Marsh Landing Condos (Jacksonville, Villas, Orange Park: apartments, foreclosure, rent)

[chilldude]

I'm 30 and single. I was thinking about buying a condo in the Marsh Landing area. Does anybody know if any of these condo communities are nice/safe? I was looking mostly at The Palms at Marsh Landing and The Villas at Marsh Landing. But if you know of another similarly priced one that is nice, let me know. Any info about that area would be greatly appreciated. Also how likely are these places likely to get damaged in a hurricane? How prone are they to flooding?

Also I was wondering what rush hour traffic is like heading into the NAS/Orange Park area from there. Thank you so much!

[madcapmagishion]

Traffic to NAS/OP from Marsh Landing? Depends on the time of day, can be brutal at rush hour or a breeze just before or after. You will probably need to be careful about floods and hurricanes as Marsh Landing is east of the intercoastal waterway (you will more than likely have to evacuate) and insurance I have heard is hard to get and outrageously expensive. Marsh Landing is a wonderful area... that said its a long way from there to NAS/OP and there are nice condo areas much closer to NAS ie...Mandarin, Fleming Island, Orange Park itself, Riverside/Avondale area(which if I was 30 again would jump at a chance to live in, just for the single, artsy, walk ability lifestyle) all much closer to NAS/OP. But good luck in your search and future move.

[chilldude]

Thanks for the info. Yeah I was wondering a bit about the whole insurance thing in that area. I really liked the idea of being close to the beaches though. I had heard the riverside/avondale area was cool too, but I don't really know that area too well and have heard some areas around there can get flooded too.

Oh and I have to make it to the NAS area by 8:00 am or 9:00 am depending on the day and would be leaving work at 5:00 pm or 6:00 pm depending on the day.

[madcapmagishion]

Originally Posted by chilldude

Thanks for the info. Yeah I was wondering a bit about the whole insurance thing in that area. I really liked the idea of being close to the beaches though. I had heard the riverside/avondale area was cool too, but I don't really know that area too well and have heard some areas around there can get flooded too.

During Hurricane Dora in 1964 I was a teenager living in Timuquana on the river and we were up to our a@#'s in flood water (we even had a small gator in the courtyard) but then Dora is the only Hurricane to make direct landfall on Jacksonville, I'm not sure if Riverside floods much nowadays but I have been down there when a strong Nor'easter was blowing and have seen no problems..the only thing I have seen flooding the area is young people having a good time. If the right/wrong storm hits just about all of Jacksonville gets flooded.

[chilldude]

Cool. Thanks again for the info.

[chilldude]

Those Marsh Landing condos do look really nice. Especially the Villas ones. I have a lot of irreplaceable stuff that would be ruined if it got wet, so I'm a little uneasy about living in a place that might be prone to flooding or hurricane damage. Living just a few minutes from the beach sounds nice though.

[chilldude]

I've heard mixed things about Riverside. I think some parts of it are safe, and some not so much. What parts of Riverside are nice, and which parts should be avoided (specific streets)?

[Robyn55]

Rush hour travel to OP is pretty awful.

If you're buying a condo - your insurance will be totally tied to insurance rates for condos (they pay for insurance for the most part - you don't). And you will have to trust your BOD and/or management company to get good insurance.

Most of the condos here in NE Florida are built like garbage IMO. Flimsy stick construction.

A lot of JAX - including this area - is low. Subject to flooding. The last flooding we had in the Marsh Landing area was maybe 5 or so years ago - just a lot of rain (like 20 inches) over the course of a week or so.

No one can make any promises about hurricanes. When or where.

If you like condos here - rent don't buy. And not on the ground floor. Robyn

[chilldude]

Thank you for the info, Robyn. I really appreciate it. I just hate the idea of renting a condo or apartment right now, because if I buy a condo with a little money down, my mortgage would be lower than rent (including HOA fee). I know I will be in the Jacksonville area for at least a few years. Oh and yeah I only like being on the top floor anyway, because I hate hearing even the slightest creak from people walking above me. I'll have to rethink some things though. Thank you very much for your input. I really do appreciate it. Maybe I'm not ready to buy something after all. I'll have to think about things and do some more research I guess.

Oh and do you know anything about any of the condos around that Marsh Landing area? Are there any really bad ones or nice ones? Are either The Palms or The Villas nice at all? I just like to have as much info as I can when thinking about a big decision such as where I want to live for the next few years. Thanks!!

[JaxFlaGal]

The condo loan rules for lenders changed pretty quickly after the housing bust and foreclosure mess. I strongly recommend you check with a lender or very reputable mortgage broker and ensure the condos you're considering meet FHA, Freddie Mac, or Fannie Mae eligibility guidelines. FHA are toughest, Fannie and Freddie generally a bit less so. If the property does not meet guidelines (including tests of the financial soundness of the condo association), getting financing may be harder or cost you more money either in a bigger down payment or higher interest rate.

Fannie Mae requires, among other things: more than half the units must be owner-occupied (versus investor owned), no more than 15% of the owners can be delinquent on condo dues (I've read this is a more challenging test, leading to some prospective buyers actually paying other owners' delinquent dues so the property qualifies).

Hopefully the properties you're looking at don't hit that challenge, but check them out.

Both the Palms and the Villas converted from apartments to condo in 2002-2003. I rented a 2nd story marshview 2 BR at the Villas in 2002-2004 as they turned condo. They're mostly 3-story, though the ends are 1 or 2-story. I liked the place, and also appreciated the fact that I had a view of JTB - if it was backed up w/traffic I'd just call my boss and go in later. My drive was only to downtown, though, not all the way to O.P.

I must warn you however, the Villas are cheaper than the Palms. The Villas looked nice but the walls and ceiling/floors were paper thin. You could hear all your neighbors and I could hear the 3rd floor neighbor's little terrier scampering across the carpet. In heavy rains, the drains on the porches could back up, but at least they had drains. While I rented, the toilet came loose from the floor and you could see light from the apartment below - that disconcerted me a bit about the thickness of the flooring.

Also, I knew someone who was a carpenter on that project when it was first built (1990-1991?) and he recalled that they had severe termite infestations just a few years after build out. That was frame construction in the era before Termidor but after the very strong termicides. Fine as a renter, but as a condo owner, any termite damage has to be paid out of the condo dues, and I was concerned they could be unpredictable as a result, or worse yet, the association would defer maintenance if an infestation occurred.

As a renting tenant I felt very safe there, and I loved living there. However, in my opinion they were yet another very nice apartment that was built as apartments and didn't have the build quality to deserve going condo. Back in 2003 my marshview (with a minimal view of the Intracoastal) 1200+ 2 BR/2 BA went condo at $143K-150K). I think they're retailing for about the same now. Actually, that may be a decent ROI for the condo market in Jax, but I'd still proceed with caution and ensure the specific unit you're considering is in immaculate physical condition (cosmetic condition is cheap to repair).