Gulf-coast lawncare - what do I do w/this?

First & most important - I don't really give a damn about appearance, my goals are low-maintenance and minimal time.

Our home purchase on the MS coast is looking promising, with our closing date next month. However I really have no idea how to deal with a yard/sandy jungle like this.

My main concerns are:

1.) I don't want the 1/2-dozen oak trees turning into 60 saplings.

2.) I don't want to encourage termites or other pests.

3.) As above, I want to spend as minimal time/money/effort dealing with lawncare as possible.

Here are some pics. I'm pretty sure the lawn hasn't been touched since we first looked at the place on Black Friday, so I don't think it'll be too time/maintenance-intensive.

This looks like possibly an attempted compost pile, or possibly just where a bunch of leaves ended up?

As you can see, the driveway is pretty covered with acorns.

So, a couple questions:

1.) Do I need a powered mower, or with this little grass would a reel-mower be quicker?

2.) Would a leaf blower work at all, or just generate sand storms?

3.) I've never had oaks, but I know maples sprout like crazy - in the sun, shade, driveway, gutters, etc. Will the oaks be just as bad?

4.) What else do I need to know.

Oh, and I'm planning on calling for quotes from lawncare companies. I figure if nothing else it'll be interesting to see what services they'll try to sell me.

As far as termites go, do not put in mulch, they love it. Also make sure your downspouts and grading are keeping the area around the perimeter of the home as dry as can be, they also love moisture. Make sure there is no wood to soil contact, or if there has to be it is treated wood. That is for subterranean termites that we have up here in the north, I'm not sure what all kinds you have there.

Pavers. Lots and lots of pavers. I would think that Florida being one big sandbox, laying pavers should be easy.

Failing that, and considering the cost to maintain grass in FL with a lawn service, I would seriously look into the lawn toupe.

a combination of pavers and something like crushed granite (or whatever kind of gravel like stuff is most readily available in your area) in place of all the grass seems to be the easiest and lowest maintenance way to go..

Lawn toupe or crushed granite/pavers get my vote.

Perfect, thanks! The lawn toupe won't be worth the expense, but I'll look into crushed granite(maybe shell, as that ends up in the pavement around here), etc.

Brown gravel looks like mulch from ten feet away and it's hard for the termites to chew. Doesn't need to be replaced every year either.

So... We had the home inspection yesterday(all went well, fortunately) and discovered a mysterious pump behind the garage, activated by a switch inside, and plumbed into the ground. We contacted the sellers, and it's an irrigation pump...

How could a home a block from the beach not get enough rain???

The thing is the rain percolates right through the sandy soil. So even if you had a heavy rain you might need to water only a couple days later or shallow rooted plants like grass and flowers will die or go dormant.

From the leaf patterns and lack of grass it looks like you have a bit of a stream running around the house during rains.

I would go with rock as well. except for keeping it clean, maintenance free as it gets.

In Florida you will need to spray roundup on the rocks occasionally.

In reply to MrJoshua:

The yard is somewhat hilly, and there's a small drainage culvert along the south side(just past the chain-link fence in the 10th pic above), but that looks like the only area of repeated flow...and I think has something to do with the orientation of the ornamental grass curved around the corner.

In reply to NOT A TA:

Good to know about that. I asked the inspector how I should go about caring for the yard, as he's also transplanted from the Midwest, and his reply was "Don't even think about trying to grow grass." I'm ok with that.

Yeah, st augustine grass is some sort of nightmare. Stuff scares me. I intend on going rock when i purchase as well.