Wellington communities - Olympia vs Versailles (Pinewood: HOA, second mortgage, lawyers)

[bon37]

I am a realtor and relocation specialist in Wellington and sell homes in Versailles, Olympia, Aero Club, and several others.

Versailles is stunning and the HOA keeps the community up. They have some very large homes (approx 432 total in community) and the foreclosure rate is much lower than some of the other communities. It's full of professional executives and many families. Doesn't surprise me no one was outside during your visit, it was probably hot. Don't mistake it for no familiies. The community is filled with families. It has a beautiful clubhouse and offers wide array of ammenities. The school district is top in the county and elementary is Panther Run (very best). The middle and high are both A rated. It is very close to supermarket, mall, etc.

Feel free to contact me with any questions if you are not working with a realtor and need help.

Check out my company website. It gives great information on all the communities in the area. You can contact me directly on there by clicking "our agents" and clicking on Bonnie Schwartz. Look at Aero Club as well, aeronautical community that has beautiful estate homes.
Boca Executive Realty - Wellington Real Estate

Good Luck

[floridaboundfamily]

My family and I are considering moving to Florida from Toronto in 2011. After following all of palm beach county/wellington listings over the last few months i found versailles to be the most appealing by both price (of coarse) and design/finishings of the home and neighbourhood. It's simply beautiful. We have a newborn son and two dogs...which leads me to my first question.

I have read that you are allowed two dogs 45-50lbs each on a rental listing for one of the units...is this true? I would be devastated if so as my yellow relatively small lab is 68 - 70 lbs. and the other is a chihuahua thats no more then 6lbs. Should i stop looking at versailles all together? is there a way around this? I for sure am not giving up my yellow lab..not even for paradise.

Secondly, is versailles sinking? is there anything going on there that is not on the up and up? We will be investing everything in this new home so i would really appreciate an honest answer from a resident.

Thanks so much for your time.

[skylinet]

561-333-7577 HOA for Versailles
I would call them and check on that. I'm not positive on the pet restrictions there, but often times theres a difference between renting/owning when it comes to pets. I'm sure Bobstar would know though.
You may also want to check out Equestrian Club as well. It's a little further West, but similar style/size homes, some great values occasionally, and you get over a third of an acre of land with most of the homes which your Lab would probably like.

[Bobstar]

Versailles is an excellent choice. I know of no HOA rules restricting pet size, etc., but as recommended above, it is best to call. Private homeowners can make any restriction they want - it's their house. Versailles is not "sinking." To the contrary, houses are selling extremely well and HOA dues have not increased in over 2 years. New families are moving in every month.

[TriMT7]

If Vanilla Ice would stop refererring to his house flip in Versailles as a "Palm Beach mansion," Versailles would probably be getting more positive attention in general, lol!

[floridaboundfamily]

Thank you skylinet, bobstar, and trimt7!

If all goes well i will be relocating to versailles bid 2011. hoping the prices stay where they are! What do you think....going up soon?

I can see all listings on a realtor.com or similar site my friend/agent gave me. How do i know if i am seeing all available? if you google versailles it appears that more are available. Maybe they are old?

Fingers crossed up here in Canada...I looove this neighbourhood!!

[skylinet]

Prices won't be rising anytime soon. If you'd like the most accurate updates feel free to dm me your email and I can set you up on an update as soon as anything comes on the market or drops in price.

[THX 1138]

I would not buy a house here period, you would be better off renting for a year or two. Prices will drop even more. Also a lot of HOAs are having problems, I live in a fairly new and large gated community in Wellington and the HOA here is having issues.

Nothing would suck worse then being stuck in a perceived high end community to later find out the HOA went belly up and can't fulfill it's promises which will further drop home values.

[floridaboundfamily]

What a shame THX 1138. As our move is still some time away its troubling to hear things are still trending to getting worse. Is there a better community that looks like versailles with a healthy HOA for the same money? At some point there is a gamble i would assume as these houses must cost more to build then what they are selling for.

If the HOA goes bankrupt what happens next? I would imagine during due diligence that i can review the financials of the HOA and determine for myself?

I hope to buy in at the rock bottom and ride it up for 5-7 years so i have some real equity...good plan? Our housing prices in Toronto are going through the roof so the plan would pay off if it works.

[Bobstar]

Floridabound - your own due dilegence is your best asset. Renting before you buy is always good advice. At the same time, if you can buy a distressed property (foreclosure / short sale) now at a great price, you will do well. For example, I bought a foreclosure in Versailles 18 months ago and since that time, several of the same models sold for $20K to $60K more than what I paid. The builder's model of the same house on model row (with every upgrade you could immage) just sold for around $200K more than what I paid. As numerous houses are being sold every month, new families are coming in paying HOA dues and the community continues to get more financially stable. Good luck.