Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Finally,I'm returning to post that after a lot of looking and a lot of comparisons,we made our decision on just where to buy in Delaware. This,the Lord willing,shall be our very last move.....We hope! We chose The Village of Fountainview in Newark. They are listed as Garden Villas and this is basically within an over 55 community. Wilkinson Builders has done a beautiful job with this community. I can't say enough good stuff about their team for they have worked with us on every front.
I can not thank y'all enough for the mighty fine reads within this forum and thread! I've learned so many thingys about Delaware so now I'm gonna fit right in once we move into our new home.
Finally,I'm returning to post that after a lot of looking and a lot of comparisons,we made our decision on just where to buy in Delaware. This,the Lord willing,shall be our very last move.....We hope! We chose The Village of Fountainview in Newark. They are listed as Garden Villas and this is basically within an over 55 community. Wilkinson Builders has done a beautiful job with this community. I can't say enough good stuff about their team for they have worked with us on every front.
I can not thank y'all enough for the mighty fine reads within this forum and thread! I've learned so many thingys about Delaware so now I'm gonna fit right in once we move into our new home.
Regards,
Forum 5
Congratulations! I, as well, have heard good things about your choice of a 55+ community. Welcome!
Lets be blunt and ask the right questions that someone looking to retire to Delaware may ask or should ask. This is valuable information.
1. Propane vs Natural Gas - Propane is an unregulated gas and any community with propane is off my list. I hear alot about a communtiy named Nobles Pond - they are propane and that is highly expensive. Do the research.
2. Flight path of Dover Air Force Base - Be sure to ask if your community is in the flight path of the Delaware Air Force Base. Some people may like having 747's flying overhead, others may not.
3. Community Roads - be sure to ask if the roads are maintained by the HOA or DelDot. If they are maintained by the HOA this is a huge expense to the homeowners down the road that is often not budgeted for. If repairs are to be done, the homeowers are assessed.
4. Phases - be sure to ask what Phases of the community are approved. Example: Nobles Pond HOA fees were figured with all phases approved - unfortunately, not all phases were approved. Therefore, the HOA fees will dramatically increase due to the fact that the density is not longer ther to support the ammendities.
5. Fee Simple vs Land Rent - DO NOT EVER GO LAND RENT or whatever they may call it. If you want more details you can directly email me.
6. Construction - this is big one for me. Energy Star means nothing (everyone is energy star) - we all have to ask the next question - and that is......what is the HERS Rating. I recently visited a 55+ community in Camden, and the HERS rating was under 60. It was the best that I have seen and they had documentation. If you do not know what that means please do the research.
Irrigation vs Agricultural Well - water can be expensive in Delaware. If you are required to water your grass without an agricultural well you will be paying over 600/month just in water. SOME COMMUNITIES do not allow agricultural wells...if they do not your paying big time bucks to water your grass. Something to think about..
I know there is much more to talk about and this is just a start. I hope the information above made you think -
[quote=NH123;23660661]Lets be blunt and ask the right questions that someone looking to retire to Delaware may ask or should ask. This is valuable information.
2. Flight path of Dover Air Force Base - Be sure to ask if your community is in the flight path of the Delaware Air Force Base. Some people may like having 747's flying overhead, others may not.
5. Fee Simple vs Land Rent - DO NOT EVER GO LAND RENT or whatever they may call it. If you want more details you can directly email me.
Irrigation vs Agricultural Well - water can be expensive in Delaware. If you are required to water your grass without an agricultural well you will be paying over 600/month just in water. SOME COMMUNITIES do not allow agricultural wells...if they do not your paying big time bucks to water your grass. Something to think about..quote]
As we had lived near a US Navy air base, #2 was critical for us. We did NOT want to be anywhere near Dover AFB. Although the homes and community were perfect for our need, we immediately ruled out one because it is on the flight path. There are often "night ops" and/or "touch and go" exercises over Dover that can be quite annoying to some people.
We wanted to own the land our home would be built on, so a couple of other communities were also crossed off our list.
And a well for irrigation purposes was a must as well. We added ours within the first month after we moved in. Plus most communities did not include an in-ground irrigation system in the purchase price, but allowed it only as an expensive upgrade. Well kept, green, grassy (not weedy) lawns throughout the entire neighborhood is important for appearances as well as home value.
Lets be blunt and ask the right questions that someone looking to retire to Delaware may ask or should ask. This is valuable information.
1. Propane vs Natural Gas - Propane is an unregulated gas and any community with propane is off my list. I hear alot about a communtiy named Nobles Pond - they are propane and that is highly expensive. Do the research.
2. Flight path of Dover Air Force Base - Be sure to ask if your community is in the flight path of the Delaware Air Force Base. Some people may like having 747's flying overhead, others may not.
3. Community Roads - be sure to ask if the roads are maintained by the HOA or DelDot. If they are maintained by the HOA this is a huge expense to the homeowners down the road that is often not budgeted for. If repairs are to be done, the homeowers are assessed.
4. Phases - be sure to ask what Phases of the community are approved. Example: Nobles Pond HOA fees were figured with all phases approved - unfortunately, not all phases were approved. Therefore, the HOA fees will dramatically increase due to the fact that the density is not longer ther to support the ammendities.
5. Fee Simple vs Land Rent - DO NOT EVER GO LAND RENT or whatever they may call it. If you want more details you can directly email me.
6. Construction - this is big one for me. Energy Star means nothing (everyone is energy star) - we all have to ask the next question - and that is......what is the HERS Rating. I recently visited a 55+ community in Camden, and the HERS rating was under 60. It was the best that I have seen and they had documentation. If you do not know what that means please do the research.
Irrigation vs Agricultural Well - water can be expensive in Delaware. If you are required to water your grass without an agricultural well you will be paying over 600/month just in water. SOME COMMUNITIES do not allow agricultural wells...if they do not your paying big time bucks to water your grass. Something to think about..
I know there is much more to talk about and this is just a start. I hope the information above made you think -
Great advice and I have read about the cost of water being very high but am I reading this right, potentially $600 a month to water your lawn if you don't have an agricultural well?
Lets be blunt and ask the right questions that someone looking to retire to Delaware may ask or should ask. This is valuable information.
1. Propane vs Natural Gas - Propane is an unregulated gas and any community with propane is off my list. I hear alot about a communtiy named Nobles Pond - they are propane and that is highly expensive. Do the research.
2. Flight path of Dover Air Force Base - Be sure to ask if your community is in the flight path of the Delaware Air Force Base. Some people may like having 747's flying overhead, others may not.
3. Community Roads - be sure to ask if the roads are maintained by the HOA or DelDot. If they are maintained by the HOA this is a huge expense to the homeowners down the road that is often not budgeted for. If repairs are to be done, the homeowers are assessed.
4. Phases - be sure to ask what Phases of the community are approved. Example: Nobles Pond HOA fees were figured with all phases approved - unfortunately, not all phases were approved. Therefore, the HOA fees will dramatically increase due to the fact that the density is not longer ther to support the ammendities.
5. Fee Simple vs Land Rent - DO NOT EVER GO LAND RENT or whatever they may call it. If you want more details you can directly email me.
6. Construction - this is big one for me. Energy Star means nothing (everyone is energy star) - we all have to ask the next question - and that is......what is the HERS Rating. I recently visited a 55+ community in Camden, and the HERS rating was under 60. It was the best that I have seen and they had documentation. If you do not know what that means please do the research.
Irrigation vs Agricultural Well - water can be expensive in Delaware. If you are required to water your grass without an agricultural well you will be paying over 600/month just in water. SOME COMMUNITIES do not allow agricultural wells...if they do not your paying big time bucks to water your grass. Something to think about..
I know there is much more to talk about and this is just a start. I hope the information above made you think -
Thanks for the info re: Nobles Pond. I was leaning toward buying there. How many phases have been approved? They are still on Phase 1 there. Behind the area where they are selling now, was a large piece of open land and I was told it belongs to someone else and nothing will be there until that person decides to sell. That would turn me off - who knows what could be built there in years to come?
Did not know about the well issue either, though I did notice that sewer charges were high on a few places I visited.
Great advice and I have read about the cost of water being very high but am I reading this right, potentially $600 a month to water your lawn if you don't have an agricultural well?
I don't live in a 55+ community, but we have water and sewer service. I don't know if my water/sewer bill is high or not, since I've never lived anywhere else. We live in a small, Kent County town, and there are 2 in our household. For a point of comparison, we just got our water/sewer bill (combined) and we get a bill every 3 months. This last quarter's bill is $115.21 (water and sewer). When I water our lawn and all of my flowers starting in June, the bill will probably go up to $140 for one quarter because of more water use. If that's considered high, that's fine with me. I would never want to live anyplace else, and I wouldn't pay the exorbitant real estate taxes people pay in other states.
By the way, our town has the highest water/sewer bills in the state, but I'd never complain because I love it here!
I did notice that sewer charges were high on a few places I visited.
As far as Kent County is concerned - where Nobles' Pond is located - sewer rates are set at $70.55 per quarter, no matter how many people are in your house. This does not, of course, pertain to people with private septic systems.
As far as Kent County is concerned - where Nobles' Pond is located - sewer rates are set at $70.55 per quarter, no matter how many people are in your house. This does not, of course, pertain to people with private septic systems.
No, of course not.
I merely pointed out the # of people in our house in regard to the amount of water and sewer usage, not that we're charged by the person.
Sorry if there was any confusion - I was referring to retiree2011's comment that he/she noticed high sewer rates in the communities that he/she looked at and I just wanted to state that if they were interested in Kent County, that the rates would be the same no matter where in the county, not just that particular community. Hope that helps.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I, as well, have heard good things about your choice of a 55+ community. Welcome!
