Heathrow woods or alaqua lakes? (Lake Mary, Seminole: HOA fees, how much, custom home)

[Bioprof]

I would appreciate your opinions. We are from out of town and are interested in two houses, one in alaqua lakes, and the other in heathrow woods. They are similar in price. Which community would you prefer and why?

[kyle19125]

Both are fairly similar and the only concern might be that Heathrow Woods is in a floodplain area.

http://www.seminolecountyfl.gov/gm/b...irm/P_0045.pdf

[OrlFlaUsa]

Both are great, if you can "bear" it lol. No in all seriousness, I've spent more time in AL than HW so by default would recommend that one.

[nuhusky11]

which one has lower hoa fees or value for hoa fees?

[kyle19125]

I think Alaqua Lakes is significantly higher due to it's extensive facilities. I would keep that in mind and assess how much if any you would be using the public common areas.

[Consigliere]

This previous thread on the same subject may have some useful info for you.

[sergiodurante]

Originally Posted by Consigliere

This previous thread on the same subject may have some useful info for you.

I would not put that much weight into this previous thread, it does have some useful info (especially regarding Seminole and Lake Mary HS zoning), but there is a distinct difference between Heathrow and Heathrow Woods.

Heathrow Woods, though technically part of the Heathrow community, has that separate entrance off Markham Woods. Its entrance/exit runs continuously across the street into Bridgewater Drive inside Heathrow. But again, is separated by yet another manned gate.

Last time I checked, the cheapest house in Heathrow Woods was a bargain fixer upper at around 800k, while Alaqua's cheapest house was around 650k ( I think that was a 2800 sf home).

Anyway, both communities are some of Central Florida's finest. From my observation, the homes in Heathrow Woods are more distinctive since I believe each one was custom built on acre lots. Alaqua Lakes has plenty of custom homes as well, but they do have some sections that look less distinctive built by high volume builders on smaller lots. I don't think you can go wrong with either community. There are also some other options furhter down on Markham Road (Carrisbrooke , Acuera, etc...)

[StreetSmarts]

What are these ppl doing that they can afford $600-800k homes.... geez.............

You don't have to anwer that OP, I just kind of threw that question out there...

[AONE]

The areas are both great and have similar HOA's. For me the issue is in the quality of the homes and even in very expensive homes you will find many that fall short of a quality you might expect. Some builders take shortcuts to save money vs providing what the client is paying for. I would spend my time closely evaluating the potential homes in both areas, at that point you can make an informed decision.

[ByeByeLW]

I have family on Markham Woods Rd area but not in a gated community. It really is a lovely area with all those big trees etc.

A shame about the bears. We've enjoyed seeing them in the yard.

Dwight Howard has/had a house on a little circle off of Markham Woods.