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View Full Version : Relocating to South FL



brwn234
03-07-2008, 07:53 PM
I know a bunch of you guys live in Florida so I figured I'd soliscite some advice from ya. My wife and I think we're going to be relocating to Florida sometime soon. Looking at where we both will be working, we'll probably be looking at living between Boynton Beach and Ft Lauderdale. Can you let me know of some of the nicer areas to live. The kicker of it is that we dont wanna sell the condo in Northern VA right now so we'll probably not be buying anything down there for awhile. Most likely we'll rent something small until the market rebounds. Also what does it cost to store a boat down there (22zx)? I dont know what I'm more excited about; no snow, year round boating, or scuba diving.

Tony
03-07-2008, 09:54 PM
Don't know where to suggest but, if you can somehow afford to, buying something right now is a good move.

Remember the old adage...buy low, sell high.

:beer:

fegettes
03-08-2008, 04:16 AM
First, how is your Spanish?

I am leasing a house down here in Homestead, or sort of an area that is known as the Redlands. It is not in a subdivision with a HOA, and with a huge yard and plenty of foliage where I can hide all of my 'stuff', as in Jet ski trailer, enclosed motorcycle trailer, motorcoach, and of course a Donzi parked within an enclosed canopy for now, and nothing is visible from the street, or the neighbors. And my lease is reasonable, so you might want to entertain a house lease. I am renting a 12' X 30' storage back in Texas for the Blackhawk for $65/month, and something caparable down here is over $300/month. IMO housing is coming down here, but I believe it will get even better in the months to come.

We look for any excuse we can find to get out on the water.

Steve

BUIZILLA
03-08-2008, 06:06 AM
not exactly where your looking, but I have a new lakefront townhouse in Cutler Bay that may be available soon, and I have a townhouse in Stuart at Martin Downs that may be available in May-June.

handfulz28
03-08-2008, 11:10 AM
I'm no real estate expert but reasonably familiar with the area. That's a ton of area to consider so it will come down to what you want to spend vs how close you want to be to the water. You don't mention kids so I figure schools aren't an issue...other than having to drive through school zones.

Boca Raton is a pretty good middle point for Boynton and FLL. The city proper leans toward the "high end" when it comes to properties and attitudes, but there's nice areas spread throughout. I believe the city limits are about from I-95 eastward to the water.

What I'd call "metropolitan" Boca would cover the area all the way west bordering the Everglades, eastward to about I-95. Just about anything and everything as far as properties go but less convenient when it comes to getting on the highway.

My girlfriend loves Delray. It's further north than Boca, so closer to Boynton = further from FLL. Same nice features as Boca without the attitude. There's also the area of Deerfield Beach which borders Boca to the south. I live in Coconut Creek. It's further west than most people seem to think is reasonable, but I'm less than 10mins from my boat storage yard, and the yard is 15-20mins from two good public ramps. Crystal Lake Boats and RV Storage charges me $159/month for my Formula 311 and that includes $10/month for the 24hr gate card; they have told me that prices will be going up. But they provide a hose for washdown, and they're reasonable about doing some work at their facility.

What part of NoVA are you in? I was last up there in '04-05 doing some work and living in Leesburg. My GF actually wants to move up to MD/NoVA.

Good luck,
Michael

Air 22
03-08-2008, 12:09 PM
You should be able to find a good deal...of the 1.6million homes in forclosure and climbing...30% of them are in FL and CA:doh::doh:....Happy Shopping:wink:

brwn234
03-08-2008, 12:38 PM
Handfulz, I grew up in Leesburg and now live about 10 miles east in Ashburn. Small world. I love it here and don't really have to worry about anything other than a bit of traffic. Is crime as bad as some people make it out to be down there? No kids, I'll be 27 on Monday and dont wanna think about them for a long time. We dont have to be really close to the water. After all I'm about 3 hours from the beach now, anything in FL will be better.

brwn234
03-08-2008, 12:43 PM
I'd like to buy down there because now's the time to get a good deal. The flip side of that is if I sell my place in VA someone else will get a good deal and I'll be owing some money on a house I dont own. I dont think anybody will give me an additional mortgage with negative equity on the one I own now. So I'll keep this place which will be a perfect investment/rental property when and if the market rebounds. Gotta love the economy!!!

Marlin275
03-08-2008, 03:17 PM
I was reading in the Wall Street Journal last fall that housing was going to bottom out around October of this year.
It would be off about 30% in the worst markets from the all time high.
That seems to be the case so far but that prediction was like 6 months ago and I have not read an update to that prediction yet.

BabyDonzi
03-09-2008, 06:18 AM
We just left south Florida for the good country living! I have a place in West Palm if you would be interested. Dead end dirt road, 1.25 acres. I kept my 22ZX in the side drive with a canopy over it. 30 minutes to the ramp. I just put it on the market about 8 weeks ago, will consider renting it out.

brwn234
03-09-2008, 11:57 AM
I'm not sure that would work out. My wife will be commuting to Ft Lauderdale, actually I think it's Davie. Thats about as far as she commutes now and I dont want her to have to do that again. But I will definetley keep that in mind.

handfulz28
03-10-2008, 11:37 AM
Crime is relative. There's lots of people down here, some of them have nothing but bad intentions. And plenty of people with just plain bad attitudes. For the most part, you just do the regular stuff...lock your doors, be aware of your surroundings and don't advertise.

If your wife is going to be working in Davie, that's a far hike from Boynton Beach and it also depends just how far west she'll be. It might be beneficial to travel the Turnpike. Or perhaps locate closer to Davie and get you to do the big commute.

Part of the problem with real estate in south Florida these days is less an issue with the cost of the homes, but the additional expenses of taxes and insurance. Something comparable to Ashburn would be at least $300k up to $400k. And that's for property west of I-95 which is a major demarcation line for property insurance. Property taxes and homeowners insurance will probably run $5-8k (taxes) and $3.5-6k (insurance). It's not the mortgage, but the extras that get you.

Surfer
03-11-2008, 01:01 PM
The rule is, the closer to the beach you are, the higher the taxes, and especially insurance. If you work in Davie, and want to be cost effective, it would be cheaper to live west. A relativly new city that is west of Davie is called Weston, squeaky clean, upscale area, and yes they speak english out there. The only drawback is that it boarders on the glades and you have to chase the occaional alligator, but the snakes are pretty friendly.