My wife and I recently sold our home in the Washington DC area. It was only on the market for two days and we had several offers. The person who purchased it offered full price (it was the first person who looked at it.) We didn’t even have a chance to have an open house. Even though We didn’t get what we would have gotten at the peak of the market a few years ago but we did much better than if we had sold it a year ago. Prices in the area are up 10% just in the last 6 months. Hopefully the rest of the country will also start doing better soon.

We are considering moving to the Tampa Bay area and need some advice on where to start looking for a new house. The last time I was in Tampa was probably 25 years ago.

We want a single family home as we already own a condo as a second home in West Palm Beach and even though we like condo living we want something larger without the excessive fees.

My wife and I are fortunate that we are able to work remotely but need to be close to an International Airport (no more than 30-45 minutes).

We prefer either a new home (less than 1-2 years old) or home that was built in 1920-1930 which has been renovated. Every home we have owned for the last 30 years has been custom built and even though we don’t rule this out, based on the current real estate market, it may make more since to buy a home that that is already completed.

We are thinking of something that is 5,000 to 7,000 square feet either on the gulf, a canal or river. We have a boat which we will be relocating to the area so a dock (40-50 feet) is a must. We don’t like cookie cutter houses and want something with character. Even though normally it is just my wife and myself we frequently have guests and love to entertain. If it is more than one floor, it must have an elevator (planning for the future). Other things we are looking for include security cameras, pool, wood/marble floors, professional kitchen, 4+ bedrooms, at least 12′ ceilings on first level, 3+ car garage and generator.

My wife would really like to have a cabana house but it is not a requirement.

Since eventually this will become the house we use in retirement, we want to make sure we take our time and pick the right place. We are putting all of our furniture in storage and will be staying in our West Palm Beach place until we find a place so there is no rush.

I found what I thought was the ideal house but when I inquired about it the agent said even though the house was beautiful you had to go through bad areas to get there.

The agent recommended Apollo Beach or Tierra Verde but it may have been because he had listings in guises areas.

Any recommendations? We are going to take our first house hunting trip in two weeks.