Kensington or Murabella, St Augustine (homes, buy, build)

[remember-voltaire]

Originally Posted by riveree

I agree with much of what you posted, but it costs a lot more to buy your own land and custom build than to go with a development builder. Better to buy a pre-existing home if the idea is to avoid the current new builder scenario, IMO.

If you buy a resale, you'll see exactly what you'll get - neighborhood, neighbors, the house itself - these things are unknowns in a new development, no matter what the salespeople say.

sometimes neighbourhoods and neighbours change sometimes good sometimes bad , nosy or scruffy.

as you probably know I'm not into associations anyway.

at the moment I have half an acre and built my house, turned out cheaper as I know a few people plus I do some work as well, the


I dont have to worry about neighbours I can only see two houses from where I live anyway and then the woods at the back do back onto the intercoastal

The woods have wild hogs, deer, even see the tortoises and rabbits walk across the back garden which is great for watching nature



If I get chance I'll get a few acres so even if the worst neighbours in the land come I'll still be far away from them.

slightly off topic riv

ironic though as i like the quiet and country though only a few minutes into town st augustine . I grew up as a city boy in a very rough neighbourhood what with the shootings , drugs etc,

now I have no neighbours really , peace and tranquility , better for me kids








except when the misses wants work to be done

oooppss got to go she's calling

[backtofla]

"Know a woman who moved from north carolina"


now ya dont hear that too often.

[5FLgirls]

My husband's former company is one of the builders in both communities and I'm legallly obligated not to bash them. Because they were the builders, we were highly encouraged to buy in there when he was transferred to Jax and we looked and looked and came to the following conclusions (which some might not agree with):

-The houses were nice and a good size.
-The price was right (at that time - summer 2006) but there wasn't much to compare with.
-Curb appeal of homes and entrances left something to be desired.
-The savings by half just weren't worth the aggravation of being so far from everything.
-In the middle of nowhere, right now. I've now moved from Jax and I thank the powers that be that we didn't buy there because we would definitely be FURTHER up the creek financially (a lot more than we were by buying in an established community in PVB).

If you don't mind the drive, then I'm sure it's a great place to live with kids. There were plenty of young families buying in there when we looked, as well as empty nesters and retirees.

[bliss_fully_happy]

We purchased in Murabella spring 2007.
I feel it is extremely convenient to I95. It is wonderful to have the option to go to into St Augustine, or go north to Jax. Julington Creek and that 210 corridor is nuts at rush hour. I would rather live 10 more min down the road than sit on that shoulder everyday coming home. Palencia seems nice - but there is nothing over there. No grocery store, hardly anything to eat, and hurricane insurance will be higher because that side of I-95 is in an evacuation zone. To some people it may not matter, but there are townhouses there, which may mean a lower income group or at least a different mindset group. There are only single family homes in Murabella. World Golf Village is nice. It seems as if it is a Florida lifestyle versus just a place to live.

I personally love where I live. The area is growing. Since I will be there a while, I am not worried about house values (though I bought now versus in 2006 when prices were a bit higher).

Good luck all that are house searching and read this. There are so many options now, get what you want, where you want it, for how much you want to pay!

[Stonewall17]

Originally Posted by bliss_fully_happy

We purchased in Murabella spring 2007.
I feel it is extremely convenient to I95. It is wonderful to have the option to go to into St Augustine, or go north to Jax. Julington Creek and that 210 corridor is nuts at rush hour. I would rather live 10 more min down the road than sit on that shoulder everyday coming home. Palencia seems nice - but there is nothing over there. No grocery store, hardly anything to eat, and hurricane insurance will be higher because that side of I-95 is in an evacuation zone. To some people it may not matter, but there are townhouses there, which may mean a lower income group or at least a different mindset group. There are only single family homes in Murabella. World Golf Village is nice. It seems as if it is a Florida lifestyle versus just a place to live.

I personally love where I live. The area is growing. Since I will be there a while, I am not worried about house values (though I bought now versus in 2006 when prices were a bit higher).

Good luck all that are house searching and read this. There are so many options now, get what you want, where you want it, for how much you want to pay!

I am also a Murabella fan. (Although I also have a place in Jacksonville).

Who says that Murabella is isolated? My odometer clocks 2.5 miles to I-95 and I can walk to I-16. And when we talk about remoteness we need to consider that St. Augustine is constantly changing. Looking back, we have to agree that most developments were, at one time or another, remote from decent shopping, supermarkets, restaurants, ATMs, CVS stores, wherever. Now look at the same communities today. For example, right outside of Murabella the infrastructure is going in for a shopping center within walking (or biking) distance.

What I dislike about many developments is the cookie-cutter syndrome where all the houses have a certain homogeneous look. At Murabella the houses are huge, medium-sized, small, different colors, different facades. I guess different income levels. But no condos. This is important for those thinking "resale" down the road.

But for those of us who are planning to stay put for years and years, what does it matter if there is a temporary drop in value. Those of us who sold a previous home during the hot 2005/2006 market must have gotten top dollar. Assuming we turned around and bought a house from the proceeds in the same market, ofcourse we must have paid top dollar (relatively speaking). If we are going to lament a $80K drop in today's value for the same house, we need to take into account what we would hypothetically get for our previous home in today's market. So it all evens out - except for those investors and flippers who got caught in the downturn.

As for those who would prefer to avoid CDDs, remember the old adage: you get what you pay for. If you just want the swimming pool and are not interested in a gym, club house, tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer field, kiddies playground, picnic gazebo, biking/jogging trail, etc., etc., etc., then you would be wise to save money and find a development without these other amenities.

As for me, I like Murabella, but as bliss_fully_happy said: There are so many options now, get what you want, where you want it, for how much you want to pay.

[lvmy3grls]

I am glad to hear you are all so happy there! We also decided to buy there, moved in two weeks ago, seems everything is wonderful!! Hey, we should all get together and meet at the pool, send me a message! Thanks for all of your responses!!!

[dawnspencer]

I live in the WGV area and both are nice. You are correct to worry about CDD/HOA fees going out of control. CDDs are a form of govt where you will not have any say in determining the maintenance fees. I currently live in WGV community that has gone up over 1200 per year since I've lived here, and there is nothing that can be done about it. I had almost chosen Kensington, and regret not. Very good existing and new homes available in both communities at great prices now. Always chose a HOA community over a CDD community. The CDD has been used by the developers to enable them to develop the land on the homeowners dime. The amenities are nice and if you really want those extra amenities and don't mind paying, then it might be worth the extra fees. Murabella currently has a lot of construction going on around it due to new Publix and shopping center. I am also a realtor Moderator cut: edit: Dawn, please be sure to read the realtor rules in the Terms of Service

[John & Denise]

I am considering the area and have looked at some of the communities Murabella being one of them. I have a seven year old daughter and an concerned about the schools as well as CDD fees going up. Can any one give me any advice on schools. What are HOA communities and what are there names.

[huntrdonnj]

We are looking to buy in Kensington , in St Augustine, we know two of the builders who built there, Mattamay and Cornerstone, but I think there was a third does anyone know who it was. We are looking at a home that the listing says is the Grand Laurel II design (we don't see it in either builders portfolio) and we would like to see the detailed floor plan of the house. Can anyone help, and does anyone have any comments good or bad about the community.

[rodsterinfl]

As a recent home shopper in St Augustine I am posting to answer the question for what we have found in 2018. We literally went for months shopping the area south of Jacksonville. There are MANY new developments but the homes are mostly on little patches of land and close together. We got down to two new homes with no yard or a Kensington resale and chose it. The drive-in approach to Kensington is upscale and the yards are nice. The homes are definitely as well built as anything new we looked at. There was some horribly built new specs we looked at especially Dreamfinders. Remote location? All of the communities seem remote to me driving miles out one or two roads to a slew of communities. I cannot imagine what the traffic will be like once they are built out like on route 16 for example with a dozen or so communities. Another plug for Kensington is that homes are similar in price level - not a row of inexpensive homes then a differing level, etc. they are consistent. Neighborhoods have to watch being cookie cutter- 5-6 homes alike in a row then change the model and repeat. Similar looks is one thing but rows of the same, NOT! Lennar does that, Remember too that the community started in the real estate boom just before the big crash. People all over saw loss in value as thingsi were overpriced. Now Kensington homes are very nice compared to the competition with a decade or so of age as the only negative IMO. No CDD either. Building would be great but much more expensive with the high impact fees and building costs in the area.