Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
my parents own a place at kings point in sun city center. they are snowbirds at best. KP is very, very old but with a lot of new homes being built over the past 5 yrs it is getting younger. It still has a very noticeable super old vibe, like 80+ type vibe that my parents dont like. They would sell but bought in 2006 and home values at KP from that time are easily down 60%. The HOA is incredibly high for what you get, they pay around $450/month. I would check Valencia out or investigate other condos that arent in 55+ mega compounds
My work brings me into contact with many residents of KP and SCC on a constant basis, and personally KP is not for me, but I don't want to diss it because I've met so many people who really do like it because of the amenities. It's too enclosed and restrictive for me and I think it does have a bit of an older vibe and more snowbirds, but I do know two boomer couples who live there and they don't seem to mind it.
SCC is different. It's not gated and is more expansive and has more choice as to living situations. I highly recommend it to any retired person on a budget, since some of those old 1960s block homes were very well built by Del Webb and are extremely economical and yet pleasant to live in. SCC is definitely more year round now.
I'm not as familiar with Valencia Lakes, but I've heard good things from people who live there. They give it high marks, always a good sign. I'm not sure how much of it is built out, though.
Both KP and SCC got hit with the ugly stick price-wise as a result of the housing bubble and the bust. I personally couldn't believe what people were willing to pay for homes during that period, it was so unrealistic. And here's a little tip for anyone who thinks housing is going to "recover" to what it was in 2004-2006: Unless the US enters some period of super prosperity (or inflation) for the majority of its citizens, never. going. to happen. The prices of 2004-2006 are gone for a long time. Maybe forever. They're not coming back any more than the jobs that were outsourced overseas are coming back.
I go to both communities on a reg basis and the north side of SCC is really going down hill. People can't keep up with their maintenance around their homes d/t age, limited income. Some of the homes look atrocious. The south side near the Renaissance looks very nice. Good golf there, too. Kings Point has nicer homes after you get past the initial mile of small condos/villas.
"the north side of SCC is really going down hill."
Depends where. The north side of SCC covers a lot of area. There are a few pockets that don't look so great, but if you talk to the neighbors, you find that those houses are usually unoccupied, in foreclosure or tied up in some family or other dispute that prevents the house from being sold. One of the boomer couples I know are in the handyman business and live next door to a house that they tell me is owned by an out of town attorney who refuses to fix or maintain the place and there's nothing anyone can do about it. Except I understand that the Community Association has become more active in trying to find ways to remedy the situation.
Yep, Renaissance looks good, I'm glad they've resolved most of that Chinese drywall stuff and also the rte 301 access issue.
One thing I had noticed and wondered about was all those younger women pushing baby carriages along the sidewalk around where the St. Andrews subdivision and the firehouse is located. Then one day the wife of a local businessman told me that they live in St. Andrews, which sort of startled me. I don't know if this is true, because it's really a rumor, but she said that there was some sort of loophole in the HOA documents that opened up a certain part of the subdivision to subsidized housing. I'd love to know if that's true.
thought SCC was an 80/20 community, like Valencia Lakes, it that it allowed 20% of owners to be under 55 yrs of age - there are other stipulations for 50+ to buy there as well.
thought SCC was an 80/20 community, like Valencia Lakes, it that it allowed 20% of owners to be under 55 yrs of age - there are other stipulations for 50+ to buy there as well.
since the economy and housing market blew up you see all sorts of young people around sun city center and KP. People are staying with their parents or grandparents, using houses that their family isnt using, etc. Its still overwhelmingly elderly but its not unusual to see younger people floating around or even living there for awhile.
"thought SCC was an 80/20 community, like Valencia Lakes, it that it allowed 20% of owners to be under 55 yrs of age"
Depends where. I think thay may be true in some of the newer HOAs like Renaissance, but in other areas, strictly 55+ for at least one resident. The odd thing is, anyone of any legal age can own a property there, they just can't live there until they hit 55 or have some 55+ living there. In another thread I mentioned that I once talked to a lady in her 40s who owned a property there and was trying to find an older roommate so she could live in it.
"since the economy and housing market blew up you see all sorts of young people around sun city center and KP"
Oh, I also personally know one lady who was able to get some sort of health waiver to live in the community at a younger age, in her late 40s.
I like to tell people who are considering a move to SCC or KP to take into account that it's sandwiched between Ruskin and Wimauma. Not that there aren't some nice neighborhoods and subdivisions in both places (I like Sundance, for example), but there's also some pretty gritty neighborhoods as well, which was part of the brouhaha over the rte 301 access at the south part of SCC.
I tell people, if they have the time, to go to the local grocery stores and laundromats. Park your car for about 10 minutes or so in the Walgreen's parking lot and watch the clientele going in and out of the motel next door. Shop at the local WalMart. Get some gas at RaceTrac on 674 and the Murphy gas station in the WalMart shopping plaza. Travel 674 from 41 to 301 at a busy time of day. Check out the local post office, Home Depot, Big Lots, etc. Then get back to me.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
