Oakleaf Plantation - Frank and honest assessment (Jacksonville, Whitfield: bank owned, real estate) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

KatieKatie1020 · 08-31-2011, 09:20 PM

Hi - I am relocating back home to Jacksonville after being away 11 years. I would love to get some frank and honest opinions about the current state and long term prospects for the Oakleaf Plantation / Eagle Landing area. We absolutely love Eagle Landing Golf Club but have been strongly cautioned by the real estate agent we've spoken with to avoid this area. The only concrete objection that's been provided is based on the numerous foreclosures in the area, however IMO there are some exceptional values because of that and we're hoping that buying something that's already undervalued will provide some downside protection. Here's a little background on our situation. We are interested in purchasing or constructing a 4 bedroom home with 3-4 bathrooms and approximately 3,400 square feet. Ideally we'd like to stay within a price range of $425-$475k. Commuting is not a huge issue for us as my husband is accustomed to a long commute and I travel about 60% of the time, occassionally work from home, and go in the office (Deerwood)about 20% of the time. Plus we're relocating from the suburbs of Atlanta so any commute in Jax will likely be an improvement:-). We've visited all the usual suspects in the way of master planned communities like Nocatee, St. John's Forest, Durbin Crossing etc, but frankly the lack of diversity has been a major deterrent to serious consideration of these areas. We have 3 teenagers, a sophomore, junior, and senior. In light of the fact that they only have 1-3 years left before going away to college, we'll consider private school for these last 3 years if necessary versus purchasing a home we plan to live in for the next 30 years based on schools we won't have need of. I'd love to hear any feedback you may have on the safety of the area, diversity, and the overall perception that's out there. Also if you have other communities worth considering (not in PVB please), I'd love to hear that as well. Thanks in advance for your help.

madcapmagishion · 08-31-2011, 10:09 PM

I'm curious, your realtor is cautioning you about Oakleaf Plantation/Eagle Landing because of foreclosure issues there? Where is he suggesting, as an alternate area suitable for your relocation? I can't think of any development of the same age or magnitude. that's not in the same boat as far as foreclosures are concerned. Personally I am not a big proponent of Master Planned Communities, too regimented and cookie cutterish for me. I would find acreage and build myself the home that I wanted, not what some mass marketing builder thinks I and everyone else should live in. Find 5-10 acres and build a nice 3,500 sq ft home for the same $450-$475,000 that you would spend in a HOA managed community without the HOA nightmare of conformity. But thats just me, some people just can't survive without someone telling them what they can and can not do to their own property.

MoniAZmom · 09-01-2011, 05:58 AM

I'd caution you against your Realtor! shame on him or her. Like madcapmagishion said... foreclosures are EVERYwhere. This can mean a great bargain for YOU. Maybe a few more are in Eagle Landing due to the fact that it was built at the peak of the "boom" so there are many homes overvalued. For your price range you could get a mini-mansion! But its a great community... we live in Oakleaf, have so for nearly 2 years... love the area, the community and the new high school is awesome. Plenty of shopping nearby. We almost purchased in Eagle Landing ourselves but ended up with a great deal on a bank owned home in Whitfield. I highly recommend Eagle Landing, they are building new homes there and many more to come in the future. Also take a look at the newest neighborhood off the roundabout called "Forrest Hammock". No CDD fees there, homes look very nice so far. Good luck with your move/purchase!

EricBoyd · 09-01-2011, 06:15 AM

Yup, there are foreclosures all over town. The Oakleaf area was hit hard because it was being built during the recent boom, and riding the same wave of rapid price increases as every other master-planned community in the greater Jax area. Some would argue that Oakleaf has been hit harder, but I think that's because it's a REALLY big area with a lot more homes. Since the time the market has turned and been down at these lower prices, the retail area of the Town Center has opened up and seems to be relatively active. It's still tough for businesses to get started, but it's definitely nice to see the retail construction projects are getting finished. Maybe in the next 3-4 years, we'll see those vacancies at the store fronts get filled.

IMHO, if you like the area and are gonna be there for ~10 years or more, then find a house you like that meets your needs and buy it. I don't think you can go wrong, with the right advice guiding you along the way.

parks71 · 09-01-2011, 07:26 AM

Why not rent for a year and watch what the market does? I know too many people 50k+ in the hole right now with their house and are not happy about it. Some of these people bought 2 years ago when people told them the market was bottomed out, but it wasnt.... and it still isnt!

If houses start to go up, you can break a lease with proper notice and get a house. Id much rather lose a few thousand breaking a lease than god knows what with the market the way it is.

wb3690 · 09-01-2011, 09:14 AM

I too live in Oakleaf and really enjoy it. I'm just thankful that we didn't buy when home prices were sky high! My poor neighbor's house is the same size as mine and they bought for about 80,000 more than I did and well....our homes aren't worth that much AT all right now. It's kind of depressing, BUT we bought knowing we were staying here for awhile and we do enjoy all the amenities and the community feeling in Oakleaf. Eagle Landing is VERY nice.....we have several friends who live there and I would love to live in there honestly....

There are a few issues here like the possibility of the toll road on Branan Field...that I keep hearing will and won't happen. I don't think we have very good shopping choices, but honestly Fleming Island Town Center isn't that far away and if I really want to shop I go to the St. Johns Town Center. I wish we had better food choices, but I am sure they will come when the economy settles back.

JoJoCal19 · 09-01-2011, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by madcapmagishion

I'm curious, your realtor is cautioning you about Oakleaf Plantation/Eagle Landing because of foreclosure issues there? Where is he suggesting, as an alternate area suitable for your relocation? I can't think of any development of the same age or magnitude. that's not in the same boat as far as foreclosures are concerned. Personally I am not a big proponent of Master Planned Communities, too regimented and cookie cutterish for me. I would find acreage and build myself the home that I wanted, not what some mass marketing builder thinks I and everyone else should live in. Find 5-10 acres and build a nice 3,500 sq ft home for the same $450-$475,000 that you would spend in a HOA managed community without the HOA nightmare of conformity. But thats just me, some people just can't survive without someone telling them what they can and can not do to their own property.

I second this and would highly recommend with that kind of budget, to buy some land and build more house for less money than buying in a master planned community. My wife and I decided, against my original plans of building, to buy a house here in Heritage Landing in the WGV. We now regret it. Dealing with neighbors who are like 8 to 10 feet away and houses right on top of each other, strict HOA guidelines (yes stricter than we even thought they were going to be), stupid CDD fees, and I can go on and on. While we do love the neighborhood in general, it's so much of a hassle and constantly visiting her parents that did the opposite and build their own house on their own land, we regret not doing the same.

KatieKatie1020 · 09-02-2011, 09:36 AM

Thanks so much for all the feedback, I really appreciate it. I've only spoken with the realtor I mentioned by phone and during our conversations about Oakleaf there were some veiled references to the number of rental properties & apartments in the area and a change in demographics??? Quite candidly I don't think he realized I might be one of those changes that he was referencing:-). We've only taken preliminary dry run visits to each of these communities but we're ready to find a good agent and really get this show on the road. MadCap and JoJo - We have considered purchasing a lot and building outside of a community, but since we're soon to be empty nesters the allure of having so many resort style amenities is very appealing to us and we also like the social aspect of master planned communities. We will probably follow Parks suggestion and lease for a while to make sure it's a dynamic we can live with as our current subdivision only has 52 homes so one of these mega communities would be a drastic change. Thanks again, I really appreciate everyone's feedback and rely heavily on all the great information we've been able to get on this forum through other threads as well.

EricBoyd · 09-02-2011, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KatieKatie1020

...I've only spoken with the realtor I mentioned by phone and during our conversations about Oakleaf there were some veiled references to the number of rental properties & apartments in the area and a change in demographics??? Quite candidly I don't think he realized I might be one of those changes that he was referencing:-).

Wow, I hate to hear that. Not only is he slamming my business (we manage 5 rentals out there, and we're strict on lawn maintenance, etc), but to use the "demographics" word is borderline steering, which is a major violation of FL real estate law. I'm sorry you had to hear that...

KatieKatie1020 · 09-04-2011, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EricBoyd

Wow, I hate to hear that. Not only is he slamming my business (we manage 5 rentals out there, and we're strict on lawn maintenance, etc), but to use the "demographics" word is borderline steering, which is a major violation of FL real estate law. I'm sorry you had to hear that...

Thanks Eric, we were a little surprised ourselves. In retrospect, we're relieved that he was so revealing so we can make a better choice for representation:-) Have a good one.