England to Florida - Sarasota, Coral Springs, West Boca, and Clearwater/ St Petes areas (Hollywood: sale, foreclosure) - Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice area - (FL) -Manatee and Sarasota Counties - City-Data Forum

moggymay · 02-03-2009, 01:42 AM

Hi

I am originally from a small town in Massachusetts about 45 minutes out of Boston. Been living in a large town about 45 minutes North of London, England for the last 6 years with my husband. Thinking of moving back stateside and are strongly considering Florida.

I work in high tech Marketing & am confident I could find a job pretty easily. Husband has been a warehouse manager for the last 10 years and though he earns a very good wage here in the UK as he has been there for some time I think he might find getting a good paying job there more difficult.

We dont have children (unless you count the cat) and dont plan to so schools are not important to us.

Considering Sarasota, Coral Springs, West Boca, and Clearwater/ St Petes areas. I know they are all quite different!

Most important factors are us are low housing prices, low crime, availability of good jobs without huge commutes, hurricanes and being within an hour of a large airport.

Can anyone suggest some places?

We have visited Southeast Florida many times especially as kids. Used to go to Hollywood and Dania as kids (20+ years ago) but went back 2 years ago and boy has it changed.

Thanks in advance!

SoFLGal · 02-03-2009, 02:43 AM

North Port definitely has the low housing prices (just south of Sarasota). You could pick up a brand new home with over 1800 sq ft for under 100K. You might even be able to get one with a pool as well. It's within one hour of the airport-Sarasota/Bradenton to the north and Ft Myers to the south. Jobs could be a problem though. As with anywhere in the US, the job market for the most part is pretty bleak. I would surely secure a good job before moving over here.

moggymay · 02-03-2009, 02:59 AM

Thanks
Is it a safe area?
We plan to rent for a year before buying anything.
I wonder how long the housing market will stay in a slump?

SoFLGal · 02-03-2009, 03:06 AM

I feel it's safe here. We're raising our three girls here as well. There are a ton of new homes and new commercial construction in NP. Investors came to NP during the housing boom and over built and now many of those homes are being foreclosed on. So, there's quite a lot out there to choose from.

You could probably pick up a new or nearly new home to rent for around $850-$950. Possibly cheaper if you can find an investor that's looking to gain a tenant. Just do some checking to make sure the landlord is not going into foreclosure. This can be done by checking the courthouse records of a foreclosure lien.

Another place you might want to check out is Rotonda. It's located just south of Venice and very close to the beaches. Many of our English friends seem to love it in there. M&MrsSunshine from the UK just bought in there and are very pleased with their purchase.

It's any body's guess as to how long the housing slump will stay around. The economy is not looking great at the moment. Oddly enough, I deal in mostly foreclosed homes and we are seeing multiple offers on nearly every property we list. Of course, these properties are priced to sell as well. So, if the properties are priced right there are buyers out there.

moggymay · 02-03-2009, 05:06 AM

What kind of deposit do you need to buy over there now? Another option we are considering is to buy within the next year and then move out there in another 2-3 years. My sister would rent the property until we move back.

SoFLGal · 02-03-2009, 08:46 AM

Up to 100K usually $1000 deposit is OK. Up to $100K-$200K-$1500-$2000. $200K-$500K the norm is about $2500. A good rule of thumb is to figure about one percent. These are usually the minimum but banks or owners can ask for more of a deposit.

If you are talking about your mortgage you can get from zero to 20% down. Some of the USDA loans don't require any money down. The North Port area qualifies for USDA rural loans but only certain mortgage brokers can write these loans.

mr&mrssunshine · 02-06-2009, 08:22 AM

we have just closed on a new home. Getting a mortgage is harder being a non-resident ( you will get fed up with being asked for a SSN ) allow for putting down a deposit of approx 30% at least . You should be able to borrow 70% of the appraised value (note this can be lower than the sale price so in theory the deposit will be more than 30% ). Allow plenty of time to sort out a mortgage -oh and dont bother with Bank of America , we ended up suing our local bank -Englewood Bank.

also be aware that you will have to get a visa for hubby to be able to work and that may take some time

xgemaxmwahx · 09-01-2009, 04:08 PM

The places you listed have some really nice areas esp right on the water and really cheap prices also. If you want me to send you some properties you can email me direcet.

SoFLGal · 09-01-2009, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xgemaxmwahx

The places you listed have some really nice areas esp right on the water and really cheap prices also. If you want me to send you some properties you can email me direcet.

I don't think Moggmay has posted anything in about 8 months

moggymay · 09-02-2009, 05:48 AM

Nope I am still here!!!

Mr & Mrs Sunshine...I do have a SS#. I am American. Just got British dual citizenship. Hubby is a Brit and we live in the UK. Our jobs in England are great right now and I want to live here while the going is good. But I dont want to miss out on buying when prices are so low. I wonder how hard it is to buy in the US and still live here in the UK? I have a tenant (my sister).