NW or SE - need help with deciding on a home (Jacksonville: low income, section 8)

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Juliet Joe

Robyn55,
You are exactly right. We own horses and want to live in a close knit community with other horse owners. We have looked at Whitelock Farms but it is too expensive. Comps in the area do seem to bear the $550-$600k price range. We don't need to live on the water but a short drive from the beach is ideal. The other community in NW Duval is also very nice but not as mature hence the dilemma...............

I've driven by Whitelock Farms a bunch of times - but don't know much about it. And I'm sure it would be in your price range if you built (unless you want a big house):

St. Johns, Saint Johns County, Florida land for sale - 3.33 acres at LandWatch.com

There's some acreage available in Palm Valley (in Ponte Vedra Beach) - but it's < 2 acres. And I think you'd want > 2 acres for horses - yes? Robyn

[Juliet Joe]

We've looked into building in the area and the cost is above our price range. Mid $600's once you factor in the cost of the land.

[judeK]

Is the other piece of property you're looking at Florida Ranch Club out on Plummers Grant Rd?

[Juliet Joe]

Yes. It seems to be developing into more of a residential area rather than an equestrian neighborhood. There is only 1 horse owner there. Are there any concerns about the area?

Based on these posts, do you think we would be better off there or in PV. Would be happy to provide more detail if needed.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by judeK

Is the other piece of property you're looking at Florida Ranch Club out on Plummers Grant Rd?

Do you mean Jacksonville Ranch Club? I've only been to that part of town once. When we bought some trees at Davey Big Tree. It was pretty rural - and very "rednecky". Not my of tea - but the mileage of the OP might vary.

Note that the subdivision seems to have both septic tanks and wells (not sewers and city water). Not my cup of tea either. Robyn

[Juliet Joe]

Yes. Sorry. Jacksonville Ranch Club. There are properties for sale in there that are very reasonably priced which would keep the construction cost lower than any other area we looked at.

Other horse properties are all in very rural areas which we do not care for.

Distance into downtown would be fairly similar from both PV and NW but PV seems to have more amenities around it.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by Juliet Joe

Yes. Sorry. Jacksonville Ranch Club. There are properties for sale in there that are very reasonably priced which would keep the construction cost lower than any other area we looked at.

Other horse properties are all in very rural areas which we do not care for.

Distance into downtown would be fairly similar from both PV and NW but PV seems to have more amenities around it.

Real estate in most places is expensive or cheap for a reason. I can't say everyone in that NW area is a redneck (especially these days). But you'd have to be comfortable seeing the confederate flag on a regular basis to live there IMO. Also IMO - once you don't have sewers or city water - you're rural.

BTW - I don't like the location of the PV house either. The back yard is almost in the parking lot of Nease High School. But if you said I had to pick one - I'd pick the PV house. Also - this Quail Ridge house looks nicer than the other (at least on paper):

10600 Quail Ridge Dr, Ponte Vedra, FL 32081 is For Sale - Zillow

Will you be working downtown?

Robyn

[Robyn55]

FWIW - just to give you some background. When we moved here in 1995 - even many parts of Ponte Vedra Beach were sufficiently rural to be "horse country". The Budweiser Clydesdale stables were a short walk from my house. You probably could have bought 2+ acres in a part of Palm Valley zoned for horses and built a house on that property for well under $500k. And people did exactly that. Plus some just had commercial properties where they boarded horses and ran various kinds of equestrian facilities. We still have some of that here. But the land is considerably more expensive now - and a lot of those older properties have been and are being sold and subdivided into 1/4 acre lot developments.

Also - as an observation - my brother and his family (in Arizona) are into horses - so I know something about it. You basically need money to have horses. People in NW JAX don't tend to have money - so that area isn't and will never be even a reasonable horse area IMO.

The biggest horse part of the metro area IMO is Clay County (although people who do horse things in Clay County may live in nearby parts of St. Johns County). Although "horse stuff" there is basically of the rodeo variety - not the dressage variety (a fair part of Clay County is "cow country" - which > rodeo).

Jacksonville Horse News

And I don't think there's any of the really high priced spread horse stuff here (like race horses or polo).

FWIW - I don't know why building a house for 2 should cost $400k (then again - I don't know anything about the cost of building the horse facilities you might want). Also - I don't know how old you are. When my brother approached age 60 - he and family moved from Cave Creek to Scottsdale and boarded the horses. It's both expensive and tiring to care for horses on one's property. Robyn

[Juliet Joe]

We are in our 40's, no kids and enjoy taking care of the horses. I think we have a few good years left to enjoy riding. :-)

We have heard it costs between $500 and $600 per month to board a horse in Jax. That's less than what it costs here where we live in NJ but still way more than caring for them ourselves at home.
We are not rich by any means but careful with how we manage our incomes.

In the NW Jax development, I can buy a 5 acre lot for 99K. The other properties large enough for horses are $130K to $150K. Add clearing, house construction, barn construction, fencing, proper footing, and you are well into the $400K to $500K range.

[Juliet Joe]

Other than the proximity to the HS, are there any negatives to the PV location?