So you’re moving to Florida to get away from the cold, the dark, the snow, the ice, the salt, the rust, and the lack of school choice. I did – and I love it here!
Other advantages of Florida include:
- No income tax
- No mandatory car inspection
But it’s not all peaches and cream. Here are a few things your real estate agent is unlikely to tell you. In no particular order.
Builders
If you’re having a new house built for you, or you’re buying a house which is still under the 10 year warranty by the builder, the competence and decency of the builder are important. Here are some builders with which people in our neighborhood have had experience.
- M.I. Homes: Has been very good about remediating second floor stucco within the 10 year warranty period.
- KB Homes and Beazer Homes: Our neighbors say they have had to sue them to get second floor stucco issues resolved.
Second Floor Stucco
Almost all houses in Florida have concrete block first floors. If they have a second floor it is almost always wood studs and sheathing. Stucco sticks well to concrete block, but not at all to wood sheathing. In order to apply stucco to wood sheathing, several things must be done perfectly by the contractor your builder hired and which will disappear immediately when finished. What is the probability of those things all being done perfectly?
If second floor stucco is not done perfectly, the stucco may pull away from the “lath” (wire mesh). It will likely crack. Water will enter the cracks, get behind the stucco, and rot the wood sheathing and perhaps the studs and sills.
If you can’t live without a second floor, make sure it’s either concrete block or uses some kind of finishing other than stucco.
Second story houses do have some advantages over single story houses.
- They have a lower exterior surface area for a given interior square footage. This can make them less expensive to cool.
- They have a lower square footage of roof for a given interior square footage. This can make it less expensive to replace the roof covering.
- The air handlers for the air conditioning units may be on the second floor. If that is the case, then the air intakes are likely on the first and second floor ceilings. This is Very Good because they will pick up much less dust than they would if they were near the floor.
Garages
When you move into your new house be sure to take a photograph of your garage while it’s still empty. You will want to look at it later and perhaps mount it on the wall to remember your empty garage by. This is especially true if you are moving from an area in which full basements and walk-up attics are common. Florida houses do not have walkup attics, and if they did, they would be too hot and humid to store anything of value. Florida houses also do not have basements. They would be very wet. Your options are to buy a house with a spare room, store your stuff in your garage (and leave your cars in your driveway), or keep your stuff in a rental storage unit. In Florida it is unusual for garages to be used for cars. If you insist on putting your cars in your garage, there are many “storage” companies who will be glad to take your money. (Example: 10’ x 10’ climate controlled for $106 per month.) Sheds are typically not allowed by HOAs. You might want to find a house with a triple, rather than a dual, garage.
Water
Housing developments are piped for potable water and sewage. Some developments are also piped for “reclaimed water”, which is water which has passed through a sewage treatment plant, and is used only for irrigation. My water utility charges for potable water by the gallon. It also charges for sewage by the gallon of potable water used. This practice is annoying if you do not have reclaimed water available and so have to use potable water for irrigation. It is also annoying if you have to add water to your swimming pool. If you do not have reclaimed water available for irrigation, you can have a second water meter installed (at your expense, I think) for your irrigation water. You will also have to have a working “backflow prevention device”.
Irrigation backflow preventer devices are designed for installation on potable water lines to protect against both back-siphonage and back-pressure of contaminated water from sprinkler systems into the potable water supply. Backflow assemblies provide protection where potential health hazards exist. (https://www.sprinklerwarehouse.com/product/lawn-irrigation/backflow-preventers)
Have your house checked for polybutylene water pipes (preferably before you buy it). They were used in home construction between 1978 and 1995, and can spontaneously split inside walls, causing serious water damage.
There are some good reasons to have a water softener. However, you will have to fill it with salt periodically. Ours takes 200 lbs and regenerates every 6 days, generating about 150 gallons of mildly salty regeneration water. I let it run down the driveway because it doesn’t soak into the soil fast enough.
HOAs
Home Owner Associations are common in Florida.
Advantages of HOAs
- A certain amount of order is maintained by the HOA. If someone violate the HOA rules, they will be fined, and if they do not pay the fine it will result in a lien against their house.
- Neighborhood order is likely to result in value to your house.
- Your neighbor is unlikely to have a car up on blocks in their front yard, or a house which is painted in shocking pink.
Disadvantages of HOAs
- You have to obtain HOA permission for any changes you make to your house. Examples: path lights, flower pots, landscape beds in your front yard; tree removal and planting; painting; roof repair or replacement.
- You are likely to be required to use Saint Augustine “grass”.
- You can be fined. Examples: failure to obtain HOA permission for changes, failure to mow and trim your grass, failure to trim your bushes and trees, failure to powerwash your sidewalks and driveways.
- Yearly HOA dues. These vary from $100 to $400 or more per year. If your house is in a gated community, your dues will be high because the HOA has to pay for road maintenance.
Housing Developments
Housing developments have the following problems.
- Because of unenlightened zoning, you will not be able to walk to a store.
- Houses are often too close together.
Roofs
The lifetime of a Florida roof is about 15 years. This is because of solar heat, hail or hurricane damage.
Insurance scams
Homeowners insurance in Florida is very expensive. This is partly because some roofing companies have engaged in a scam in which they offer a free inspection, claim to find weather damage, and then get the homeowner to sign an “assignment of benefits” document which allows the roofer to sue the insurance company. The insurance company, knowing it will cost it more to fight the lawsuit than it will to approve the claim, capitulates, resulting in increased premiums for all of their customers. I believe this practice has now been made illegal in Florida. However, some insurance companies are dropping roof insurance for roofs which are older than 15 years.
Animals in you attic
Some roofs have designs which include what are known as “birds mouths” or “roof returns”. These are points where two slopes intersect, resulting in a space where an animal can get leverage to push up on soffit covers and obtain an entrance to the attic. Roofers typically do not have enough experience with animal problems to properly secure these areas. You will have to contact an animal control service. They are currently charging about $145 per “birds mouth”, and $280 to $690 to trap and remove animals (depending on what kind of animals are involved). So you don’t want to wait until you hear animals in your attic before you secure your “birds mouths”.
Algae
Algae grows everywhere: in your pool, on your front door columns, on your windows, on your driveway and sidewalks, on your roof and roof trim. It makes everything look dirty. The standard way to remove it is with a power washer. Electric power washers take a Long Time. Gas power washers are better, but are yet another maintenance item. If you don’t keep the algae under control, your HOA may fine you.
Services
Everyone in Florida wants to serve you … for a price. It is very difficult to keep your house in order without services. Here are a few.
- Lawn service (mowing, edging, and blowing)
- Tree and shrub trimming
- Tall palm tree trimming
- Lawn care service (pesticide, fertilizer)
- Power washing
- Pest control
- Pool service
Avoid corner lots. There is much more grass to mow and trim. Much more sidewalk to power wash. There is less privacy (two sides exposed to streets rather than one).
Insulation
Florida houses do not have walkup attics. The attics do not have floors, and typically have loose, blown-in insulation. You can add as much attic insulation as you want. Attic insulation is important because Florida attics get Very Hot. It is very important to have good ventilation airflow in your attic (from soffits to vents) to keep the attic cool, reducing cooling costs and increasing roof lifetime.
Florida houses are typically constructed with grossly insufficient exterior wall insulation. This makes them more expensive to heat and cool than they should be. Adding post-construction wall insulation is extremely expensive. I’m not sure whether or not one can convince a builder to implement adequate exterior wall insulation when ordering a house.
Air conditioning
When I moved to Florida, I calculated that my heating/cooling costs would be less than I had in New York. The deviation from desired indoor temperature in the north reaches 70 degrees, while in Florida it’s no more than 30 degrees. Therefore, less cost. I was desperately wrong. The main reason is because cooling is less efficient than heating.
Moving
You may find that you save money by selling or donating your “stuff” before moving, and then buying what you really need after you move. Otherwise, you will likely end up with a garage full of boxes which you do not open for 10 years. Carpets are not very useful in FL because rooms are either tiled or wall-to-wall carpeted. Window curtains are not useful because windows usually have blinds.
Pools
You do not want a house with a pool unless you have money to burn. A boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which you pour money. A pool is like a boat.
- If you add a pool to a house which does not have one, it will take the better part of a year and cost four times the price difference between buying a house with a pool and adding a pool to a house. This means that adding a pool to your house will add only about one forth of the cost of the pool to the value of your house. Ask your real estate agent about this.
- If you don’t have a screened enclosure for your pool, you are legally required to have a fence around it. People’s children drown in other people’s pools. And your pool will have debris blown into it.
- If you do have a screened pool enclosure:
- You will have to replace the screens due to ultraviolet light damage after about 10 to 15 years at a cost between $1,000 and $3,000.
- If you carefully maintain the enclosure, you will have to replace the entire structure after about 25 years at a cost of $20,000 to $30,000.
- Builders cut pool enclosure costs by using plain steel screws instead of stainless steel screws. Use of plain steel screws to fasten aluminum construction results in galvanic corrosion of both the screws and the aluminum.
- You will eventually have to resurface the pool. This involves removing the water, and removing and replacing the surface. This costs thousands of dollars.
Avoid pools with planting areas within the pool enclosure. Plants like Robellini palm trees will grow up through the top screens, and will dump pollen, flowers, and seeds into the pool. Ask me how I know.
Lawns
Many HOAs require St. Augustine grass. If you are from the north, you will not recognize it as grass. The HOAs require it because it remains “mostly” green throughout the dry, cool Florida winter. “Green” is important to property values, and therefore to housing developers, real estate agents, and (possibly) homeowners. However, the expenses related to managing St. Augustine grass offset at least part of its contribution to property value.
- It requires lots of water, fertilizer, and pesticide. (“Chinch bugs” can destroy your lawn – and your neighbor’s lawn.)
- It grows over sidewalks, etc. and so requires regular edging.
- It cannot be grown from seed. If it dies, you must re-sod. Re-sodding is very expensive.
- Most Florida lawns have in-ground irrigation. Some use “reclaimed water”.
- Floridians normally hire at least two “services” for their lawns:
- “Lawn Service” to cut and trim lawns, and also to trim bushes. I pay $120 per month.
- “Lawn Care Service” to fertilize and apply pesticide. I pay $151.20 every two months.
Driving
- Tinted car windows (you can’t see what that foolish driver looks like)
- Highway tolls.
- It is essential to have a toll transponder for each of your vehicles.
- Don’t forget to associate your vehicle’s license plate with its transponder. Otherwise, you will pay double if the transponder doesn’t work and you are charged by license plate.
- Your vehicle’s license plate and driver will be photographed at toll plazas.
- Drivers. You will encounter the following behaviors:
- Using cell phones while driving
- Weaving
- Tailgating
- Drivers from other countries who are ignorant of the laws.
- Red traffic lights last a long time. You will be tempted to use your phone while waiting.
- Roads
- Roads in Florida are not subject to freeze/thaw destruction. Pot holes are extremely rare.
- Roads in Florida are subject to ever increasing traffic due to ever increasing population. This means there will be massive road construction and widening projects which take years to complete.
- Accidents
- By some miracle I don’t notice many crashes. The percentage of aggressive, careless, or incompetent drivers is very low – so low that in spite of the huge amount of traffic there are not many crashes.
- On the other hand, I know of two people who have been hit from behind while stopped by someone driving at full speed.
Car insurance
According to MarketWatch, Florida has the third highest average full-coverage car insurance rates. According to my insurance company, this is because Florida car owners must pay for uninsured drivers in order to protect themselves from the 25% of Florida drivers who are uninsured. And the Florida legislature likely doesn’t change this because it would result in large numbers of people unable to get to work.
Search the Internet for “florida car insurance uninsured motorist”.
DMV
In Florida, the DMV is known as the “Tax Collector”. In order to obtain service at a DMV you have to make an appointment.
Health care
Many people are moving to Florida. Not enough of them are doctors. You will have trouble finding good doctors. This may be universal in the US, but it’s certainly true in Florida.
Since Florida does not participate in “Medicaid Expansion”, it is very difficult to get on Medicaid in Florida. If your income is within a low band, you will be able to get a good ACA health insurance policy.
If you are moving to Florida, it might be a good idea to obtain filled prescriptions for medications you might need if you got sick because it is not unusual not to be able to get an appointment with a doctor for a month or more.
Doctor’s offices have trouble hiring competent staff.
Don’t get sick in November or December. Doctors are taking vacations, and patients who have reached the “out-of-pocket maximums” for their health insurance are trying to get as much healthcare as possible before January 1.
Oddly, there seems to be no shortage of dentists in Florida, and some of them are very hungry and will upsell you mercilessly.
Ceiling fans
Every house has ceiling fans. They make it possible to be comfortable at a higher thermostat setting, thus saving money. Unbalanced ceiling fans make annoying noises. Imbalance can be caused by the dust which accumulates on the leading edges and tops of the blades. You can purchase kits for balancing your ceiling fans.
Wall finishes
Up north, sheetrock walls and ceilings are smooth. In Florida, smooth walls and ceilings are very rare. There are three different finishes: orange peel, knockdown, and popcorn. The only reason I have heard for this is that these finishes tend to disguise sloppy sheetrock work. If you have to repair a sheetrock wall or ceiling, applying a matching finish to your work is challenging.
Taxes
Make sure you sign up for the Homestead Exemption for your property taxes.
“Save Our Homes”
Do I need to reapply for a homestead exemption every year?
No. We will renew your homestead exemption annually as long as you continue to qualify for the exemption. After January 1 of each year, we will send you a homestead exemption receipt by mail to confirm the renewal.