Waterset - Impressions and Builders

[MA_to_Waterset_ApolloBch]

Sam,

I just sent you a direct message. Hoping it shows up in your mailbox.

My wife is a realtor with Century 21 in Apollo Beach and we live in Waterset. She will be happy to help you with any questions and to hopefully help you find your next home. She isn't on City-Data so DM me for information if needed.

Thanks

Jason

[Skh09]

I contacted the builder and you are correct Markeg they said around 10 years!

[brownlm0411]

Any story on the schools? Just had a look at Hillsborough County's 5 year plan and it doesn't appear to have anything about a new middle school in the Waterset area which is claimed on Waterset's site.

After some research I discovered that Eisenhower is considered a title 1 school according to Hillsborough County's website. What is the overall impression of Eisenhower along with East Bay considering their grades have wavered over the years?

As I don't live in the area, I've only been able to see photos of Waterset, which I must say looks impressive. However, what is the surrounding area like?

[Logane]

How is Cardel as a builder? Does anybody own a Cardel home at Waterset? Your opinion, please.

[MA_to_Waterset_ApolloBch]

Logane,

We bought a Cardel home in waterset and moved in October 2013. So far everything has been great.

There are now a bunch of builders in Waterset. Cardel continues to be one of the top builders in the community. They are known for their quality and high standards and give you a great product for the money.

As with any new home there will always be some issues that need fixing. Cardel has handled all of our issues very quickly and professionally. On the private waterset facebook page people post about their issues with their new home and cardel is hardly ever brought up.

We love living in Waterset in our Cardel home. Waterset continues to grow and new ammenities are in the works that will make it even greater.

If you are interested, my wife is a Real Estate agent, we live in Waterset and own a Cardel Home. She will be able to help you out with any questions that you may have. Just let me know if you would like her contact info.

[Mr. Sparky]

It's been awhile since I've come out here for an update, but all is progressing nicely in Waterset. After living here for over three years, Waterset has picked up its tone and place in the world. In the Newland Communities world, I would say that Waterset is comparable to the lower 2/3 of Fish Hawk Ranch with that top 1/3 tier being handled by our new neighbor to the south, Mirabay. If Waterset were a car brand, it would be a Buick or a Volvo, nice and upscale, but still a mainstream offering. If you are looking for a moderately upscale, family friendly neighborhood in the mid-200K to upper-400Ks with lots of amenities, then Waterset is a great choice. If your budget is lower, you're going to feel a bit cramped if your looking for a single family home, and we just don't have enough homes over the $500K mark that it would be a sensible investment to go above that mark. With that said, the $400Ks gets a really nice and generously sized Cardel and Westbay homes, so its really not a bad concession prize. There a few house above that, but you never want to be the most expensive house in the neighborhood.

We seem to be on another growth spurt coming into 2017. Club Waterset is slated to be built this year with a second club house complete with kid and adult pools. The new Kids-R-Kids preschool is nearing completion, so we will have a second onsite preschool. On the education front, we are getting a new charter school in the neighborhood for K-8 that opens for K-6 this Fall, Waterset Charter School | A tuition-free public charter school. This should offer some relief to our county elementary, Doby, which was not fully ready for doubling the student population in basically three years.

They just finished laying infrastructure in the newest section, and houses are already going up. It appears that they are about to start the next extension of Waterset Blvd which is good since the next extension will allow them to connect Paseo Al Mar (aka Apollo Beach Blvd in Waterset) that they started with the freshly finished railroad crossing at US-41 in Apollo Beach proper. This will properly tie us to the main part of Apollo Beach.

Overall, I think we've hit critical mass so that the neighbor is going to keep rolling south at a rapid clip. We've seen a good return on our investment (we paid $350K for our 3,060 sqft David Weekly, and it's worth around $390K these days), so we've been very happy.

I'll work on getting some photos of Club Waterset from the Landing and post them when I get a chance (It's more classic Floridian than the modern masterpiece that is the Landing building, but still very nice).

[Jereld]

Mr Sparky, thanks for the great update!

I live in the area, just south of Big Bend on 301, and my wife and myself are looking at moving in 2018 or 2019. We are seriously considering Waterset (as well as Fish Hawk and Mira Bay). I am hoping you can provide some personal insight, being that you live in Waterset and have been there for a few years.

Sorry for all of the questions...guess I have been bottling them up for some time now, but here we go:

1) What is Club Waterset? I know there is supposed to be a Town Center off of 41, but you are describing something by The Landing?

2) Speaking of the Town Center, any thoughts on that? I know they tried to do something similar in Fish Hawk, but from what I understand, it hasn't been a success.

3) We are looking at a Cardel or West Bay home, and it will probably end up being in the $600's once upgrades and pool are accounted for. You mentioned my concern in your last note...I don't want to be the most expensive home. In looking through the listings (Zillow), I don't see any homes going for over $600k, almost everything is in the $400k - $500k range. Any thoughts on that? Do you have any insight on what the most expensive home in Waterset might have gone for?

4) Any issues with crime? I currently live in a gated community, but we all know that won't stop crime.

We really like Mira Bay too, but the same home in Mira Bay is usually $200k more, and I don't know if I like it that much. Fish Hawk is nice too, but a little far East for us. If you could go back in time, would you still make the same decision? Would you do anything different?

EDIT: One last question. Is this the best public forum to discuss Waterset? Any other recommendations?

Thanks for the help!

[Jereld]

Originally Posted by ApolloBeachRetiree

Thanks!!

WestBay will include a wider (by 5' to give me 100 sf of storage) plus two garage door openers, extra outlets and multiple fluorescent lamps. It will be big (not quite as big as my 900 sf garage), bright and well wired.

Hey ApolloBeachRetiree. I realize this is like 4 years old, but I have a question for you.

When you say that WestBay is giving you what you need, an additional 5' (assuming in the garage), are you saying that they modified the floor plan for you? Specifically, did they modify the outside wall of the floor plan? An interior wall?

I really like one of their home plans, but I want to make 2 changes that would result in some slight changes to the floor plan, and I am curious if they will do it.

Thanks for (hopefully) indulging my question 4 years later lol.