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Not use to doing blogs. Just lost the one I was working on so I'll just repeat what I wrote.
In a few months, my husband and I are moving from Maryland to Florida to retire in a 55+ community. We hope to take a trip to Florida in October to begin searching for our new home. In the meantime, we have been researching on the 55+ places, top retirements, ideal living and private communities websites, reading blogs and taking to relatives and friends who have already made the move.
But we really need some help,some unbiased answers to our questions, so we can figure out which communes to visit in October. So here goes.
Sun City Center/Kings Point/ Renaissance
1) Kings Point, mainly condos (but many look like regular houses), would we own the land under the home?
2) We loved how much fun it sounded to live there, but are concerned that there are over 100 HOAs and a master HOA. How does that work? If there are a lot of foreclosures, what happens? Are some "good" hoas and others not? Do they all have enough cash reserves? Would there be special assessments?
Are they all financially in good shape?
3)Are Ruskin and Apollo Beach part of Sun City?
Valencia Lakes, near Sun City Center
4) Seems to be a great builder, any comments? Is Wimauma a nice place?
5) Does the water smell funny in some parts of the community as some bloggers mentioned?
Candler Hills East & West /Indigo East
(Part of On Top of the World, Ocala)
6) The community sounds like fun but what bothered us is why so many home listings made a big deal about having air purification systems. Why?!
Solivita (near Kissimmee)
7) This is so confusing. Some bloggers said there was no crime in Solivita but when you left the community, you would be in a high crime area and that would cause the homes in Solivita to go down in value. Others said, not true. They loved living there. Which is right?
Legacy of Leesburg/ Heritage Hills, Clermont
8) Should we go see these two communities on our trip? A number of bloggers said they were too far from everything?
Trilogy Orlando
9) Some bloggers said that there was a lot of crime in the surrounding community? Is that true,
The Villages
10) Sounded friendly and fun to us. We were concerned about the issue with the CDDs and the IRS.
Has that been resolved? Where does that stand?
11) Would we own the property under the house?
12) At what price, can you get a house with concrete/ stucco construction?
13) Where can we get a map with the names if all the villages?
14)Is the amount of the CDD different for each type of housing? For each village?
I know this is a long list but we would appreciate your help. THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for the advise.We're going to Florida for 2 weeks in October to begin looking at 55+ communities/ areas. Also get to see our Florida grandchildren.
Not use to doing blogs. Just lost the one I was working on so I'll just repeat what I wrote.
In a few months, my husband and I are moving from Maryland to Florida to retire in a 55+ community. We hope to take a trip to Florida in October to begin searching for our new home. In the meantime, we have been researching on the 55+ places, top retirements, ideal living and private communities websites, reading blogs and taking to relatives and friends who have already made the move.
But we really need some help,some unbiased answers to our questions, so we can figure out which communes to visit in October. So here goes.
Sun City Center/Kings Point/ Renaissance
1) Kings Point, mainly condos (but many look like regular houses), would we own the land under the home?
2) We loved how much fun it sounded to live there, but are concerned that there are over 100 HOAs and a master HOA. How does that work? If there are a lot of foreclosures, what happens? Are some "good" hoas and others not? Do they all have enough cash reserves? Would there be special assessments?
Are they all financially in good shape?
3)Are Ruskin and Apollo Beach part of Sun City?
Valencia Lakes, near Sun City Center
4) Seems to be a great builder, any comments? Is Wimauma a nice place?
5) Does the water smell funny in some parts of the community as some bloggers mentioned?
Candler Hills East & West /Indigo East
(Part of On Top of the World, Ocala)
6) The community sounds like fun but what bothered us is why so many home listings made a big deal about having air purification systems. Why?!
Solivita (near Kissimmee)
7) This is so confusing. Some bloggers said there was no crime in Solivita but when you left the community, you would be in a high crime area and that would cause the homes in Solivita to go down in value. Others said, not true. They loved living there. Which is right?
Legacy of Leesburg/ Heritage Hills, Clermont
8) Should we go see these two communities on our trip? A number of bloggers said they were too far from everything?
Trilogy Orlando
9) Some bloggers said that there was a lot of crime in the surrounding community? Is that true,
The Villages
10) Sounded friendly and fun to us. We were concerned about the issue with the CDDs and the IRS.
Has that been resolved? Where does that stand?
11) Would we own the property under the house?
12) At what price, can you get a house with concrete/ stucco construction?
13) Where can we get a map with the names if all the villages?
14)Is the amount of the CDD different for each type of housing? For each village?
I know this is a long list but we would appreciate your help. THANK YOU!!!
You might want to post this in the general Florida thread because these communities are in different areas.
As to Kings Point/Sun City Center/Valencia Lakes, these are three different communities in the same general area of South Hillsborough County (the county that Tampa is in). Kings Point and Sun City Center are right close by each other. It's a little confusing, because people who live in Kings Point have a Sun City Center postal address, but it is a separate, gated community and you are right, it is all condo, although many of the homes are free standing houses with their own yards. Most of the people who live there like it, they do pay a hefty monthly maintenance fee, but it covers a lot and I've heard people say that they'd spend the same amount on maintenance in a non-condo home.
Sun City Center is not gated and there are many different types of homes ranging from one bedroom villas to larger, more elaborate estate homes and everything in between. Sun City Center has many different neighborhoods on both side of Rte 674. There's an overall Community Association which all residents belong to and that is a yearly fee for the pool, gym and other facilities and the clubs. Within the Sun City Center community there are different HOAs and also non-HOA homes, so you have a choice. Renaissance is like its own community within the overall Sun City Center community.
Sun City Center is not part of Apollo Beach or Ruskin, those are separate towns that are close by. Ruskin borders Sun City Center.
Sun City Center is in good shape financially, and I think Kings Point is, too, but sometimes there are conflicts in Kings Point over management and fees, etc.
Valencia Lakes is very nice and the residents who live there all seem to like it a lot. Wimauma, however, is not all that nice, but has some nice parts like Valencia Lakes and Sundance. Otherwise it is a lot of agriculture, migrants, illegal immigrants, etc.
I highly recommend any one of the three communities for retirement, depending on your needs and wants. Most of the people are very friendly and accepting. The area has many conveniences and it is easy to get to the stores and doctors' offices. Generally speaking, it's a fairly safe and convenient place to live.
way too many questions to answer - OP might have to search this forum for discussion of many of the questions and discuss with real estate agents from those areas of interest
way too many questions to answer - OP might have to search this forum for discussion of many of the questions and discuss with real estate agents from those areas of interest
Not to mention, the Tampa forum would really only be appropriate for VL, SCC and KP. I can't speak to the other communities, atlhough the Daily Mail UK had a really wild article on the Villages:
Let me comment on the Villages. That seems to be my job, these day. We lived there 2003_2008. You can get a very nice home. Be aware that the developer controls EVERYTHING in the community, from the oh so cheerful newspaper and radio station to what real estate agents are allowed to sell homes. It can be friendly. It can also be cliques, just like high school. Lots to do, but don't leave the property because the people in the surrounding communities hate the Villages and make no.secret of it. For us, the biggest issue was healthcare band culture. Healthcare is frighteningly bad. Plan on going back up north if you have a major problem or, at the very least, driving to ORlando, Tampa, or Gainesville. What passes for culture in the Villages is the equivalent of high school concerts, but with old people. Every chain restaurant known to man, but no quality restaurants. If you are a Democrat, plan on keeping your mouth sipped shut.
I know there are other subdivisions around the Villages where you don't have the same CDD fees or other HOA fees as the Villages - might be an option for retirement in that area if the Villages aren't necessarily for you.
OP, my community offers a stay 2-3 nights type of deal where you can learn about the community, explore the amenities, check out the area - might be something you look into. I believe the new parts of Sun City Center offers something similar.
I believe Kings Point's HOA includes internal and external pest control.
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