Master Planned Community, St John's Schools

[ShakenStirred]

Originally Posted by Buffettjd

Hello! We are interested in moving to Jax from the Philadelphia area. We will be moving for warmer weather and promimity to the beach, and need good schools. We are only interested in a family friendly master planned community that would have pools, social events, walking trails, parks, etc. We found Nocatee online and originally were only considering that. However, they have a 10 month build time (could be longer) and not many resales. We really wanted to move this summer so our kids could start the next school year there. I am also concerned with school re-zoning and over crowding due to the size and growth of that neighborhood. We would like to explore other master planned communities, that feed into Ponte Vedra, Creekside, Bartram Trail or Nease high schools, as these seem to the the top rated in the district. Our kids 10 and 13 but we want to make sure they will be zoned for a good high school when they get there. Our price range is $500-600,000. I would appreciate any suggestions of other communities. Thank you so much!

Here's a couple:


Shearwater
Oxford Estates
Riley Oaks




Good luck!


SS

[Florida2014]

I have a friend in Oxford Estates and was extremely impressed with his home. They don't have the biggest lots and they don't have the amenities of other communities (no CDD either, I believe), but if you want a nice brand new home that won't be surrounded by $250K homes, this is a good community for you. I think the smallest homes are advertised there "starting from the high $400s". The biggest drawback for me was the location as it's kind of tucked away there by Roberts Rd and Longleaf, would be a long drive just about any direction.

[kokonutty]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

Pool 40k, screen 15k, heater 5k, spa 10-15k(incl heater). These are actual prices I got in the last few months. Non heated pool 8 months of the year depending on your tolerance. Screened non heated pool 3-4 degrees cooler. All builders offer pool packages. Cheaper to do when house is being built.

While this may be somewhat true in regards to accessing a rear yard and damaging existing landscaping it obviously does not take into account the profit margin the builder as a middle man will add to the project. It also does not consider how dealing directly with a pool specialist will enable the installation of a completely custom backyard while the house builder will often limit choices.

[snuffybear]

Originally Posted by Thundarr457

Pool 40k, screen 15k, heater 5k, spa 10-15k(incl heater). These are actual prices I got in the last few months. Non heated pool 8 months of the year depending on your tolerance. Screened non heated pool 3-4 degrees cooler. All builders offer pool packages. Cheaper to do when house is being built.

Don't forget the patio (pavers, travertine, etc).


Pool season is approx April to October. You can heat your pool beyond those months but most people don't use them Nov-March. The heating bill would be huge in the Dec-Feb timeframe.

I recommend checking out pool options from builder so it's done when house is built. Otherwise it is a HUGE mess and you will have landscaping costs, too.

[Thundarr457]

Originally Posted by kokonutty

While this may be somewhat true in regards to accessing a rear yard and damaging existing landscaping it obviously does not take into account the profit margin the builder as a middle man will add to the project. It also does not consider how dealing directly with a pool specialist will enable the installation of a completely custom backyard while the house builder will often limit choices.

You can coordinate your pool builder and home builder and don't necessarily need to use the home builders pool builder. As far as customizing, the home builder will offer a "package" and then in many cases hand you off to the pool builder. You can customize at that point but keep in mind that some of your customizations may have an additional markup. Some things like pool heater can be added later.