Florida’s Best Cities to Live In

How can you evaluate the BEST cities to live in, located in the state of Florida?  Let’s take a look at why people move there in the first place…..  Florida is famous for its great weather and beautiful sandy beaches. If you currently live here or have ever visited, it is also notorious for its terrible drivers, and on a more positive note, Disney World.  When computing the best cities to live in Florida, you will want to consider things such as amenities, the cost of living and employment opportunities.

Orlando

Orlando, Florida is also known as the home of Mickey Mouse, the Orlando Magic and (more recently) the University of Central Florida KNIGHTS. Orlando has a great deal to offer and as cliché as it sounds; Orlando is at the top of the list Orlando, Fl Skylinewhen contemplating a move to Florida.  Currently, Orlando falls short regarding mass transit systems, however, it is easier to get around in a short period of time because it is not a mammoth city and this makes it possible to get anywhere in a relatively short period of time. Taking this into consideration makes the traffic manageable.  Further, Orlando has great creature comforts that include an abundant night life that includes clubs, bars, wine bars, restaurants, sporting events, concerts and the performing arts.  Daytime activities include countless numbers of theme parks, running and biking trails, boating, shopping and with a quick 45 minute drive, a day at one of its famous beaches!  In addition, one should always consider the cost of living and employment. Another bonus is the fact that Florida has no state income tax. The unemployment rate in Orlando is consistently lower than the national average. It is easy to see that living in Florida has much to offer. How about the more quiet side of the coin?

Sarasota

Sarasota, Florida is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, connections to the Ringling family and its ‘school’ of architecture. Located on the southwestern Sarasota, Floridacoast of Florida, Sarasota has a current population of approximately 52,000 people. In the Sarasota area you will enjoy breathtaking sunsets, educational museums, operas, ballets, plays, golf tournaments, and boat races.  Together with its neighbors to the north and south, Manatee County and Charlotte County, Sarasota forms the 7th largest market in Florida and makes up the third-fastest growing major market. Sarasota is one of the most affluent markets in Florida. A wonderful aspect of Sarasota is that the town is still quaint and while most of the shops close down at 6pm, the tranquil beach is still within walking distance for fishing, canoeing or just watching the sunset. The beauty of Sarasota is hard to beat considering the colors of the Gulf of Mexico and Sarasota Bay, contrasting this with the brilliant white sand of Longboat, Lido, and Siesta beaches. Still having a difficult time deciding? Well let’s not stop here…….

The Florida Keys

Travel to the very southern tip of Florida and you will come across the Florida Keys. Key West is the southernmost city in Florida and it is a unique tropical island city. You will experience a taste of Caribbean culture in Key West without ever leaving the United States. Key West is a fun place and can be as relaxing, romantic, or wild as you would want it to be. Experience some Key West, Floridaof the finest saltwater fishing around. Activities include dolphin encounters, kayaking the back country, driving and snorkeling. On land there is shopping, museums, art galleries, theaters and more. It is always 5 o’clock somewhere in the Keys! You can hop in your car, put the top down, and enjoy where your life has taken you. Key West has a laid back lifestyle with your morning routine consisting of putting on a pair of sandals and showing off you Jacuzzi. Admittedly, the job market consists mostly of the tourist industry and the cost of living may run a little high, however, if you are looking for  sun drenched hospitality and island charm…. This is your place.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: MoversAtlas.

What are the most important things I should look for when searching for a new home

When looking for a new home the most important thing you will hear people say is; location, location, location.  So let’s say you have found a picture-perfect area that you would love to live in… then what?  You have located several places that Searching for a new homeyou feel could work, all with great schools, close shopping centers, restaurants and other conveniences.  Then you begin to think: what about taxes, insurance and cost of the purchase?  You may not have selected a picture perfect area in Martha’s Vineyard, however, it is picture perfect to you so let’s look at the cost a little deeper than just the final negotiated price of your humble abode.

No one wants to deplete all the money they have saved the past 10 years on a house and then also have to dump another 15, 20 or even 30 thousand dollars into maintenance, repairs or upgrades!  Maintenance is a huge hidden cost that many people may not consider.  The house has passed inspection: no leaks in the roof, the wiring is up to code, and the house isn’t sinking.  Nice! However, before taking a deep sigh of relief, let’s take a closer look. Some things to take into consideration are the age of the home….. Ask yourself questions like -

How old is the water heater?
How much longer will the roof hold up?
What condition is the exterior paint and windows in?
How long ago was the air conditioning unit replaced and/or how long can it be expected to last?

These answers characteristically have dollar signs following them. For instance, a roof replacement could run as high as 20 thousand dollars by itself! To top it off you find out the air conditioning unit checked out fine when you made your purchase during the comfortable fall season of the year but doesn’t even come close cooling the house during the sweltering summers.  This alone will easily add another $5K on top of your purchase price.

In the meantime, you have gotten to the point where you have several homes in mind and have a checklist with all the pros and cons which will aid you in narrowing down your financial decision. At the same time you have thoroughly read the inspections and reports countless numbers of times and you are pleased with them overall. Is there anything you could have missed? What about items that cannot be easily measured such as home efficiencies?

Have you ever noticed how newer homes seem so much more efficient than the older ones?  Does it all come down to those fancy light bulbs that require a HAZMAT team to dispose of them? Let’s take an inventory. The roof on a home absorbs the majority of the heat. Singularly, there isn’t much that can be done with a typical shingle roof other than choosing a lighter shingle color. However, by taking a deeper look you may find that an older home contains the distinctive spray-in attic insulation, no radiant barriers to block heat, little to no attic ventilation, and no fancy solar vents.

Accordingly, you find the single pane windows contain no tint and very little weather stripping. The old wooden doors on the home tend to open and close similar to the ones you would find at the entrance of a saloon.  Back tracking a little, you begin to wonder if the water heater and air conditioning are up to date with SEER ratings of 13 and above or do the water heaters contain solar capabilities or a hybrid insta-hot?  In the final analysis, these are just a few of the bits and pieces that are very beneficial to excellent energy savers that you will not find are typically discussed before the purchase of a home.

All things considered, I am not against buying an older home. In contrast, older homes are typically built much better than the new ones with far more rigid building materials and are great candidates for investments or a place you call home-sweet-home.  As can be seen there are quite a few more important things to look for when buying a home other than just “location.” Keeping this in mind, and with these tips, the purchase of your home will be much more of a blessing than a curse. Happy hunting!

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.

Get the Title Checked Out When Searching For a New Home

A title company will conduct what amounts to a legal background check on the property you’re considering buying.  In conducting this legal research, title companies perform three important functions.  First, they check to make sure the seller Moving to floridaof the property is, in fact, the legitimate free and clear owner of the property.  Secondly, they will tell you if anyone else has legal claims (liens) on the property.  Finally, the title company will issue title insurance to you (at a price).

By verifying that the seller you are dealing with is the legitimate owner of the property, a title company can save you from potentially bizarre and expensive legal issues.  Title companies search through public records to establish what is known as a “chain of title”.  Each former owner of the property can be visualized as a link, together all the owners throughout the property’s history form a chain of successive ownership that leads right up to the present day.  Title companies will try to identify whether or not the chain of title shows convincingly that the seller of the property actually owns (and can therefore sell) the home.  The title company will also identify which rights and interests (such as the right of possession, occupancy, inheritance, etc) the seller can legally pass to you.

As an example, picture this – Randy, the guy who sold you your home wasn’t actually the owner, but he doesn’t know that and neither do you.  Instead, his great uncle Ale inherited the house 6 months ago because Randy’s grandparents transferred the deed to Ale right before they died for some unknown reason.  Uncle Ale who was in poor health, completely forgot about this and Randy was unaware that anything even happened so neither bothered to review their inheritance very carefully (Uncle Ale was already 88 and didn’t really care anyway).  To top it all off, unfortunately Uncle Ale has just passed away.  However, his son Mike found out that he now owns the house as he was sifting through some of Ale’s old things.  Mike and his Swedish bride are now suing you to establish that they are the rightful owners the home you just bought.  Believe it or not, bizarre events like this can happen.  And given that many properties in the U.S. have chains of title stretching back well over a hundred years, it’s a good idea to get your potential home checked out.  A title company will search public records to see if issues exist and just as importantly, it will issue insurance to protect you if a problem the company didn’t catch presents itself later on.

There are also scam artists out there who try to sell homes they don’t actually own.  These people may be professional scammers or people who have lost their home for whatever reason and are trying to make some quick cash.  In either case, if you buy a home from someone who doesn’t own it, it isn’t actually yours; all you’ve really done is give a thief a lot of your hard earned cash.  Using an independent title company to check out the property before you hand over any money can help you avoid this type of scam.

More common than outright scams are lien issues.  As discussed earlier, a title company will alert you to any liens against the property of interest.  This is important because once you become the owner of the home, you can become liable for many of the previous owner’s debts (such as unpaid property taxes).  By alerting you to liens on the property, a title company can help you avoid these potentially expensive issues.

As stated above, the title company will issue you, the home buyer, what is called title insurance.  This insurance will protect you from serious financial loss if a title problem crops up that the title company didn’t catch when conducting the search.  Since public records don’t typically record every detail of what has happened to a property and who owns what, there is always the potential for a legal problem to appear with regard to the title.  For a one-time premium, the title company will cover claims related to problems that could have been discovered from the public record search and “non-record” defects in the title.  Non-record defects are claims to the title that come out of left field and couldn’t have been easily discovered by you or the title company.  While the coverage is great, the best part is that the insurance will last as long as you hold the title.

So for a relatively low up-front cost, you will not only be alerted to possible problems before you sign any papers, but you will also have the peace of mind that comes with knowing any future legal challenges to your title will be covered under the insurance you purchased.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.