Spending wintertime in Florida

Information, hints and advice to live a snowbird’s dream

How I found my own holiday home in a 55+ community

‘The two most beautiful things are the homeland from where we originate and the homeland where we are going to.’

Heinrich Jung-Stilling

Do you want your dream to come true? Set yourself a fixed time date. This report of experience leads you to a concept of realizing your dream.

All questions concerning the region, the right place, the right community and the right home will be answered.

Step by step you will be led to your decision of buying, including all aspects of costs, travel and resident topics, renting out and selling, as well as hints and tips on literature and internet sites.

Table of contents

Abstract

In the beginning there was a dream

Choosing the region in Florida

Choosing the right location

Choosing the right community

Choosing the right house

Decision to buy

What happens in the buying process?

The offer

Purchase agreement

Closing the deal and title

Other documents

Questions and answers concerning costs

What are the initial costs of buying this house?

What do I have to pay for and how much?

Which other initial (one time) costs are there for me?

Which running costs are there per month / year for me?

Which other costs are likely to arise?

Which one time costs of repair have occurred during the first year of owning the used house?

How do I manage bank business

Who does the manual work all around the house?

Renting out

Everything about our community

Are there alternatives?

Duration of stay, visa and ESTA

Selling the house

Tax questions

Tips and hints on literature and internet pages

Imprint

Sources of supply

Abstract

Prices of homes in the US are still historically low. Interest on money in Europe is also historically low. Real estate is interesting for investing especially with the economic downshift in Europe.

A generation of best agers is growing with all intentions of making something out of this part of life.

Why not realizing the dream of owning a nice holiday home in Florida for a number of years to escape the dreadful European winter months in exchange for warm sunshine? All this would take place in the company of nice people with activities of all sorts and in abundance?

What would you think if all this wouldn’t only be very easy to do but on top be quite affordable, too?

In this report the author tells the story of his dream and outlines - out of his own experience – step by step - how he and his wife put it into reality.

He describes vividly how they chose the right region, place and community for them in Florida and finally the right house to buy.

On these pages the crucial findings to make a decision are put together and brought to a point without unnecessary filling text. In reading this ‘Instruction to spend the winter months in Florida’ you save on buying, reading and evaluating numerous books or internet sites, which often just barely touch aspects of the topic.

The author and his wife decided on a first class gated 55+ community and a 1997 fully furnished ‘pre manufactured’ (former model) home at the cost of totally 43.000 US dollars and a monthly all inclusive land and community fee of 900 US dollars. This fee covers all expenses and amenities of the house and the community.

Until their own actual retirement and the longer use of the home then they rent it out in Florida’s main winter season (November – April). Most of the regular expenses are obtained and covered that way.

In this report of own experience all questions before and during the buying process are answered, as well as those concerning the maintenance following.

Tips and hints on recommended literature and internet sites round up this report.

In the beginning there was a dream

When I spend my first Christmas with American friends in Jacksonville being a student of 21 I started dreaming the dream of being in Florida one day during the dreary European winter months. No snow, no ice, no fog, no short grey days, no cold – in exchange for short pants, star lit skys at night, warm nights and parties with friends. Christmas spirit was there, too: but quite different. Different from home and different from Connecticut where I studied, being a Fulbright scholar for 1,5 years.

Again and again with smaller and bigger family we travelled the United States during the following years. We were in most States and all the big cities. We spend vacations in Hawaii as well as the islands of the Bahamas. We travelled California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, state and city of Washington, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, New York, San Diego, Nashville, Charleston, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, St. Louis and the Mississippi as well as the Death Valley or big national parks to name just a few places and stops. We travelled during all seasons and spend from 2 to 6 weeks. But: we always were drawn back to Florida!

We had wonderful vacations with friends in Jacksonville, Miami, Naples and St. Petersburg. We rented holiday homes in Cape Coral, Satellite Beach, Palm Beach, Clearwater or very nice hotels and motels around Orlando or the keys: during many years, sometimes twice a year.

As time passed we found out, how many holiday homes and holiday home communities there are and keep being built in Florida. More than 10 years ago I gave my dream ‘to one day spend the winter months in Florida’ a specific date. I wanted to have my own holiday home once I retired.

Starting then I did research in the internet almost every Sunday. I bought and evaluated all relevant literature. Each of our yearly trips to Florida included from then on topics like: Which region in Florida would be ideal? What to take into consideration in choosing a place? What’s the cost of the dream? Which risks and side effects are there? How does the buying process work for a non American citizen? Which legal facts are to be thought about? What to do, if you found the right house – but there is still some time before actually retiring? What not to forget if you finally spend the winter months in Florida – and your place back home stays vacant?

This ‘HOW TO?’ book is different from the others: I leave out detailed additions of standard tour books like the history of Florida, the attractions, the many possibilities to spend your free time. I describe in short statements and to the point facts about my own experiences of how the dream became reality for me – and how it will work for you.

Choosing the region in Florida

To spend winter time in Florida I recommend the area south of Ocala and Daytona Beach. Here the winter months are 99% frost free. Every 100 kilometers further south lets the temperature go up. In Naples on the Gulf side and in Miami on the Atlantic side winter is the warmest.

Choosing between the coastal area on the Gulf versus the Atlantic side or the midlands of Florida depends on your personal preferences.

Liveliest, cultural active, traffic loaded and comparatively expensive is the Atlantic side. This is especially true for the whole area from Miami to Palm Beach. North of Palm Beach it becomes more quiet (and boring) and cheaper. Behind Fort Lauderdale or Hollywood towards the center you can find nice communities that are quite affordable. The choice is big. The first holiday home communities for snow birds were established in the forties and fifties. Some of them exist until these days.

The Gulf side is a lot more quiet. The Gulf water is quiet, too, often flat as a mirror – quite the opposite of the Atlantic.

Here you can still find the original ‘old Florida’ with its landscapes of swamps, trees full of Spanish Moos and crystal clear rivers. The choice of communities is huge. You’ll find something for big purses just as for relatively small ones.

The most peaceful seclusion you’ll find in the midlands. Lots of undeveloped ‘old Florida’ with its many orange, lemon and grapefruit orchards wait to be discovered. Here you have a big choice of communities, too – prices comparable to the East coast: all in all less expensive than the West coast though.

Choosing the right location

Through the years I invested most of my time on this topic. What exactly did I want? What was my wife looking for? How about children or friends visiting us? Which hobbies did we want to pursue? What was there to do?

The most important question and most important advice in this chapter first:

What do you expect of your social life?

Social contact for us would be most important. One of the biggest deficits in winter time for us in our European home is being alone – with grey, wet and cold weather. If you like being alone: stay at home!

For us it was obvious that we were looking for a holiday community that would offer opportunities to do things together in its lifestyle concept. Therefore a family home in a location like Cape Coral where contacts would have to be made painfully slow was out of the question.

Communities like this come as ‘all age’ and age restricted, or ‘55+ communities’. Here at least one of the two partners moving in has to be 55 years of age or older to be allowed to