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Old 02-23-2013, 04:10 PM
 
3 posts, read 7,137 times
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Hi, My family is seriously considering moving to the Orlando area this summer when my DH retires from the Air Force. We are drawn to the lower cost of living, no state income tax, and have friends that live there. However, i am totally overwhelmed as to where to start narrowing down our house search. There is no one area (east, west, north, south) I am tied to but I have a few "must haves", which I fear will make it difficult to find a house. First, NO HOA! Secondly, at least a half acre lot so as not to be on top of the neighbors. Finally, decent schools for the kids. Having said that, I still want to be within a reasonable drive to shopping etc. Ie; not out in a super rural area. What towns/suburbs should I be looking in to have any chance at finding what we are looking for? We will even consider buying land and building. Our budget would be 300-400k total. Thanks! Deanna
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Old 02-23-2013, 04:27 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Deannanjim View Post
Hi, My family is seriously considering moving to the Orlando area this summer when my DH retires from the Air Force. We are drawn to the lower cost of living, no state income tax, and have friends that live there. However, i am totally overwhelmed as to where to start narrowing down our house search. There is no one area (east, west, north, south) I am tied to but I have a few "must haves", which I fear will make it difficult to find a house. First, NO HOA! Secondly, at least a half acre lot so as not to be on top of the neighbors. Finally, decent schools for the kids. Having said that, I still want to be within a reasonable drive to shopping etc. Ie; not out in a super rural area. What towns/suburbs should I be looking in to have any chance at finding what we are looking for? We will even consider buying land and building. Our budget would be 300-400k total. Thanks! Deanna
It's difficult to find non-HOA in convenient locations these days. We were able to find a nice home in the heart of Dr. Phillips that wasn't a part of an HOA with a 1/2 - 3/4 lot. I would suggest looking around Dr. Phillips and Winter Park. Both areas have many HOA developments, but there are also non-HOA neighborhoods. It will be difficult to find though. If you can't find any, then I would look around Lake Mary and Sanford. If you can't find any there, I would look around Winter Springs and Longwood, which shouldn't be difficult to find.
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Old 02-23-2013, 04:48 PM
 
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Bear lake, Markham woods road, and maybe ociedo. I know there are other places zoned residential that might fit your criteria but I don't know the names.
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Old 02-23-2013, 05:30 PM
 
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Take a look at Clermont. East Ridge HS is an "A" rated school as are most of the elementary and middle schools. There are homes not in HOA's on .5-2 acres. Look along Lake Louisa, Hartwood Marsh, and Hancock and their surrounding areas. I'd suggest working with a real estate agent. Shopping will be withing 10 minutes of any place in Clermont.

Minneola would be another good choice with "A" rated schools and you'll also find what you are looking for, although it will be a longer drive to shopping.
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Old 02-23-2013, 06:57 PM
 
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Thank you! At least that gives me a place to start!
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Old 02-24-2013, 05:27 AM
 
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I agree regarding the Markham Woods Road area in Lake Mary and Longwood. Also check out the Sylvan Lake area of west Sanford adjacent to Heathrow.
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Old 02-24-2013, 09:30 AM
 
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Find yourself a good buyer's agent.

Not a whole lot without an HOA down in Orlando, though maybe you can find one that isn't too stringent.

Apopka is nice as well as Clermont and I quite fell for Altamonte Springs when we visited there.

But move to where your friends are so you don't have to start from scratch!
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Old 02-24-2013, 02:56 PM
 
Location: Orlando
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There are virtually no areas I found that are free of an HOA with the larger lot. I was surprised to find most of Clermont had HOA's. Winter Park has few HOA's but also have few large lots and they can easily exceed $400k (same for Dr. Phillips).

I did find many areas that had nominal HOA's as in $100 annually or less. While I understand the desire to avoid the HOA's without one you can find neighbors parking on the lawn... Something to consider.
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Old 02-27-2013, 07:05 PM
 
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You need a real estate agent.
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Old 02-28-2013, 05:48 AM
 
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Rent first. Six months to a year at least. Do the house-searching while you're renting. When you're totally new to an area it's impossible to really find what you want from a few message board recommendations or a week of house-hunting or from what a realtor will show you in that short time frame. Use those weekends when you get down here to go explore some different areas, check out maps and drive the roads. When you find the right area you'll know it, and then it's just a matter of finding or waiting for something in that area to go on the market.
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