i may be a bit premature but.....

[scook]

Before you decide against your own house - compare the cost of condo dues with paying a kid to mow and paint. Looking at a condo, look into the financial reserves, condition of the property (roof, siding, etc.), history of big repair assessments, management - talk to some owners about their experience with the running of the place. Condos can be great but they can also be full of unpleasant financial surprises and it can be a pain to get things fixed if the management is incompetent or the maintenance guy is a slob. You don't want to spend your golden years tearing out what little gray hair you may have left.

[bradford]

Read John D. MacDonald's book Condominium and you'll check things out a lot closer if you decided to buy one at all. Great read btw.

p.s. Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival would apply as well.

[charlie_the_tuna]

Ferm, not sure. didn't know there were two. the one by Sanibel and cape coral and captiva. south end of the island. st james city.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Originally Posted by charlie_the_tuna

Ferm, not sure. didn't know there were two. the one by Sanibel and cape coral and captiva. south end of the island. st james city.

Thats the bigger one which is the one I figured you were talking about. My sister in law lives down there, but inland next to I-75. The area is growing pretty rapidly, and not one of the cheaper areas to live in anymore. It's an unusual area with alot of money with those living out on the islands/beach, but as you go inland it quickly turns into illigal aliens, fruit pickers, and other assorted trash. I would reccomend spending some time in the area as it isn't for everybody.

[macojoe]

Fruit pickers!! Perfect for CTT!! lol

[charlie_the_tuna]

Originally Posted by macojoe

Fruit pickers!! Perfect for CTT!! lol

maco, you'd be the first fruit I pick.

[charlie_the_tuna]

wanted to bring this one back for some more speculation. i'm a bit closer to the move now and have a few friends who are also considering the area. talk to me about FISHING!!! southeast vs southwest. I guess i'll spend some time riding around on my scooter looking for some fishy water. sammich in the basket, rods in the back. maybe some light tackle rod bending action from shore, suds, canals. some nice sammich size snappers and such. how different is the inshore fishing between the east side and the west side? it wont be every day I dunk the boat so i'd like to just scoot up to some water and catch me some tasty fish tacos. what do you south florida guys think???
also, the snorkeling. I know it's awesome on the east coast. what about the west coast?
kayaking?

[13Echo70271]

Just a thought..
A NE Ohio friend who used to own a house in FL now rents a house there for month or so each winter. His rational was that for what he was paying for a house ($165,00 + taxes, maintenance, etc. every year ) he can rent a place or even a different place every winter. He has done this for the past 15 years.

[mawshj]

Originally Posted by scook

Before you decide against your own house - compare the cost of condo dues with paying a kid to mow and paint. Looking at a condo, look into the financial reserves, condition of the property (roof, siding, etc.), history of big repair assessments, management - talk to some owners about their experience with the running of the place. Condos can be great but they can also be full of unpleasant financial surprises and it can be a pain to get things fixed if the management is incompetent or the maintenance guy is a slob. You don't want to spend your golden years tearing out what little gray hair you may have left.

finding a "kid" to mow or do any work was an option years ago, but is no longer an option , in todays world. contract mowers are now paid similar to doctors

[scook]

You got me there Mawshj,

The last kid I used, actually an intelligent (book smart) young guy, managed to knock a chunk off the corner of a concrete step and break the crankshaft in my mower in one stroke. However, I have found that there are quite a few guys in our immigrant population who actually know how to work and aren’t afraid to do it - I’d think Florida should have enough of those really good guys to keep Charlie’s lawn mowed.

I’ll grant you that our native born suburban (and probably urban) kids tend to be a pretty useless bunch when it comes to doing anything involving physical skill or breaking a sweat.