Let's talk about the house.

This property is not “charming.” It is worn out and was maintained to the absolute minimum. The listing photos do not represent the issues with the property. It likely needs around $100,000 to bring it to a basic modern standard. I had previously considered buying it myself, so I did the math. This house was a rental unit for at least the past 6 years, and I think since 2013 (as that's when the current owner bought it, and he's never lived in it). In the 6 years I lived there, the owner never visited once. The owner's pattern has been to extract as much money as he can out of this house and put the least into it.

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The listing states “newer appliances include water heater, washer, dryer, dishwasher.” The reality: the water heater is 5 years old and fails regularly. The washer has a recurring mold problem and does not dispense soap properly. The dishwasher is at least 6 years old.

The owner just put a new roof on the home—as the roof was over 50 years old—but that's where the good news starts and ends. There was a major leak in the laundry room for over a year (water damage in the attic, and floor, was never repaired). The east side of the plane port roof leaked for over two years and the owner refused to repair it.

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Unless the owner replaced it with the re-roof (I suspect not), all ductwork is original (from 1972). An HVAC contractor told me the blown-in attic insulation is essentially gone from age. You are paying to cool and heat the outdoors.

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All windows are original, and paper thin—you hear everything. Every cold start from neighbors’ Corvettes, Shelby Cobras, and Cadillac V-series cars cuts straight through the glass and into your sleep. Early-morning engine noise is routine (Cadillac guy is an airline pilot and sometimes leaves for the airport at 4am. Every time he starts that Cadillac, you'll hear and feel it in bed.)

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The pool patio sliding doors are 50+ years old and not all fully close. All of the exterior doors are/were missing proper weatherstripping.

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The house may require a full repipe. I heard drips inside the walls (especially behind the kitchen sink/living room wall after using hot water). Copper residue from the pipes clogged multiple shut-off valves and spigots during the years I lived there.

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The HVAC system (air handler and condenser) is 15 years old and worked very hard in the south Florida heat. When the current HVAC system was installed, the air handler was relocated from the attic into the kitchen panty. The consequences of this were: halved panty space, permanently blocked off ceiling air return vents (but they lazily left dummy vents in the ceiling), and a condensate pump that you regularly hear running as it pumps the condensation from the coils up into the attic and out the side of the house. Check for mold in the air handler. The owner didn’t like paying for replacement UV lamps.

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The standby generator and gas components (including regulator) are over 20 years old. It is much louder than any of the neighbors' generators and unlikely to produce even 9kW at full load despite being rated for 12kW. It does not power the A/C or hot water heater—only minimal circuits like lights and refrigerator. If you want meaningful backup power, you will need all new wiring because the current wiring cannot support more than 12kW.

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The front driveway is two different colors from a recent patchwork repair. It is over 50 years old, heavily pitted with dozens of dark permanent stains, and could use a full replacement.

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The rear driveway (plane parking area) has serious drainage issues and many foundation cracks. It floods in heavy rain and sometimes leaves hundreds of earthworms stuck to the surface that must be scraped off one by one (leaf blower, nor a broom, won't cut it). The epoxy coating on the rear driveway is failing and needs replacement (~$6K based on quotes).

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The house originally had two driveway lights. The owner removed one entirely rather than spend $80 to replace a corroded lamp post. (Removing the light was cheaper than fixing it, which is a common modus operandi for the individual who has owned this house since 2012.) Unfortunately, good luck finding wherever the wiring for the removed lamp post is now.

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The lawn usually looks great June/July/Aug, but spotty and weed-filled for about 9 months out of the year (I think due to problematic drainage — could never figure it out, as was always diligent with watering).

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The carpeting throughout the home is builder-grade (lowest quality) and needs constant re-stretching or it bubbles (I had it re-stretched three times).

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Some DIY electrical work is deeply concerning. The pool light is a 120V lethal shock hazard with no ground (I was forced to indefinitely turn off the circuit breaker after I discovered the issue and the owner refused to fix it.). Multiple exterior wall outlets do not function. One was arcing so bad it almost caused a fire (I have photos).

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An HOA contractor repaired a severed underground power line using only electrical tape—an NEC violation and fire risk. I sent photos to the owner of this improper repair and recommended a proper waterproof burial kit. The owner stated, in writing, that he was satisfied with the tape repair. This is all but guaranteed to fail the remaining driveway light in time, and will be costly to dig up the yard to find the splice. That repair philosophy tells you everything about how this property has been maintained.

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Breaker labeling was nonexistent and impossible to tell what circuit actually controls what. The breaker panel is located in the master bedroom closet (so if it ever catches fire, pray you'll wake up quick).

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An electrician told me the pool cage is ungrounded, possibly causing electrolysis. Portions of the base of the pool cage have literally eroded into dust, leaving gaps. Paint has been flaking off of the pool cage for years, creating an endless recurring mess. I believe the owner put a new coat of paint on after I left, simply covering up the mess that is sure to recur.

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The pool likely has a small but persistent leak. A professional leak detection company could not locate it. Maintaining water level is a constant chore.

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The irrigation system frequently fails (likely due to the HOA's landscaper) and I poured $1,000 of my own money into it in the time I lived here (owner disclaimed responsibility, again trying to save every dollar).

The lawn is so mixed with so many varieties of weeds and incompatible grasses that a professional company said that a full resodding of the entire property would be required to ever have a nice looking lawn again.

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Let's talk insects and wildlife.

The mosquitos are relentless. Don't even try going outside near sunset or sunrise. I had to put on pants if I wanted to go outside even for a minute during those hours. Wasps are worse—an abnormal number of mud daubers build mud nests across the exterior of this house every season. It must be their favorite house to build on—I removed at least 20 each season. One summer there were hundreds of frogs; you could not walk on the driveway without stepping on them. It was so bad that I made a post on Reddit seeking help with the "frog war" I expected the following season. I ended up paying $200 every two months to have a pest control company fog the entire yard. Frogs leave large droppings that must be cleaned regularly—it's a constant chore. Rabbits chewed through my landscape lighting wires three separate times. Extra large flying American cockroaches appear indoors regularly—at least two every couple of weeks. Worst of all are the anole lizards inside the house because they've proved impossible to eliminate. Peppermint sprays, sealing entry points, deterrent decoys—nothing worked. They likely inhabit the attic and reproduce faster than removal. And because the wall half way up and all the way around in the living room is directly open to the attic, there is no way to prevent pests in the attic from coming into the house. Living here simply means cohabitating with the lizards and seeing them on the walls and living room ceiling regularly. I'm told anoles primarily eat spiders and if you eliminate the anoles, then you might have a serious spider problem. And this all was not for lack of pest control. I invested more into pest control than almost any homeowner does and spared no expense ($100+ every month).

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Let's talk neighbors.

Directly across the street is a former cop who patrols the neighborhood in his golf cart and monitors activity. If you're doing something he doesn't like, he's going to let you know about it. If you have a service van parked on the street in front of the house for more than a minute, he's going to tell them to move. (However, he doesn't follow this rule himself.) His house overlooks yours like a bird's nest. Privacy is limited. The immediate west neighbor (extremely loud Corvette) is the HOA president and is prone to shouting expletives from time to time when anything from his tiny dogs not obeying his orders, to tools not cooperating with him, sends him instantly crashing out. Worst of all, for your audible sanity, is the neighbor just 99 feet away to the northwest who has operated loud power tools on his driveway for years. Instead of sawing, grinding, and sanding inside of his garage, he rolls all of his power tools out onto his driveway so you can listen to every cut and every grind. Hundreds of cuts per week for years. I know the sound his tools make so well now that I hear them in my sleep. 

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Let's (briefly) talk HOA.

One meeting was enough to see the dysfunction. It was a circus, to say the least. Board member turnover is frequent. The Wing South HOA, in my opinion with what I observed and from what other residents I've talked to have said, is as inefficient and frustrating as any HOA can possibly be. Lucky you if you get to live directly next to the president in charge of it.

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Let's talk noise.

The noise here is never-ending—and it is not primarily from airplanes. This is unexpected because at first glance this appears like a quiet and peaceful location. But in this case, looks are very deceiving. ​​​​