Oak Creek Club (Bowie, Upper Marlboro: for sale by owner, foreclosure, HOA fees)

[cclee]

If you live in Oak Creek Club in Upper Marlboro or are actually familiar with the community, can you provide me with information about the pros and cons of the development? I would also like information about the builders. It would be helpful if you have any recommendations or warnings.

[manetho06]

Originally Posted by cclee

If you live in Oak Creek Club in Upper Marlboro or are actually familiar with the community, can you provide me with information about the pros and cons of the development? I would also like information about the builders. It would be helpful if you have any recommendations or warnings.

I too would like to know the reputation of these builders and their ability to deliver the concierge and swimming pool they say will complete this project.

[TnD4306]

As I mentioned in a much earlier post, my wife and I are attempting to decide between Beech Tree and Oak Creek. I can give you some information based on our analysis and research...
- Beech Tree is further along in it's development than than Oak Creek.
- Oak Creek feels a bit disjointed since the various communities or neighborhoods are located on either side of Church Road. The community it is based on, River Creek, has a much better 'flow'. This is, of course, a personal preference.
- The gates are finally becoming functional in Oak Creek and add a level of prestige. THis will also increase safety in the community.
- Oak creek lots are generally larger than those in Beech Tree. We had a hard time finding lots that were larger than 1/4 acre in Beech Tree. These seem more readily available in Oak Creek.
- Oak Creek homes have less 'set-back' than the homes in Beech Tree...meaning they are placed closer to the street. This make the community seem a little crowded, when compared to Beech Tree, but it also adds more back yard space.
- A minor thing, but Oak Creek has no side walks.
-Oak Creek has a greater selection of builders
-The shuttle service to the metro will start when there are approx. 500 residents. They currently have approx. 250.
-The golf course is supposed to open in the spring (2008).
-The club house will not open until after the swim and raquet club is completed (2010?)
-The walking trails will not be totally finished for a while. They complete the sections of the trails as the houses next to the trails are built.
-We are negotiating with a builder now and there is a fair amount of room for downward negotiation. Sales are slow so the builders are willing to come down off of the listed prices.

[cclee]

Thanks for the information. If you don't mind me asking, which builder are you considering? Did you notice during your research whether one side of Church Road seemed better than the other?

[TnD4306]

We are looking at NV and Mitchell & Best. We are moving slowly through the process since we also have to sell our current house in Fairfax, VA.

I see no real differences between the 2 sides of church. The one thing to consider is that the 'Main' gate leads to the clubhouse and activity center and there are townhomes close to the gate. There is also a 'neighborhood' (what they call the home sections in Oak Creek) behind the townhomes. Some of the lots are close to the townhomes, and we did not like that too much. My wife also did not like having to ride through the townhome section to get to the neighborhood we were considering. There was another entrance that led to this neighborhood, but it took longer to loop back to the other section. None of the other sections have this issue.

Oh and if it matters to you, the golf course opened for members this week. I will be playing there this weekend, so I will provide an update on the board.

[RickFinance1]

Originally Posted by manetho06

I too would like to know the reputation of these builders and their ability to deliver the concierge and swimming pool they say will complete this project.

I live in Oak Creek. The homebuilders are segregated generally by landbays. Your choice of a builder will largely drive the landbay your home will be built in. All of the landbays will flow together seamlessly with the common infrastructure and streetscape to a great extent when the community is complete. The Village Center will have all of the community buildings in the future and has the renovated Bowieville Mansion which is a wonderful piece of restored history and a distinctive presence on the hilltop.

The builders:
Our choice for our home was Michael Harris Homes. A smaller builder but the quality of the home is rather good. Smaller builder = different economics so don't compare discounts and price to a larger production builder like Ryan Homes.

Our first choice was Mitchell & Best. Absolutely loved the models that we visited but the sales staff at Oak Creek was a bit on the arrogant side and we had to really chase them for pricing information and availability which lost them a sale quite frankly.
You'll need to do your homework to understand the value proposition of these two builders but I think it is worth it.

The community is primarily single family homes and the townhomes and Mitchell & Best village homes in the Village Center look very distinctive with the brick architecture.

The community is heavily wooded and the tree canopy will be enhanced with reforestation and aforestation efforts throughout.

[RickFinance1]

Originally Posted by manetho06

I too would like to know the reputation of these builders and their ability to deliver the concierge and swimming pool they say will complete this project.

All of the amenities advertised will be in place and scheduled base on home delivery targets. A concierge is in place now, the gates are operational and the golf course has begun play. Regarding the sidewalks, I personally called the planning board on the issue of the developer not delivering and was told categorically that the walkways are in the plans given the community safety factor. See the development plans for placement on one side of every street in the community.

[RickFinance1]

Originally Posted by TnD4306

As I mentioned in a much earlier post, my wife and I are attempting to decide between Beech Tree and Oak Creek. I can give you some information based on our analysis and research...
- Beech Tree is further along in it's development than than Oak Creek.
- Oak Creek feels a bit disjointed since the various communities or neighborhoods are located on either side of Church Road. The community it is based on, River Creek, has a much better 'flow'. This is, of course, a personal preference.
- The gates are finally becoming functional in Oak Creek and add a level of prestige. THis will also increase safety in the community.
- Oak creek lots are generally larger than those in Beech Tree. We had a hard time finding lots that were larger than 1/4 acre in Beech Tree. These seem more readily available in Oak Creek.
- Oak Creek homes have less 'set-back' than the homes in Beech Tree...meaning they are placed closer to the street. This make the community seem a little crowded, when compared to Beech Tree, but it also adds more back yard space.
- A minor thing, but Oak Creek has no side walks.
-Oak Creek has a greater selection of builders
-The shuttle service to the metro will start when there are approx. 500 residents. They currently have approx. 250.
-The golf course is supposed to open in the spring (2008).
-The club house will not open until after the swim and raquet club is completed (2010?)
-The walking trails will not be totally finished for a while. They complete the sections of the trails as the houses next to the trails are built.
-We are negotiating with a builder now and there is a fair amount of room for downward negotiation. Sales are slow so the builders are willing to come down off of the listed prices.

At a macro level consider that the developers are giving nothing away. Every amenity offered by each community has been priced into the cost of the lot and home price and HOA fees. This cost also includes the cost for additional sevices eg fire protection, etc, a school subsidy is also included for that capital requirement as well. I would say generally the homes in Oak Creek Club will generally be priced higher but I think the distinction and privacy will add to the value to the upside. Oak Creek offers heavily wooded landbays whereas at present and pre-aforestation efforts the Beech Tree tree coverage is not as dense. I am a resident of Oak Creek and my wife and I rationalized each community we considered in this manner to reach a decision as to where we wanted to live.

[American Arrogance]

Is there any updates on this community? Im very much interested in Oak Creek but I sadly have to say we cold only afford the townhome side of it. Im not sure I want to give up affordable single family homes in Va to move to another Townhome. But I loved the community so much and how close it was to my grandparents.

We are looking at Craftstar homes.

[Jaded]

^^

a couple of weeks ago my husband and I looked at Oak Creek; they don't have a lot finished and I saw a few homes for sale by owner and/or the bank (foreclosure).

We looked at NV Homes and the salesperson told us that the community is only about 30% built out.

Have you looked at Beech Tree?