Embassy Lakes (Cooper City) vs Parkland? (Hollywood, Sunrise: environment, real estate, transplants)

[PBCboy]

Parkland is among the nicest South Florida has to offer... and the safest, too!

[CJFlorida]

OP, please rent. I am always surprised when newcomers say they can afford this price or that price.

You don't know the area, you don't know which neighborhood you would like better, you don't know the Florida real estate market. Why on earth would you buy first?

Florida is just starting to unwind from a historic bubble. Prices are gradually dropping month after month. There is a huge choice of rentals in Parkland and all over.

You can negotiate a cheap rental rate, a low initial deposit, and great terms. Landlords are desperate and will make concessions.

Please, rent for a year, learn the market, then get a nice deal on a house. Why pay $500,000 now in an area you are not familiar with when a year from now that house will most likely be going for $450,000??

You could buy a house for $500,000-550,000 and have ownership costs of $4000-5000 per month, and have the value go down. Or negotiate a rental of $2000/month and put the other $2000/month or more into a 6% CD and watch prices come down.

Which sounds like the smarter move?

[Momma_bear]

I agree with CJ about renting first. Prices are definitely coming down all over Broward. It is difficult to know exactly where you want to be on a permanent basis just by doing some research (although the research is wise). There has been lots of building going on all over Broward and there are many empty new and nearly new homes that are available for rent, especially in Parkland. I'll bet you can find something to rent in CC also. There is a new development called Hibbs Grove in CC. I am sure you can find a home to rent there. You can also look in any of the other upscale developments in CC Country Glen, Embassy Lakes, Rock Creek are the only others I can think of but I am sure there are others. I am not a CC expert.

The real estate market here is really bad. I am glad I am not looking for a place to live. It would be really hard to buy something knowing that there is a fair likelihood that my investment would decline. Since we already own a house, and we have to live somewhere it doesn't bother me that our house has declined in value from its peak. However, it would be tough for me to pull the trigger on a deal right now.

[cloozoe]

Thanks again, all. We are absolutely planning to rent at first for all the reasons mentioned. Is the consensus that the bubble has thoroughly burst and prices are near bottom, or that they will continue to decrease for the near/mid/foreseeable future? BTW, on a web site of real estate pricing trends, most communities - including nice ones - showed a past year price decrease on the order of 20-30%. Parkland, however, was holding fairly steady - at least according to this one site. Any thoughts on that?

[Momma_bear]

I think prices are still heading down. I question whether prices have actually held steady in Parkland. I don't live there, but I know that prices have been heading down and hardly any properties have sold recently. I find it difficult to believe that Parkland would hold steady with the rest of Broward tanking.

[lauralei2]

I enjoy living in Cooper City. It very much is a family oriented small city with a small-town feel to it. Many parks, sports, and classes to enjoy. Our programs are geared from youngsters to older adults. We have a yearly small-town parade and picnic on Founder's Day. There is a shuttle bus that runs throughout the city that connects to bus routes. Some developments are fancier than others. I live in Flamingo Gardens West, an ungated community, older 80's style homes with personality. The city is not fancy like Weston or Parkland, and I like it that way. Just my opinion.

[Musclehead]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I think prices are still heading down. I question whether prices have actually held steady in Parkland. I don't live there, but I know that prices have been heading down and hardly any properties have sold recently. I find it difficult to believe that Parkland would hold steady with the rest of Broward tanking.

Prices have dropped everywhere and Parkland is no exception ... my boss lives there and his home has dropped at least 15% in price over the last year and 1/2 .... plus many homes are on the market there especially in Heron Bay . Whoever claims the prices have held in Parkland is either ignorant to the truth or a realtor trying to sell you a house ....

[CJFlorida]

Originally Posted by cloozoe

Thanks again, all. We are absolutely planning to rent at first for all the reasons mentioned. Is the consensus that the bubble has thoroughly burst and prices are near bottom, or that they will continue to decrease for the near/mid/foreseeable future? BTW, on a web site of real estate pricing trends, most communities - including nice ones - showed a past year price decrease on the order of 20-30%. Parkland, however, was holding fairly steady - at least according to this one site. Any thoughts on that?

Parkland has a huge inventory of homes for sale and for rent. Parkland is coming down slower because people have more money and can afford to hang in there longer before being forced to lower their prices.

But in the end, prices will come down a lot more, just give it time.

[Momma_bear]

Thanks Musclehead and CJ for confirming that Parkland cannot be escaping the downturn seen in the rest of Broward.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I live in Weston. Weston feels like a town. There is a real community feel here. CC does not have that community feel although it is very close to Weston. I really like living in a place that feels like a hometown. There are few cities here in Broward that have that feel to them.

.

Thats funny, I feel the opposite...heh! My neighborhood is pretty good, but I don't get the same vibe from some of those newer ones further south in the city. Honestly Embassy Lakes feels like a bubble from the rest of Cooper City to me. Feels more like it belongs in Weston or Parkland. Very nice in there, but I would probably take Parkland (all of those trees!) over Cooper City, except the schools are less crowded in Cooper. The rest of Cooper City (outside of Embassy Lakes) feels kind of like a real "suburb" outside of South Florida, something you can't really sense driving down the main roads.

Speaking of which, consider Weston too. It's upscale like Parkland and closer to Hollywood. South Florida's only Blue Ribbon elementary school (Eagle Point). Looks kind of "resort-y". Kind of like a compromise between nice and commute. It's a little safer, cleaner, more upscale, newer than Cooper city. We also have a lot of planned family events, parks, and an interesting-for-10-minutes (sorry! I still like it here though) town center that kind of brings in a sense of community. We have a very diverse population, about 40% non Hispanic white, about 40% Hispanic (mostly upper income South Americans), and a significant Black and small but visible Asian Indian community. We also have much more in the way of in-city shopping and dining than the other two mentioned options, and lower crime than any South Florida city. Main problem is the overcrowded (but well rated) middle and high schools. And about the Jewish population, Cooper City HS has a Jewish Student Union, so that DEFINITELY won't be a problem. The local Jewish infrastructure is among the most extensive around and spans many denominations ranging from reform to hasidim. Broward is one of the top 10 "Jewish" counties in the nation.

About the price declines, I wouldn't dare buy a home right now. Renting is the way to go, or you lose. It's that simple.

Well, I dunno, I just came from from the North and it all feels kind of "bubbly" here. I can't describe it. It's not really a bad feeling per se, but the "classic" sense of community just doesn't exist here. I don't even know if "bubbly" is the right word to describe it.

Honestly, if you are looking for a less "snobby", more "middle American" type community and something that most truly resembles the classic suburb, you will like Cooper City. If you want suburbia South Florida style, Weston's it, and Embassy Lakes also has that same kind of feel within Cooper City. Don't even consider Parkland, not that it's not as nice as the other communities (it's really nice), but because it's not worth the commute.