I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Hello,

I'm looking in to properties in Florida. I'm scared and not sure if I'm making the right decision after reading mixed reviews. I visited Clearwater, Tampa and Orlando last year. I was only a tourist so didn't get to see much of the real life. I liked Clearwater beach but of course it's different as a tourist. I'm from London UK. Desperate to have my own place and want the sun beach for 3-6 months a year. I'm single. No family. It seems it cheap to buy in Florida compared to other places. I saw a 2 bed for $67,000, that's £45,000 in pounds sterling. It's in Pinella County. Never been there. Is it safe? Is it busy? Is it expensive? I've heard the insurance home or tax is expensive and do you "have to" buy home insurance? I never bought my own place and to buy for the first time in another country is scary but I want a new lifestyle. I don't want to pay maintenance monthly fees. Do you think I will regret and find myself in a mess in the future? Anyone done this before? Thank you. I'd appreciate any advice or warnings....

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

The first question has to be, what visa do you qualify for? It is all moot if there is no way for you to move to the US. Search the forum for "Pulaski's Ways."

Just saw you mentioned a few months. Are you thinking of this as a vacation place? If so, it is a better idea to just rent when you have vacation time. Otherwise you have to deal with insurance, yard maintenance, property tax, depreciation--all the joys of home maintenance in a place you can only visit for short periods of time.

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Hello,

Do you mean a work visa? If so, I'm not looking for work in Florida. In the past nin NYC, i can qualify for I think it's called an O1 visa but I didn't go for it in the end. Do I have to have a visa? I thought a tourist visa is fine.

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Then you can only visit for less than 90 days at a time. Do you really want to sink your money into a place you will have so little access to?

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Umm, yes! You got a very good point. I did think of that but I really want my own place. Do you live there?

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Ah, is it only 3 months I can stay for? Thank you for making me think. I'm not sure but it would be nice to have time away from England

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

I personally would not want to own property in a country I could only visit a couple of times a year, for a couple of months each time. The house might be cheap, but all the maintenance while you're gone will cost a lot.

Buy a house in the UK that you can afford, and then rent when visiting the USA.

Rene

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

It's 90 or less, actually.

Rene

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Time share, maybe? Not sure if that would work, but it would give you a chance to vacation in a property that is at least semi-yours!

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Thank you Wintersong. I'm not into timeshares. I did look in to it in the past though. It's about owing my own place and to have somewhere to go when I retire one day. How comes everyone seems against the idea? Is it a really bad idea?

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

No, it's a really good idea. If you qualify to actually live there! If you don't then yes, it's a bad idea to sink money into a property that you could potentially not be allowed to visit. Only US citizens have the "right" to be admitted to the US and as a tourist - especially with you owning a property - the officers at the POE could at any time turn you away thinking you have the intent to overstay or try to live in the US.

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

If it's about owning a place, why don't you buy in the UK or somewhere in Europe? First of all a property in the US does not guarantee you a visa, so you won't really have a place to go when you retire and there are a lot of other things to consider. Certain parts of Florida will always be cheap and probably only get cheaper in the future, so there's no point to worry about retirement. Calculate the travel costs, taxes etc. and the property won't seem that cheap anymore. You also need to consider flooding, storms........


Pinellas County, Florida - Flood Maps & Zones

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Just to add to the above, just because you may own a property in the US does not automatically give you the right to live in it once you retire. There are no visa options currently in place which consider retired people, therefore you would still be subject to a max 90 days at a time. You would still need to qualify for a suitable visa before you retire that would allow you to remain in the country. As with the preceding advice, if at any stage of your life you want to be in the property >90 days at a time, you will need a visa of some description. It is definitely worth doing your homework to see what your options are before committing.

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

Oh, I see! Thank you Dorothy for that information. I don't want to live there permanently at this stage. Maybe in 20 years time I will retire which is when I could live there. For now, it's a vacation home to visit 3 months or the amount of time I can visit without needing a visa. I'm not sure if I qualify to live there. The agency selling the property said he will sort banks and things out. How do I find out from someone trustworthy? He's the seller so of course he will try to sell.

Re: I want to move to Clearwater, Tampa or Orlando Florida. Help!
 

I'm a British Citizen Dorothy. What's the PO officers?