Transfering To Tampa (University, Holiday, Lutz: short sale, HOA, chapel) - Tampa Bay - Florida (FL) -Tampa - St. Petersburg - Clearwater - City-Data Forum

transfer54 · 03-03-2008, 04:36 PM

I am being transfered to Tampa. I have heard that Tampa is expensive and it's probably better to live outside of Tampa. I am looking for places that have good schools and safe neighborhoods. I will be working on the campus of South Florida. Any suggestions. I have two kids that will need be starting school in a year. I will also be looking for places that have good daycares.

tampaguy03 · 03-03-2008, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by transfer54

I am being transfered to Tampa. I have heard that Tampa is expensive and it's probably better to live outside of Tampa. I am looking for places that have good schools and safe neighborhoods. I will be working on the campus of South Florida. Any suggestions. I have two kids that will need be starting school in a year. I will also be looking for places that have good daycares.

What is expensive to you? What can you afford? Since you will be working on the USF Campus and are loking for safe, family friendly neighborhoods, and want to be close to work, I would start looking in Tampa Palms or New Tampa, even Forest Hills, Northdale and Carrollwood areas. Im just not sure what your budgeting though. Also, I remember someone stating that USF has a daycare program for employees, yopu may want to look into that as well.

transfer54 · 03-15-2008, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tampaguy03

What is expensive to you? What can you afford? Since you will be working on the USF Campus and are loking for safe, family friendly neighborhoods, and want to be close to work, I would start looking in Tampa Palms or New Tampa, even Forest Hills, Northdale and Carrollwood areas. Im just not sure what your budgeting though. Also, I remember someone stating that USF has a daycare program for employees, yopu may want to look into that as well.

We are looking at a price range of 250,000 to 350,00. Thanks for the info on the campus daycare.

bentlebee · 03-15-2008, 10:55 AM

Wesley Chapel would be a great place to consider with houses in that price range and even short sale so you can buy a more expensive home for the lesser price

Look at Seven Oaks, Meadow Point (not all of meadow point is nice though), New River.
Great school system in Pasco County and lower property taxes than Hillsborough county and close to l-75 so to get to USF is easy. From SR 54 you can even take Morris Bridge and hardly have a travic jam or just travel south on l-75.

3 Malls are being build so shopping is close too.

Team_Roberts · 03-16-2008, 10:09 PM

I would agree on the New Tampa, Wesley Chapel and even the Lutz area. These areas are well within your price range and not far from USF. You should be able to find many homes matching your criteria. Pasco County taxes are more affordable so some wieght would be given to the Wesley Chapel area. Seven Oaks is really nice.

mammaluna · 05-05-2008, 11:05 PM

I would strongly suggest Lutz(33558) for a family-friendly, close to everything, excellent schools and safe neighborhood. It is about a 25 minute drive from Lutz to USF. There is also a very good daycare center called Discovery Point on Lutz Lake Fern Road in Lutz if the facility near the University doesn't work out for you.
Some of the communities within Lutz with excellent schools are: Heritage Harbor(family friendly pool/golf-course, gated community), Villarosa(family-friendly, no community pool) and Cheval(private, gated, upscale community). Please read my previous post listed below:

I live in Heritage Harbor and I can tell you firsthand that it is a child-friendly family community. It consists of predominantly young families and it is a very safe neighborhood. I have three children ranging in ages from 7-12 years old and we love living here. Our home has a pool but my children love going to the community pool because of the "cool slide" and all the other children they meet there. My children also have friends that live in the neighboring communities of Cheval(upscale) and Villarosa(no community pool) who love to visit at our home because of all the fun things to do here. We have tennis courts, volleyball and basketball courts, there is also a tot lot, small hockey rink, clubhouse, restaurant and small gym and golf course. We pay $110 a month for our HOA fee and we feel it is inexpensive for everything you have access to. Our HOA fee is also less expensive than other planned communities. About once a month there is an organized community event, such as concerts at the pool, community garage sales, Easter egg hunts, Breakfast with Santa, Holiday parties at the pool with live bands and barbecue for 4th of July, Memorial Day, etc. Our clubhouse also has an onsite afterschool program called SRK camp and during the summer they have full-day and half-day camps. Residents have priority enrollment and it is very convenient for working parents to have an afterschool/camp program located so close to home.
Our schools are A+ schools and consistently rank in the top ten of Hillsborough County Schools. Our elementary school McKitrick ranks in the top 7 and the middle school ranks in the top 3 middle schools for Hillsborough County. Currently there is a new high school being built which is slated to open for the 2009 school year. I believe it will be named Steinbrenner High School(for George Steinbrenner of the NY Yankees), which I am sure will be in the top 3 high schools for Hillsborough County. There is a lot of money being pumped into that school so I am sure it will be exceptional. Check out Greatschools.net for the statistics on schools within Hillsborough county or any county within FL or nationally.
As far as the commute, we are only a few minutes from the Veterans Expressway which takes you downtown and there is currently construction underway for another entrance ramp right on Lutz Lake Fern road near the new high school.
There are many good deals right now in Heritage Harbor and the neighboring communites of Villarosa and Cheval, so you should have no trouble finding exactly what you want. I think you and your children will enjoy living in this area.

Good luck to you and your family.

Carolina_Girl08 · 05-08-2008, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by transfer54

I am being transfered to Tampa. I have heard that Tampa is expensive and it's probably better to live outside of Tampa. I am looking for places that have good schools and safe neighborhoods. I will be working on the campus of South Florida. Any suggestions. I have two kids that will need be starting school in a year. I will also be looking for places that have good daycares.

Lutz would be good.

travel-hawthorne · 05-09-2008, 02:10 PM

Is it possible to buy a home in a matter of a week? I'll have about 5 days in the area in July, and then would like to return in August for about 5 days to finalize things. If I have the finances all worked out ahead of time, can I have things like title search, inspection, etc. complete with closing in such a short time?

Also, when planning a house-hunting trip, what are the best days of the week to come? It seems open houses are on week-ends. Should I arrive on a Friday, look around all week-end and then meet with a realtor on Monday or Tuesday?

Keeper · 05-09-2008, 03:40 PM

Do you know where you will working? What is an acceptable commute time? What is your price range? Are schools a concern? What other amenities do you require?

We can make suggestions to different areas which can help you in searching for a house.

We have some good Realtors here on this forum. Several have worked with CD members moving to Tampa.

FWIW.. I seriously doubt you can have everything needed to complete a sale done in 5 days, but I will leave it to the experts to tell you how things are now.

RobertLawson · 05-09-2008, 05:40 PM

Tampa has a wide variety of neighborhoods with a wide variety of prices. I teach at USF and live ten minutes from the campus in a
peaceful neighborhood on an historic golf course that is inexpensive and has top rated schools. When you think about cost of living these days it is wise to factor in gasoline prices. Feel free to contact me I will be happy to give you more information.