Guides
Space Coast guides
Practical playbooks for Merritt Island, Viera, Satellite Beach, and Lake Washington — written from Amanda McKnight’s day-to-day Space Coast practice.
Viera CDD Fees: What the Tax Bill Adds to the Payment
A Viera listing can show HOA dues and still leave out the community development district assessment on the Brevard tax bill. How to find that line before you write an offer.
Selling a Viera Home When the Solar Panels Are Leased
Leased solar panels on a Viera house do not transfer like a refrigerator. What sellers should pull before the first showing, and what buyers should read before they write.
Ground-Floor Condos in Indian Harbour Beach: Flood Before the View
A ground-floor condo in Indian Harbour Beach can be the easiest walk from the car and the first floor water asks about. How to read the zone and the elevation before you write.
Merritt Island Streets Where One House Has City Water and the Next Has a Well
On Merritt Island, a fire hydrant on the corner does not prove the house you are buying is connected. How to confirm city water or a private well for that parcel.
Pricing an Inland Merritt Island Home When Every Comp Has a Dock
Selling a non-waterfront Merritt Island home? How canal and river sales skew online estimates and neighbor talk, and how to choose fair inland comps before you list.
Renovating a Satellite Beach House: Get the Permits Before You Gut the Kitchen
Satellite Beach renovations: city building permits, checking a contractor’s Florida license, owner-builder rules, inspections, and the open permits that surface at sale.
Downsizing to Viera: What to Check in a Single-Story Home
Empty nesters moving to Viera: selling the bigger house, single-story layouts, step-free entries, yard size, and the HOA rules that matter at this stage of life.
Buying Land Near Lake Washington to Build a House
Buying vacant acreage near Lake Washington to build: zoning, survey, soil and wetlands, flood elevation for new construction, utilities, and the Brevard County permit path.
Selling a Parent’s Merritt Island House
Selling a parent’s Merritt Island home from out of state: who can sign, securing and insuring a vacant house, the cleanout, and what buyers notice in an estate sale.
Satellite Beach Short-Term Rentals: Check the Rules Before You Buy
Buying in Satellite Beach for rental income? Verify city zoning and code, state vacation rental licensing, HOA and condo rules, and tax registration before you write an offer.
Viera Pool Homes: The Cage, the Equipment, and the Inspection
Buying a Viera pool home: screen enclosure condition, pool equipment age, deck and shell cracks, why a pool specialist should inspect, and the ongoing cost of ownership.
Checking School Zones for a Merritt Island Address Before You Write an Offer
How to verify the assigned schools for a specific Merritt Island address with Brevard Public Schools tools, why zones can change, and why a listing remark is not proof.
Mangroves on Merritt Island: What You Can and Cannot Cut
Merritt Island shoreline mangroves: trimming versus removal, who permits the work, and why a cleaned-up bank becomes a problem when you sell.
Salt Air on Satellite Beach: What It Does to the House
What salt air does to Satellite Beach houses: AC coils, screens, cars, and hardware, plus what buyers should inspect and sellers should be ready to explain.
Viera Golf Course Lots: The View, the Balls, and the Street Behind the Green
Viera golf-course lots versus off-course streets: views, errant balls, privacy, and what to read before you treat a fairway lot as an automatic resale win.
Older Merritt Island Houses: The Inspection Surprises That Change the Offer
Cast iron, aluminum wiring, polybutylene, and original windows: the Merritt Island inspection findings that restart the offer. Not the roof article and not the insurance article.
Lake Washington Internet and Cell Service Before You Work From Home
How to test internet and cell service on a specific Lake Washington lot before you buy acreage for remote work. Maps are not a speed test.
Merritt Island Causeway Closures and How They Change a Showing Day
How SR 520, SR 528, and the NASA Causeway change a Merritt Island showing day when a wreck or a work zone slows the crossing. Not the boat-clearance guide.
Turtle Lighting Rules If You Buy or Sell on Satellite Beach
What Satellite Beach buyers inherit and sellers should know about sea turtle lighting during nesting season. The city code and FWC control the details.
The Viera Errand Test: What You Can Walk To and What Still Needs a Car
Walk a specific Viera village for groceries, school drop-off, coffee, and the medical campus. The map is not the same as the errand.
Does an Older Roof Make a Merritt Island Home Harder to Sell?
Merritt Island sellers: an older roof is an insurance conversation, not an automatic no. Gather roof age, permits, and any wind-mitigation form before the first showing.
Selling a Merritt Island Home With a Dock
Merritt Island sellers: buyers inspect the dock, the lift, the seawall beside it, and whether their boat fits. Permits and measurements beat a sunset photo.
What Merritt Island Sellers Should Know About Seawalls
Merritt Island sellers: seawall age, repairs, and buyer objections. Who actually inspects a wall, and what to pull from Brevard County before the first showing.
Can You Get Homeowners Insurance on an Older Merritt Island Home?
Questions to ask a licensed insurance agent before you list or buy an older Merritt Island house: roof, electrical, elevation. No invented premiums.
Moving From Orlando to Viera: The Drive Nobody Quotes Honestly
Leaving Orlando for Viera: what I-4, the Beachline, and I-95 actually ask of a weekday, and how that changes which side of Viera fits.
Merritt Island or Satellite Beach If You Actually Own a Boat?
Own a boat? Merritt Island is a dock and a bridge problem. Satellite Beach is often a trailer, parking, and storage problem. Decide where the boat sleeps.
Lake Washington After a Summer Storm
After a hard rain on Lake Washington acreage, look at the driveway, the culvert, and where water stands. Drainage and access, not well or septic.
What Buyers Notice in the First Ten Minutes of a Viera Resale
Viera resale buyers decide in the first ten minutes: condition next to new construction, dated finishes, and the HOA or CDD questions they ask on the porch.
Your Boat Will Not Clear That Merritt Island Bridge
Merritt Island boat buyers: measure air draft, chart every fixed bridge from the dock to open water, and decide lift versus trailer before you fall for the listing photo.
The Viera Punch List Buyers Skip Until Walkthrough Day
Viera new-construction buyers: deposits, option deadlines, an independent inspection, unfinished systems, and insurance timing before the certificate of occupancy.
Satellite Beach Parking Is the Amenity Nobody Budgets
Satellite Beach buyers: guest parking, beach access, boards, second cars, and which streets stay usable when tourists and launch crowds show up.
Lake Washington Well and Septic: The Surprises That Show Up at Closing
Lake Washington buyers: well water testing, septic inspections, drain fields, and the paperwork that surfaces the week of closing on acreage near Melbourne.
What Merritt Island Actually Feels Like on Launch Day
Merritt Island on launch day: bridge backups, viewing crowds, the sound, and how errands and home showings actually change when a rocket flies.
The Viera “15 Minutes to the Beach” Commute, Tested at Rush Hour
Test the Viera beach commute at rush hour: I-95, the Pineda Causeway, school traffic, and why a midday listing claim is not your drive to work.
Satellite Beach Ground Floor vs Top Floor Is a Different House
Satellite Beach floor level is a different house: elevation, flood questions, noise, elevators, insurance conversations, and how the floor resells.
Lake Washington Shops, RVs, and Horses: What the County Will Actually Allow
Lake Washington acreage: outbuildings, RV pads, horses, and the Brevard zoning and permit rules that decide what the county will actually allow.