...well actually, I'm currently considering purchasing property in Florida myself, but strickly for investment purposes, so I shall follow this topic closely. I have not yet begun any sort of evalutions yet, so I am in no position to recommend. One thing I do know, is make sure you visit any potential buys, and get the opinion from a number of real estate brokers in Florida...not just one. A good propery rule, is "follow the trend"...find out where buyers are choosing and why? Likewise, if you like an area, but there is no action taking place, there has to be a reason. Make sure you check-out the City bylaws and ensure that they do not conflict with your "purpose" for buying, and find out about all the "carrying costs" of the property including taxes, utilities and insurance. Florida is in the path of Hurricanes so make sure you inspect for structual soundness, and flooding potential also, and of course don't buy without a professional inspection being done. If you are useing financing, ensure that your closing costs covers "mortgage indemnity/insurance", ie. if there are any expenses which the seller should have covered but did not...this will be covered with the insurance. On a side bar...I just bought this propety in Toronto, the city just wrote me to inform that the previous owner owes $1600 in property taxes and $200 in outstanding water bills, and treatens to put this on my tax bill (the nerve...but legal in Toronto, can you imagine this?)...anyway, my mortage insurance covers all of this so my attorneys are making a claim now.
There a host of things that one must be familiar with before deciding to buy property...make sure you have done your research properly, talk to friends and family about their experiences if you are a first time buyer.
All The Best.
I want to move to Florida, but I'm not sure where I should go. What do all of you think?