Move from Colo to Bradenton or Sarasota (Palm Aire: foreclosure, rentals)

[mtngirl99]

Been offered a job in Bradenton. Have a husband who is a contractor and avid fisherman and kids ages 7 and 9. Any suggestions for nice neighborhoods w/ good schools to look for rental house? Any suggestions on good after-school programs? My kids love gymnastics, wrestling, ice skating, soccer. Probably should rent before jumping into a house purchase. Also, I know the construction industry tanked but are there any jobs for contractors? Thanks so much for any help... I lived in ORlando once upon a time. We'll be down there to check it out next week and would like ideas for where to look. Thanks!

[bbronston]

I agree that LWR fits the criteria you mentioned. There are also smaller subdivisions around LWR that might fit the bill. There's an ice rink about 10 minutes from here and I know some families involved in hockey there. Construction isn't exactly booming here but there is some in a few areas both here on the ranch and elsewhere. Don't know about job availability, though. Fishing opportunity (fresh and salt) is definitely here but, really, all along the coast.

[Sunshine Rules]

What is your budgeted rent per month? Do you have pets?

If you'd like to check out the school districts, the Manatee county school system web site is: School District of Manatee County Florida

There are lots of nice neighborhoods around Bradenton, although you may want to concentrate your search either closer to west Bradenton or out east near the I75 area (which is where Lakewood Ranch is located). In that area I can name 15 or more neighborhoods that may fit your needs, depending on what you're planning to pay per month for rent.

One small warning -- because we have quite a few homes in foreclosure in this area, some home owners that are in foreclosure are renting out their homes to tenants without telling the tenants the home may be taken back by the bank at some point in the near future. Most are up front and will only do a month to month rental, but not all are so honest. There was an arrest recently of a guy who was actually breaking into vacant homes in foreclosure, changing the locks and renting the homes out to unsuspecting people.

To protect yourself, before signing a lease, you can look up any Manatee county property at the web site & find out who is the owner of record:
Manatee County

Then go to the clerk of court web site at: Home and click on the Court Records button

to search for the owner's name. If you find a Lis Pendens filing for the property, it is in foreclosure. How quickly the foreclosure will be completed is anyone's guess as some can happen as quickly as 6 months and others take 2 years or more.

What can happen if you rent a home in foreclosure that the landlord's bank thinks is not owner occupied, the bank may send someone to change the locks on the property without notice or warning. There have been a couple of articles in the local paper regarding this happening to unsuspecting tenants.

I don't want to scare you about renting here, just want you to have the knowledge beforehand so you don't get taken advantage of.

There are a lot of nice rentals available, which is keeping them more affordable then they have been in the past.

One more web site you may find of interest if you're moving here, it's the local newspaper, the Bradenton Herald: Bradenton.com


As to contractor jobs, I have a friend who is a FL licensed contractor and self-employed. I saw him recently and he said things are slowly starting to pick up but he's mainly doing renovation jobs, nothing large.

If your husband does want to do contracting work in FL he will need to become licensed here. Because of the possibility of hurricanes in FL, our state has extensive building codes and very specific requirements as to when a state licensed contractor must be used and building permits required. You can find out more info on this at: Florida Building Contractor License | Florida

We should have beautiful weather next week for your trip, with highs near 80.

[Oobie119]

Ok, I know the schools very well, and since we just bought a home (and did Lots of research) here are the subdivisions we looked at. This is all based on safe, clean areas with great schools. We bought a foreclosure in a great neighborhood where my daughter goes to the best school in the county,a rated the last 5 years and the middle school follows that suit. Try Braden Woods, Tara, Rivers Edge, lakeside, Regal Oaks, Barrington Ridge, Mandalay and Palm Aire area. You can also try Mote Ranch area. These homes mostly fall in Tara and Kinnan school areas. Both are great schools. You can also vote for school choice, but you have to ask about it EARLY, meaning around January for the following year! And IMO. I'd run the other way from LWR, you pay a load extra in CDD fees. And the areas I mentioned are not CDD areas. Stay away from this if you can. You can find a beautiful area without being in a Community Development District. These areas are also close to the YMCA in Lakewood Ranch. And yes, most definitely rent first! The above areas have rentals available from what I know.

[mrtm70]

Originally Posted by Oobie119

Ok, I know the schools very well, and since we just bought a home (and did Lots of research) here are the subdivisions we looked at. This is all based on safe, clean areas with great schools. We bought a foreclosure in a great neighborhood where my daughter goes to the best school in the county,a rated the last 5 years and the middle school follows that suit. Try Braden Woods, Tara, Rivers Edge, lakeside, Regal Oaks, Barrington Ridge, Mandalay and Palm Aire area. You can also try Mote Ranch area. These homes mostly fall in Tara and Kinnan school areas. Both are great schools. You can also vote for school choice, but you have to ask about it EARLY, meaning around January for the following year! And IMO. I'd run the other way from LWR, you pay a load extra in CDD fees. And the areas I mentioned are not CDD areas. Stay away from this if you can. You can find a beautiful area without being in a Community Development District. These areas are also close to the YMCA in Lakewood Ranch. And yes, most definitely rent first! The above areas have rentals available from what I know.

Thanks for the info...sorry to kinda jump into the post...I have a job interview on Monday in Bradenton & if I get it, I'll be moving there with my 2 1/2 yr old daughter with Autism...How is public schools/pre-schools for her in this area & any good bad word on Pinnacle Academy if I was to go private? PM me if posting my answers is interpreted being rude.

[Oobie119]

Originally Posted by mrtm70

Thanks for the info...sorry to kinda jump into the post...I have a job interview on Monday in Bradenton & if I get it, I'll be moving there with my 2 1/2 yr old daughter with Autism...How is public schools/pre-schools for her in this area & any good bad word on Pinnacle Academy if I was to go private? PM me if posting my answers is interpreted being rude.

I'm actually ABA certified and actually teach kids with autism. I work for a school Ave Maria Prep as the middle school director. We work with kids on the spectrum, as well as a variety of other disorders. We unfortunately don't take kids so young. For your daughter, Pinnacle may be the only option since she is so young. They do have a great program but is not soley based on Applied Behavioral Analysis. I know a few parents who are very happy there, however tuition has increased to 17k a year, if I'm not mistaken. Once school age hits though you should go public ASAP. We have a great ESE program in Manatee County (worked fhere in ESE for 3 years) and one year of public school and your daughter will qualify for a McKay scholarship. This will allow you to get tuition help based on her disability, should you want to go to Pinnacle or other private school. That's what most parents do when enrolling special needs kids in private schools. One year public, set up IEP, BIP apply for McKay and hit private schools that fit your financial "profit". Good luck, let me know if I can help at all : )

[sak9210]

I lived in Lakewood Ranch, and MillCreek in Bradenton for 5 yrs. My daughter went to Lakewood Ranch High School and liked it. But when I had my son with autism, I moved to PA for that reason, and started early intervention here. I would rent before buying a home there. (We were unable to sell two homes there)

[mtngirl99]

Thanks everyone for your help. We ultimately decided against the move and are staying in Colorado. Would have been a monstrous undertaking moving across 2/3rds of the country and it's very hard to make a decision based on a weekend visit, especially when you have 2 kids and schools to consider. Lovely area though.