Whether you’re buying your first home, a vacation or retirement condo, a beach getaway, or an investment rental property, there are 6 basic steps you’ll need to complete successfully. Some of the details may vary slightly from area to area within Florida, but the general steps and most details will remain the same throughout the state. This information comes from my experience as a buyers agent in the Tampa Bay area.
The six steps I will cover in this series of articles are:
1. Selection of the general area.
2. Start of financial preparations.
3. Search and find the right property for you.
4. Contract negotiation.
5. Go from contract to closing.
6. Close the deal.
In this first part of the article series, I’ll cover step 1: Selection of the general area.
1. Selection of the general area.
In some cases, this may already have been done for you. If you’re moving to a specific area of Florida for your job, or if you’re moving to be away from family members, you already know the general area you want to move to.
If this is not the case for you, you will need to decide where you want to be, and this may involve researching different parts of the state. You will need to look at the factors that are important to you, such as the weather; schools; cost of living; distance to airports, beaches, major cities, etc.; and the labor market just to name a few. But you’ll need to know what’s most important to you, and I recommend writing a clear and precise description of the ideal location for you before you start your research.
Review the following list to help narrow this down:
- Climate: the further south, the hotter
- Near water or inland; how close to the beaches
- Large metropolitan area, more rural or smaller town near a large city
- Distance to the nearest major airport
- Availability of work in your field or activities for retirees
- Prices: High-end areas like Miami, Naples, West Palm, Sarasota; intermediate areas like Tampa/St. Pete/Clearwater, Orlando, Jacksonville
By deciding what you’re looking for in relation to each of those points and then comparing it to what each area of the state has to offer, you should be able to weed out some areas of the state and narrow your choices down to a few areas. I would recommend continuing to narrow down the areas until you have 1 or 2 left that will fit all or most of your needs.
Much of the information you need to make your decision can now be obtained through the Internet. You can also get information from friends or family who live here, by contacting the appropriate city or county departments, or through local real estate agents. It would also be a good idea to visit the area or areas that you think might be best for you to check them out for yourself. However you choose to do it, make sure you don’t skimp on your research.
Once you have the general area in mind, it’s time to begin the next step, which is to begin the financial preparations for your purchase. I will cover this step in detail in the next article in this series.