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My husband and I are planning to move from Jacksonville, FL, to Orlando and have been looking around where we should move, which, of course, will also be determined by our budget. We could spend up to 350k maximum.
I have read a couple of threads on this forum about the preferred areas in Orlando and I know that many people say they would rather live in a tin can in Winter Park or Dr. Philips than in a nice and large McMansion anywhere else. But they have not convinced me yet.
We would like to purchase a new home with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, which is what we have now. We know that older homes, even if they are not old, will be brown and beige throughout the entire house and we really do NOT like that. New homes now have more modern colors, are in white, light grey with pastel color touches, just beautiful and to our taste and matching our contemporary Italian furniture. We hate brown kitchens and bathrooms.
Now, if we bought a used home, I know we would have to change everything: all floors, bathrooms and the kitchen, which would cost us a lot of money, not to talk about all the dirt and nuisances. That would be an option if used homes were much cheaper than new homes, which is not the case. Older homes will require all kinds of maintenance, also: new a/c unit, new roof etc.
We plan this to be our last home and plan to stay there for a long time.
Most new developments in our price range are in St. Cloud, Summerlake (Winter Garden) and the area towards Clermont. However, one gets a lot more new house in St. Cloud than in Summerlake. If St. Cloud, I would prefer the Narcossee Road area because of its proximity to Lake Nona and I was told that the schools there are good.
We like Summerlake very much but the lots are very small, most have no retention pond and basically no backyard because the garages are accessed from a street in the back of the home. I now have a nice backyard backing a beautiful retention pond and love, love, love it. I sit there every evening watching the sunset and the ducks swimming on my pond.
We would like a nice, new home but we would also like to buy in an area where home values most likely will remain stable or go up vs. going down, especially if another recession should hit.
Schools are a concern for us only because of home values, we have no children in school. Also, we do not commute to work.
What are the pros and cons and the prospective growth/development of the above areas?
I'd look in Windermere. Personally, I'd call you an idiot if you chose to move to Orlando to live in St. Cloud. Winter Garden is nice, a bit isolated, but I love biking there. Clermont isn't bad either, but it is much too isolated for my taste. How about Windermere? The new part of Windermere should have some options in your budget.
The Winter Garden to Clermont area has a lot to offer. There are many nice new developments along Hartwood-Marsh Rd extending from Winter Garden to Clermont. Winter Garden offers shopping and the downtown Winter Garden area which is a great family gathering place and offers some nightlife. Clermont has grown tremendously and you can find most major stores between the 2 areas. Clermont has a quaint little downtown area of its own. These area are close to Windermere, which is significantly more pricey. Another option is the West side of Ocoee (some nice neighborhoods bordering Windermere) or even the Dr Phillips and Bay Hill areas. There are good schools throughout these areas. (You should probably check the State's school ratings also. I think there are more highly rated schools in West side than in St Cloud area. You can see some lists at www.movetoorlando.info)
My husband and I are planning to move from Jacksonville, FL, to Orlando and have been looking around where we should move, which, of course, will also be determined by our budget. We could spend up to 350k maximum.
I have read a couple of threads on this forum about the preferred areas in Orlando and I know that many people say they would rather live in a tin can in Winter Park or Dr. Philips than in a nice and large McMansion anywhere else. But they have not convinced me yet.
We would like to purchase a new home with 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, which is what we have now. We know that older homes, even if they are not old, will be brown and beige throughout the entire house and we really do NOT like that. New homes now have more modern colors, are in white, light grey with pastel color touches, just beautiful and to our taste and matching our contemporary Italian furniture. We hate brown kitchens and bathrooms.
Now, if we bought a used home, I know we would have to change everything: all floors, bathrooms and the kitchen, which would cost us a lot of money, not to talk about all the dirt and nuisances. That would be an option if used homes were much cheaper than new homes, which is not the case. Older homes will require all kinds of maintenance, also: new a/c unit, new roof etc.
We plan this to be our last home and plan to stay there for a long time.
Most new developments in our price range are in St. Cloud, Summerlake (Winter Garden) and the area towards Clermont. However, one gets a lot more new house in St. Cloud than in Summerlake. If St. Cloud, I would prefer the Narcossee Road area because of its proximity to Lake Nona and I was told that the schools there are good.
We like Summerlake very much but the lots are very small, most have no retention pond and basically no backyard because the garages are accessed from a street in the back of the home. I now have a nice backyard backing a beautiful retention pond and love, love, love it. I sit there every evening watching the sunset and the ducks swimming on my pond.
We would like a nice, new home but we would also like to buy in an area where home values most likely will remain stable or go up vs. going down, especially if another recession should hit.
Schools are a concern for us only because of home values, we have no children in school. Also, we do not commute to work.
What are the pros and cons and the prospective growth/development of the above areas?
The Lake Nona area and that part of the the Winter Garden area is nice.
Those two areas should be good, but it really depends on where. They're not gonna lose that much value, because as long as they're in the good school zones. The houses that are not in good school zones, do tend to lose more value with time. Those two areas are good, though. However, if you were to buy a new house in many parts of Orlando, the value of the neighborhood becomes more unpredictable. For instance, you would have to get a house in the actual Lake Nona/Windermere area. If you purchase just outside of St. Cloud that is not Lake Nona, then the housing development could lose its values, because of the first-time buyer effect that happens in many new developments. Where a new subdivision in an area where schools aren't great the original home buyers will move out, so your new neighborhood turns into an empty neighborhood and then investors and renters move in. Remember that there are always newer housing subdivisions coming out, so your house could actually lose value with time, depending on the area. Also, the bottom half of Narcoossee Rd is not part of Lake Nona.
The Winter Garden is probably better and easier to access retail and stores and it does have a good school in the area so the value will remain there. That St. Cloud area is further away from retailers and Orlando in general, but at the same time, it might be cheaper and you might get more house for your money.
Clermont is also a good area, where you could probably get a nicer house, but again, the house may lose value there, depending on how the neighborhood turns out. There's just no way of knowing what the neighborhood will become. That's one of the downsides of new neighborhoods. It might take off and have long-term users, or it might flounder and become a haven for renters with few homeowners. Whereas with an established neighborhood, you have a better feel for what the neighborhood will be.
I'd go with the narcoossee rd area of St. Cloud, with your price range you could buy a new home as I figure you already know. The Lake Nona area is growing rapidly, and the price of everything is growing as well. There's a huge planned community coming for that portion of Osceola County so I could see alot of future development.
The Summerlake area is around my neck of the woods and is probably known better as Horizons West,tons of new houses and development going on there.New shopping centers,new Publix and the Wall Mart at New Independence is probably as nice as a Walmart gets,there's even a movie theater and restaurants going in.The 429 expressway has tolls but is right there and gets you places quick since it never has traffic.The area is also 5 minutes behind Disney,the only negatives I could see with this area are the higher prices for smaller houses with smaller yards and if your job is on the other side of town.
Thanks to all of you for your opinions! It makes it easier to sort out all the information that one collects and researches when shopping for a new home.
Quote:
Originally Posted by movetoorlando1
The Winter Garden to Clermont area has a lot to offer. There are many nice new developments along Hartwood-Marsh Rd extending from Winter Garden to Clermont.
I will check out this area.
Quote:
Originally Posted by movetoorlando1
Winter Garden offers shopping and the downtown Winter Garden area which is a great family gathering place and offers some nightlife.
That could be nice when one has visitors. We drove by it not long ago, it is very small, though, but nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by movetoorlando1
Another option is the West side of Ocoee (some nice neighborhoods bordering Windermere) or even the Dr Phillips and Bay Hill areas. There are good schools throughout these areas. (You should probably check the State's school ratings also. I think there are more highly rated schools in West side than in St Cloud area. You can see some lists at www.movetoorlando.info)
There are a couple of new developments along 429 in Ocoee and we saw a very nice house there. But from what I get from my research, Ocoee is not a very good location. It has a fairly high crime rate and schools are not great. I will check out the other areas. Thanks also for the link! Here I found an Excel file with the grades for all schools in FL by county: School Accountability Report.
Quote:
Originally Posted by doom1001
The Summerlake area is around my neck of the woods and is probably known better as Horizons West,tons of new houses and development going on there.New shopping centers,new Publix and the Wall Mart at New Independence is probably as nice as a Walmart gets,there's even a movie theater and restaurants going in.The 429 expressway has tolls but is right there and gets you places quick since it never has traffic.The area is also 5 minutes behind Disney,the only negatives I could see with this area are the higher prices for smaller houses with smaller yards and if your job is on the other side of town.
Well, yes, the lots are smaller (very small, which bothers me a little bit) but you can get almost as much house (without considering the lot size) for the money as in St. Cloud on Narcossee Road, depending on what you are looking for, i. e., when looking at houses over 2000 square feet. Clermont is not really cheaper, either, although it is further away.
We do not have to commute for work. I work from home and my husband is retired. But we plan to enjoy the Orlando nightlife, which is the main reason why we would like to move there. Our focus will be almost exclusively good Latin dances and concerts, which mainly take place in the Kissimmee and south Orlando area.
From Summerlake one can get to west Kissimmee fairly quickly on 429, and on the turnpike it is not a problem to get to the Florida Mall area or to the eastern part of Kissimmee.
The same applies to St. Cloud. We always stay with friends in St. Cloud when we go out in Orlando. St. Cloud is not so far away from where we will go most and has all stores and amenities one needs.
How is the internet up in Summerlake? I need a fast internet connection since my work depends on the internet. I already noticed that there is basically no T-Mobile coverage up there. If we move up there, I will have to change my mobile provider.
Personally, I'd call you an idiot if you chose to move to Orlando to live in St. Cloud.
Holy I'm-better-than-thou attitude, Batman!
There's lots of very nice new homes being built in the St Cloud areas of Osceola county as we speak. Narcoosee, Harmony, south down Hickory Tree, out Nova Rd...
What our young Dr Phillips booster-in-chief fails to realize is that some of us might prefer to live more on the outskirts of suburbia, sometimes in a more upscale home with a lower price per square foot than one would pay closer to the Orlando metropolitan center.
Some of us actually prefer to live & eat (& drink) healthier & cheaper at home, & place less importance on whether restaurants & bars & theme parks are around the corner, versus a 20-30 minute drive.
The OP already stated that they work from home, & that schools are not an issue.
I suggest the OP consider all the areas mentioned. Calculate the price per square foot of your favorite homes.
Look at the neighborhood within a 1 mile radius. That's your comps.
Then make your final decision based on whoever offers the nicest new house for the best price per square foot, in the nicest neighborhood that meets your personal needs.
Nobody knows which neighborhoods are going to appreciate the most over the next decade or two. But there are a lot of projections pointing towards substantial future growth pushing SE into Osceola county.
There's lots of very nice new homes being built in the St Cloud areas of Osceola county as we speak. Narcoosee, Harmony, south down Hickory Tree, out Nova Rd...
What our young Dr Phillips booster-in-chief fails to realize is that some of us might prefer to live more on the outskirts of suburbia, sometimes in a more upscale home with a lower price per square foot than one would pay closer to the Orlando metropolitan center.
Some of us actually prefer to live & eat (& drink) healthier & cheaper at home, & place less importance on whether restaurants & bars & theme parks are around the corner, versus a 20-30 minute drive.
The OP already stated that they work from home, & that schools are not an issue.
I suggest the OP consider all the areas mentioned. Calculate the price per square foot of your favorite homes.
Look at the neighborhood within a 1 mile radius. That's your comps.
Then make your final decision based on whoever offers the nicest new house for the best price per square foot, in the nicest neighborhood that meets your personal needs.
Nobody knows which neighborhoods are going to appreciate the most over the next decade or two. But there are a lot of projections pointing towards substantial future growth pushing SE into Osceola county.
lol, I always spark a reaction with you
I actually got this post mixed up. I thought the OP's budget was up to $750k, which in that case I'd think he'd have to be a fool to move all the way here with that budget to then live in St. Cloud. $350k, I can understand why someone might like living there because you get so much more space and bang for your buck. I personally would rather live in a more modest house in a better location, but with a $350k budget it's worth still checking out St. Cloud if your focus is on the house.
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