Moving From Ohio to Florida POSSBILY (Cape Coral, Sarasota: transplants, sales, power lines)

[JustinC91]

So My wife and I were talking about possibly moving to florida from ohio but seeing the pricing of the housing and the condition of the existing housing... Doesn't seem worth moving into a 800 sqft home for 180k...

My question is.. Is it worth doing that and would it be the cheaper option to buy land, Buy a double wide that would be big enough for my wife and I, 4 pets total, and possibly a child in the future. What else would i need to consider and think of price wise? Is there any hidden costs that people over think? I've never ventured into this sort of thing and we just purchased our first home 2 almost 3 years ago in ohio and honestly we don't like living up here anymore. The snow is terrible, the cold is terrible, its dark and grey out. No greenery or anything.

Moral of the story.

Cheaper to buy land + double wide and run electric/water/sewage? (depending on where in florida thats zoned for this)

or Buy a pre existing house/modular home?

[ohio_peasant]

As an ex-Ohio resident and now a California resident, I've considered a similar escapade, taking some interest in SW Florida. Individual circumstances vary. For me the biggest cost-savings would be the state income tax, which was large in Ohio but outrageous in California... and evidently zero in Florida.

Another reason that I'd consider relocation to Florida is to escape California's mask mandates. For those who have experienced them, these mandates are so risibly onerous, that one is easily led to desperate things, in scrambling for alternatives. Florida shines as a bastion of sanity!

Housing costs will be higher pretty much anywhere, than in the Midwest. Ohioans are at abject disadvantage. The house that I sold in Ohio, had a value, commensurate with a down-payment in California. Such relocation is as good as being a first-time buyer, even if selling a paid-off house. Nationwide disparities are enormous!

Casual perusal of real-estate websites suggests, that acreage in-land (but within commuting-distance to the ocean coast) in the Ft. Myers, vs. acreage with a ready-built house, does not enormously differ in price. That is, the cost of buidling the house, is discounted at point of sale. Between this, and lack of experience in improving raw-land and navigating the permits-process and so on, I'd be inclined to buy something ready-built.

[jack_m_roun]

Have you decided not to move then? I know I wouldn't do it at this point, not worth it if you put a pencil to it.

[Ron61]

I moved to SW Florida several years ago from Ohio. Florida was one of the few places where my wife’s health wasn’t adversely affected. Because her health has improved here, I will say for that reason alone the move was a good decision. Can I say I like everything about Florida? Hardly!

I don’t mind the extreme heat and humidity of summer because I can handle it. I have had to learn to do some things early in the morning however, which is no big deal. What I cannot stand about Florida is the October thru April “Season”. The population triples in the small town I live in, and the infrastructure cannot handle so much traffic and so many people.

During Season I refuse to go to the beaches because of the crowds and rude people. That’s the thing that a lot of people from up North don’t understand. So many visitors treat this place like bad renters treat their rental home. It’s not theirs, so they don’t care about it.

I could give a whole lot more info but suffice it to say that if you’re serious about moving here, take the time to study what you’re moving into. Otherwise you may regret it.

[jack_m_roun]

Originally Posted by Ron61

I moved to SW Florida several years ago from Ohio. Florida was one of the few places where my wife’s health wasn’t adversely affected. Because her health has improved here, I will say for that reason alone the move was a good decision. Can I say I like everything about Florida? Hardly!

I don’t mind the extreme heat and humidity of summer because I can handle it. I have had to learn to do some things early in the morning however, which is no big deal. What I cannot stand about Florida is the October thru April “Season”. The population triples in the small town I live in, and the infrastructure cannot handle so much traffic and so many people.

During Season I refuse to go to the beaches because of the crowds and rude people. That’s the thing that a lot of people from up North don’t understand. So many visitors treat this place like bad renters treat their rental home. It’s not theirs, so they don’t care about it.

I could give a whole lot more info but suffice it to say that if you’re serious about moving here, take the time to study what you’re moving into. Otherwise you may regret it.

Exactly right-on.


Season, however, is becoming less pronounced now. Years earlier the population increase was dramatic and very noticeable - now, these idiots don't go home. You're right is that they still don't care about the environment, infrastructure or anything else.


What cracks me up is that even posters here, who don't even live remotely close, and never have, or who have just moved here, seem to suggest they know it all and chime in with no real good reason to do so. I never understood that. Now everyone, even newcomers or transplants-to-be are so-called experts on various communities and even the political landscape.

[GrahamS1953]

DO NOT come to SW Florida unless you love BAD DRIVING, TRAFFIC, and Millions of arrogant snowbirds. Place has become a nightmare.

[AaronDavidSchultz]

Originally Posted by GrahamS1953

DO NOT come to SW Florida unless you love BAD DRIVING, TRAFFIC, and Millions of arrogant snowbirds. Place has become a nightmare.

CORRECT, the SWFL corridor is almost a horror show, the worst transition is all of the arrogant knowitalls that are fairly new permanent residents/transplants now in Sarasota and Manatee counties - most from NY, Long Island, NJ, CT, DC corridor, Chicagoland, and even now from California in my hood. What a bunch of reeel fine people imho


I will say that Ft. Myers, Estero, Bonita, Naples has lost its mind with these fools. A real shame.

[GrouperK]

Originally Posted by GrahamS1953

DO NOT come to SW Florida unless you love BAD DRIVING, TRAFFIC, and Millions of arrogant snowbirds. Place has become a nightmare.

You forgot accidents, red light runners, people with their face buried in their phone while driving, ever increasing growth with poor road expansion, scammers galore, etc. Seven years ago when I moved back to Florida it was tolerable; the past two years showed me it’s not worth the trouble staying anymore. I can’t run a business not knowing if my help is going to show up or if the cheap *ss customer is going to pay me.


My new job out of state can’t come soon enough.

[wrightflyer]

Originally Posted by jack_m_roun

Season, however, is becoming less pronounced now. Years earlier the population increase was dramatic and very noticeable - now, these idiots don't go home. You're right is that they still don't care about the environment, infrastructure or anything else.

I've heard the same from my grandparents who have been full-time residents of either Cape Coral or Ft. Myers via DC and Prince George's County since 1994. It was always a pain to visit in snowbird season when we would visit as kids. And now it seems to be a pain anytime of year as an adult that wants to simply visit family.

But now, whether it is my grandmother's outlook in her 80's or just the sheer number of people permanently moving to SWFL (Lee and Collier Counties in particular), all I hear are the same complaints from her every time I talk. "The 'snowbirds' don't go home. The traffic doesn't seasonally adjust anymore. The roads are crowded. I don't feel safe driving or going out to shop with the large number of people who are rude or inconsiderate." Paraphrasing there, but you get the gist.

As my grandparents are also staunch conservatives and play Fox News on repeat (for good or bad), they also complain about the people from liberal cities (looking at you NYC/NJ/CT, Chicago, and CA people ) fleeing their high taxes and cost burdens, but that they shouldn't expect those "liberal regulations" down here. Whatever that means...

--

Point being, to the OP, don't move. Not worth it with prices the way they are. If you really want to move in the future, which would be my only recommendation for going to SWFL - do it later to see if things plateau - I would consider buying land and determine when you want to move down on your schedule and budget. That way, you are not saddled with an overpriced home (new-build or resale), dealing with inflated construction costs, and not knowing if QoL and CoL will really balance out. Taxes will have to go up, likely property and sales tax since FL has no income taxes, to cover all the new residents and new infrastructure needed for supporting that population jump.

Worst that could happen is the land goes bust, but at least you won't be saddled with a house that you cannot sell outside a loss because the market dives. Doubt it will be like 2008, but I think people who bought between 2019 and today are going to be stuck for 3-5 years beginning the end of 2022 / beginning of 2023. Not a problem, unless you need to move inside that dip and can't cover the mortgage payoff. Of course, if you pay cash, not as big a problem if there is a market dip.

And if the market doesn't bust or plateau and you realize you don't want to live here, you can always sell the land at an appreciated price.

[Sunshine Rules]

Originally Posted by JustinC91

So My wife and I were talking about possibly moving to florida from ohio but seeing the pricing of the housing and the condition of the existing housing... Doesn't seem worth moving into a 800 sqft home for 180k...

My question is.. Is it worth doing that and would it be the cheaper option to buy land, Buy a double wide that would be big enough for my wife and I, 4 pets total, and possibly a child in the future. What else would i need to consider and think of price wise? Is there any hidden costs that people over think? I've never ventured into this sort of thing and we just purchased our first home 2 almost 3 years ago in ohio and honestly we don't like living up here anymore. The snow is terrible, the cold is terrible, its dark and grey out. No greenery or anything.

Moral of the story.

Cheaper to buy land + double wide and run electric/water/sewage? (depending on where in florida thats zoned for this)

or Buy a pre existing house/modular home?

Before purchasing vacant land in FL with the intention of adding any sort of mobile home, you will want to first check with local zoning to make sure that's even an option as a lot of vacant land in FL is not zoned for that usage.

If zoning allows a mobile home and utilities are not available at the nearest road, then hold up on buying until you have gotten quotes on running power lines to the property. People are often surprised to find out it can cost $25,000 or more if the nearest lines are currently miles down the road.

Most rural areas that will allow mobile homes on land will not have access to public water and sewer, so you will also need to get quotes for a well for water and septic system. You'll also want to find out if local water is high in mineral content and if so, what types of minerals as filtration systems may be needed.

All of this can add up quickly.

On existing mobile homes on land, you'll want to have well and septic systems both inspected and the well tested, if not central water/sewer, before purchasing. Make sure any contract you sign has a sufficient inspection period, and that the contract gives you an option to cancel if inspection results are not to your satisfaction. Also worth noting is that it is very difficult to get a loan for a mobile home on land if the mobile home is older than approximately 1978 (lenders vary somewhat). Also, many insurance companies will not provide insurance on older mobile homes and those that will provide it will have specific requirements that include sufficient strapping down of the mobile home for hurricanes and tropical storms.


My question would be have you visited the area(s) of Florida you are considering moving to? If so, were you on vacation or actively checking out the area(s) for a potential move? Vacationing and a "move search mission" are two entirely different things. The more info you gather up front, the better off you will be.