young, professional, single guy looking to buy a nice condo in jax (Jacksonville: short sale, apartments)

[rafflynn]

i'm a young, smart, professional guy looking to buy a condo that i plan to live at for at least a few years. i've read a lot on the forums and have narrowed my search down a bit. i want to be in a young-ish community with mostly people around my age. I'm almost 29 although physically and hormonally i'm more like 24. yeah that may sound a little strange, but i've had that 5-year age difference ever since jr high/early high school. it's nice now, but when i was 17yo, i didn't have much luck picking up chicks because i looked like i was 12.

anyway, a community with a lot of mid-late 20s and early 30s would be great. i want the condo to be pretty new, in a nice/safe area, possibly gated, and i want it to have great amenities (nice big pool area with hotties sunning themselves in the summer, fitness center a plus, nice landscaping, etc), in a happening area on weekends but a bit quiet during weekdays after 10:00 pm or so.

now i'm mostly looking at the southside area, zipcodes 32224 and 32256. i like the william's walk condos in bartram as well, but that population tends to be a little older overall. there are other condos i've seen that look really nice further north and east and off of gate parkway.

i kind of want to stay within a 30-minute commute of where i work. i work in fleming island. i know that is a nice area, but the population is mostly young families and retirees and there are never any condos available there anyway. i'd be working normal hours, so traffic patterns matter.

so here are a few condo communities i've been looking at. please give me any and all advice you can offer:

William's Walk
Montreaux
Gardens of Bridgeham
Grand Reserve
Avanti
Bishop's Court
Mirabella
Belle Rive area

still looking for more suggestions of places to check out. let me know. thanks!!

[jsimms3]

Il Villaggio Condos on Gate Parkway. I spent a summer here just 3 years ago. It is filled with the 25-35 age group and a few families mixed in. It is gated, clean, and you will definitely feel like you're in Florida. It has Mediterranean architecture and tropical landscaping. The gatehouse/clubhouse are lit up at night and every time you drive through you will feel like you're pulling up to your mansion.

The amenities are good (pool and gym, gated, landscaped, lots of parking but not covered, ponds with fountains, tennis and basketball, stainless steel and granite, etc). Get used to climbing stairs if you are on a 2nd floor.

Il Villagio Condos

The location also puts you into one of the most active parts of Jacksonville. Our best mall is jogging distance away. Lots of other condos, apartments, and townhomes nearby. Tinseltown complete with a nice theater and restaurants. Southside is also like a spread out 2nd downtown with lots of office buildings and hospitals.

I would also check out Tapestry Park. It's literally half a mile from the above place. It is New Urbanist. It is a partially self contained development with condos surrounding a gated garage and a Main Street area with shops and restaurants. It's a very attractive and well placed development on Southside and Gate Parkway.

http://www.tapestryparkcondos.com/

In Tapestry Park you can find III Forks, Hotel Indigo, Aloft Hotel (like a W, same company), Jimmy Johns, and a hair place, a running place, and 2 other good restaurants.

http://www.3forks.com/

It's got great amenities, but it is not cheap.

[fsu813]

Isn't Il Villagio rentals?

[rafflynn]

I appreciate the advice, but I'm looking to spend around 40k-50k for a 1/1. I could go as high as 65k perhaps. But some of the nicest places such as Il Villagio and Tapestry Park are a bit out of my price range. technically i could afford them, but i really don't want to spend that much right now. they do seem like awesome places though.

[jsimms3]

Originally Posted by fsu813

Isn't Il Villagio rentals?

Maybe, I just lived with someone there one summer and thought she had bought the place...Either way, 40-60K for anything seems really low. I can't even think of anything in a decent place that goes for so low, but I'm sure someone else can? If I were you, I would rent for a while longer and save up for something nicer in the 150-300 range, unless you can find an *awesome* short sale somewhere for that low. My standards are probably above where they should be, though.

[projectmaximus]

Off the top of my head (I did a condo search last summer but ended up deciding against buying) I think the only nice places I saw in that price range were in Montreux (which you mentioned but I believe has bad reviews for construction quality), Esplanade at the Town Center (which had some major issues with mold) and a crazy foreclosure possibly in Berkman Plaza downtown. Of course that place had outrageous monthly fees which would essentially put it back out of your price range even if a condo happened to be selling for 60K.

BTW, I've never driven it myself, but I feel like Tinseltown to Fleming Island is a wicked commute during rush hours...by Jax standards.

[JIMMY WACK]

Why don't you look for a rich 20 to 30ish hot chick with some cash? Why spend your money? Find a hottie that you can rub down with suntan lotion and live with her for a few years until you get on your feet. LOL

[rafflynn]

I've actually been finding quite a few nice condos in my price range on in the areas I'm interested in (not brand new of course). I think now I'm mostly interested in the condos around Belle Rive and the condos in Bartram Park. There are some very nice condos further north and east, but the commute might be a bit much for me. I'm still looking and taking suggestions. Thanks!

[bativac]

Raff - my advice is to BE CAREFUL buying a condo. I personally know three people who are stuck with condos they can't give away simply because there is an excess of condo units in Jacksonville, and most of them are overpriced. They're having trouble even renting them out.

If I were you, I'd look for somebody who is desperate. There should be plenty of those people, or even investment firms looking to dump some of their inventory.

Alternatively, have you considered renting something? There are some fairly upscale apartments in Jax (in fact, some of them are former condos... and some condos are former apartments). Or are you dead set on purchasing an apartment?

(BTW I'm close to your age - I'm 31 - and like you I'm more like a 26 or 27 year old. I went thru this same ordeal a year and a half ago. Don't want to sound like somebody's father on here...)

[rafflynn]

Thanks for your concern, Bat. I was originally planning on renting, but once I saw what some of these condos are selling for, I changed my mind. Now is the perfect time for me to buy because there are so many units out there and so many desperate people trying to get rid of them. Again thanks for your concern though.