How is Ocala Fl?? (Fort Lauderdale, Apopka: for sale, salon, foreclosure)

[mjcammo]

It is a nice town and I think renting for a bit before buying is a very good idea. That way, if you like it you stay and if you do not you can pick up and move on without a new mortgage on your hands. Lived here for 4 years, not my kind of atmosphere but that does not mean that you may not enjoy the heck out of it. Check out the salary scale for the area and employment opportunities. Good luck!

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

Marion Oaks is fine if you do not look for things such as convenience to major shopping, well paying jobs, high speed Internet and or Cable. Your cell phones may or man not even work well in the back (Newer Building area), homes are priced WAY above what they were only 2 or 3 years ago (SAME FLOOR PLANS are selling for 2 or 3 times more than in 2001/2)! In 2001 you could get a new 2000+ sq ft home on over ½ acre for less than $115K, now you will easily pay 2 or 3 times that.

Taxes are jumping and Roads are poor! The High school is an Hour bus ride, but there is an elementary (nice school) that is over crowded and a majority of the students qualify for Free or Reduced Lunches (title 1) and there is a new middle school being built (this is to relieve the over crowded elementary and current middle school).

Marion Oaks is home to about a dozen Sex offenders as well.

Many of the homes in the older (Middle section) of Marion Oaks sold for under $50K up until the end of 2004, now you can not find even one of the a tiny little dumpy ones for that. Not worth buying, Renting is the best bet for the time being.

You will LOVE it if you like wild life though… we have Bears (they like all the neighborhood trash cans), bob cats, snakes (they love the water meter holes), spider the size of your thumb (those are interesting) and armadillos! Very much like being in the woods of Mid-state NY or North GA.

PS: Convenience IMO = not driving for 15 to 30 minutes or more… especially when you are used to walking to the store! LOL

[Stargazing Lisa]

[QUOTE=MyHomeIsInOcala;153637]Marion Oaks is fine if you do not look for things such as convenience to major shopping, well paying jobs, high speed Internet and or Cable. Your cell phones may or man not even work well in the back (Newer Building area), homes are priced WAY above what they were only 2 or 3 years ago (SAME FLOOR PLANS are selling for 2 or 3 times more than in 2001/2)! In 2001 you could get a new 2000+ sq ft home on over ½ acre for less than $115K, now you will easily pay 2 or 3 times that.

Taxes are jumping and Roads are poor! The High school is an Hour bus ride, but there is an elementary (nice school) that is over crowded and a majority of the students qualify for Free or Reduced Lunches (title 1) and there is a new middle school being built (this is to relieve the over crowded elementary and current middle school).

Marion Oaks is home to about a dozen Sex offenders as well.

Many of the homes in the older (Middle section) of Marion Oaks sold for under $50K up until the end of 2004, now you can not find even one of the a tiny little dumpy ones for that. Not worth buying, Renting is the best bet for the time being.

You will LOVE it if you like wild life though… we have Bears (they like all the neighborhood trash cans), bob cats, snakes (they love the water meter holes), spider the size of your thumb (those are interesting) and armadillos! Very much like being in the woods of Mid-state NY or North GA.

PS: Convenience IMO = not driving for 15 to 30 minutes or more… especially when you are used to walking to the store! LOL[/quote]


OOPS - what kind of snakes??? and armadilloes? never saw any of those in upstate NY or down here in Southeast Florida - are you serious - bobcats? Strange cause if you're talking about Marion Oaks, it's kind of populated now so I would think bob cats would be away.

I was thinking of Citrus County which is even more rural, but I dont like the sound of snakes (what color are they) and bobcats!

Thanks much for this info...no one has mentioned it before - and certainly not the realtors!

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

I grew up in Watkins Glen NY, Much of my family is still in that area around Corning / Watkins... I seen Lots of snakes there, Gardner snakes that is! LOL

Here in Marion Oaks, the kids see the Bob cats in the Morning when the walk to the bus stop, we have many of them that walk through our yard at dusk too, they are as big as my Boxer. We have Bears that love to picnic from your trash cans... and yes, the dilloes, I see them on the roads. We get a kick out of the Buzzard ourselves, they are SOOO Ugly! The snakes are big Black and will lunge at you... we have Rattlers as well, they like to lay in the road after the eat, we see those whey we bike ride.

I am including some photos of of Marion Oaks... The older, more "Populated" section of the MO is where the Elementary & New Middle school (under construction) are, crime and sex offenders are mainly clustered here as well. I post photos of the schools, shopping plaza and so forth if you would like.

The homes in the older section were selling for under $50K up until about 2004, now they want nearly 3 and 4 times that. NO WAY, the taxes, PI and Ins. on one of these 980 sq ft 3 bed/1 &1/2 bth/1 car gar (or carport) on less than 1/4 acre can run well over $1100 a month with a fixed 30 year loan (cheaper to rent a newer home from as little as $825 to $950 a month). and yes, the taxes continue to increase at a feverish pitch. from 05 to 06 land "value" assessments increased about 100%. Also, good to know that the many of the homes in the newer building area were selling for under 100K prior to '04 as well (new const), now they want over $220K, your arm, leg and a kidney! hehehe No, seriously, they are asking over $200K.

I had been in RE for over 12 years and I ALWAYS informed clients or prospects about an area as much as possible... I would want to know. I love working in RE, but I just can not bring myself to license in FL. -=sigh=-

I will go out later and photograph a Real Estate Brokerage sign on a New Construction I passed last night, it read something to the effect of: REDUCED, MAKE OFFER!

Sorry so long winded!!! You all have a GREAT Day

[lulu]

Hi MyhomeisinOcala...
I just came from Ocala again and visited Marion Oaks as I always heard that is was open and wooded, so I had to visit and see for myself. I had a realtor escort me all around and he showed me a few homes and we talked along the way - plus, another realtor joined us, along the way - as I wanted to get a feel of the area.
The area seems like it is in a far away peaceful wooded setting. Along the main rd there there is a Winn-Dixie a Dollar general store.
The homes I felt are overpriced & I feel that for that amount of money, most people can go and buy homes closer to the coast in some places if they are looking to be close to the 'sun 'n fun' of FL or even more settled communities around Florida or even Ocala itself. It's a huge city-like neighborhood (I think he said about 31 miles) that is not well defined yet, as there is still lots of open wooded land and construction going on here & there. One home he showed us was in the older section and the homes weren't well kept and a couple had junked cars, even toys and hanging laundry. One of the homes had a rusty car outside that he jokingly used as a landmark to go back to a road we had come from. I asked him why it was this way and he said there was no associations involved, so people were naturally left to do what they wanted, so I told him to please show me some other area. He took us to a newer area and the homes were in a seemingly peaceful wooded like setting and at first glance it seemed a wee better. The home was pretty small like 1500 sq. ft. of livable area, and it had a well & septic tank & it didn't seem like good quality construction. Asking price was $225,000. I assumed for that price that it included the wooded lot adjacent to the property, but he said "no" that the lot was already owned and a couple of homes were going up by 2007 on that empty space. I guess that rural setting won't be there for long??? So off we went to another high 200's home in the more upscale part of Marion Oaks (thin metal fascia, shingle roof) & I want to add that he voluntarily told me/pointed out the area is multicultural & multiracial which can certainly be a blessing for some people. So I noticed why he was saying this & when I looked at 2 houses down a big flag was flowing from a pole that wasn't a U.S. flag as well as 2 cars that drove by.
I also heard some spanish with a different accent and 3 people I talked to were originally from the N.E. and were very happy there.
All in all, from my conversation w/him it seemed the Marion Oaks developer had some trouble years past, but they are happy they are coming along now, especially after this r.e. boom.He also said, they are hopeful to become a city in the future. It seemed to me different than other parts of Ocala and I might be wrong, but I feel that eventually it might turn out like big ole' Kissimmee where I had just driven from, visiting a friend, which most certainly can be the perfect place for some people.
For the retirement folks I spoke to, one of 'em my mom's friend, they say they are all still happy and mentioned that residents of the Villages and Oak run are very happy - didn't hear any complaints.
The search goes on and hopefully next time I can visit further up in Marion, close to the forest, etc. Also, the area between Ocala & Gainesville...

The galavanting 'hop-along Cassidy'... Florida traveler

[clarissairene]

homeinocala,

Hi there. thanks for posting alot about ocala and marion oaks. My husband has been there for 2 months now. I move in 2 weeks. we are renting in marion oaks and found a beautiful home. A holiday home, diamante model. 2300 living sq ft on a corner lot. Its a spec home and it has all the dark colors i want and all the black appliance. I just love the home. Its for $200,000. The only thing is that its on the south side. And for some reason, people keep saying the south side is not good. My husband says thers nothing wrong with the south side. That he saw an older part of marion oaks but by the police station and this home isnt by the police station. Right now our rental is on the north side.

anyways... we do get phone service and dsl! It works good and fast! And yes, we dont have cable, we have dish but it works! Hes seen lots of spiders but no snakes yet. Even after cutting the lawn after 2 months of not cutting it!

The only thing that bothers me right now is the school district and yes, the sex offenders in the area. The school says its a A school but it also has like 50 harrasment/fights listed under them, and its an elementary! So the only thing thats stopping me from buying this home is the school district. I am reseraching my options right now.

So is Marion oaks just a really bad place to live? In order for me to not work we have to buy a home under $200,000. I really cant find 2300 sq ft, 4 bedroom home for that price anywhere. I looked in Belleview, didnt find much.

[Jammie]

I have recently been on the internet and have had interaction with a few people in the Marion co. area. I'd REALLY see how well I fit in before I'd ever consider moving there. Some areas of people have VERY different ideas and principles then you may have. I'd be cautious.

[MyHomeIsInOcala]

Hi all! All the photos I have are from the SOTUH Side of 484. It is not that great, not a place I would hardly ever spend nearly a quarter of a million dollars in... but that is just me (I am still very frugal) and our friends bouth their home with a screened pool and .75 acre lot for only $91,500 just in 2002... LOL

I just rented a 2000 sq ft home closer to 484 on the North side of 484 (so the hubby did not have to drive 10 extra minutes to get to 75), the rent is locked for 24 months at $900, it is a newer 4/2/2 on nearly 1/2 acre.

Many of the homes are on Septics, and the water is HARD and tastes funny.

I have more pics, I will get up for you all to enjoy! LOL

OH, I do have pics of that FAB WinnDixie plaza and Dollar Gen. Oh, yeah, we have a wellstocked public library -=NOT=- (about he size of a garage or small pole barn!) The sherriff's sub-station was opened in 2003 and Yes, it is not all the well maintained, I see several sofas outside in the front laws of a couple homes... It really is ver "Diverse" here, not at all what I was told it was before we moved! hahahah

[lulu]

It's a good thing most folks here are renting before they spend that kind of money there & if they have bought in the past the frugality of paying less than $100,000 for a home might balance off some things & may well be worth it. But it seems way overpriced at this point in time and they have not seemed to go down in prices, while in Dade County yes...doesn't make sense. Might as well, look for buying elsewhere. My humble honest opinion, (not that it matters)?? Yes, renting seems like a deal for that amount of house space for a limited time frame, but don't put your hard earned cash there. God only knows what it will turn up like in the future and then one might get stuck in rut. Enjoy and learn about Ocala & study/look for more established defined neighborhoods, while living there, before signing on that permanent dotted line.

[Jammie]

Yes, I agree that renting when you move to a new area is a top priority. You may also want to check out where your local tax dollars are going. It seems that SO many people in Fla. are being taxed and insuranced (if there is such a word ) right out of their homes. I've been checking for possible areas that we'd like to live. One of the things that is last on my list to check is where all the local tax $$ is going. Marion Co. makes our national government look frugal.