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Sounds like several of you are headed for NP this weekend some have purchased already and some looking. We went down on Wed and took a look at NP. Spring Meadows, and Longacre Village. We liked NP and SM but have questions about NP and thought perhaps some of you who have been around for awhile could help us out. Our visit started out great they have a huge beautiful club house (at first I thought overkill), large pool, love the garden area near pool, etc. Spoke to several residence they were very friendly and it seemed like a great place.
We ran into a problem when we asked about the site plan and saw 800 home sites when completed. While this explained the very large club house I was not able to get answers to several questions.
The HOA fees now were $175 I asked if that was based on the 800 homes and was told yes.
When I asked how long they have been building I was told 7 Yrs and how many are completed 44 in phase 1. Doing some quick math that is only 7 homes per year at that rate completion should take about 108 years!! Don't think I will be here to see that, don't even think I want to be. LOL
The sales person explained that they were LL at one point and had very large homes and that hurt them which is why they sold so few homes. They are building smaller homes now including Carriage homes and are no longer land lease.
OK so even if they triple their sales and sold 21 homes per year, (that would seem about average) it would still take 36 years to sell 800 sites.
I asked if the builder was going to turn the clubhouse over to the residence and was told yes, when enough sites were sold.
I asked how long the builder was prepared to subsidize the club house while all this building was going on, I was told as long as necessary.
I asked if that would be 20-30 years and she changed the subject. I asked again and she said she had a meeting to go to we should go look at models.
Upon returning she was not available, the girl that was at the desk who I am guessing is a receptionist, was not able to answer any questions and suggested we come on the weekend open house but unfortunately we can not make it.
At any rate the question of cost associated with a very large clubhouse and who is going to pay for it is of concern to us. I don't want to end up paying $500 a month for a clubhouse built for 800 homes, if it ends up the builder stops at 300-400. Did anyone get any better information regarding the clubhouse cost? Does anyone know if all the phases have been approved? How deep are the builders pockets? If they never sell enough homes to turn the clubhouse over to the residence does that mean they can sell membership to the club outside the community, like a pool club, or fitness club membership? As you can see I have more questions than answers so any information anyone has regarding NP would be greatly appreciated.
You are asking great questions and I think maybe the person you spoke to originally was avoiding you. Glad I read this, as I did not ask those questions. However, when I was at Nobles Pond in March, a large open area behind the next street to be built (it was Fairmont) was pointed out to me and I was told "nothing will be built there until the owner decides to sell". Apparently someone else owns that piece of land. It could be sold to someone else, who could build who-knows-what.
Because of all the construction to come at NP, I liked Spring Meadows, since it is near completion, same with Barclay Farms, now complete, but still land lease. I was told by a resident that sales really took off after NP went to land ownership and smaller homes last year, so hopefully this is a good trend for them.
I expected to like Longacre Village, due to great location, but did not. Sales people not helpful or informative at all and, even though all the ads I got from them show a pool and clubhouse, they are not in yet. The sales people at Spring Meadows are great.
Good luck and I hope you find a great place to settle. Life is short, especially once you retire!
Hello Sanray. I completely understand your concerns regarding HOA fees and clubhouse expenses. Have you considered visiting Roesville? We have a wonderful community.
Thanks for the reply we are trying to stay as far north as possible due to family in NJ. We started looking at Middletown then worked our way down to CC which we liked but it is a little to far. I think Roseville is a little further than CC so we did not want to tempt ourselves. We decided to check the Smyrna area and found Spring Meadow and Nobles Pond. We liked both of them Spring Meadow is almost complete not sure if anything would be available in a year when we are ready, so we were also looking for something with room to grow but 800 is way to much room.
You are asking great questions and I think maybe the person you spoke to originally was avoiding you. Glad I read this, as I did not ask those questions. However, when I was at Nobles Pond in March, a large open area behind the next street to be built (it was Fairmont) was pointed out to me and I was told "nothing will be built there until the owner decides to sell". Apparently someone else owns that piece of land. It could be sold to someone else, who could build who-knows-what.
Because of all the construction to come at NP, I liked Spring Meadows, since it is near completion, same with Barclay Farms, now complete, but still land lease. I was told by a resident that sales really took off after NP went to land ownership and smaller homes last year, so hopefully this is a good trend for them.
I expected to like Longacre Village, due to great location, but did not. Sales people not helpful or informative at all and, even though all the ads I got from them show a pool and clubhouse, they are not in yet. The sales people at Spring Meadows are great.
Good luck and I hope you find a great place to settle. Life is short, especially once you retire!
Thanks for responding your information is great.
Not sure what area you were looking at but the map we were shown took up a great deal of land surrounding the club house and way beyond the streets that area now in. It is possible they have already planned the phase on the map and don't even own the property yet? Who knows?
We felt the same way about Longacre Village, we went there expecting a K Hovnanian planned community similar to the ones in NJ and were very disappointed. They have several builders and it is not a planned community, we also questioned the club house and were concerned if the builders don't agree it may never happen. Don't know many builders that would agree especially when it comes to money. Very strange situation, we don't want to be involved.
We loved Spring Meadows and the sales staff was very helpful. Met a few residence and they were all very friendly and nice. One of our favorites so far, we have another appointment to go down in two weeks. We are concerned they may be all gone by the time we are ready, might just jump the gun and buy now, before we sell our house or even have a definite retirement date, not sure but it is a possibility! We have been know to do crazy things in our 46 years together why stop now?
For answers to subdivision questions, you should know that there is a Kent County Regional Planning Commission which approves subdivisions, changes in the original plan if needed, streets, curbing, and whatever else might come up. They meet every month, there's an agenda, and all subdivisions, including these 55+ subdivisions discussed have all had to have their subdivision approved. As construction begins, sometimes plans may change, but each change needs to be approved by the Planning Commission. Answers to questions asked here can be found if you take the initiative to search out the most recent, and also past minutes of the Kent County Regional Planning Commission. Their most recent meeting was May 10th, 2012. There are also subdivision plans in the Kent County Building for all to examine. They show present and future development of each subdivision. The address of the Kent County Office is 555 Bay Road, Dover. Anybody can look at these plans.
From reading the above posts, it appears that those planning to buy in a subdivision, are only skimming the top for information. Buying a property is too big of an investment to not do the leg work, and it's especially important for those just moving to a new state. None of my business, but I'd suggest taking an hour or two on your next visit, to do some investigations. First things, first. Then you'll know exactly what is surrounding the subdivision of your choice, and what plans are in the future.
For answers to subdivision questions, you should know that there is a Kent County Regional Planning Commission which approves subdivisions, changes in the original plan if needed, streets, curbing, and whatever else might come up. They meet every month, there's an agenda, and all subdivisions, including these 55+ subdivisions discussed have all had to have their subdivision approved. As construction begins, sometimes plans may change, but each change needs to be approved by the Planning Commission. Answers to questions asked here can be found if you take the initiative to search out the most recent, and also past minutes of the Kent County Regional Planning Commission. Their most recent meeting was May 10th, 2012. There are also subdivision plans in the Kent County Building for all to examine. They show present and future development of each subdivision. The address of the Kent County Office is 555 Bay Road, Dover. Anybody can look at these plans.
From reading the above posts, it appears that those planning to buy in a subdivision, are only skimming the top for information. Buying a property is too big of an investment to not do the leg work, and it's especially important for those just moving to a new state. None of my business, but I'd suggest taking an hour or two on your next visit, to do some investigations. First things, first. Then you'll know exactly what is surrounding the subdivision of your choice, and what plans are in the future.
Thanks, great information! I for one had no idea where to go from here. This will give anyone interested in NP or any other community for that matter a good look at what has been approved for the community as well as the surrounding area.
Thanks, great information! I for one had no idea where to go from here. This will give anyone interested in NP or any other community for that matter a good look at what has been approved for the community as well as the surrounding area.
You're welcome, sanray!
In the almost 5 years that I've been a member of this forum, I've yet to encounter one newcomer who has seemed interested in more indepth facts about an age restricted subdivision's location. Selecting a model, and clubhouse amenities seem to be priorities. Just my opinion, but I would be interested in future plans for that subdivision's expansion, and future development of land surrounding that subdivision. Then I'd move on to investigating wet lands, noise factors, air base flight paths, and other external obsolescence. All of that information is available in the County Building. People are friendly there. There are no waiting lines, and your mind will be put at ease, knowing you've done due diligence.
Here's a link showing the makeup of age restricted subdivisions. http://www.co.kent.de.us/Departments...nities_000.pdf
In the almost 5 years that I've been a member of this forum, I've yet to encounter one newcomer who has seemed interested in more indepth facts about an age restricted subdivision's location.
Really? Not one? I might be wrong, but I do believe you've encountered me!
As I believe you already know, I've been in contact with several Kent County departments via phone, email and in person. I read the News Journal and the Dover Post regularly, along with the quarterly Levy Court Community Newsletter. I read the minutes from the Regional Planning Commission, the Town Board meetings of Magnolia and the School Board minutes from the Caesar Rodney School Districts. I've learned about water tables, wetlands, radon, air base flight paths, issues related to noise, utility rates, the redrawing of our election districts (I'm still in Eric Buckson's district), ownership issues of the golf course between Champions Club and Jonathan's Landing, the history of the Kent County and Caesar Rodney tax rates, the hospitals in the area, all the shopping possibilities (and already have discount cards for most), the annual operating budgets of Kent County and Caesar Rodney, Kent County Comprehensive Plan and much, much more.
I also actually READ the Delaware Data Book for each of the last three years and watch the governors State of the State message in each of the last two years. My wife and I also talk to as many locals as we can on each trip we make, including wait staff, store clerks, hotel employees, and sometimes even random folks we see in the supermarket or store parking lot. We've collected great information for as many varied sources as we can find. And of course, we are in regular contact with our fellow newcomers who have already lived in our new community and can verify things for us.
In short, I have been learning about every aspect of life in my new community for several years, and when I arrive, I am arriving with knowledge of more than the temperature of the pool and the day we play bocce ... which is Thursday by the way!
Last edited by Gone-2-Beach; 05-20-2012 at 06:55 AM..
We felt the same way about Longacre Village, we went there expecting a K Hovnanian planned community similar to the ones in NJ and were very disappointed. They have several builders and it is not a planned community, we also questioned the club house and were concerned if the builders don't agree it may never happen. Don't know many builders that would agree especially when it comes to money. Very strange situation, we don't want to be involved.
We saw Longacre before K. Hovnanian entered the picture, but we felt exactly the same way. We thought the presence of multiple builders was confusing. None of them had clear information about anything other than their own models, which were unimpressive. At the time, one of the those builders was unclear about whether they would be 55+ or not, though I think that's one of the builders who vacated the project. I'm not 100% sure because I stopped paying attention to them after we eliminated them as a possibility.
I have always urged everyone considering the move to ask every possible question they can think of and have reminded them that the only stupid question is the one never asked. I have also always welcomed people emailing me or sending me a direct message with legitimate questions. There are some questions that I will not answer on this forum so that they are not subject to the inevitable debate that follows.
I have also referred to you, RDLR, as a source of tremendous information and almost encyclopedic knowledge. I hope that you are still as welcoming of legitimate questioners as you have been in the past.
Last edited by Gone-2-Beach; 05-20-2012 at 07:08 AM..
Reason: Added "legitimate" to distinquish from those who just want to waste our time.
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