Traditional neighborhoods in Seminole County? With no HOA??? (Orlando, Daytona Beach: for sale, to rent)

[Sir Griffin]

My family is considering a move to the Lake Mary area. We prefer a traditional, established neighborhood with sidewalks, trees, housing diversity (not cookie cutter) low crime rate, and good schools and no HOA. I guess we want it all.... That's what we're accustomed to but if there are nice newer subdivisions where the houses are not cookie cutter and the garage is not the most prominent architectural feature, we'd consider those as well.

Are there such neighborhoods in Seminole County such as Lake Mary, Heathrow, Winter Springs, Oviedo, Longwood or Casselberry? (I've read too many bad things about Sanford, but the housing stock there does look nice). If not, what about Maitland or Winter Park? We can't spend over $450K and don't want to be told what we can/can't do with the exterior of the house, told what to plant, etc. Are there such places north of Orlando?

Thanks!

[rich renter]

neighbourhoods without hoas are a dying breed unfortunatly. I live in sanford, close access to i4, shopping mall, super target, super walmart, cinema, and a large lake all within less than 5 minutes drive seems safe to me, only bad parts are around the airport and along 17-92 and theres no reason for me to even drive through that area. i beleive there are some nice areas without hoas between sanford and lake mary along upsala road, im not 100% sure but they look like non hoas, longwood would probably give you the most numerous and desireable options without hoas

[hennipenni]

Sunday morning in Sanford we went to the beautiful park at Lake Monroe -- this is a showpiece for downtown Sanford. We observed a local resident feeding the ducks and ibis at the retention pond -- we were stunned to watch him WALK AWAY FROM HIS TRASH!! He left plastic bread wrappers strewn on the ground and a plastic sack INTENTIONALLY at the pond's edge. No pride in Sanford -- it's a trashy city downtown.

[rholborn]

Sure there are! You just need to know where to look, especially if you prefer privacy. the no HOA can be a tad tougher to find, but there are great homes out there!

[doogie88]

Can someone give me more info on HOA? I never had to deal with this before.

[Magnulus]

Most areas worth living in in this area have HOA's. The secret is to find a neighborhood you like the looks of. It is in Orange County but you'ld probably like Avalon Park as it has a traditional town look with smaller, upscale houses. If you have the dough also check out Baldwin Park.

Sanford has a traditional downtown and is layed out on more or less a grid but it has some ugly parts too. I know people that live there and they walk down to the restaurants only a few blocks from their house. Overall it is a nice traditional Florida town, not really like Orlando or the sprawl around it- not alot of pastel modern architecture people pawn off as being "Florida", lots of old houses, etc.

What I saw of Lake Mary, it looked like a big mess in the future. Lots of traffic. Lots of gated communities, plenty of HOA's. That doesn't sound like what you want.

[traysea]

Sir Griffin:

I agree with some of the other posters.. specifically around Longwood and Waterford Lakes (Avalon) with regards to a nice neighborhood.

I too am not excited by the HOA community and do not like it when the garage is in the front facing the street. I prefer side entry or an alley way with garage in back or detached.

Look around at Winter Garden Area. I am going to rent in Winter Oaks subdivision. The downside is there is an HOA and very tiny yards. Houses are pretty.

I'd also look at Courtlea Oaks neighborhood in Winter Garden (there is a HOA).. you might find something for 450k if you wait it out a little.

My last idea is Oakland.. I love this town and actually expect to build a house in 2008/09 specifically b/c we won't have to pay an HOA. However the town does enforce codes so don't let not having a HOA fool you.

IF you want to put crazy stuff in your yard for extended periods of time, any city is going to tell you to move it.. they are really picky. I have stories from Oakland.

[Prichard]

Look at the original Tuscawilla subdivisions in Winter Springs. No mandatory HOA. Large yards (Mostly 1 acre, some 3 acre lots). Nice homes, nice neighborhood. Most houses are well built, but generally need updating on the inside. Many add-ons and re-habs in this area - good sign when people are upgrading their older homes. Excelent schools.

[martindm4]

I saw your request for information on homes/neighborhoods in Sanford/Seminole County with no HOAs. After reading a few of the replies, I thought that I would share with you information on my community. My home (which by the way is for sale: Keller Williams MLS#04786167), is located in north west side of Seminole county on the back side of Heathrow. We are a cluster of homes on small quiet side streets just off Longwood Markham Road. We have no HOAs, a great community atmosphere and wonderful neighbors. We all know one another, watch out for one another, and are always there to help one another out. The only reason why we're selling is because we have decided to relocate back to Maine due to family reasons and my desire to have seasons again - yes, I'm crazy enough to want all four of them. Our home sits on almost 3/4 acre, with a completely fenced in back yard that has access to a canal that when full of water (its been dry this year) you can boat down into Lake Markham. We're 10 minutes from the mall, 20 minutes from Orlando and 30 minutes from Daytona Beach. Even if you don't want to check out our MLS, you should definately consider the area. It's affordable (by north west Seminole County standards), and yet you are near everything.

[Dee2e]

Winsor Manor in Longwood has an HOA but the dues are $35 a year, yes, a year, it is optional and there are no real rules. The HOA exists to take care of the entrance and park areas.