Moving to/living in Orlando

Glad I could offer some info... Dr. Phillps is a nice area, but it is older area and more and more the city/tourist areas are pushing in on that area... Ocoee is a nice quite area with a small town feel, we have friends that live over there and they really like it, we did look at house over there when we were deciding on where to build at... one reason that we choose not to was it was harder for DH to get to the main road ways that he travels, 429, (toll road) Fl Turn Pike, I-4, 528, hwy 27 and hwy 50 and the other main ones to get around Orlando...

We live in Winter Garden, and just love it. It honestly met everything we needed on our list and then a whole lot more. So we jumped in and we are glad that we did. We did have a advantage we are both from Florida, and we both grew up in the central Florida area. When we moved back from GA, after almost 6 years, things changed alot... so we decided to rent for a year then it was another year while the house was being built... We are living the lifestyle that we want, close to the parks without being in all the tourist stuff, close to the water, we have a boat, and its easy to pick it up and head out on a weekend, to the river, lakes, or haul to the gulf for scallop season, or head to disappearing island for the day, fishing, swimming relaxing...

I do think that I saw that you were interested in a YMCA we have a really nice one here in Winter Garden... You can see it from the turnpike when exiting off of the turnpike onto the 429 coming from I-75

I will give you a bit of advice, I hope you don't mind.... I know your looking for a single family, which is a big commitment, and since your not familiar with the area, you might want to explore renting for a year, before jumping in to buying house. Getting to know the area is really important, and I tell everyone that ask about making the move, to look at this option. We had some friends that made the move here, and were going to buy a house right away, then they decided to wait, and rented (single family home) in the area that they were thinking about buying in. They were so glad that they did not buy in the area that they were renting, they realized that what they thought the area was like and what the realtor told them it was like was not in fact what they were looking for... They spent a whole year trying on different areas, shopping, eating, going to the movies, driving through areas at night, they figured out what type of lifestyle that they wanted to live here... He started playing golf then she started playing and they ended up buying a house in Clermont at Legends its one of the communities that has a golf course, and Kings Ridge is across the hwy. They used to wonder why we went to the parks all the time, now they know... and are AP holders now...

Another thought is when you are looking at home, you need to know if the home will require flood insurance if it is in a flood zone or low lying area, which will add to your overall mortgage payment, and whatever you do get a home inspection and use someone that you are paying directly, so that they are working for you and your interest... as well as make sure the house has had termite treatments and if the contract can be transferred to you.

Let us know if how things work out.
Dh is thinking we should rent for awhile, too. The problem is the cheapest I've seen for anything besides an apartment is $1,600. I've only been looking on Zillow so that could be why, but the rentals look pretty pricey (most of them hovering around $1,750-$1,800). I like the Winter Garden area, but so many of the houses have the garage in the back with no yard and I HATE it. It's not for me at all. I need at least a little green space and I don't like that my backyard would be a road with garages. I've always wanted a jet ski, but we probably wouldn't get one for a pretty long time.

We currently don't go to a YMCA. We go to our town's rec center because it's closer and has a lot better facilities. The YMCA here is in a bad part of town and is pretty crappy, but if the one by you is nice and we're in the area we would check it out.

I would absolutely consider renting if it will help us find the area we like most. When you look at rentals are you seeing much? Everything I'm seeing is so expensive for a rental (more than we pay per month on our mortgage). I would probably want to pick one rental and stay there until we find an area we like because we have cats and it's a pain to move them around to a new place often.

I have been looking into the flood zones a bit. I haven't gone in depth with it yet since we don't know if we're moving yet, but it'll definitely be something we look at. I would rather just not deal with a house in a flood zone if we can avoid it. Are termites really bad down there?
 
When we moved here, we were told it's not if you'll get termites...it's when. We have a sentricon system. We've had termites three times in 15 years. Because we have the Sentricon system, they've been detected and treated before any damage.

Rentals are expensive. Most of the rentals go for more than our mortgage payment. Again, housing is in great demand in this area.

Before we moved here, we flew down and had a real estate agent show us around. We gave her our criteria and she showed us neighborhoods. We weren't looking at specific houses, but for areas that suited our needs. It worked out very well. Something you might want to consider. You just can't get a good feel for an area looking at individual house listings.
 
When we moved here, we were told it's not if you'll get termites...it's when. We have a sentricon system. We've had termites three times in 15 years. Because we have the Sentricon system, they've been detected and treated before any damage.

Rentals are expensive. Most of the rentals go for more than our mortgage payment. Again, housing is in great demand in this area.

Before we moved here, we flew down and had a real estate agent show us around. We gave her our criteria and she showed us neighborhoods. We weren't looking at specific houses, but for areas that suited our needs. It worked out very well. Something you might want to consider. You just can't get a good feel for an area looking at individual house listings.
Oh man I didn’t know termites were a problem. I added to my list to look for that when looking at houses.

Dh’s potential employer said they would help with relocation costs so we were hoping they would fly us down to do what you did.
 
Dh is thinking we should rent for awhile, too. The problem is the cheapest I've seen for anything besides an apartment is $1,600. I've only been looking on Zillow so that could be why, but the rentals look pretty pricey (most of them hovering around $1,750-$1,800). I like the Winter Garden area, but so many of the houses have the garage in the back with no yard and I HATE it. It's not for me at all. I need at least a little green space and I don't like that my backyard would be a road with garages. I've always wanted a jet ski, but we probably wouldn't get one for a pretty long time.

We currently don't go to a YMCA. We go to our town's rec center because it's closer and has a lot better facilities. The YMCA here is in a bad part of town and is pretty crappy, but if the one by you is nice and we're in the area we would check it out.

I would absolutely consider renting if it will help us find the area we like most. When you look at rentals are you seeing much? Everything I'm seeing is so expensive for a rental (more than we pay per month on our mortgage). I would probably want to pick one rental and stay there until we find an area we like because we have cats and it's a pain to move them around to a new place often.

I have been looking into the flood zones a bit. I haven't gone in depth with it yet since we don't know if we're moving yet, but it'll definitely be something we look at. I would rather just not deal with a house in a flood zone if we can avoid it. Are termites really bad down there?


I would google apartment communities, and start your search from there... there are lots and lots of communities to choose from...

We rented a town house in Windermere, it did have the garage in the back, there was a small green space, with a small patio in-between the town house and the garage, it was 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, 2 car garage, it was perfect for what we needed, 1,650.00 there is alot of these type of rentals and units for sale they create whole communities like this...,... they normally are all really nice, granite counter tops, tile, nice cabinets, and fixture, as well they off a ton of amenities some have several pools, dog parks, walking trails, tot lots, gyms, clubhouses, some have activities for the community, car wash areas, some include trash, water, and basic cable... Another plus is you don't have to worry about lawn care, which here is a lot to do weekly, with the town house we were only responsible for the small courtyard area, and the grass could be cut with a weed eater in like 5 minutes if that..

Another thought you might want to look at renting a single family home. - with that see what's included, trash, water, lawn service, as this adds to the monthly cost of the running the house, mowing the grass weekly if not more during the summer it's almost a year around thing here...then it goes to every other week. We have a lawn service and its wonderful... I highly suggest it...

With all the parks, and people moving in and out, college kids, as well as a strong relocation area, - the rental market is very strong here... for a 2 to 3 bedroom, your going to be in the 1,300 to 2,000 dollar range - for a one bedroom more like 1,000 to 1,500 -

Yes termites are a "when" are you going to have to deal with them, I would insist on a a WDO inspections....by a certified operator defined by the state of Florida... ( Wood Destroying Organism inspection)... as well is the termite bond transferable a new owner...in some cases, a home might have a repair guarantee but when it transfer to a new owner, it become a re-treatment only guarantee... which my friend just dealt with, and it cost them about 20,000 thousand dollars to fix the bathroom, it had to be completely gutted...as well when you are looking for pest control... I suggest one of the large companies who have the resources to deal with all your pest, we have lots and lots of bugs.

I am not wanting to scare you, just be to let you know what to be mindful of when get ready to buy....
 


I would google apartment communities, and start your search from there... there are lots and lots of communities to choose from...

We rented a town house in Windermere, it did have the garage in the back, there was a small green space, with a small patio in-between the town house and the garage, it was 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, 2 car garage, it was perfect for what we needed, 1,650.00 there is alot of these type of rentals and units for sale they create whole communities like this...,... they normally are all really nice, granite counter tops, tile, nice cabinets, and fixture, as well they off a ton of amenities some have several pools, dog parks, walking trails, tot lots, gyms, clubhouses, some have activities for the community, car wash areas, some include trash, water, and basic cable... Another plus is you don't have to worry about lawn care, which here is a lot to do weekly, with the town house we were only responsible for the small courtyard area, and the grass could be cut with a weed eater in like 5 minutes if that..

Another thought you might want to look at renting a single family home. - with that see what's included, trash, water, lawn service, as this adds to the monthly cost of the running the house, mowing the grass weekly if not more during the summer it's almost a year around thing here...then it goes to every other week. We have a lawn service and its wonderful... I highly suggest it...

With all the parks, and people moving in and out, college kids, as well as a strong relocation area, - the rental market is very strong here... for a 2 to 3 bedroom, your going to be in the 1,300 to 2,000 dollar range - for a one bedroom more like 1,000 to 1,500 -

Yes termites are a "when" are you going to have to deal with them, I would insist on a a WDO inspections....by a certified operator defined by the state of Florida... ( Wood Destroying Organism inspection)... as well is the termite bond transferable a new owner...in some cases, a home might have a repair guarantee but when it transfer to a new owner, it become a re-treatment only guarantee... which my friend just dealt with, and it cost them about 20,000 thousand dollars to fix the bathroom, it had to be completely gutted...as well when you are looking for pest control... I suggest one of the large companies who have the resources to deal with all your pest, we have lots and lots of bugs.

I am not wanting to scare you, just be to let you know what to be mindful of when get ready to buy....
Thanks for all of the tips! Don’t worry about scaring me. I’d rather know all of my facts before we move into a place.
 
I would google apartment communities, and start your search from there... there are lots and lots of communities to choose from...

We rented a town house in Windermere, it did have the garage in the back, there was a small green space, with a small patio in-between the town house and the garage, it was 3 bedrooms 2 1/2 baths, 2 car garage, it was perfect for what we needed, 1,650.00 there is alot of these type of rentals and units for sale they create whole communities like this...,... they normally are all really nice, granite counter tops, tile, nice cabinets, and fixture, as well they off a ton of amenities some have several pools, dog parks, walking trails, tot lots, gyms, clubhouses, some have activities for the community, car wash areas, some include trash, water, and basic cable... Another plus is you don't have to worry about lawn care, which here is a lot to do weekly, with the town house we were only responsible for the small courtyard area, and the grass could be cut with a weed eater in like 5 minutes if that..

Another thought you might want to look at renting a single family home. - with that see what's included, trash, water, lawn service, as this adds to the monthly cost of the running the house, mowing the grass weekly if not more during the summer it's almost a year around thing here...then it goes to every other week. We have a lawn service and its wonderful... I highly suggest it...

With all the parks, and people moving in and out, college kids, as well as a strong relocation area, - the rental market is very strong here... for a 2 to 3 bedroom, your going to be in the 1,300 to 2,000 dollar range - for a one bedroom more like 1,000 to 1,500 -

Yes termites are a "when" are you going to have to deal with them, I would insist on a a WDO inspections....by a certified operator defined by the state of Florida... ( Wood Destroying Organism inspection)... as well is the termite bond transferable a new owner...in some cases, a home might have a repair guarantee but when it transfer to a new owner, it become a re-treatment only guarantee... which my friend just dealt with, and it cost them about 20,000 thousand dollars to fix the bathroom, it had to be completely gutted...as well when you are looking for pest control... I suggest one of the large companies who have the resources to deal with all your pest, we have lots and lots of bugs.

I am not wanting to scare you, just be to let you know what to be mindful of when get ready to buy....
I've been typing up your tips on a Google Doc so I don't forget them. Dh has his interview on Monday so we'll see how that goes first! Then I'm hoping his work will pay for us to fly down and explore houses a little bit
 
Dh is thinking we should rent for awhile, too. The problem is the cheapest I've seen for anything besides an apartment is $1,600. I've only been looking on Zillow so that could be why, but the rentals look pretty pricey (most of them hovering around $1,750-$1,800). I like the Winter Garden area, but so many of the houses have the garage in the back with no yard and I HATE it. It's not for me at all. I need at least a little green space and I don't like that my backyard would be a road with garages. I've always wanted a jet ski, but we probably wouldn't get one for a pretty long time.

We currently don't go to a YMCA. We go to our town's rec center because it's closer and has a lot better facilities. The YMCA here is in a bad part of town and is pretty crappy, but if the one by you is nice and we're in the area we would check it out.

I would absolutely consider renting if it will help us find the area we like most. When you look at rentals are you seeing much? Everything I'm seeing is so expensive for a rental (more than we pay per month on our mortgage). I would probably want to pick one rental and stay there until we find an area we like because we have cats and it's a pain to move them around to a new place often.

I have been looking into the flood zones a bit. I haven't gone in depth with it yet since we don't know if we're moving yet, but it'll definitely be something we look at. I would rather just not deal with a house in a flood zone if we can avoid it. Are termites really bad down there?

The setup you describe with the garage in the back is really common around here. As a PP mentioned. Many apartment complexes have some townhouse rentals and as mentioned tend to have a lot of amenities. It’s pretty typical to have a pool, gym, daily trash pickup, car wash port, common use grills. I’m not on that side of town but my complex has 1,2,3 bedroom Apts and 1,2,3 bedroom townhouses. They also have like random pottery and wine parties or community events.

Maybe I should look at moving to the other side of town lol. It probably is impacted by being in the WP school district, but townhouse rentals around here go for $2,500 and single family home rentals run $3,500+ o_O

Rentals across the whole area have really been on the rise. So have home prices so it’s just gone up all around.
 


The setup you describe with the garage in the back is really common around here. As a PP mentioned. Many apartment complexes have some townhouse rentals and as mentioned tend to have a lot of amenities. It’s pretty typical to have a pool, gym, daily trash pickup, car wash port, common use grills. I’m not on that side of town but my complex has 1,2,3 bedroom Apts and 1,2,3 bedroom townhouses. They also have like random pottery and wine parties or community events.

Maybe I should look at moving to the other side of town lol. It probably is impacted by being in the WP school district, but townhouse rentals around here go for $2,500 and single family home rentals run $3,500+ o_O

Rentals across the whole area have really been on the rise. So have home prices so it’s just gone up all around.
It’s actually kind of fun to watch how often I get a message from Zillow. There are constant price changes, houses going pending, houses being added.
 
It’s actually kind of fun to watch how often I get a message from Zillow. There are constant price changes, houses going pending, houses being added.

Oh yeah. Im a little less familiar with the Windermere/Winter Garden area, but it’s super crazy. Im actually looking at buying my first house and it’s ridiculous because I want some time to think, but houses move fast around here. I don’t know how anybody buys a house haha, it’s terrifying.
 
Oh yeah. Im a little less familiar with the Windermere/Winter Garden area, but it’s super crazy. Im actually looking at buying my first house and it’s ridiculous because I want some time to think, but houses move fast around here. I don’t know how anybody buys a house haha, it’s terrifying.
Yeah they go for sale and are gone so fast. Then when I see one that’s been on for 100+ days I get worried. Seems like something must be wrong with the house lol
 
I've been typing up your tips on a Google Doc so I don't forget them. Dh has his interview on Monday so we'll see how that goes first! Then I'm hoping his work will pay for us to fly down and explore houses a little bit


Well I am wishing him loads of luck and pixie dust for his interview... who knows you might be on your way to being locals....

I am so silly, I just realized that we are talking here and over on the Tokyo Disneyland board too...

Any questions you guys have please pm me I would be so happy to help you guys out...

Safe travels to your DH...
 
Well I am wishing him loads of luck and pixie dust for his interview... who knows you might be on your way to being locals....

I am so silly, I just realized that we are talking here and over on the Tokyo Disneyland board too...

Any questions you guys have please pm me I would be so happy to help you guys out...

Safe travels to your DH...
Thanks for the pixie dust! We’ve been doing a lot of mock interviews so that he won’t be as nervous.

I noticed that too that we’re both talking on the Japan board lol
 
Yeah they go for sale and are gone so fast. Then when I see one that’s been on for 100+ days I get worried. Seems like something must be wrong with the house lol

Legit. Anything in my neighborhood that’s around after about 35 days means it’s got something “unique” going on.
 
Legit. Anything in my neighborhood that’s around after about 35 days means it’s got something “unique” going on.

Sometimes "unique" is a good thing. There are an awful lot of bargains to be had if you are willing to look past unusual features that may be very simple to change, assuming that they even really need to be changed.
 
Sometimes "unique" is a good thing. There are an awful lot of bargains to be had if you are willing to look past unusual features that may be very simple to change, assuming that they even really need to be changed.
This is true and Dh and I would rather pay less money for an older home. We don’t feel like we have to have granite counter tops and all new appliances. I would much rather have a yard
 
This is true and Dh and I would rather pay less money for an older home. We don’t feel like we have to have granite counter tops and all new appliances. I would much rather have a yard


I will agree having a yard is nice, the bigger the yard the more maintenance you have which equal more time and money spent on taking care of the lawn...
All the beautiful lawns you see here are lots and lots of work...

I looked back over last year, and so far this year on the lawn service... January, February, March of last year, they mowed every other week, but did edge, weed eat around the house, pull weeds and keep the bushes looking nice every week , from April through November they mowed every week with all the detail work, In December of last year maybe every 10 days along with all the detail work... January of this year they only mowed once they still came to do the detail work, February of this year every other week for mowing and every week for detail, and March which we are in right now every week for mowing, and detail work...

So on Monday they were here to mow and detail, Yesterday ( sat) DH said after it rained, I hope they come tomorrow to mow the grass look how long it is.. the guys must have missed mowing this week, I was like no they were here on Monday... that's how fast the grass grows here. I love our lawn guys they do a great job, and the charge one price for everything, which is good they do about 10 to 12 yards in our neighborhood, and pick up more each week as more and more houses are finished and new neighbor move in... Our Guys also will do other work like installing bushes, plants and such... all extra work , really reasonable prices. Some companies will charge just for the mowing, then the detail work is extra..

As well most home have St. Augustine grass which is a high maintenance grass... I looks so good, and is really nice to walk bare footed on...

We went this route, so that on the weekend DH isn't worrying about doing yard work, we can grab our boat and head for the water, or enjoy sleeping in and head to the pool, drive over to the beach, or hit the parks, see a movie or whatever other entertainment is in town or whatever and when we are on vacation the lawn still gets taken care of...and plus we don't have to store all that lawn equipment in the garage...
 
I will agree having a yard is nice, the bigger the yard the more maintenance you have which equal more time and money spent on taking care of the lawn...
All the beautiful lawns you see here are lots and lots of work...

I looked back over last year, and so far this year on the lawn service... January, February, March of last year, they mowed every other week, but did edge, weed eat around the house, pull weeds and keep the bushes looking nice every week , from April through November they mowed every week with all the detail work, In December of last year maybe every 10 days along with all the detail work... January of this year they only mowed once they still came to do the detail work, February of this year every other week for mowing and every week for detail, and March which we are in right now every week for mowing, and detail work...

So on Monday they were here to mow and detail, Yesterday ( sat) DH said after it rained, I hope they come tomorrow to mow the grass look how long it is.. the guys must have missed mowing this week, I was like no they were here on Monday... that's how fast the grass grows here. I love our lawn guys they do a great job, and the charge one price for everything, which is good they do about 10 to 12 yards in our neighborhood, and pick up more each week as more and more houses are finished and new neighbor move in... Our Guys also will do other work like installing bushes, plants and such... all extra work , really reasonable prices. Some companies will charge just for the mowing, then the detail work is extra..

As well most home have St. Augustine grass which is a high maintenance grass... I looks so good, and is really nice to walk bare footed on...

We went this route, so that on the weekend DH isn't worrying about doing yard work, we can grab our boat and head for the water, or enjoy sleeping in and head to the pool, drive over to the beach, or hit the parks, see a movie or whatever other entertainment is in town or whatever and when we are on vacation the lawn still gets taken care of...and plus we don't have to store all that lawn equipment in the garage...
If we move I might have to consider having a lawn care service. Right now I do most of the lawn care because I’m a substitute teacher so I have days off here and there. I guess I would have to see how busy I stay in Florida but if I’m already at home some days I would probably try to do the lawn care myself. We aren’t big plant people so we wouldn’t want a lot of landscaping

I have to ask about the boat because I’ve always wanted a jet ski. Do you have to worry about gators?
 
If we move I might have to consider having a lawn care service. Right now I do most of the lawn care because I’m a substitute teacher so I have days off here and there. I guess I would have to see how busy I stay in Florida but if I’m already at home some days I would probably try to do the lawn care myself. We aren’t big plant people so we wouldn’t want a lot of landscaping

I have to ask about the boat because I’ve always wanted a jet ski. Do you have to worry about gators?
No
 

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