Saddlebrooke, MO (Springfield, Branson, California: how much, home, pros and cons)

[8 SNAKE]

Originally Posted by emtsbabe

HI- My husband and I are interested in this area and wondering about the opportunities locally for employment in health care.My husband is in emergency room work/EMT-I, and I am getting into CNA. Any direction for us as to facility names or whatever would be appreciated! Thanks.

Skaggs Hospital in Branson would be the closest to Saddlebrooke. Otherwise, you could drive up to Springfield and look at Cox or St. John's.

[20yrsinBranson]

Originally Posted by garth

Can anyone give me any insight into Saddlebrooke, MO, please? It's basically a housing development located off of US65 between Springfield and Branson.

I've been to their website ( The Communities of Saddlebrooke, MO | A master planned community ) and it's given me some info, but it has also revealed something that I've never heard about. I called the company and was told that Saddlebrooke has been "incorporated." That means to me that it is a city or town, with a mayor, city council, city laws, city taxes, etc. Everything that makes an incorporated governmental entity.

That doesn't appear to be the case with Saddlebrooke. The person I spoke to said that they do not have any of the above items. He said that they "incorporated" just so they could do their own zoning, instead of dealing with it through the county. There was no other motivation.

That sounds strange to me. I never heard of such a thing. Is it common in Missouri, to incorporate but not have a city, taxing authority, tec., or is there an issue other than zoning involved? It also raises questions of accountability, responsibility, and oversight, depending on who's in charge of the incorporated entity.

As you can probably tell, something isn't quite sitting right with me. You may have heard the saying that, "Just becasue you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't following you." Well, that's why I'm asking you folks. Am I unreasonably paranoid or is something amiss?

Thanks

Be afraid. Be very afraid. Even though they may not be interested in governing anything except zoning at this time, that is not to say that sometime in the future they might not decide to govern every possible aspect of life at Saddlebrook. Including *your* property rights. Make no mistake, an incorporated "villiage" or "town" has an enormous amount of authority and can make laws, ordinances, etc., that are MORE STRICT than state laws and ordinances regarding how you use your property. They can impose taxes, fees, fines, assessments, etc. If you purchase there you are opening yourself up to potentially paying a LOT of money down the road and having your property rights manipulated or altered.

If it were me, I'd look elsewhere. Someplace without the control of a governing body. But that's me.

20yrsinBranson

[lone sailor]

Saddlebrooke is owned by one man, Clyde Lorance(and his wife). He has over 4500 acres, and all of the land on the eastern side borders the national forest. He is not only a developer, but a land owner, and one of the nicest people you would ever meet. He incorporated Saddlebrooke so that they could have their own zip code, so that it is it's own place, it's own rights, and it's own zoning jurisdiction. It is a fabulously planned community and there is always a great location to build on. I do quite a bit of business with Saddlebrooke and while it may seem strange to some that are unfamiliar with why someone would do this, to those of us that do understand, it's a welcomed sight what Saddlebrooke has accomplished. I would never be concerned with the fact that Saddlebrooke controls it's own zoning, in fact, it's better that way, so you don't have the county governing body telling you what you have to do or what you have to pay. A lot of time, money, and dedication have been sacrificed to make Saddlebrooke a great community, and Clyde has gone above and beyond the call to ensure all I's have been dotted, and all T's have been crossed. I would be more worried about what color brick to use on my my new home than whether or not Saddlebrooke is out to rip off it's residents.

[tylerlorance]

Hi, my name is Tyler Lorance and I work for Saddlebrooke. If anyone has any questions about our development I would be happy to answer them.

As to the last post, there are numerous health care facilities in the area. St John's and Cox Hospitals are the largest facilities in Springfield and Skaggs Community Health Center is the largest in Branson. There are also many smaller clinics as well as doctors in private practice. I'm sure demand is high because health care is one of the larger industries in our area.

If anyone else has any questions just ask and I will be happy to help.

I know that there are a lot of evil developers in the world that would like nothing more than to be able to control every little aspect of your life, but that is not why we incorporated. Why would we do anything to harm the value of your property when we are the largest property owner?

As to governance, we are holding our first elections this year and we have five residents running for the five alderman seats. The village of Saddlebrooke will be governed by the residents, not the developer. If you can find a town that does not have a "governing body" I would love to know who runs it.

[mrschilicook]

Just as an FYI..many of the postings you all are responding to are pretty old. Garth ended up in Nevada...not because he didn't like Saddlebrooke or the surrounding area, but because of taxes and because his family/heart is in the west.

Just a headsup..

[tylerlorance]

Thanks! I just thought I would try to start answering some in case people were still reading the thread and were curious. This is fun! Wish I would have joined sooner!

[Lake Junkie]

Originally Posted by tylerlorance

Thanks! I just thought I would try to start answering some in case people were still reading the thread and were curious. This is fun! Wish I would have joined sooner!

Hiya Tyler... Glad to see you're getting out and about! Hearty thumbs up about the all-developers-not-being-evil thing, my friend. Same goes for not-all-realtors, y'know?

[saddlebrookemaybe]

Even though someone pointed out that this is an older thread, I am glad to see that people are still posting updates. My husband and I are COMPLETELY in love with Saddlebrooke! We actually drive there from outside of Springfield on the weekends just to walk across the bridge or to let our children feed the fish....just to be there, spending time and enjoying nature is incredible! We would love to buy there in 3 or 4 years (depending on what homes might be for sale at that time).

I have to be honest, though, after reading some concerns in this thread, it has made rethink some things. My husband and I are working very hard to be able to live in our dream home/location one day and if we decide to buy in Saddlebrooke, we have to feel completely comfortable with all of the process....and now I have doubts.

Oh well....only time will tell and we have plenty of it before we would even have to worry any of this.

[lone sailor]

Originally Posted by saddlebrookemaybe

Even though someone pointed out that this is an older thread, I am glad to see that people are still posting updates. My husband and I are COMPLETELY in love with Saddlebrooke! We actually drive there from outside of Springfield on the weekends just to walk across the bridge or to let our children feed the fish....just to be there, spending time and enjoying nature is incredible! We would love to buy there in 3 or 4 years (depending on what homes might be for sale at that time).

I have to be honest, though, after reading some concerns in this thread, it has made rethink some things. My husband and I are working very hard to be able to live in our dream home/location one day and if we decide to buy in Saddlebrooke, we have to feel completely comfortable with all of the process....and now I have doubts.

Oh well....only time will tell and we have plenty of it before we would even have to worry any of this.

I would urge you to contact them directly with any concerns you may have. The only ignorant question is the one not asked, and the one not asked to the right person.

[tylerlorance]

If you would like good, accurate information on Saddlebrooke I am an officer of the company and I can answer any questions you might have. I have worked for Saddlebrooke since its inception, and I would be happy to help you find the information you seek about our community. ,,, Please let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Best regards,

Tyler Lorance