Covenant Cove Community (Southside JAX 32224) (short sales, apartment complex, foreclosure)

[sp1viper]

We are planning to buy a home in this community (Covenant Cove), however, we have a few concerns - I never noticed this when we first went by the neighborhood, but apparently there are mobile homes in the back of the community and although unnoticeable, a small apartment complex on the front left side as you enter the community. However, you can get a nice home for ~300k that is close to the beach and what seems to be a good area off of beach blvd. Neighborhoods close by (just a mile down) beach blvd are over 400k ....

We were first looking at the the Waterleaf community which is off of Kernan, but just didn't like the fact that quite a few homes there are in short-sale or foreclosure. Also, these aren't really "deals" which justify the unknown wait time that would be involved with such a transaction. However, 32225 (Waterleaf) is a the better zip code as opposed to 32224 (Covenant Cove) in terms of crime.

Back to the point, we prefer the Covenant Cove neighborhood and would like to move here; can anyone give any input/advice as to what they think about this community?

[EricBoyd]

A large portion of today's inventory falls into the short sale/foreclosure category, so you shouldn't be too surprised by this fact. They're nothing to be scared of, though, as many of these can be well-maintained homes. Somewhere along the line, folks started hearing that short sales were "bargains". At one point, I think they were discounted below non-distressed sales. But, since there are so many distressed sales in today's market, these types of sales are competing with each other, so the prices aren't gonna be a "deal", in a traditional sense. I'm sure there's more to that story, but that's my opinion on the matter.

[lightheaded1der]

I knew a girl that lived alone in those apartments you mention and she said she always felt safe. As far as the mobile homes, there are a suprising number of mobile homes off of Girvin, San Pablo, and Hodges and all around that area. I guess it's a remnant of when the area wasn't developed, which wasn't all that long ago. I haven't heard of there being crime issues or anything related to those mobile home communities. Honestly, I love where Covenant Cove is. BONUS: It is within walking distance to the best sushi place in the area... DARUMA'S!!!

[pcramirez]

I currently own a home in Covenant Cove. I bought my house in October 2008, and I have no complaints(except for all that construction on Beach Blvd!!!). As for the trailer park, my house actually backs up to it. That was originally a concern of mine as well, but I took a drive through the trailer park, and it's actually quite nice, as far as trailer parks go. From what I understand, the residents there own the lots that they live on, so it's actually fairly nice(i heard this second hand, FWIW). The apartment complex is as you said, unnoticeable. It seems that it is mostly older people that live in those apartments. Feel free to PM me if you'd like.

[sp1viper]

Thanks for the responses guys! Making the move to JAX after hearing stories of crime and the 'tanked' economy affect on FL was itself a scary factor. Funny thing is there are so many homes in the market, but I would not really consider them a "bargain", you still need ~$250k to find a decent home in a decent neighborhood around Southside. I really hope the region picks up; this is a nice city with so many things to do!

Although nothing can predict the future, you want to be semi-satisfied when putting down such a large sum of money. Hopefully, this will be the neighborhood for us. @pcramirez - I hope they complete the construction on Beach Blvd soon as well!