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Today, a former Michigan resident shares how she and her husband traded their midwestern home for resort-style living in Florida.
The couple chose to move to the Sunshine State after growing tired of the brutal winters in their home state—and ultimately settled on Naples, FL, because it was close to both of their sons, who had already moved to Florida.
When they learned that one of their sons and his partner were expecting a baby, they expedited their house hunt.
While they looked at hundreds of different homes online, they saw about 40 properties in person—noting that the husband’s work as a real estate agent helped them to arrange appointments with a lot of different agents.
They had several non-negotiables, including the number of bedrooms—three—as well as wanting to avoid any flood zones. And within a week, they found a home that fit all their requirements, eventually closing on the dwelling for well under its original asking price.
Here, the wife, who wishes to keep their names private, reveals how they did it and what they’ve learned about life in Florida.
Who is the homebuyer?
Age: 57
Household setup: Married with two adult sons
Occupation: Rental property manager
What is the home like?
Location: North Naples, FL
Property type: Single family home
Rooms: Three bedrooms, three bathrooms
Square footage and lot size: 2,200 square feet, 0.33 acres
What was the budget—and how much were the final costs?
Maximum budget: $650,000
Property asking price: $635,000
Final closing price: $580,000
Earnest money: $30,000
Taxes: $4,200 per year
HOA fees: $223 per month
Inside the homebuying process
What was your home experience when you were growing up?
My parents owned a home in Rochester, MI, where I grew up. I learned that you buy a house when you grow up.
What was your home experience like as an adult?
My husband started buying rentals before we got married. He knew a lot about buying houses, and we bought our first home shortly after getting married.
What made you start actively looking for a new home?
We had always wanted to move to Florida. Michigan winters are hard! When both of our sons moved to Florida, my husband started looking for jobs there.
The day he was finally offered a job that paid enough was the same day my older son found out his longterm girlfriend was expecting a baby. So suddenly, we had to find a house.
What was your house search like?
We were very fortunate. My other son’s mother-in-law lives in Bonita Springs, which is about 15 miles from Naples. A family emergency took her back to Michigan, so she said we could stay in her home while we house-hunted.
Did you have any non-negotiables?
We wanted at least three bedrooms. We didn’t want to be in a flood zone. And we wanted to be close to both our sons, who live about four hours apart by car.
What areas were you looking at?
Our search focused on Estero, Bonita Springs and Naples.
How long did you look?
We looked for about a week.
How many homes did you see?
Online, we looked at hundreds. In person, we saw about 40. My husband has his real estate license, so he was able to make appointments and get us in to see a lot of houses. We liked a lot of the neighborhoods, but found that too many of the homes needed work.
How did you know this was the one?
We liked how much privacy the home has. It was on a corner lot right next to the dead end of the street and backed up to a fenced-in water supply. The owners had added a pool, which we also liked.
What offer did you make?
The sellers had bought it for $653,000 two years ago and were listing it for $635,000, but it had been on the market for two months. My husband called and said we could pay $580,000 and after some back and forth, our offer was accepted.
What happened next?
We were shocked they said yes because we still had to put our Michigan house up for sale. We listed it for pre-sale on Friday. On Saturday, we had 22 showings and three offers came in. It sold within 11 hours.
Because the buyers paid much more than asking, we had them sign an appraisal guarantee, which basically stated that if the house didn’t appraise for the amount they offered, they would still pay their offer price.
The closing was really complicated. There was a train of four deals, all under contract, all riding on us, as we were the first deal in the line-up.
Our house in Michigan closed on July 15, and the Florida closing was the next day. The Michigan closing went well enough, but the wire didn’t go through. They couldn’t find the money. It was just lost.
How was it resolved?
There was nothing we could do other than wait. So we waited. Eventually, the wire came though and we closed on the Florida house.
How did you pay for the house?
In Michigan, my husband worked as a real estate agent on the side to help build up our savings. That’s where the $30,000 earnest money came from. Then the sale of our Michigan house paid the balance of this house, so we don’t have a mortgage.
What has Florida living been like?
It’s hotter than expected! There’s no breeze on the Gulf side of Florida and North Naples has a lot of bugs. We’re also not used to HOA fees. But the amenities are nice. There are two community pools and a gym.
But when we retire, we don’t want to be paying HOA fees, especially as they could go up. We’re already making plans to move to Florida’s Atlantic coast when my husband retires.
What do you love most about your home?
The house is beautiful. My husband and I each have our own walk-in closet. And I love the pool area. It’s within a huge lanai. We also have a hot tub, a full outside sitting area, and the whole back wall of the house is glass. We wake up and see the pool. It is resort-style living. Really though, the biggest thing is that I get to see my sons so much more.