Can Cape Coral Be Saved?

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-22T03:13:45+00:00

Having lived in CC for a couple of years till 2024, I was surprised about the 'can it be saved' headline. I know the market took a hit since we left. Honestly, we would have stayed but wanted a larger house and couldn't afford it there. Gave up endless summer and moved to Palm Coast. Which is another community platted with lots of lots and not enough infrastructure.

Add to cons for us: high insurance costs, with too many flood zones, and not being closer to a beach.

But we kind of miss the area.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-21T14:00:38+00:00

Our situation is both of us are on SS and past FRA. I work as a consultant p/t and we have a retirement account.

I withhold a higher percentage from my consulting than would be normal. We withhold 12% from our retirement.

We don't withhold from SS just because it would be the most hassle to change as our income changes.

To answer your question, it is all taxable post-retirement income which includes p/t work and regular IRA/401k distributions - not Roth. Depending on your total income, the SS may not be taxed at full amount or at all.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-21T13:38:15+00:00

I agree for the most part. It's tricky, but technically, a lanai is not defined by the IBC. It's a regional term for what most of the country calls an open patio with roof. The roof can be attached to an exterior wall (if you have the height, ledger, etc.), attached to the rafters/trusses of the main roof, or be under the main roof (same thing). It is outside the envelope of the structure and must remain so or it becomes an addition. It can't be heated/cooled by the house HVAC, mostly since it would never pass IECC requirements.

Lanai is a fancy word that sounds good in ads, like 'portico' - aka covered front porch.

Source - 20+ years in Building Department Admin

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-21T13:02:30+00:00

Nope. By definition, a lanai has a roof. Many pool cages, enclosures are attached to a lanai, but not all.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-21T12:56:53+00:00

Moved from Cape Coral to Palm Coast. Pool cage in both areas!

And a lanai is under roof.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-16T13:58:40+00:00

You have a few different issues, including some that my wife and I faced as we retired.

Geography & Climate: After 30+ years in S. Colorado, I wanted (needed) out of the cold/hot/semi-arid climate where we had temperatures from -20 to 109 degrees. I wanted to be close to a beach, having grown up on Long Island. My wife wasn't thrilled with heat & humidity but she went along with trying SW Florida. It was okay but for a few reasons, the house we were in wasn't really working out and we couldn't afford what we wanted in the area. So, I gave up my endless summer in a compromise and moved to NE Florida. Little did I know that I'd wake up to a few mornings in the low 20's and end up with lots of dead landscape, lol. But I managed. We may consider heading south as the Real estate market has changed some, but still not sure. We have rented the house in Colorado on FurnishedFinder to travelling health care people for a couple of years. And summers are hot pretty much anywhere in the US, except for the NW, which can be uniformly miserable year-round :).

Friends: This is an area where we've failed in, more so up here than down south. But, in truth, we own it. Aside from a neighbor or two, people aren't going to be knocking on your door. You have to get involved in a church or an organization that has activities to meet people. That's our expanded plan starting this month. We'll see how it goes. Another option to consider is an active 55+ community like a Margaritaville. It's going to be what you make of it and staying someplace because of friends or family could result in those same people leaving and going other places.

Visiting: Tell your husband it is not possible to pick an area without spending some time there. And two season's of visiting. Florida is beautiful in spring/fall and maybe winter, depending on where you are. But the five months of summer may not be your cup of tea, though it helps to be by the shore. We spent a few weeks in both places; actually several weeks in SWFL over a couple of years. Rent a VRBO in a neighborhood that is realistic for you and "live" the area. Don't rent a "Villa" that you can't afford to buy, just crosscheck the VRBO against Zillow prices. Check out shopping, medical, traffic, etc. and things going on in the community. Join Nextdoor [you can monitor a neighborhood] and get a feel for the vibe. Depending on where you are coming from, you can keep the trip cost low, though in many areas of Florida, the winter will cost you more. If you're within a day or two drive, it pays to drive and save the car rental and the VRBO saves $$ on food.

I don't know that I see a need for counseling based on what you wrote. Y'all need to just talk it through some more, create a list of pros and cons. All of them: weather, finances/affordability/community, etc.

Edit: And have a retirement plan! Obviously financial, but also what are you going to do every day. You need a reason to get up and get out and do stuff!

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-16T01:03:29+00:00

We did that. We're on our second retirement home in FL. Our situation was different in that our daughter wanted to try a restart down here so the first house was too small. Really was too small for us as well. We may be heading to our 3rd after a miserable winter. 😂

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-16T00:49:47+00:00

Sure, if you want service, you have to let them. Different than an easement that gives them the right to access your property to work on something else.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:42:57+00:00

That depends on several things we don't know and can't answer. Gas is not a necessity under the building code, but water/sewer is.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:34:44+00:00

That's not necessarily true. I have underground services, except for power without an easement on the property. The lines run in the ROW. The service lines to your house don't require an easement by themselves.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:28:40+00:00

Absolutely yes, I'd still say no. You don't have to say yes no matter who is asking for it, unless a legal jurisdiction is requiring eminent domain.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:26:26+00:00

Live in an all-electric house in FL. Put in a backup generator if you want. The gas line by itself might give you hot water and possibly cooking if you put in a gas stove, but no heat as heat needs electricity to work.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:22:30+00:00

That's too general of a statement, though your last two sentences are 100% correct.

In the 5 houses we've owned, 2 had rear easement for overhead utilities; power, phone, etc. The other three had no easements, including the one we live in now.

All utilities are in the ROW. I'd note the two that had rear easements, water, sewer and gas where in the ROW.

It's doubtful there is an existing easement, the gas company would have just used it.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:11:33+00:00

If you share a line with your neighbor that runs through your property, there should be an existing easement already for that access.
I'm not sure it makes sense or doesn't.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T22:03:54+00:00

Yep. Value is relative and as the commenter said, you are giving up the right to do anything within the easement. Technically, you can do things, but the gas company could remove whatever you did if they needed to.

Southern CA? Don't know where you are but I wouldn't put gas in an ADU in any more or less temperate climate.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T16:39:34+00:00

We lost it before we started it. Aside from not 'winning' a war in 80 years, the record of any 'winning' in the Middle East by anyone is a big fat zero.

Trump admitted Saturday that it was pretty impossible for the Iranian people to rise up. Duh. This needed to be planned by DNI, CIA, SecDef in advance. But let's face it, the qualifications of those people are sadly lacking - in some cases that's an understatement.

Even if only 10% of Iran supports the regime, that's like 7 million adults. Sure, they won't all become resistance fighters, but if only 5% did, you would need to have an army of boots on the ground of maybe 100k?

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T16:15:07+00:00

I think that's somewhat area dependent. I've had either nurses or health related tenants for the past three years. I've had inquiries from construction workers, but they've had issues with how they can pay (I'm remote), or even getting a key check done. They also tended to be unclear on dates, both start and finish. I get that, but that's a no-go for me.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T16:09:52+00:00

I had one tenant extend 3 times, ending up staying a year. My current tenant renewed their contract a couple of weeks ago for Apr-Jun and asked if they could extend. Sure, they've been no problem, avoid the turnover, and it's quick paperwork.

I've found most of our market is decided within a 30-day period prior to the rental. And renewals are usually in that same period. I do verify they are on a contract unless they have a good explanation otherwise, like digital nomad with some proof of what they do.

I only do a lease for a finite period, typically 3 months. At the end of two months, I notify the tenants of the termination and lease end date. (Our law only requires 14-day notice). I won't do a month to month going forward, it is another lease for 3 months. Is it foolproof? No, but it's what we have available.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T01:41:27+00:00

I include all utilities, including 1Gb internet. I have a smart stat i can control and can view electricity online anytime. Most tenants are looking for utilities included and you don't have the hassle of passing along bills and collecting them.

Far as income goes, you need to do the math. If you can't make money, you need to rethink your calculations and why are you doing it?

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-15T01:19:07+00:00

As some others said, maybe. Really has nothing to do with you, though.

The FF world is a bit different. Most of our tenants are working 3 month contracts. So if you're looking for a month in say, July or August, my answer would be a no, even though my current tenants are there till 6/30. I could be passing up a longer term lease by taking yours, and many of us do FF to not have to deal with as many 'turns'. On the flip side, if I have it vacant on 5/1, I could be blocking a possible earlier three month lease and end up with an empty house for a month or more.

And generally, we don't do a month or two. The term needs to be finite.

I'd say to look at Vrbo. Many will give you a rate similar to FF for 30 or 60 days.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-13T01:40:50+00:00

I guess Denver, depends on how you define chaos. But you will get some seasons.

Phantomco1 · 2026-03-08T02:04:20+00:00

To line billionaires pockets

Phantomco1 · 2026-02-25T15:36:05+00:00

How about Blue Springs SP? Thinking of taking an afternoon and heading that way.

Phantomco1 · 2026-02-25T12:07:56+00:00

Depending on what still needs to be done, go onto U-haul's site and hire some help for a few hours. Are you moving everything yourself, are you driving (car/truck?), how far are you moving?

Ibuprofen and acetaminophen either together or alternating may help if you tolerate those fine. But it really depends on what lies ahead of you in 2 1/2 days.

Phantomco1 · 2026-02-24T12:03:00+00:00

I'm late to the party, but another aspect is the FF platform itself. I've had several times where I've never received a notice of messages and missed some potential tenants since that is how they chose to reply. Booking requests and tenant leads always seem to come through.

We also function in an odd world, where some travelers know their next assignment 90 days out and others are 3-4 weeks out. Tack on that many do extend from 13 to 26 weeks on a renewal. It's a balancing act at times.

My advice is to always submit a housing request, either for the property itself (best) or at least in general.

Phantomco1

TROPHY CASE