Lake Nona ---> St. Cloud (Orlando, Kissimmee: real estate, loan, broker)

[Wasiris1]

Looking for advice,

My husband and I are looking to purchase our first home, we currently live in Moss Park Lake Nona area. Purchasing a home here in Lake Nona would have us very tight on budget, to the point where we wont be able to vacation or maybe even consider the extra curriculum our 3 children are involved in. Ages of children are 13 (B), 9 (G), 4 (B).

Our realtor who we highly trust has recommended looking in Narcoossee St. Cloud, he says its 5 minutes from Lake Nona and that we can save about 60k on purchase alone.. We are very torn, to be honest we haven't even visited the areas he has recommended because we wanted to stay in the lake nona area, we love the schools (not very keen of the Lake Nona Middle)... Can anyone give me any input on the St. CLoud area? I know for a fact I will keep my children in the Lake Nona school system if we are to make that move, that is unless the school in st. Cloud have good ratings.

Any advice would be truly appreciated.

[DeejayDJ]

Hello, I too am looking at the St. Cloud area as I may be relocating to Orlando for a job. Based on the responses I get, I've heard nothing but great things about St. Cloud. It's a safe area and not as congested like metro Orlando. I will be working in downtown Kissimmee and my top priorities are safety and commute time. Hope this helps!

[bmw335xi]

If you care a lot about resale value I would stay in Lake Nona.

[BrokerHarry]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

If you care a lot about resale value I would stay in Lake Nona.

Has Mr bmw335xi ever personally bought, owned, or sold property in either Lake Nona or St Cloud?

I don't live there, either...but I am performing 2 broker valuation assignments off Narcoossee Rd this very morning, & I go there often to complete comprehensive price valuations for major banks.

The fact is, the MLS says that resale prices on $350K homes have been stable in both communities for the last year, & that houses are selling for 99% of list price in both communities, as well.

Neither community has a leg up on the other when it comes to resale value. It's a very subjective issue, & it depends on the individual property in question.

If everybody listened to Mr bmw for real estate advice...we'd all be moving to Dr Phillips.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by BrokerHarry

Has Mr bmw335xi ever personally bought, owned, or sold property in either Lake Nona or St Cloud?

I don't live there, either...but I am performing 2 broker valuation assignments off Narcoossee Rd this very morning, & I go there often to complete comprehensive price valuations for major banks.

The fact is, the MLS says that resale prices on $350K homes have been stable in both communities for the last year, & that houses are selling for 99% of list price in both communities, as well.

Neither community has a leg up on the other when it comes to resale value. It's a very subjective issue, & it depends on the individual property in question.

If everybody listened to Mr bmw for real estate advice...we'd all be moving to Dr Phillips.

It's a pretty standard rule when it comes to real estate, location location location. The name of the address of a home makes a big difference from an investment standpoint. Lake Nona has a strong name behind it, while St. Cloud doesn't. Other areas with strong names, Dr. Phillips, Winter Park, Lake Mary etc. If this isn't the OP's forever home and if they care a lot about their investment, it's generally better to buy in an area with a "name address" or at least an address that is considered nice. St. Cloud almost has a negative stereotype about it, even though in reality it is much nicer than most of Kissimmee. They generally will go up faster during booms and go down slower during crashes. Simply saying, well you'll be technically living in St. Cloud, but it's almost like being in Lake Nona because it's only a 5 minute drive isn't that appealing to many buyers, which limits your home appreciation potential. This is the general rule for pretty much anywhere in the world. However, if you think St. Cloud is going to join the list of prestige in the next 5-10 years, then it's worth buying in St. Cloud. I personally don't think that will happen. If the OP wants to get more bang for the buck and doesn't care about how much their home will appreciate in the future, then I would recommend this part of St. Cloud. However, if they only plan to live in this home for 5 years or so, I would stick with a smaller home in Lake Nona.

[LuvOrlando]

I cannot predict the future, but I live in St. Cloud. It's a nice place to live, but they just keep building more and more houses, so a lot of the green, woody areas are just gone. New homes in their place. In ten years, we will be just like any other suburb with a bunch of subdivisions. There is still a lot of green to be seen, but it's not as relaxing as it was even a few years ago.

People who never come to St. Cloud will tell you it's very rural, but those days are sadly gone. It's less busy than full-out suburbs, but it's not rural (more's the pity). We still has some laid-back friendliness going on, but it's more suburban all the time.

Little things, like a car dealer (with nice people) that isn't trying to gauge you and still gives free loaners if they have to keep the car overnight. Find that anywhere else! (I won't say the name because I'm not sure if we are allowed to, but it rhymes with Darling, if you end up moving here, lol.) The handyman I use is a real nice guy who doesn't charge an arm and a leg. Little stuff like that makes a big difference to me.

192 is busy and a pain in the rear, but there are so many ways around 192 that I'm rarely on it for very long.

It's nice here. Nice people, small businesses are friendly. Nice.

Not sure about schools. I've heard good and bad. Schools are easy enough to check, though.

Maybe I should stop saying how nice it is to live here and less people will move here, lol.