Relocating from Indiana to Florida (inspector, moving, estate)

[mr&mrssunshine]

Originally Posted by Big House

The beer and the view of the water is why I like to go there.

the trouble is too much of one causes the second to get blurred

[mrcoolmrcool28]

Originally Posted by SoFLGal

Sounds like you're moving along quite nicely! OK, for fresh fish I would suggest Johnny Leverock's in Placida. Or Loose Caboose has a pretty grouper sandwich and excellent homemade ice cream. You could also take a water taxi over to Rum Bay (only accessible by boat). The food is great!

Harpoon Harry's in Punta Gorda has a cool atmosphere but personally I think their food is horrible. Also in Punta Gorda is Pies & Plates. It's my absolute favorite lunch place. Whenever I'm in town you can always find me there. Great tuna melt sandwiches.

Now if you're heading north toward Sarasota you would want to stop in at the Casey Key Fish House. Great blackened grouper sandwich. Charley's Crab on st Armand's and The Chart House on Longboat have good seafood but are on the pricey side. Also Mar Vista on Longboat has a pretty cool atmosphere. You can sit out on the deck and have a sandwich and look over the bay.

In Venice/Osprey you would want to go to the Flying Bridge, Crow's Nest and Pelican Alley.

BUT the all time best fish sandwich is at Captain Brian's right next to the Sarasota/Bradenton Airport.

Come on 222muchcoffee, back me up on this one. Every time he and his wife come in we go to Capt. Brian's. Gypsy, I know you live right by there. Ya ever been?

I hafta remember this list for our trip down in November. We want to hit up some places north of PC.

[gypsychic]

SoFLGal wrote- "BUT the all time best fish sandwich is at Captain Brian's right next to the Sarasota/Bradenton Airport.

Come on 222muchcoffee, back me up on this one. Every time he and his wife come in we go to Capt. Brian's. Gypsy, I know you live right by there. Ya ever been?"

**********************

YES, I have been there, and agree there is NO better fish sandwich anywhere! It is so fresh and delicious it tastes like it was just swimming minutes before being fried! And they put the freshest lettuce and tomato and delicious tartar on them. I get them tasty sammies all the time!

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by dianel1001

We have been
looking at Clearwater/Tampa area and Sarasota area.
Sarasota is really nice, but Sarasota County is one of the highest
real estate tax rate counties in Florida.
dianel1001@yahoo.com

Really? We looked in both places before we bought and Pinellas County taxes were higher than Sarasota. Not to mention Sarasota is more consistent and safer.

[Big House]

Originally Posted by dianel1001

FYI, long time residents are moving out of Florida due to
high taxes and outrageous homeowners insurance. Most of the
insurance companies are not renewing policies in Florida, ie
State Farm, Allstate. We were planning to move to Florida,
but from what we heard from people we know that live there,
the taxes and H/O insurance and also flood insurance is outrageous.
Also, the job market is depressed and wages are low compared
to other cities. Good jobs are hard to find, so you might want
to have a job offer before you move.

We live in Georgia right now, however, we vacation in Florida
a few times a year and have family there. We have been
looking at Clearwater/Tampa area and Sarasota area.
Sarasota is really nice, but Sarasota County is one of the highest
real estate tax rate counties in Florida. Other cities like
Ft. Meyers are depressed as far as housing/foreclosures, hurricanes,
and high crime areas.

Just be careful and do some research if you decide to move
to Florida. We are thinking twice about relocating.

Hope this helps,
dianel1001@yahoo.com

Really!?! I just renewed my All State Insurance Home Owner's and Flood insurance policies yesterday.

[seain dublin]

Allstate is no longer issuing polices in Florida for homeowner's insurance. State Farm has been cancelling long term policy holders.

Our neighbors have been with State Farm for 15 yrs and have no claims. Their policy which expires in Dec. is canceled and they were told to find another carrier.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by Big House

Really!?! I just renewed my All State Insurance Home Owner's and Flood insurance policies yesterday.

Not sure about Allstate but State Farm has pulled back / out of certain areas here. When we purchased 6 years ago we closed about 10 days before they stopped accepting new policies, my agent told me at the time that they would get to write one new policy for each one that canceled. About 18 months ago they "pulled back" from the coast and dropped us into the nightmare that is Citizens.

[cjohnson5077]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions on fish! I can't wait to get down there to taste it!

A quick update. The house is still not on the market but through word of mouth, we had a prospective buyer look at our home last night. She is a single gal who is a teacher. She really liked it and her lease at her apartment is up in two weeks. She is going to get prequalified today and make an offer. Wow! I may not even have to list the house with a realtor! That would be awesome! Now, all I need to do is figure out how to get the paperwork done without a realtor? SoFLGal, what do I do? Do I hire an attorney to draft the paperwork or how does this work so we can get to the closing? I know I will have to get an inspector too! Wow, this is all working out way better than what I thought! I also got another email from another CPA firm wanting to talk to me! This is great!

[jvelte]

Originally Posted by cjohnson5077

Thanks everyone for the suggestions on fish! I can't wait to get down there to taste it!

A quick update. The house is still not on the market but through word of mouth, we had a prospective buyer look at our home last night. She is a single gal who is a teacher. She really liked it and her lease at her apartment is up in two weeks. She is going to get prequalified today and make an offer. Wow! I may not even have to list the house with a realtor! That would be awesome! Now, all I need to do is figure out how to get the paperwork done without a realtor? SoFLGal, what do I do? Do I hire an attorney to draft the paperwork or how does this work so we can get to the closing? I know I will have to get an inspector too! Wow, this is all working out way better than what I thought! I also got another email from another CPA firm wanting to talk to me! This is great!

Great news CJ. I just did FSBO on my Michigan house in May. It was reletively easy. First you will get an offer with a stated time frame to respond. You can either accept and sign that offer, reject it completely, or you can go online and google "free real estate forms" and it will give you thousands of links to downloadable legal forms. Just get one for counteroffers (if that is what you decide to do) and write up whatever price and terms you want and the timeframe for them to respond. Seeing it's not even on the market yet, I wouldn't accept the first offer that comes in unless it is exactly what you want. In my case, the buying agent's broker refused to work with a FSBO after the contract was in place, so instead of letting the deal fall through I paid a realtor (good friend of mine) $300 to act as transaction agent to get to closing. I'm sure SoFLGal can add more to this, as she has many many many many years of experience with this and will point you in the right direction, but you have to use her to find your new FL home (if in the Sarasota-Punta Gorda area)

[cjohnson5077]

Originally Posted by jvelte

Great news CJ. I just did FSBO on my Michigan house in May. It was reletively easy. First you will get an offer with a stated time frame to respond. You can either accept and sign that offer, reject it completely, or you can go online and google "free real estate forms" and it will give you thousands of links to downloadable legal forms. Just get one for counteroffers (if that is what you decide to do) and write up whatever price and terms you want and the timeframe for them to respond. Seeing it's not even on the market yet, I wouldn't accept the first offer that comes in unless it is exactly what you want. In my case, the buying agent's broker refused to work with a FSBO after the contract was in place, so instead of letting the deal fall through I paid a realtor (good friend of mine) $300 to act as transaction agent to get to closing. I'm sure SoFLGal can add more to this, as she has many many many many years of experience with this and will point you in the right direction, but you have to use her to find your new FL home (if in the Sarasota-Punta Gorda area)

Thanks, Jvelte! I really appreciate the info. My dad is a realtor so I am sure he can act as the transaction agent. The gal that came to look at it didn't have a realtor. She is a friend of some neighbors of ours. So, she is just going to do this deal by herself and us! And yes, of course I am going to use SoFLGal in Florida. We are looking at the North Port area! It's really appealing to us! I can't wait to get down there! The weather is starting to turn cold here and the leaves are turning colors which means snow is right around the corner and I'm not friends with Jack Frost! LOL! I will google the real estate legal forms and get my dad involved so I can get moving along! Again, thanks for the info! City Data is awesome! The people here can give some really good information!

Chrissy