Condominium / Neighborhood Recs (Tampa, Westchase, Tice: for sale, apartments, renting)

[WildcatFan87]

Hello,

I have a 24 year old son that is looking to purchase a 2b/2b condominium in Tampa. He would like to have covered parking too if possible. He's looking in the $90k - $145k price range.

Most of his work commute is to locations near the stadium and he occasionally has airline travel.

He's renting with a friend in the Tampa Palms area, but the current commute time to work is more than he prefers.

It would be very helpful to receive some suggestions for condominium complexes and neighborhoods for him to investigate.

Also would be helpful to know what to be wary of when looking at condos (e.g. management, upkeep, specific HOA's, etc.) and any good reference sites.

We are from North Alabama and not familiar with the Tampa area.

Thank you for any helpful suggestions!

[lavender]

Price you are quoting is way too low in reality, check out Realtor.com

[WildcatFan87]

Thank you. We've been looking at Realtor.com He noticed some units at the Egypt Lake Beach Club complex for sale. Is that a bad complex and / or area?

[Gulf coast jon]

Originally Posted by WildcatFan87

Thank you. We've been looking at Realtor.com He noticed some units at the Egypt Lake Beach Club complex for sale. Is that a bad complex and / or area?

I looked there when they were being built in the 1980's. Nice lake. Lousy construction. A three story stick built condo in Florida strikes me as a disaster.

You can research sales history of anyplace in Hillsborough County at

Hillsborough County Property Appraiser > Property Search

That condo association has a pretty bad sales history.

Why do you and your son want to buy a Florida condo?

My advice is STAY AWAY! I bought a waterfront condo for 71k in 1985. A disaster build (wood frame, lousy plumbing). Since it was cheaper and easier than dealing with rent, I kept living there until 2017 when I wholesaled it to a flipper. He put lipstick on that pig and sold it for 125k.

I had a coworker that saved up and bought a modest new built home in 1992 for 72k. He still lives there, and his home has a market value of about 300k.

If you think a Florida condo is a better investment than renting until you can afford (and are mature enough) to buy a single famly home, well, again, I beg to differ.

Good luck!

[TampaBayLove]

Check out the South Tampa, Town and Country and Carrollwood areas. There are a limited number of condos for sale in those areas in that price range.

[WildcatFan87]

@Gulf Coast Jon -- Thanks for your response I'm not buying any property with my son, he will be the buyer. I'm just looking online from afar. He moved to Tampa during the summer and absolutely loves it! He travels often and thought a condo would be advantageous from the perspective of no yard to upkeep and hopefully some good neighbors that could keep an eye on his place when necessary.

He's only 24, but has lived in apartments for the past 4 years and wants to pay monthly toward something he owns instead of rent. He maintained an internship and a part time job while going to college full time. He worked full time for a year in New Orleans before moving to Tampa and both employers have paid toward his pursuit of an MBA. He doesn't mind putting in some sweat equity on a property either.

I'm only providing some background on him to give some insight about his maturity. You mentioned SF homes and I personally thought a small bungalow would be good for him and have a small yard that could easily be maintained. However, those I've seen online appear to be priced higher than the condos or are in high crime areas.

At this point, he's trying to find neighborhoods and complexes that appeal to him and then research them (and look at units on the market) to become more informed. I'll mention to him about looking at SF homes too as I think that suggestion is a good one.

Also, you mentioned stick framing as not so good for that area. Our home is stick framed and very well constructed, but we don't live in a hurricane area (we do however, live in tornado alley).

What type of building construction would you recommend he consider (whether for a house or a condo)?

Do you have suggestions on neighborhoods or complexes that he could check out?

Also, thank you for the sales history link! That will definitely help him!

[WildcatFan87]

@ TampaBayLove

Thank you for those suggestions! We will investigate those areas.

[Gulf coast jon]

Originally Posted by WildcatFan87

@Gulf Coast Jon -- Thanks for your response I'm not buying any property with my son, he will be the buyer. I'm just looking online from afar. He moved to Tampa during the summer and absolutely loves it! He travels often and thought a condo would be advantageous from the perspective of no yard to upkeep and hopefully some good neighbors that could keep an eye on his place when necessary.

He's only 24, but has lived in apartments for the past 4 years and wants to pay monthly toward something he owns instead of rent. He maintained an internship and a part time job while going to college full time. He worked full time for a year in New Orleans before moving to Tampa and both employers have paid toward his pursuit of an MBA. He doesn't mind putting in some sweat equity on a property either.

I'm only providing some background on him to give some insight about his maturity. You mentioned SF homes and I personally thought a small bungalow would be good for him and have a small yard that could easily be maintained. However, those I've seen online appear to be priced higher than the condos or are in high crime areas.

At this point, he's trying to find neighborhoods and complexes that appeal to him and then research them (and look at units on the market) to become more informed. I'll mention to him about looking at SF homes too as I think that suggestion is a good one.

Also, you mentioned stick framing as not so good for that area. Our home is stick framed and very well constructed, but we don't live in a hurricane area (we do however, live in tornado alley).

What type of building construction would you recommend he consider (whether for a house or a condo)?

Do you have suggestions on neighborhoods or complexes that he could check out?

Also, thank you for the sales history link! That will definitely help him!

I had a very bad experience with my condo so I guess I'm biased against them. Most people don't realize that buying into a condo subjects you to another level of government. A government run by unpaid volunteers (and yes, I spent several years volunteering my time as treasurer and secretary, trying to improve my condo). You have shared ownership of most everything except from the drywall in. In my condo, plumbing was unit owner property, and on occasion plumbing leaks damaged the buildings (and were never fixed).

For scary reading try CYBER CITIZENS FOR JUSTICE, INC.

As for good construction in Florida, I think the best is single story concrete (cinder-block or the rare poured concrete) and roofs with large overhangs so the windows are protected from summer rainstorms.

I've dealt with three frame homes in Florida - all of them had water intrusion. Summer rainstorms are brutal to unprotected windows.

Multistory places in Florida have unprotected windows, and often have only block on the first floor, then frame above (I'm ignoring high-rises). Even worse, that frame is often covered by stucco. IMO, stucco over frame is the worst possible Florida construction. The condo's across my lake had blue tarps over failed stucco frame walls for months as they waited for the right time to repair.

You say your son currently has a roommate. Maybe he'd consider buying a house and still have a roommate to defray costs.

As others have mentioned, South Tampa can be a great location. If I was your son and was handy, I'll look for a modest home there (with "good bones"), and fix it up.

[WildcatFan87]

@Gulf Coast Jon:

I will definitely relay your recommendations and he can go explore. He generally isn't someone who makes hasty decisions -- and ironically his name is John

He's just started looking around to see what areas he prefers and doesn't want to involve a realtor until after January due to some upcoming travel plans and finishing this semester of grad school.

He most likely will have a roommate for at least 1 year in whatever he purchases.

Thank you again for the great info!

[vintageflgirl]

The price range you mentioned is low for Tampa. However, there is one condo community that would work well as far as commuting to the stadium area and the airport, Lake Chase Condominiums in the Westchase area. You would need to be willing to pay in the $160,000 range to get a 2/2. Some units have covered parking for an additional fee.