Family of 8 looking to buy a house in North Port...

[blueherons]

Originally Posted by Coco_camila

Thank you for taking your time to respond with your opinion. I actually was looking for advice.
From my loving family of 2 mommies and 6 children. God bless you!

Holy cow!

Make sure your job is locked down. As the other poster said, there is nothing in North Port.

[mylittletyguy]

Why was my comment cut by a moderator for "Rude comments unacceptable" but the person claiming the OP needed birth control due to the amount of children then have acceptable? I was simply trying to say that their comments were rude, yet it was my comment that was cut? That's messed up!

[coastal chic]

Originally Posted by mylittletyguy

Why was my comment cut by a moderator for "Rude comments unacceptable" but the person claiming the OP needed birth control due to the amount of children then have acceptable? I was simply trying to say that their comments were rude, yet it was my comment that was cut? That's messed up!

They removed his entire comment, thankfully, and probably didnt want anything referring to it.

[SoFLGal]

You shouldn't have a problem finding a 4 bedroom home to purchase in North Port. I have a home in North Port for rent (my personal house). I have lived in North Port for about 14 years now.

I too have a Labrabull (Pit/Lab). Like others have mentioned, there might be an issue renting with dogs that have Pit in them, you'd have to take it on a case by case basis.

My daughter went to Toledo Blade Elementary in North Port and we liked it. I have friends with kids in Cranberry Elementary and they speak highly of that school as well. In my opinion, it has a lot to do with the specific teacher your child gets.

North Port is the second largest city in land area in the state of Florida, so there are a lot of areas to choose from. It really depends if you would like a more remote area with not many homes on the street or an area that has more people and kids to play with. You might also want to check out Lakeside Plantation as an option.

Good luck with your search!

[CTC]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

It would be easier for people to respond if we had more information, such as:

What town/city specifically is your employer transfering you to? That's important info as commute times should be factored in to location if you cannot work from home.

As someone else already mentioned, how secure do you feel about your employment after your job transfer? You didn't say where you would be moving from, but most jobs up north pay more (sometimes significantly more) than similar jobs here in FL. If you had to find a replacement job here, you have to decide whether you could sustain your family on that alternate income.

Another factor about job security is location. Should you need to find a replacement job once you moved here, where are the majority of similar jobs to your current one to be found? North Port has affordable homes, but not much in the way of employment that pays well. Many that live in North Port and work have to commute to Sarasota, which is about 30 miles from Sarasota.


As to schools, Sarasota county in general has higher rated schools than Manatee county, most of the Sarasota county elementary schools have good ratings, there are some lesser graded middle & high schools.

Regarding North Port, I do know one school, Lamarque Elementary, is having on-going problems with teachers & students complaining about allergy-like symptoms. The school building has been tested multiple times for contaminants but they cannot as yet pinpoint what is creating the symptoms. They have also spent $250,000 on air-quality testing and treatments so far. If you do decide to look at North Port homes, you may wish to look for alternative school districts.


If you do not know the area at all, I usually suggest renting here for at least 6-12 months until you learn the area and neighborhoods better, so that when you do purchase a home you will be more informed and therefore purchase one in a neighborhood you know you like, not just one that "looks good on paper."

However, since you have 2 large dogs and 1 is considered an agressive breed by insurance companies here, it would be very difficult to find a rental that will allow your pets. Even if you purchase here, you will find it difficult to get insurance coverage for liability regarding your pitbull.

Before making a major move such as this, it makes sense to go back to your employer with your concerns and see what kind of guarantees you can get regarding your job before you take that transfer.

It would also make sense to have a significant cash emergency fund to cover costs associated with such a move as well as a cushion should one of you need to seek other employment once you move here. I know people that have had to look more than 6 months before they found suitable employment and, as I said previously wages are not usually comparable to "up north." Neither are benefits, by the way. Many employers here are small so are not required to offer health insurance, do not offer benefits packages like those you find in other places.

Please understand that I am not trying to discourage you from making a move, only trying to give you a broader perspective of the pros and cons of moving to our area.

North Port is great, don't let Sunshine Rules scare you off (she does not have listings in NP and thus tries to steer folks away from North Port)). Let other more credible Real Estate Professionals like TAMRE or FLSOGal help you out.

[Sunshine Rules]

Originally Posted by CTC

North Port is great, don't let Sunshine Rules scare you off (she does not have listings in NP and thus tries to steer folks away from North Port)). Let other more credible Real Estate Professionals like TAMRE or FLSOGal help you out.

Everyone has a right to their own opinion but you do not have a right on this board to make personal attacks according to the c-d rules.

You do not know me, so how can you comment about my credibility? I was not directing anyone to OR from a particular city, I was making a point that if the OP is moving here with a large family on a job transfer for one of them, they might wish to rent before making a large financial commitment to buy -- no matter what city in FL they are considering. And, to play devil's advocate - isn't it interesting that agents in North Port with listings in North Port almost always recommend North Port, but you don't take issue with that ......

[LIFL]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

Everyone has a right to their own opinion but you do not have a right on this board to make personal attacks according to the c-d rules.

You do not know me, so how can you comment about my credibility? I was not directing anyone to OR from a particular city, I was making a point that if the OP is moving here with a large family on a job transfer for one of them, they might wish to rent before making a large financial commitment to buy -- no matter what city in FL they are considering. And, to play devil's advocate - isn't it interesting that agents in North Port with listings in North Port almost always recommend North Port, but you don't take issue with that ......

Spot on! You are probably the most credible re, on here; you give both sides!

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

Everyone has a right to their own opinion but you do not have a right on this board to make personal attacks according to the c-d rules.

You do not know me, so how can you comment about my credibility? I was not directing anyone to OR from a particular city, I was making a point that if the OP is moving here with a large family on a job transfer for one of them, they might wish to rent before making a large financial commitment to buy -- no matter what city in FL they are considering. And, to play devil's advocate - isn't it interesting that agents in North Port with listings in North Port almost always recommend North Port, but you don't take issue with that ......

For the record, I service and have listings in Manatee, Sarasota and Charlotte counties...not only North Port. I've lived in all three counties and think all of the counties have their good and bad points.