| Author |
Message |
    
Zane
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 10:19 am: | 
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In Florida the prices for houses are falling by the minute. In the last 3 years my house has lost a 1/3 of its sales value. Florida has turned from a paradise to an average at best place to live. Unemployment is going up and the jobs are all service jobs that don’t pay as well as high tech or manufacturing. Personally, I’d like to see the oil companies start drilling off the Florida coast. The nation needs the oil and it would bring a lot of good paying jobs to Florida.
I have 1600 square feet in a nice but not ritzy subdivision. It’s a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a 2 car garage. I also have a screened in, in-ground pool. It’s nice but certainly not upscale. My taxes aren't bad but only because I bought 11 years ago before things went through the roof. In Florida we have tax caps in place limiting how much your taxes can go up a year. Without that my taxes would be double the $1800 a year I pay now.
The big killer is property insurance. My property insurance was $3000 this year. That is without ever having a claim. Insurance companies are still paying off claims from 2004 and 2005 when we had all the hurricanes.
The truth is that if I had to buy my house again, I couldn’t afford to own a house. I don’t know how young people get started these days.
Before he passed, my father in law lived in a 55 and up condo. It was good for him but would have driven me crazy. There was no privacy and the condo commandos were out in force every day. When you bought a condo in Leisure Ville, a pair of binoculars came with the apartment. All the better so see if anyone might dare to have an un-authorized plant in front of their door or God forbid, a flag. |
Gschuette
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 08:12 pm: |
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I agree with Corporate Monkey. I do not live in an official 55+ community but it is a nice neighborhood with 3/2 houses with attached 2 car garages. Anyway I am 22 and the only person on the street that is, well at least appears to be, under 60. They bitch about everything! I take my dog out to use the bathroom and old people appear out of their homes to tell me she needs to be on a leash. Sorry but I do not put my dog on a leash to piss. I can't play fetch with her either without the leash warning. Sorry but the pup needs exercise and I sure as shit will not be running around with the dog on a leash so she can play fetch.
Just the tip of the iceberg. It is just annoying to live in a neighborhood like that. People never leave their house until you break some stupid little rule. Of course they know you did this because they just stare out their windows all day just waiting for you to screw up.
Humans were not meant to live to be 80 I suppose. |
Cowboy
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 08:22 pm: |
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Age dont have a damn thing to do with it. They just need to find something to do. I am 72 I ride my bikes (X1 and V-rod) I ride in the swamp on 4 wheeler to fish--hunt and trap hogs. I realy enjoy my time I just wish every one would and not be a sour puss. |
Zane
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 10:09 pm: |
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Cowboy,
You have it exactly right! Here's to you. My soon to be ex wife was an OLD woman at 40. Drove her crazy that I refused spend the rest of my life sitting on the couch watching her knit. Well, I hope she has a happy life sitting around waitin' to die but she'll have to do that without me.
I'm happy ridin' my blast and I'm working on acquiring a 36 foot sailboat. If I'm the one to get her, she'll be a free project boat. Let me correct that, I'll acquire her for free but the rebuild will cost several thousand at a minimum. Still, it'll be a great project and a great way to spend time with the boys teaching them how to reason out problems.
Like Jimmy Buffett said "I'd rather die while I'm livin' than live while I'm dead."
No condo commandoes in my future! |
Cowboy
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 10:42 pm: |
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Good on you if you dont like location move on. that is what I call living.
I have 1. question how in hell will you grow OKRA on a boat? |
Zane
| | Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 - 10:52 pm: |
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Okra is grown? I thought it came out people's (expletive deleted). That's what it tastes like anyway... |
Cityxslicker
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 11:11 am: |
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http://www.shopping.com/xPO-Aerogrow_Aerogarden_In door_Garden_Gourmet_Herb_Seed_Kit
 Okra on the go, right of the back of the deck next to the Hibatchi. |
Bbbob
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 12:44 pm: |
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Zane,
I'm in a similar situation in Florida (Cape Coral) came down here in '04 just before the boom. My grandmother at the same time was looking to move from her 3/2/2, in ground screened in pool home to a independent living community (at the time she was 91). She had the house on the market briefly for $125K, closest offer she got was $108K. We worked out a deal where I bought the house & she held the mortgage. Everyone else in the neighborhood was 60+ (I'm 48).
Then the "boom" hit. Real Estate agents were knocking on the door offering $350K. I watched almost the whole neighborhood turn over to younger people.
My taxes were grandfathered at a lower rate, so right now I'm at about $1800. These new people are paying $4000+ in taxes. Add to that $3K for home owners insurance & $700 for flood insurance. It is no longer affordable.
Almost every house that traded hands during the boom is either for sale or pending foreclosure. This county (Lee) is #2 in the country for foreclosures right now behind Stockton Ca.
The home owners & flood insurance more then doubled since '05. This area took almost direct hits in Charlie & Wilma. This house received no damage in either storm. Everyone that has been here to do work on the house has commented on how solidly it is built. But I've been told by many insurance companies my rates are high because it is "old". The house was built in 1970.
The only thing saving me is the house is paid for & my taxes are relatively low. |
Ducxl
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 03:57 pm: |
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We like living in a (not age limited) condo community.We rent though,but extremely cheaply.And i really mean extreme.
Most of my neighbors are seasonal.They remark about our bikes at gatherings,but mostly thank us for limiting the noise.I like that,some controls on activities.No clunkers or junkers,no junk yard dogs,or noisy neighbors.
All of that said,i couldn't afford a house that said "Fido" on the front.I make excellent wages as a CNC machinist,and my wife is a degreed professional.It sucks that i can have some toys but would have to sell EVERYTHING just to own a house.
F THAT! |
Thumper74
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 04:27 pm: |
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Ig, I'm only 24 and I got tired of giving my money away. When Jackie and I started seriously talking marriage we decided to take a look at our leases from our respective apartments and see what we could do. I've got a decent legal background with vehicle service contracts so I was able to find situations where the landlord/mgmt company had violated the leases. Mainly in parking, etc. I had an attorney write a letter and a few weeks later they told us to turn our keys in by the end of the month with no cancellation fees and no credit ding.
We bought the house and while our Agent was a Douche Canoe and the inspector sucked (recommended by agent...), we love the house. I noticed that the basement walls are sweating with the recent rain, there is a VERY slight leak at the chimney in the attic (problem with the metal ring), we had a drain stop working and since all of the plmubing is new I traced it to the basement and found that the main 3" pipe from the floor joists to the main sewer line was completely clogged with rust. I managed to twist the pipe right off the threads at the sewer pipe and replumbed that as well.
I had to wire the basement for 220 to run the drier. It was a drag, almost $100 just for 30ft of 220 wire, not to mention the box, a new 30amp breaker, conduit, etc.
Our neighbors are pretty not bad. The people behind us (we're a corner lot) are retired and have a pool. The people across the street are retired and pretty nice. They let us know the issues that the house has had in the past. The couple next to us have a 39 dodge sedan, he's a sheet metal fabricator who is currently working as a setup guy at modeling shows and training to be a hair dresser. His wife is a teacher. They brew their own beer and wine. The people two houses down was my shop teacher and his wife is a teacher in another school district. |
Brumbear
| | Posted on Saturday, June 28, 2008 - 09:50 pm: |
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We live in a small community in North West Jersey the homes are mixed and we do not have street lights or sidewalks the neighborhood is mixed young and very old I feel very bad for the young couples moving in they have almost hopeless situations. I can say one thing about dogs though I like em but I got 1 small kid if one is not on a leash and in my yard the chinese people down the street got a meal comming I take no chances |
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