Anyone live in Merrill Pines? (Jacksonville: for sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[CollegeGuy9]

I see some really cheap housing on Realtor.com in this condo complex... 3 bdrm / 2 bath for $70,000... built in 2005, which isn't bad. What's the deal with this? Is the homeowner association run by nazis? Is it unsafe?

[bobsim]

If it's the one I'm thinking of the issue is location. Between a highway and a car dealership. There's another project nearby bordered by a highway and a Wall Mart. Check Google Earth?

[CollegeGuy9]

Umm, how about I just post the realtor listing

7920 Merrill Rd Unit: 1016, Jacksonville, FL, 32277 - MLS ID#485499 - Condo/Townhome/Row Home/Co-Op real estate - REALTOR.com® (http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/7920-Merrill-Rd-Unit-1016_Jacksonville_FL_32277_1109526901 - broken link)

There are a dozen like the above all for sale. So you could probably negotiate a lower price since all in competition with one another.

Year built: 2006, gated community, no records of any shoddy construction or contamination on the property. Tax records show a lot of these properties were bought at 120k and were foreclosed upon or short-sales at a deep discount.

[lightheaded1der]

It depends on what you mean by "unsafe", but that is what I am guessing as far as location. That far east on Merrill isn't soooo bad, but I wouldn't be hanging outside at night or anything. As much as I would like that area to be nice (since I grew up down there), I am not sure that you would ever be able to re-sell a Condo in that area for more than you pay for it.

[CollegeGuy9]

bump

[EricBoyd]

I manage a rental property (townhouse) in that general area, and the owner paid $190k for it in 2006. They'd be lucky to get $145k for it today. I'm sure condo's have taken the same % hit in these times.

[CollegeGuy9]

Good deal?

[jcs2000]

No. Poor location and inevitable functional decline equals a deceptively "cheap" price. A struggling condo development can end up with effectively zero value because the value is highly influenced by the presence of shared space. This is the principle reason individual condos depreciate so quickly in a housing downturn relative to free standing single family homes. While entire neighborhoods can go bust, this is far more likely to occur in a condo development where a few bad units can quickly cripple property values. Once buyers get discouraged about a development, significant numbers of foreclosures develop, and/or the tenet base shifts to high number of renters rather than long term owners, units depreciate significantly. Long term you are better off renting rather than committing capital to buy/maintain to buy a unit in a comprised development.

[EricBoyd]

I'm, personally, not a huge fan of condo's.

[cyrece]

Merrill Pines started out with great ambitions. I think the community's value started to decline as many investors bought several condos and rental out numbered homeowners. It is a gated community, close to 9A and Southside connector. If you can get a great deal-it may be worth it..