Final decision, where to build? (real estate, foreclosures, HOA fees)

[houseconfused]

For those of you who have purchased homes in some of the new developments, what made up your mind?

We knew what we wanted and where we wanted to be, at least we thought we did. Now we are confused, especially me. There are so many things to consider and I haven't figured out what to weigh the heaviest.

What sold you most when you purchased? Was it the lot? The builder? The model? The HOA/CDD fees? The school?

[madcapmagishion]

The three most important words in real estate ... "Location, Location, Location!"

[cricketfan]

I second that. Although location embodies all the rest.

[madcapmagishion]

I thought about this for a bit and came to the conclusion that just about everything in your poll is dependent on location;
Which builder you choose depends on where he is building.
Which model you choose is dependent on which builder is building it and where he is building it.
Which lot you choose again is nothing but location, in a development.
If you have a HOA/CDD fee or not is again dependent on location. Some developments do and some don't have them.
What schools your kids attend is dependent on location also, Which didtrict you live in.
So again I say ... "Location, Location, Location!"

[hlauburn]

I'd have to go with location overall, too - but for us that meant the best public schools, which was a top priority. Location also meant the amenities we wanted in a neighborhood that we felt was what we were looking for. (We had seen a lot of neighborhoods with a ton of foreclosures, so we were trying to avoid that).


Once we found that neighborhood, we found a house that met our needs. We did have to bump up our budget and the lot is definitely not ideal, but it's not a big deal for us.

Moving here from out of state, I was literally in tears after our first day of househunting. I never thought I'd find what we wanted, but by the second day after visiting where we live now, I felt MUCH better and now we are very happy where we are.

There's something out there for you! Good luck with your decision...I know it's a hard one!

[Acebab]

I have to agree with all the above - Location was key for us! I also agree with Hlauburn, that location for us was tied to the schools in the area. While we considered a few different areas, all with good schools, the area we chose was for it's overall location in terms of closeness to the beach, ease of commute to downtown Jax, etc. Once we were settled on location, it did take us a while to determine neighborhood and builder in that location. Floor plan was very imprortant to us and we had a hard time finding a floor plan that was exactly what we were looking for in a neighbhorhood we were interested in. Just when we were about to throw in the towel, a new floor plan became available from a builder that we liked and it seemed all meant to be. Like Hlauburn, our lot would not be our first pick, but we have the perfect floorplan (for our family) in the location that we desire, by a builder that we respect.

My advice would be to determine WHERE you want to live first - if it has CDD/HOA fees, see what you are getting for those fees. If you have nice ammentities, nice parks, walkways, guard gates, landscaping, golf courses, etc., you might feel that a small yearly contribution to the upkeep of those things is worth it. We have both in our new neighbhorhood, but I feel that we are contributing to what makes us want to live there in the first place, so I do not mind those fees. After you determine WHERE you want to live and if you are willing or not willing to pay the fees, I personally would think about floorplan. If you know what type of house that you would like to live in, then you can go from builder to builder seeing if they have something that works for your family. If you find a floorplan that you like, then you can begin determining if they are a worthy builder. If you find that they are not, you can go to other builders and see if they have anything similar to what you like - sometimes they have plans in other communities that they can transfer over - sometimes they will not do that. Depends on the builder, but it never hurts to ask! Once ALL of that is determined, then start looking for you lot - ususally you can find one that you can make work, even if it would not have been your first pick!

It has taken us over a year for all of all stars to line up, so I do know what you are going through! It is very confusing and just when you think you have your mind made up, someone comes along and makes you rethink things. Just keep going back to where your gut is telling you that you want to be - someone can always agrue another point of view, but if you are where you truly want to be, you won't care what that person has to say! Back to the orginal point, Location is the key! Good luck with your decision - when you come to your final one, you will be so happy!