Looking for areas around Tampa (Tallahassee, Riverview: mortgage, house, buy)

[johntylerpearce]

There is a good chance I will be moving to Tampa with my future wife
in the near future. We will have 200k to either buy or put down on a house. The max I honestly want to spend if 250k. What are some areas
we should look for? Also I don't want a 1 hour commute if I can avoid it.
We are in our late 20s, active, and white. I don't mean anything by the "white" comment so please don't take it seriously. I'm just describing ourselfs.

[gumbyfly]

In which part of town is your job?

[lilacmama32]

a

[johntylerpearce]

I don't have a job yet but will be applying for them in the near future. I'm
currently a Network Engineer with 5+ years experience.

[Jkgourmet]

Off topic and rhetorical - but at your age and with interest at record lows, why on earth would you pay cash for a house if you can get a mortgage?

I fully understand (and agree) when people are older wanting to pay off their house (as we did). I fully understand an investor wanting to pay cash. But a younger couple who can get 4% on a 15-30 year note? Put 20% down, minimum and finance the rest. Put money away in your 401k. Start a Roth IRA. You'll be financially way ahead.

[gumbyfly]

You could work anywhere in the area, so you might just have to accept whatever commute you end up with. $200-$250k will buy an average-sized 3-4 BR house in most areas away from the water.

Like most people suggest here: Come check it out for a week. Drive around. Figure out how close you want to be to shopping or playtime activities (beaches, bars, bookstores...). Anything more than 25 miles could end up being an hour commute. If you cross a bay bridge, your daily 30-minute commute could become a 4-hour commute if there is an accident blocking the bridge.

[johntylerpearce]

Thanks for all the help guys. We are looking to pay off the house since we
will already have that amount of cash, so we don't have to pay interest
which saves money in the long term. And at some point the housing market and economy will come back strong (it always does at some point....) we should be able to make a profit off of the house IF we do want to sell. As far as 401k and a Roth IRA, goes I already have enough to live on for about 6 months with my savings account, I already have a Roth IRA, and I have a Mutual fund in which I put money into all 3 once a month.

I currently live in Tallahassee, and I've been to Tampa on more than a few several occasions.

[LKJ1988]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Off topic and rhetorical - but at your age and with interest at record lows, why on earth would you pay cash for a house if you can get a mortgage?

I fully understand (and agree) when people are older wanting to pay off their house (as we did). I fully understand an investor wanting to pay cash. But a younger couple who can get 4% on a 15-30 year note? Put 20% down, minimum and finance the rest. Put money away in your 401k. Start a Roth IRA. You'll be financially way ahead.

Who would want a mortgage? I am mortgage free and i am not forced to pay a insane amount for home owners, flood or sinkhole Ins. Some of you people in Tampa will see a 2000% rate hike in sinkhole Ins next year. The Ins game just gets worse every year.

[Irishiis49]

As long as you plan on living in the house for at least 10 years...because a home you buy today for $200,000 will probably be worth less this time next year.

[LianeJamason]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

Off topic and rhetorical - but at your age and with interest at record lows, why on earth would you pay cash for a house if you can get a mortgage?

I fully understand (and agree) when people are older wanting to pay off their house (as we did). I fully understand an investor wanting to pay cash. But a younger couple who can get 4% on a 15-30 year note? Put 20% down, minimum and finance the rest. Put money away in your 401k. Start a Roth IRA. You'll be financially way ahead.

Agree! Depends on what kind of community you like. There's very affordable housing in Riverview/Apollo Beach as well as Wesley Chapel/New Tampa but you'll have about a 20-40 minute drive to downtown Tampa if you end up working there. Also Carrollwood area is nice in that price range, Westchase. If you like nightlife, museums, there's St. Pete which is about a 20-30 minute drive to downtown Tampa also. I'm biased, I live in St. Pete myself (but often work in Tampa) and love it here.