I bought a block house
I can give you some of the pros and cons of buying a block house - but understand I kind of went into the process with my mind already made up as Mrs StevefromNY and I always thought of a "Florida house" as a being concrete.
But trying to be objective:
Block cost a little more ($10K when I bought mine)
Insurance is supposed to be less expensive or a block house (do a search).
Yeah you have paint block every seven years or so (so I've heard from neighbors)
It's less likely to be damaged by wind (siding can blow off)
Both need regular pressure washing (annual?)
Block needs to be inspected for cracks regularly (especially near windows)
If you're trying to build a business case, I'd bet insurance cost will ultimately trump painting making the block cheaper in the long run. Don't know what payback period would be.
I know I didn't answer your questions completely, especially how much painting costs, but the labor is reasonable in FL (compared to NY anyway) and the house is a single floor, so I suspect it will not be an unreasonable cost to paint. I am constantly surprised how many labor related items seem very low too me, like lawn services for instance.
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