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The problem with FL real estate is that flood zones and old construction are everywhere. You probably don't want to buy a house in a flood zone. Also, because hurricane codes were updated recently, you want to buy something recent-ish, definitely nothing older than 2002. The windows in my place are rated for a Category 5, and I'm at 50ft above sea level. In most of Florida, Sarasota included, if you go with a traditional home, you'll want newer construction in a community. The HOA takes care of all the outside stuff like landscaping, so it's pretty much condo living except without shared walls. All the houses look similar. The HOAs usually maintain some kind of "activity center" where you'll have a gym, pool, common area, tennis courts, etc. Again, it's pretty much like living in an SF condo, except instead of all that stuff being downstairs, it's down the street, and much larger. If you prefer to live in an actual condo, there's plenty of those too with a walk-able downtown area, but I like not having shared walls. Also downtown is in a flood zone, so you might need to evacuate if we get a bad enough hurricane. I wouldn't be too concerned about flooding if I was buying several stories up though. As for internet, frontier offers decent symmetric fiber (previously fios). I'm on gigabit with them and it's been fine. It's in most of the area. Also, as a rule of thumb, you want to buy when a new community is just getting started or just finishing up. You'll get a better deal if you're one of the last houses before they shut down the sales office, or if you're one of the first to buy. Construction takes 8-12 months usually, but it's perfectly fine to have the house built while you're remote. I lived nearby with family while mine was being built, and me walking the construction site periodically wasn't particularly useful. Hope that helps! Happy to answer any other questions you might have. |