Porto Sol Royal Palm Beach (Miami, Wellington: real estate, insurance, how much)

[startpackinn]

I'm looking for any info on Porto Sol in Royal Palm Beach. It is a new community by Minto homes. I went to see them last month. I live in N.J. and I'm not to familiar with the area.
Any info would be great....

[heydade]

Is that the one with the main entrance off Okeechobee in royal palm ? Three things you need to know. 1. Minto is an excellent builder. They stress quality and their 2nd story floors are poured concrete, not wood. 2. The area is very congest and going to get worse since the acreage improvement district just authorized the building fo 3,000 additional homes in the area. Traffic is bad enough now...it's only going to get worse unfortunately. 3. Watch your deposit ! Make sure the contract is a good one and hire a real estate attorney to review it. The housing market is only going to get much worse before getting any better and many builders have already gone under and dissapeared with deposits. Make sure that your contract highlights the time frame the house must be built in and that it allows you to get your deposit back if they don't build in the specified time allotted. WSVN just had a news story about this the other day. Here is the link....make sure to click "WATCH THE VIDEO" on the top to see the actual news story video as opposed to reading it. WSVN-TV - Help Me Howard - No Home Built
Good luck !

[Gail]

Hi Startpackinn!
What part of NJ are you from?
We moved here from NJ (Marlboro)10 years ago and live in Wellington which is about 6 miles from Porto Sol. I'm also a part time Realtor- so I know this area extremely well. Don't worry, I'm not trying to sell my services to you-just looking to help out a fellow NJer.
I would be careful with the new communities right now. Building has slowed down tremendously here and alot of the newer communities have been sitting stagnant for quite a while and are not being completed. A resale may be a better bet for you. If you like Minto, check out resales in Madison Green in Royal Palm or Olympia in Wellington. Plus you'll be able to bargain on the prices. So many houses have been on the market here for so long, you can pick up a great deal. You can't bargain like that with the builders.
And as for contract negotiations from a builder, the builder's contract is the builder's contract. Whether you have a real estate attorney or not, you usually can't make any changes to their contracts.
As for the area of Royal Palm itself, compared to the traffic and congestion in New Jersey, you don't have to worry. Palm Beach County is still much less populated than Broward and Dade. What they call rush hour traffic here is a joke compared to up north.
Anyway, this area is a great place to live. Are you looking to be in a good school district or just an area close to a job?
I went to the Univ of Miami, so I pretty much can compare Miami, Broward and Palm Beach county for you if you need more info on that too.
Let me know!-Gail

[heydade]

I just checked the prices on Minto's website. Cheapest home is 314,000 ? Are they NUTS ! I see this community with many empty houses or large empty lots until they drastically reduce the prices. When are builders going to learn ?? You can get a nice 3/2 or 4/2 in the acreage that is 5 miles away AND that sits on 1.4 acres of land for 250K. What gives ???

[startpackinn]

Thanks for the video Heydade, I actually work for K. Hovnanian homes a large national builder in the US so I know what's going on.
We are no where near bankrupcy, but I gave a 95,000 incentive last month off a 899k home. As far as Florida new construction it raises red flags for me. To be honest I didn't even think of that. Shame on me especially being in the business. I think if I did go with new construction I would buy a quick delivery home because I know the best negotiating can be done and the home would be ready to close.
Thanks for the info Gail, we would have been neighbors I live in Monroe Township. Talk about close. I was actually thinking about Wellington a few years ago, but my friend moved to Madison Green and I would want my kids to go to the same schools as her kids. I believe Wellington schools are better. But the move is going to be tough since my kids are 10 and 13 so I felt keeping them around their friends was important. I most likely will go with a re-sale in Madison Green., unless I can get the Granada Model for 350k with a pool at Porto Sol that would be about 80k off, hey I did it for one of my buyers.
All kidding aside... I will most likely go with a re-sale.. so maybe I will look you up. I still need to sell my home here. Last year it was worth 975k now it's worth 850k. I need to get out of here my taxes are 14,500 per year. I'm sure you remember.

[McMolly]

I, too, would be wary of new developments right now. Chances are Porta Sol is going to be fine (given it's Minto), but you never know. We went over there for the Grand Opening just to look around and it looks like a very nice community. I live about 4 miles down the road from there and I love this area. You don't have to spend a ton on gas to get where you want to go! Personally I haven't found the traffic bad at all compared to NJ!!!! (We moved here from NJ 8 years ago having lived in Edison and Mount Arlington).

But there is so much available now in all these Western communities. Look around Wellington area as well.

I would try to buy a new home built to or better than code. We bought in a DiVosta community who fortuntely builds "rock solid" (we're in a poured concrete home) and that affords us many discounts on homeowner's insurance.

Right now, with all the availability, you're in the driver's seat and I think it's a great time to look around. Good luck!

[susanrck]

I know this area very well. It is a great location. Durable houses, but small for the price. Could have bought one there, but have not sold my house, so we did not buy anymore. My townhouse is about half a mile from por to sol. Will you be interested?
Let me know.

[SKB]

Originally Posted by heydade

I just checked the prices on Minto's website. Cheapest home is 314,000 ? Are they NUTS ! I see this community with many empty houses or large empty lots until they drastically reduce the prices. When are builders going to learn ?? You can get a nice 3/2 or 4/2 in the acreage that is 5 miles away AND that sits on 1.4 acres of land for 250K. What gives ???

Their lowest priced home is 269,900 for 1838 under air which is the Cascada model. They sent me an e mail the other day advertising their "MINTOS BOTTOM LINE PRICING, NO NEGOTIATIONS NECESSARY".


Next to that is the Cordova 4 which is 2448 under a/c for 299,900.

We went to tour the models back when they had the grand opening, the homes are lovely if you like living on postage stamps.

We are waiting for the crash to continue and buy a lovely home on 1.5 acres for under 200K.

[faithfulFrank]

Folks,
The original post is 4 months old.

Perhaps it would be better to start a new one if there is still interest in this subject.

Happy Labor day!

Frank D.

[SKB]

Originally Posted by faithfulFrank

Folks,
The original post is 4 months old.

Perhaps it would be better to start a new one if there is still interest in this subject.

Happy Labor day!

Frank D.

Lets keep it, it just shows how much the prices have now come down in that sub-division.
Lets pull it back up in another six months and see how much further the price will come down again.