I just got back from my Florida trip.  I am from Connecticut.  Been doing online due diligence and found this forum.  Met with several real estate agents, most of which were pretty incompetent or uneducated in the market.  I will address the Lehigh Acres market though.  Lehigh you have to take for what its worth.  Is there crime?  Sure, but most of it is non-violent.  There were more homes foreclosed on per square mile in Lehigh than there were in Cape Coral and Fort Meyers so inevitably things like house components and screens among other things were stolen and probably created an eyesore.  Lehigh is not paradise, nor is it the ghetto.  It is your traditional lower to mid income demographic.  But I was not deterred.  What I did see was an opportunity for immediate cash flow and good cash flow.  I read someone elses post about Cape Coral and Lehigh.  Two TOTALLY different markets, but you get more for your money in Lehigh and your money effectively gains more value there in my opinion.  Cape Coral is pretty nice, but prices are higher.  If I am a speculator, I like Cape Coral.  If I am a cash flow person with hopes of marginal appreciation, Lehigh is also good for that.  Fort Myers prices are just high and more high end.

Watch out for Chinese Drywall.  And watch out for lower prices.  I looked at a home I saw on a public website for $44,000.  It honestly didn’t look like it needed a whole lot of work.  I was thinking $3,000.  Ends up the rehab estimate was over $10,000.  I saw 4 realtors.  Three of them gave me their opinion on what it would take to fix the home.  I called a handyman and a contractor to look and they said the same thing.  Cheapest bid I got was $10,350.  Oh, and the comment about well and septic?  Join 50% of the club in the county.  Its common utilities down here and the county doesn’t have the reserves to pay for expansion anytime soon. 

After doing due diligence and getting the right property in my opinion, I am happy in Lehigh.  I wasn’t really deterred from anything out of the ordinary.  Has great potential with a lot going on in and around it.  We’ll see though as I do not close for about a month.  I guess it could be risky to some, but after visiting it’s a risk I’m willing to take. 

In conclusion, work with someone that has experience.  How do you find that?  I don’t know, but you will determine much by simply talking to them.  Your result will probably be a great investment if you have the right team.