avalon park area (Orlando, Live Oak, Baldwin: real estate, foreclosures, rental)

[jkfloridabound]

Hello. I was wondering if anyone could provide me information regarding the Avalon Park area as well as Timber Creek High School. I appreciate any info you could share. Thank you!!!

[jkfloridabound]

Any information on the Avalon Park area would be greatly appreciated

[StreetSmarts]

meh.

[lilkttns]

Originally Posted by ComSense

meh.

Can you elaborate? We are deciding on different neighborhoods as well & Avalon Park came highly recommended. The schools have great ratings, rental prices on SFH is very affordable, cute town center, close to shopping, etc. My concerns are the power plant & I heard there's a landfill nearby. What other factors should I take into consideration?

[sergiodurante]

My family and I lived in East Orlando for over a decade, the last 8 years were spent in Avalon Park. We lived in 3 separate residences throughout Avalon ( between renting, building, selling, etc.) all throughout the older neighborhoods off Lake Live Oak and we even owned a home in the newer sections close to Timber Creek. When we first lived there in 2004, there was definitely a sense of affluence, which even increased with the coinciding real estate boom from 2005 to 2007. During that time, I was convinced that Avalon was the best place to live in all of Orlando .

Anyway, then the real estate crash came. I've written many a response regarding Avalon Park in this message board and it almost sounds like I'm bashing the place with each post, so I'm going to lighten my tone this time. As the home prices plummeted and countless homes were foreclosed, the demographics of the neighborhood changed. Anyway, we eventually decided to move as the changes that occurred just didn't coincide with the long term plans we had for our family.

Regarding the landfill, we were never able to smell it from our house, I wasn't even truly aware of its proximity until they built Innovation Way. The power plant is another story. Definitely do your research about the Stanton Energy Plant and long term effects of living next to a coal plant.

So why do so many people decide to live in Avalon? There are some good things about it, if you like the neo-traditional look but don't want to spend $200 a square foot in Baldwin Park, then Avalon might be the place for you. The schools there are quite good ( especially Avalon Elementary), my kids were too young to attend Timber Creek, although it is well rated from what I have heard. We moved out 3 years ago and I heard that they have since built another elementary and middle school which may relieve the overcrowding. Although this is another sign of how congested that area is. The town center concept is nice and can be quite convenient. Anyway, good luck with your move and definitely rent first wherever you decide.

[StreetSmarts]

^^^^^^^^ Agreed, good post!

[jkfloridabound]

Thank you for sharing your experience.

[LakelandFLNative]

Hello. My mother-in-law lives in Avalon Park with her teenage grandson who goes to Timber Creek. My niece graduated from Timber Creek a few years ago. I know they are very happy in Avalon and absolutely love the school. My nephew is very active in the band. I would definitely consider this community if I were to move that direction.

My sister-in-law is actually a Realtor over in that area if you are needing that assistance, just let me know.

[CMM83]

I have lived in Avalon Park since 2004 or so. I don't have any first-hand knowledge of the schools, but hear that they are good.

My only real problem with Avalon is that it's a long ways away from my work (which of course is my problem, not a problem with Avalon.) You have good access to many of the major highways (408, 417, 528) and there are a lot of amenities nearby (Waterford Lakes, "Downtown" Avalon). My wife and I are both runners and I don't worry about her going on early morning runs. I cycle as well and it is a very cycling-friendly area. I feel like the population is a good mix of young professionals / young families, retirees, and some UCF students mixed in as well.
Property values are going back up (not nearly as many foreclosures anymore), but for the age and size of the properties, it is hard to beat the value you get in Avalon.
You'll have to scope out the individual neighborhoods as some have a relatively high number of UCF students (tend to have cars parked all over the street) and others might have other issues.

We never notice the landfill, and maybe once or twice a year the winds will shift just right and we can smell the coal plant. It's a pretty rare occurrence, I haven't even thought about it in the last year.

[newyoricanpapi]

Avalon park is very nice, we move here, very friendly neigbors. I like that it is friendly to Spanish speaking and a good mix of people. I also enjoyed much of the festival here. I'm not worry about the power plant and garbage dump.