retire to Gulf Coast area of Florida
Jan 24th, 2010, 06:48 AM
#1
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retire to Gulf Coast area of Florida
This is to the people that live or chose to retire in the Gulf Coast area of Florida....
My husband and I (60 yrs. young!) will be retiring soon and are researching cities on the gulf coast of Florida - we are interested in Bradenton, St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park areas. We would like to have an 8 mi. radius to: hospitals, grocery stores, cafes, shopping centers and lakes for fishing. Ideally, we would like a 20 yr. and newer home in the $150,000 bracket. We are open to the possibility of a condo.
Which of these areas would fit our criteria? In order to narrow our search, what do we need to look for?
We are young at heart, energetic and enjoy the outdoors. This is a new adventure for us ...so we appreciate any infomation you share.
thank you,
My husband and I (60 yrs. young!) will be retiring soon and are researching cities on the gulf coast of Florida - we are interested in Bradenton, St. Petersburg and Pinellas Park areas. We would like to have an 8 mi. radius to: hospitals, grocery stores, cafes, shopping centers and lakes for fishing. Ideally, we would like a 20 yr. and newer home in the $150,000 bracket. We are open to the possibility of a condo.
Which of these areas would fit our criteria? In order to narrow our search, what do we need to look for?
We are young at heart, energetic and enjoy the outdoors. This is a new adventure for us ...so we appreciate any infomation you share.
thank you,
Jan 24th, 2010, 10:14 AM
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Here are a few criteria off the top of my head. There are lots more.
1. How cold are you willing to be in the winter? All of those areas get frost, though cold weather generally doesn't last. It will be fine for golf, tennis, and fishing most of the time, not always for swimming.
2. Will you spend the summers in FL as well? Have you ever spent a summer in FL?
3. How often will family and friends visit? St Pete and Pinellas Park are closer to the Tampa airport than Bradenton, and it can become a real burden picking people up and dropping them off.
4. How much do you know about Florida taxes, statewide and local? They have some very interesting quirks, particularly for retired people. Some good, some bad. Establishing your legal residence in FL may have many advantages, but it can be difficult to do without selling the family home up north.
5. The choice between house and condo is generally a choice between more freedom with more responsibility in a house and less freedom and fewer responsibilities in a condo. If you want to buy a condo or a house in a homeowners' association, read the condo documents very, very carefully. You need to know ALL the rules (do you really want to live in a place that won't let you fly the American flag or have your family visit for more than ten days a year?) and do you want to buy in a development that does not have strong financial reserves?
6. If you have never lived in a condo, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to rent for a year first before buying. You will learn about the dreaded "condo commandos", retired people with nothing to do but tell other people what to do, and shoddy construction (hearing the people upstairs every time they urinate).
7. In a related vein, if at all possible, I would pick one of your area choices and rent for a winter, exploring the other two and as many other places as might sound attractive. Then I would rent in the one you like best for a whole year. Experience the Florida summer before cutting the ties to home.
8. Florida is full of creepy crawlies, most notably roaches the size of cigar butt, snakes, lizards, etc. These are all easily controlled by exterminators, but if you freak out when a silverfish runs out from behind the towels or if you are terrified of pesticides, Florida is not the place for you.
You may be worried about missing out on cheap real estate. Florida is so overbuilt that there will be plenty of time to get into the market.
1. How cold are you willing to be in the winter? All of those areas get frost, though cold weather generally doesn't last. It will be fine for golf, tennis, and fishing most of the time, not always for swimming.
2. Will you spend the summers in FL as well? Have you ever spent a summer in FL?
3. How often will family and friends visit? St Pete and Pinellas Park are closer to the Tampa airport than Bradenton, and it can become a real burden picking people up and dropping them off.
4. How much do you know about Florida taxes, statewide and local? They have some very interesting quirks, particularly for retired people. Some good, some bad. Establishing your legal residence in FL may have many advantages, but it can be difficult to do without selling the family home up north.
5. The choice between house and condo is generally a choice between more freedom with more responsibility in a house and less freedom and fewer responsibilities in a condo. If you want to buy a condo or a house in a homeowners' association, read the condo documents very, very carefully. You need to know ALL the rules (do you really want to live in a place that won't let you fly the American flag or have your family visit for more than ten days a year?) and do you want to buy in a development that does not have strong financial reserves?
6. If you have never lived in a condo, I urge you in the strongest possible terms to rent for a year first before buying. You will learn about the dreaded "condo commandos", retired people with nothing to do but tell other people what to do, and shoddy construction (hearing the people upstairs every time they urinate).
7. In a related vein, if at all possible, I would pick one of your area choices and rent for a winter, exploring the other two and as many other places as might sound attractive. Then I would rent in the one you like best for a whole year. Experience the Florida summer before cutting the ties to home.
8. Florida is full of creepy crawlies, most notably roaches the size of cigar butt, snakes, lizards, etc. These are all easily controlled by exterminators, but if you freak out when a silverfish runs out from behind the towels or if you are terrified of pesticides, Florida is not the place for you.
You may be worried about missing out on cheap real estate. Florida is so overbuilt that there will be plenty of time to get into the market.
Jan 24th, 2010, 02:20 PM
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Tagging on to Ackislander's excellent list, I'd add #9. Homeowner's insurance. It can be difficult to get and expensive. I live about 5 miles from the beach in a very ordinary house and pay over $2100 a year for homeowner's insurance.
Also, Ackislander is not kidding about about our bizarrre tax structure. In terms of property taxes, it favors (wildly favors) people who've lived here a long time. It is not at all unusual for people living in condo units that are exactly the same to be paying completely different property tax amounts. One may be paying $1000 a year and the next door neighbor may pay $5000 a year, depending on whether and how long they have "homesteaded" the property. To homestead your property you must be a bona fide Florida resident (see here: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/propert...xemptions.html )
That said, we enjoy living in Florida and I don't think DH would ever consider moving away. But the advice you've received to rent and live here for a summer is excellent advice.
Also, Ackislander is not kidding about about our bizarrre tax structure. In terms of property taxes, it favors (wildly favors) people who've lived here a long time. It is not at all unusual for people living in condo units that are exactly the same to be paying completely different property tax amounts. One may be paying $1000 a year and the next door neighbor may pay $5000 a year, depending on whether and how long they have "homesteaded" the property. To homestead your property you must be a bona fide Florida resident (see here: http://dor.myflorida.com/dor/propert...xemptions.html )
That said, we enjoy living in Florida and I don't think DH would ever consider moving away. But the advice you've received to rent and live here for a summer is excellent advice.
Jan 24th, 2010, 05:12 PM
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Florida summers are long but everything is air conditioned. It depends how far North you are from as to if they are a problem or not. I live in and love St Petersburg. We have awesome medical facilities, world famous museums, the Florida Orchestra plays here, the Tampa Bay Rays play here, beautiful gardens, a terrific waterfront and fabulous beaches. Yes, we have had a few days of cold this winter, 5 days when it did not get above 60, and that broke a record and we had snow flakes twice in 30 years. Houses are about $100,000 less than they were a few years ago and there are many on the market to select from. Come looks us over, I think you will like what you find.
