Cost of Living

[SheilaF]

Thanks Krizzy, much appreciated.

Will check in tomorrow, its bedtime.


Sweet Dreams,

SheilaF

[esprit]

We pay $4500 to insure two cars on one policy, they are nothing special, Mitsubishi Montero Sport with business use and Chrysler Sebring without, we have a 20 year old with a two year driving record on and that weights it. Home insurance, well I pay $1600 a year but it isnt a cheap house!
Credit rating, we had a good one after two years.

[Cruella DeVilla]

I agree with Julie the house insurance is a big one Sheila, ours is $2000 a year. Personally I would think you might get a better deal on a resale than a new build. I too would consider Lake Wales and Winter Garden. Why do you want to be near Disney? Our eventual plan is to buy again in Naples although if the right property came up wheer we are I would certainly consider it.

[SheilaF]

Thanks again for the house/car insurance details, at least it gives me something to work with.

Now all i need is for the dollar to shoot up to 2 a pound so our pension/income goes further!!!


Dare I ask - telephone / pest control ? Sorry to be a pest myself but its a great help to have a general idea of cost.

SheilaF

[blott]

Telephone is around $25 - $30 a month line rental and the call cost is obviously down to how many you make and where to! There are quite a few cheap call options though via various carriers, particularly for residential rather than rental.

For cell (mobile) phones, you pay to receive calls as well as make them in the US. You're unlikely to be able to get a cell phone account without a credit rating but PAYG is available with various companies.

Pest control (inside) is around $10 - $25 a month. You also need a termite bond which is around $105 - $200 a year, depending on company, for an annual inspection. If you're buying a resale, make sure that it has a termite bond in place as retreatment is quite expensive, at $1k - $2k. New builds should have this included as part of the purchase price.

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by SheilaF
Thanks again for the house/car insurance details, at least it gives me something to work with.

Now all i need is for the dollar to shoot up to 2 a pound so our pension/income goes further!!!


Dare I ask - telephone / pest control ? Sorry to be a pest myself but its a great help to have a general idea of cost.

SheilaF


[/quote]

Our pest control is $70 every 3 months..........but to be honest if I lived in my home..I'd do what most locals do and buy stuff from a hardware shop.....then have a yearly spray or one when needed....we only found a few bugs in our place after a storm....and most were dead from the spray we put down inside......the bug people can't get into our house......so we spray indoors ourselves....we find dead bugs sometimes because we need to replace the strip under the door to stop water getting in...apart from the odd small spider...I've only had one live nasty in the house....

[chrizzy100]

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Cruella DeVilla
I agree with Julie the house insurance is a big one Sheila, ours is $2000 a year. Personally I would think you might get a better deal on a resale than a new build. I too would consider Lake Wales and Winter Garden. Why do you want to be near Disney? Our eventual plan is to buy again in Naples although if the right property came up wheer we are I would certainly consider it.
[/quote]

Wow......I moan at $600...

[Cruella DeVilla]

How I wish Chrizzy ! Sheila our pest control is $25 a month.

[Robert5988]

Sheila,
Just a question?

Why would you want to live near Disney and/or particularly in an STR area? From another post your husband is 69 so presumably you will not be wanting to dash off to see Donald Duck a lot.

Houses in much better areas are cheaper and there is a far better community spirit; it is difficult to achieve that with a constant turnover of tennants.

Is there a specific reason that makes Orlando your choice? There are some beatiful communities within an hours drive of Orlando, without the traffic chaos of Orlando.

The property tax(like out council tax) can be very expensive in Florida. It is calculated on the assessed value of your property(this is usually much lower than you paid)and the area in which you live. It is not easy to find out how much you will pay - previous owners in your property (or a similar house next door) could pay much less than you will pay, as property tax increases can be frozen for permanant residents. The tax can run to several thousand US$.

[SheilaF]

Thanks so much Blott, Chrizzy and CDV, I really do appreciate your help and advice. It gives me a general idea of what to expect.

I know we should have worked out a budget months ago but i got a reasonable Health Insurance quote from IMG Global and thought we would be fine financially then BAM they move out of Florida and the quotes I am now getting are astronomical.

Robert - Living near Disney is a dream - now I have my "adults" hat on and realise we will get more for our money further out. If it was up to hubby and myself it would be Sarasota, but Orlando (or the environs) was chosen because our son is 17 and he just loves the buzz and energy of the place.

Plus, although it would be great to be part of a local community, we also like the idea that there are lots of Brits in Orlando.

Thanks Blott for the tip about the termites, it will go in my trusty notebook. I have learnt so much on here, owe you all a nice glass of wine.

SheilaF