Related topic to relocating to FL...

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I am also toying with the idea of moving to south FL. This is driven almost entirely by my boating lifestyle obsession (almost not worth the effort in CA!).

A friend of mine recommended Jupiter as an area to check out. I'd be looking for a home (as opposed to condo) with enough dockage for 80'. Can the someone comment on the area in general? Are there other areas worth looking at in SE FL (namely nice neighborhoods with a good supply of homes with dockage).

I might do some looking if I get to the Miami Boat Show.

Also, a few other questions:

- What are property taxes in FL?
In CA there are about 1.1% of your purchase price.

- Is it possible to get home owner's insurance? What are the premiums like?

- Is it difficult to arrange, even in advance, dry dock for a hurricane?

Thanks in advance!
 
property tax in So Fl is closer to 2 % but if it is your primary residence, assessed value increases are capped at 3% per year.

insurance.. anythign is possible.. just harder and more $$ near the water... :-) i'm sure others can give you some ideas...

hauling out ? i dont' know about the jupiter area. down here there are too few yards for hauling out to be an option, especially larger boats. Moving the boat out of the bullseye is the best bet. 50 miles is usually all you need...

if you're thinking about moving because of boating, you may find areas south even better. more things to do (FL Key, Bahamas) than Jupiter.
 
I agree with Pascal. North of Miami is just a long waterway. The fishing off shore may be great but the cruising is limited just as with CA coast. The primary cruising areas in FL go from Miami around to Clearwater.
 
I just "moved in" to Ft Myers area, staying on my boat behind a house the broker owns (vacant) and got about a week's worth of brainwashing on how great this area is and let me tell ya, it is working.

The kool aid i have been drinking is fantastic. The cruising around the bay and islands is great, Keys are 5h away and there really seems to be something to this place.

I was dead set on the east coast 2 years ago, looked closely around Jupiter and Stuart--really liked this area for the golf. Slowed down a bit with golf, and wife agreed to let me go bongos with a newer boat so now we are liveaboards for a couple months in FTM.

Taking my boat to Charleston in April and may try the east coast next year. If Charleston (seabrook island) works out may stay, but more than likely, will not even try the East coast as originally planned, but come back to this area.

all the best in your search.
 
i've only been thru Ft Myers once with the boat, not enough time, but it looks real nice. lots of destinations like sanibel and cpativa, naples, etc.. some protected waters... probably equal to Miami/biscayne bay
 
It really depends on what kind of water you really like to boat on or for what purpose you use. The east coast can't be beat for fishing for the offshore billfish and close to the Bahamas and Keys. The futher south you go the water gets clearer and the coral reefs off the east coast and keys are some of the best diving sites in the world. The west coast of Florida (Gulf)is shallower water and usually brown water different than the east coast. You have to go a ways out for grouper and snapper fishing or stay close for inshore fishing. Lots to do on either side I just prefer the east coast because of the clearer water and the type fishing I like. All my trailer boater friends go on both sides all within a 1 to 2 hour drive.
 
What are property taxes in FL?
In CA there are about 1.1% of your purchase price.
Check with the property appraisers office and check what the taxes paid were on an address. My taxes are about 2500 per year but I have been in my house 10 years . If you bought a $500,000 house in the same neighborhood around 6500 or 7000 would be normal.
- Is it possible to get home owner's insurance? What are the premiums like? Yes but you will more likley have to go under JUA the state plan. No one will insure my house because I am with in 5 miles of the ocean so I have to go with state.

- Is it difficult to arrange, even in advance, dry dock for a hurricane? Make arrangements as far in advance as possible.
Larger boats are usually better off in the water. I have not had a problem in any of the storms just removed the canvas and prepare the boat but I am also on a dead end canal with the main canal Dania Cutoff at the north end of my block. Boat faired a lot better than the house.
 
I spent a winter season aboard my Trawler in Jupiter and another season in Ft Meyers. Since I stayed aboard and did not own Real Estate I will not go there. My experience is the boating is fine on both the Gulf and Atlantic sides with both having their own pluses. The winter months bring the snow birds. West coast tends to get midwestern folks, and the East gets New Yorkers, Etc. Because of that there tends to be a slight different atmosphere. Palm Beach, Jupitor tends to be a bit more formal, Ft Meyers , more laid back. Expenses, including dock fees and food tend to be higher on the Atlantic side.
 
Thanks everyone, for your input!

It looks like you can get pretty amazing values on the west coast. Miami Beach, south Miami looks like it would offer the cosmopolitan/international aspects and is closer to the islands but are priced much higher. The further north you go, the more suburban it becomes. Palm Beach, I am told, is really snobby!

Am I getting this right?
 
quote:
Originally posted by seahawk215

The west coast of Florida (Gulf)is shallower water and usually brown water different than the east coast.

Click to expand...


Here's some of the 'brown water' we had to suffer through in our time in Tampa Bay.

1000023534_1_17628.jpg
 
Here's the water on our way from ft myers to Useppa Island--roughly along Sanibel and Captiva islands. Had the engines at 1600 rpm and 6 dolphins were following us for about 5 mins.

FTM1001.jpg
 
i've only been thru the west coast once on the boat, but it wasn't brown... nice blue green water...
 
Actually I was referring to the bottom more than the water color. The water is clear usually on both sides. Compared to the water in CA (when I took the boat trip over to Alcatraz) the water not what I am use to here in FL. Way too cold for me and it was in June.
The house (3/3) across the street is going to be put up on the market shortly; it is a fixer upper (needs updating but very livable) but is a nice lot. My lot is 65 by 200 and I think it is the same. The elderly gentleman passed away a little over a year ago. His wife’s daughter took her up north to live with her so it has been vacant for about a year and half. I think it will be put on at around $350,000 so it won’t last long. The other house they owned (2/1) on the next block sold in 1 day at $300,000 and was bought by the first person that looked at it. If you want to look at the neighborhood and check the canal route to the ICW (Microsoft Earth or Google) the address is 4697 SW 35 Ave Fort Lauderdale, FL (it is in the city limits of Dania Beach).
 
This house located at 27°11'2.62"N 80° 9'47.82"W is in Sailfish Point on Hutchinson Island. I'm not sure about the dock size but I believe the bulkhead is approx. 100' and it is in a protected marina basin. It is listed for $2.4M. Hinkley Yard at 27° 8'57.96"N 80°11'36.03"W and American Custom Yachts (ACY) at 80°11'36.03"W 80°16'18.38"W can both handle an 80' for haul-out prior to a hurricane. ACY has recently quadrupled their yard space, all the trees around the facility (as seen in Google Earth) has been cleared for storage. ACY would like all hurricane haul-outs to happen no later than 3 days before the predicted storm arrival.

My wife is an interior decorator and she has been involved in "staging" this house for sale.
 
Goplay, I have a neighbor who has 85' of bulkhead on a canal close to the river with a 3 br, 2 ba, 2 car garage that he would like to sell (For Sale by Owner) for a very resonable price. Contact me at deerows at comcast dot net if you would like more info. There currently is a 58' Azimuth docked on this canal and another neightbor had a 55' Symbol. I believe that both boat owners had to dredge to get suffcient depth at the bulkhead. This is house is in a neighborhood that was originally developed in the late 1960's and early 1970's. Of course, I'm not biased at all since I live in this neighborhood, but I believe that this is a great value.
 
Deerow,

Thank you for the lead. I am not ready to pull the trigger on anything at the moment since I am still trying to determine the ideal area for us. From you signature, are you referring to the Palm City area?
 
goplay, yes this is the Palm City area. Actually, it is the area around the St. Lucie river and inlet. The St. Lucie becomes the Okeechobee Waterway. There is a wide range of waterfront (deep water access) property in this area. It ranges from "wide water" riverfront/ICW property to exclusive waterfront communities to condos on canals with deeded docks. The water is not crystal clear in the St. Lucie because it is freshwater that runs from Lake Okeechobee. There have been issues with water quality during "wet" periods (higher than normal rainfall and hurricanes). Miami is 100 nm south. Captiva Island is 120 nm west thru Lake O (when the water is high enough). West End, Grand Bahama is 65 nm ESE, Hopetown, Elbow Cay is approx. 200 nm.

Miami is ideal. The waters are gin clear and it is also closer to the Florida keys. It is closer to the middle of the Bahamas (45 nm from Bimini, 85 nm from West End, Grand Bahamas). But it is also more expensive. As Pascal said, haul-out for huricanes is almost impossible to find in Miami.
 
"Captiva Island is 120 nm west thru Lake O (when the water is high enough)"

dont' kid yourself, the OWW is closed (one lock is now shutdown) and it's going to remain closed for a LONG time. they're spending millions in upgrading irrigation pumps so that they can run at lower levels...
 
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