Thursday, October 25, 2012

Emerson-Getten Housing Safari

Mary has always wanted to go on an African Safari and we are still hoping that we can do that in the near future.  But, right now we are on a Housing Safari.

 I frequently go out on ‘Game Drives’ (driving around looking at neighborhoods and houses), in addition to wringing out every last bit of information and insight I can from the internet.  Mary usually stays back at camp – she is busy with work now, and she does not have a great deal of patience for sorting through all the maybes.  She is much more happy to scrutinize the short list.  We are, of course,  looking for the ‘Big Five’ – curb appeal, tropical landscape, open floor plan, great neighborhood and right location.  Oh yes, it has to be affordable for us, too!

We started out thinking we could spend about $400k and be able to be on one of the barrier islands (Gulf Islands) Anna Maria Island, Longboat Key or Lido Key and within walking distance to the beaches of the Gulf.  However, we found that you don’t get a lot for your money and that insurance and taxes out there are high, and when there is a hurricane warning you are in the first evacuation zone. We also realized that while we liked the elevated houses, it actually separates you from the nature that we are trying to get close to.  Also $400k is a stretch and would mean we would both be working for quite a while.  Here are a couple of our ‘affordable’ favorites from the islands..

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/312-57th-St-Holmes-Beach-FL-34217/2131525990_zpid/

We considered trying to build on the islands but all of the lots are in excess of $200k and building is expensive on the islands. Here is one nice lot on Longboat Key..


We then discovered the Northwest Bradenton Area (west of 75th St West and north of Manatee Ave). This area is very close to the beaches (even biking distance) and there is also the Robinson Nature Preserve and Palma Sola Botanical Garden to provide hiking and biking in a large natural area of mangroves and bayous where the Manatee River meets Anna Maria Sound and Palma Sola Bay.  Great bird watching and sunsets!

In this area, it looks like we could get much more house and land and be closer to $300k. We have even seen some pretty good things under $300k.

We have come to understand that we are looking for a combination of house, landscaping, neighborhood and location that has some special ‘wow’ factor for us. We both like unique, and therefore the new or tract neighborhoods feel a little ‘Stepfordish’ to us.  Sometimes, even funky feels a little better than a more upscale but uniform neighborhood.  These three houses are a good representation of what we’ve seen..

http://www.michaelsaunders.com/properties/property-detail/9206-18th-nw-dr-bradenton-fl-34209/M5828312/ (great location and neighborhood)
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8509-19th-Ave-NW-Bradenton-FL-34209/82392202_zpid/ (nice house - similar to Evergreen floor plan (below) – same builder)

Lot prices are much more reasonable in NW Bradenton than on the islands, and we are discovering that building costs are much lower here in Florida than in Washington. Therefore we are likely to consider buying a lot and building a house. The good news is we don’t need or want a big house so it might be possible to get the things we want without the price getting too out of hand. But building is a big uncertainty, so we are considering a house plan with a development home builder, but since it would be on a large lot in a different neighborhood it would not seem as ‘cookie-cutter’.   This is one of the lots we are considering.


These are three of the floor plans we are considering.

http://www.homeplans.com/plan-detail/HOMEPW07702/three-bedroom-
http://nealcommunities.com/model.html?SubivisionID=122&SubdivisionModelID=600

Any feedback, thoughts, ideas or insights you might have will be welcomed and appreciated.
We will keep you posted…

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