Owning a home in Florida

[Anonymous]

What’s it like owning a home in Florida?

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work?
Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan?
How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? More maintenance? The same?

If you live in FL part-time, what do you do to maintain your home when you’re not there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s it like owning a home in Florida?

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work?
Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan?
How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? More maintenance? The same?

If you live in FL part-time, what do you do to maintain your home when you’re not there?

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work? - Yes, and it's expensive.

Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan? - Uhh..maybe...wait...I know...never mind...

How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? - Apples and Oranges?

More maintenance? The same? - New England to...Tropical weather. How *ucking stupid can you be?

[Anonymous]

It depends where in Florida you live. Homeowners’ insurance is very expensive due to roofing scams. The legislature was working on a reform to the system but I’m not sure if/when that’ll make a difference. Age of the roof is a big factor in determining insurance costs. You only need flood insurance if you’re in a flood zone on the FEMA maps, but you should probably buy it anyway. You also need to budget for year-round pest control. If you’re buying a SFH with a pool, you have to factor in maintenance and upkeep for that too, but it’s usually not super expensive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It depends where in Florida you live. Homeowners’ insurance is very expensive due to roofing scams. The legislature was working on a reform to the system but I’m not sure if/when that’ll make a difference. Age of the roof is a big factor in determining insurance costs. You only need flood insurance if you’re in a flood zone on the FEMA maps, but you should probably buy it anyway. You also need to budget for year-round pest control. If you’re buying a SFH with a pool, you have to factor in maintenance and upkeep for that too, but it’s usually not super expensive.

If you aren't going to live in the house FT you need to probably budget for someone to maintain the property in your absence.

[Anonymous]

When we lived in Miami, home owners insurance was $12K/year for a $500K SFH not on the coast. And we were lucky in that we were even able to get insurance. A lot of our neighbors who owned their homes outright did not bother getting insurance and saved money instead to rebuilt. Oh, and you can't get a mortgage unless you have insurance, so hopefully you're buying cash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What’s it like owning a home in Florida?

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work?
Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan?
How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? More maintenance? The same?

If you live in FL part-time, what do you do to maintain your home when you’re not there?

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work? - Yes, and it's expensive.

Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan? - Uhh..maybe...wait...I know...never mind...

How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? - Apples and Oranges?

More maintenance? The same? - New England to...Tropical weather. How *ucking stupid can you be?

We don’t live in New England, PP. We live in the Mid Atlantic. I get your points but asking how ******* stupid can they be? Calm down.

[Anonymous]

What’s it like owning a home in Florida? Great. We rent it out most of the time and visit a few times a year.

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work? Just don't be in a bad flood zone.
Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan? Probably shorter due to salt air. For example, when we needed a new AC unit, that's when we learned that our current one was not rated for salt air. Live and learn/cheap ass builder.
How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? More maintenance? The same? We have a management company so as long as your management company is good and the report issues, you can get ahead of them- eg, when to paint, if you need pest control visits, etc.

If you live in FL part-time, what do you do to maintain your home when you’re not there? N/A Mgmnt company manages year-round.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s it like owning a home in Florida?

Is it difficult to insure your home and how does flood insurance work? Yes, it's difficult to insure your home. The government is working on solutions. Don't buy in a flood zone.
Do your mechanical systems last a full 10 years, or does the weather shorten the lifespan? All systems (and windows, trim etc.) have a shorter lifespan at or near the beach. This is true in northern beaches too. It's the salt air. Are you looking near the beach?
How would owning a home in Florida compare to owning a home in the DMV? More maintenance? The same? Different, but not necessarily more. No snow to shovel. Mow your lawn year-round. But you can put in low maintenance landscaping that looks great. Enjoy greenery and outdoor living year-round. Our DC lawn was much more high maintenance with constant replanting for the seasons. Pools are easy to maintain.

If you live in FL part-time, what do you do to maintain your home when you’re not there?

Most people hire someone to do landscaping and maybe someone to check on things. This is why condos are very popular. Lock and leave and no worries.