St Augustine (again) (Miami, Orlando, Plantation: for sale, apartment, rental)

[FBoet]

Need some advice. We visited St Augustine last month and loved it. We are driving there this weekend and are planning to stay about four days to look at some of the neighborhoods in the area. Any neighborhood suggestions? We have two sons, 14 and 16, so a good public high school is a priority. Actually, a good Catholic Church is our first priority then the school . I have been told that St John's county has among the best public high schools in Florida. We need to sell our home in Miami first before we have the funds to buy another home, so we intend to rent for 6-12 months. One concern I have is that a lot of homes in NE Florida are made of wood and stucco. Should this be a concern or an issue with termites or wind damage? News was out today that new home sales dropped almost 4%. I think it is a great time to buy a new home now. Any new homes in St Augustine in the $220,000price range? Thank you

Frank

[GotPuggle]

Well, there are a lot of housin options in St Augustine so it really depends on what your looking for. As far as the church goes im not to sure on that, but as far as location goes I can help a bit. As far as renting for an apartment goes, the options in st augustine can be slim and a little less desireable. You may want to check northern St Augustine by CR 210- it has been a booming area and it is a hot spot for housing, lots of new development going in their still. With development comes the schools. St Johns does have the best schools in NE FL- so stick to that county. But your best bet would be to go to the 210 area for housing....unless you feel like spening more to be intown with a smaller house. Its a trade off. Silverleaf Plantation is also going to be a huge community going in between World Gold Village and 210- its supposed to be really nice, but it wont be in for 2 years of so.

[songgirl]

Look around World Golf Village as well. There are some newer homes in Heritage Landing, Murabella, Sevilla and Samara Lakes (all planned communities) that might be close to the price you are looking for. As far as high schools go, Nease has a geat reputation.

[jsimms3]

The diocese of Florida is based in St. Augustine with the cathedral right there. Goodness, most people in northeast florida are catholic so if you have a problem finding a good catholic church then you have not looked. The houses that are cheap are cheap because they are built cheaply (wood and/or fake stucco), if you want quality concrete block construction, hire a custom builder and build your own house for a lot more. Or buy an older home, of which there are a lot in St. Augustine in the older neighborhoods immediately arround the historic district. I do not know the prices, but I am sure you could find a fixer upper for this ammount that is quality wood or concrete block construction (i think they did it a lot better n the "olden days"). Anastasia Island which is closer to the beach is probably more expensive, but better construction.

[wolf44]

I live in north St.Augustine and love my high school its great! Lots of great friendly students and teachers. I go to Bartram Trail but Nease is good too plus i think they are about to build a new high school around here so u would have to check that out. I'm not sure about the church but there are a lot of them around and I’m sure u could find one to your liking.
The only thing is that the houses can be a bit pricy but there are like a million houses for sale and new neighborhoods all over the place! So I’m sure u could find a good deal.

[FBoet]

Thank you all for your replies. What I meant of a "good Catholic Church" is that we are looking for a charismatic Catholic Church. It is very uplifting to praise and worship in song

We will be looking at those neighborhoods posted here this weekend. Thank you again

Frank

[grant]

Hello everyone,

My family wants out of Orlando. With growth comes crime and a continual stress on the public services. We are Praying Bartram or Nease hires the teacher in the family.
Question- Does the Jullian Creek area which we have heard so much about, have reasonable residential rental listings?

[I95]

Is St.Augustine really kid friendly? It seems that the elem/middle schools aren't doing as well as others in St.Johns Cty.

[ssg II]

Originally Posted by jsimms3

Goodness, most people in northeast florida are catholic so if you have a problem finding a good catholic church then you have not looked. Or buy an older home, of which there are a lot in St. Augustine in the older neighborhoods immediately arround the historic district. I do not know the prices, but I am sure you could find a fixer upper for this ammount that is quality wood or concrete block construction (i think they did it a lot better n the "olden days").

MOST people in northeast Florida are Catholic? Where did you find that statistic?

Homes larger than 1,000 SF in the historic district are gonna set you back at LEAST $600,000.

Good Luck, it's a great place to live!

[riveree]

Originally Posted by FBoet

One concern I have is that a lot of homes in NE Florida are made of wood and stucco. Should this be a concern or an issue with termites or wind damage? Any new homes in St Augustine in the $220,000price range?

When you are looking at the siding on the homes, you'll find that the NEW and NEWER homes (brand new or built in the last 6 or 7 years or so) are usually made of a siding material called "hardiboard" (or some name variation). This is actually a fibrous cementious product - it's great. It can look like stucco or wood, but does not suck up water like stucco does, it doesn't warp or crack, holds paint very well (you don't have to keep repainting over and over), and it is very resistant to bugs and - most importantly - it is very impact resistant. It usually comes with a 50 year warranty.

Now if you're looking at a home built in the 1980's (or an older home that was re-sided in the 1980's), you'll often find a siding product called T1-11 ("T-one-eleven") - this is garbage. It soaks up water like a sponge and is good for nothing - stay away from T1-11 or leave room in your budget to re-side.

Your price limit of $220k is low for St. Augustine - I don't know of any single family homes currently being built for this price (but do look - I could be wrong).

If you choose to go the older home route, I can suggest the St. Augustine Shores neighborhood ("The Shores"). It is a huge established older neighborhood/development, many of the homes are built of concrete block, if that's your preference, and you might find a home for $220k.