the case, it is probably important to make sure the repairs are warrantied before buying. May also be necessary to check on qualifications of the repairmen who did the work. Home inspections are probably a good idea too in order to make sure all necessary repairs were completed.

Has there been much complaints from the area about shotty repair work?

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by pattiv

I just read article from CNN magazine Jan 3 2006.
Punta Gorda is #7 and overvalued by 73% according to them.
I believe it is CNNMoney.com
If that is true, thats pretty significant.

Tampa is at 37%

crazy isn't it? I definately would wait to buy in Florida. There will be good deals ahead.