Looking at homes in Minneola (Orlando, Apopka: bank owned, for sale, real estate)

[DisneyDeb67]

Looking to purchase a home in Minneola for future retirement plans. I've been checking listings on Realtor.com and came across a home that I admire. It's on Cherry Laurel Street.

Does anyone have any information about this area? Good/Bad, etc. We've just started our search and want to take our time in finding the right home.

We travel from CT to FL three times per year mainly to visit the theme parks.

[Booya]

Hi, is it in Quail Valley Subdivision? It's a newer subdivision, quiet, working class, nothing fancy.
Recently, like pretty much all of Florida the housing prices haven fallen so you can probably get a great deal.
Clermont/Minneola is a nice peaceful area. You would be pretty close to Lake Minneola if you like boating, the Minneola Lakefront, there's a walking trail that goes all the way to Apopka.
Downtown Clermont is a cute area off the lakefront and there are quite a few restaurants and eateries now; Pannerra Bread, Carrabas etc.
You would be about 35 minutes from downtown Orlando and about 45 minutes from the Orlando Airport.
I don't know if your interested in a condo but the Clermont Yacht Club is also really nice, they have some nice places for sale and the prices have dropped. It's right on Lk. Minneola which is about 2 miles from Quail Valley.
Hope this helps.

[DisneyDeb67]

Thanks for your reply. The development is Quail Valley Phase III. It looks like a really nice subdivision . . .but we'd have to go see it personally. Hard to judge things on the internet. From what you are describing, it is exactly what we are looking for. We are looking for a house, although the condo's sound beautiful, my husband likes to landscape and putter around the yard.

[Booya]

Hi, one thing to know about the Clermont area. It use to be all orange groves. Until years back when the frost killed all the trees. So now the orange groves are long gone. But what it means for the area is that there are not a lot of trees because it was all groves. Quail Valley is a new subdivision and while there are some large live oaks here and there it is not a shady neighborhood with old growth trees. The builders put in some small trees but they have some growing to do.
This time of year everything is green and pretty because of the rain.
And Clermont actually has some hills so be prepared. The Quail Valley Subdivision main road is on a steep road (for florida).

I hope this helps. Good luck. Just be careful and realize that you the buyer are in the drivers seat as far as home purchases in central Florida now. Seriously, they are desparate to unload houses because there were a lot of foreclosures. Clermont/Minneola, and yes, Quail Valley has had its fair share. So my advise to you is don't go on emotion and be afraid something is going to sell out from under you because their is LOADS of inventory. And bid low! Good luck. If they were asking 100k for a house I would offer 85! Just my opinion.

[DisneyDeb67]

Thanks again for all your help. Do you also know what the driving distance is to Walt Disney World?

[Booya]

I would say around 30 minutes depending on traffic to Disney.

Minneola is north of Clermont. If you want to live closer to Disney that would be Clermont and South Clermont. Clermont goes north south on HGWY 27. Now it is more built up in South Clermont, a lot more housing developments, businesses, and of course traffic.

It depends on what you want. But I would definitely get with a realtor and have them take you around. Like I said there are alot of houses for sale, a lot of foreclosures, and this is probably the best time to buy a house in years.

Just one more caution. And that is be careful of ANY house that has been sitting empty for a long period of time beucase there are huge mold issues in some homes that people have walked away from. No air conditioning+ heat/humidity in Fl homes= heavy mold growth. Very expensive to take care of and very bad for health! And sometimes you can't see the mold it may be growing behind walls or wallpaper.

[DisneyDeb67]

30 minute drive to Disney is close enough for us. I wanted to be close, but not too close . . .I like the Minneola area . . .and thanks for a reminder about the mold. We know a person who owns a home in Florida and he's only down there in the Winter and he leaves his a/c on 82 while away and told us that it was a requirement because of the heat/humidity will bring on the mold. So, generally, do these foreclosure/bank owned properties not have any a/c on?

We will definitely be hooking up with a realtor. Our next time down is October, so I'm planning on lining up a few houses to see then.

Again, I appreciate all the help so far.

[Booya]

Hi, no they don't keep A/c on as a rule on forclosed houses. People just walk away from the houses and they either have it turned off before they leave or I assume just don't pay the last bill. But sometimes it is a while before the bank realizes the people are gone. So especialy in the summer it can be a bad scene when they enter the house.

[DisneyDeb67]

Great . . . Also, we heard something about when there was a huge boom in real estate down there contractors were using Chinese drywall and that it would have to be replaced. That house in Quail Valley had 11 offers on it so I guess it won't be there in October like I had hoped . . . Do you know of any other good locations in the Minneola/Clermont area that are similar?

[justinmac]

I just pulled the listings on Cherry Laurel, and the prices are right. Just a little advise on foreclosures. Some are in good shape depending on the listing agent keeping the utilities on. Almost always, the banks require the agent to keep everythng on. I show many of these types of properties and it's a hit or miss as far as what you find when going in there. Also, bank owned homes usually sell for a slightly higher price. The banks wait 5-10 business days before viewing all offers, then give a deadline for all buyers to submit their "highest and best offer". If your agent is good with follow up, they will research the status of these properties before writing offers. A few factors to consider in getting the offer accepted; any cash offers are considered by the banks to be "king" because there is no financial risk that they may have with financed offers. If it is financed, the more you have down, and in escrow, the stronger the offer is. There are many "traditional" sales out there which are also priced right, it's just a matter of your agent doing the research, and you are dealing directly with the home owner, not the banks in this case. I will be happy to provide you with any information regarding these homes in Minneola and everything involved. Feel free to respond. Thanks!