One of the biggest shocks for many people moving to Florida from other parts of the country is the size of the lots. They may be looking for a lot with 1-5 acres. In most of the developed parts of Florida, this isn't going to happen - unless you're looking at luxury homes in new developments - and even many of those have small lots.
In the Old Northeast section of St. Petersburg, Florida, a typical lot is 50 ft wide. In many new community developments in the surrounding areas lot widths are 50 ft. This weekend, in previewing a new development near Orlando, 5 bedroom 3 story homes, in the $750,000-$1,250,000 range were on 35 ft wide lots. These were detached homes! It's hard to believe you can get over 3,000 sq ft plus garage plus pool onto a 35 ft wide lot - but they can, and they do, and people buy them. From the outside, the homes are very close together and you feel squished - but when you go inside, it's quite spacious and open, and the views from the home are spectacular - wide, open, interesting.
It's all about perception. What does it feel like when you're in a home? How would it be to live there? We shouldn't make assumptions - we need to check things out, so that we can prepare our clients for what they're going to see and how they're going to feel - the good, the bad, and the ugly.
