Moving to LAND O LAKES (Tampa, Citrus Park: for sale, leasing, homes)

[Sharon2226]

Originally Posted by Cynnie01

Maybe I am being too picky I DO know that whatever we end up renting must have a pool. And we also have a dog and a cat. We are on a lease option with our current home ( we are going to lose all our option money ) and we pay 1,500.00 for a 1,500 sq foot home that was never lived in before us. I am finding rents very inexpensive for what you get, but I suppose as with any area it depends on how good ( or bad ) the area is. Do the homes change much on either of those web sites ? Or do they usually have the same rentals listed ?From all the feedback on Land O Lakes, I think that is where we want to be, now the decision is what community. Any suggestions to help me narrow down our search ?

I'm picky too, Cynnie!! LOL
We ended up choosing a home in Concord Station...lease option to buy...$1400 for nearly 2000 sq ft. The Owner seems fantastic...the only downside is that the pool isn't going to be finished until around Thanksgiving. But, I got tired of looking...and I liked the surrounding schools.

I suggest Concord Station, Ballantrae or Oakstead. They are all along State Rd 54...close to a lot of things...mall, stores, etc...and close to major highways, depending on commutes. I agree that the homes are smaller than up north homes, for about the same price...but hey, that's Florida. LOL It's thee place to be. I am absolutely thrilled with the home we found...the backyard is a nature conservation--never to be built on. I think, personally...that God guided us to this home...we truly lucked out. Keep searching. The key to a good home search is to look at like 6 or 7 in one day....then, you literally narrow down your community choices, etc....it helped us greatly. Please let me know if u need any more advice...I'm here to help.

[Jajsmom]

I think you'll like living in LOL. We've been living here almost a year now. Moved from MA. A lot of things are being built around the area and very convenient to Tampa, schools, shopping and restaurants.

I have 4 children ages 3,6,8,9. Three of them go to Oakstead which opened last year. I think they did a great job their first year. I live in Stonegate which is right next to Oakstead. Down the road from Concord station and a few minutes from Ballentrae. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

[ntfeldman]

Betsy,

Rents are running $1.00 to $1.25/sq.ft. for a one year lease. A little higher if the amenities in the home are nicer than usual or if the property has a pool (so for 2000 sq.ft. you could expect to pay between $2000 and $2500/month). The closest beach is Green Key Beach (Pasco) or Fred Howard Park (Pinellas) and either one is going to be about a 25 minute drive due west on 54. All of these communities are new. It is a great buyer's market at the moment but I always recommend people rent their first year in a new city. The costs to sell and move unusally take 3-5 years to recover and we're in a down market at the moment so you're unlikely to get a big upswing of equity in the next 24 months to cover a buy. If you choose one area / neighborhood and then find you don't like it for whatever reason, you'll have a hard time not taking a loss on the move to a new location in a short time.

There's going to be a TREMENDOUS amount of building in the LOL area in the next 5 to 10 years. There's a huge mall (1.3 million sq.ft.) Cypress Creek Town center that's finally going to get underway this year. There's also a master planned community called Bexley Ranch that's over 8000 acres north of Oakstead that's recently been approved - it should start going in in 2008. It's being built by Newland Communities and they build a first class community. They just completed Fish Hawk Ranch in Brandon, they are also responsible for Westchase in Tampa. There are also a number of "large" office centers (for Pasco anyway) going in at Hwy 54 and the Suncoast Parkway (which is the new Main and Main for Pasco) and small retail centers -there's a new SweetBay and retail center going in where the south entrance to Bexley will be.

This area is so perfectly situated because it's East of the tollway and West of Interstate 75 so you can get where you're going pretty quickly. You won't recognize the place in 5 years!

For schools you can rate them against each other with the Florida Schools Indicators report Florida School Indicators Report

Land O Lakes High School also was recently given participation in the International Baccalaureate program IB Diploma Programme at a glance which is a fantastic program for the kids who qualify. My daughter will graduate from an IB program high school next year. Florida also has a program called Bright Futures Bright Futures Scholarships

that's underwritten by our state lottery. Students who qualify (and almost all IB kids do) get a 4 year tuition paid scholarship to either a public Florida school (ex: Univ of Florida - Go Gators!; USF; UCF; FSU; etc..) or a voucher towards a private school (Univ. of Miami etc..)

Hope this helps.

[EBAB]

Sharon
Thanks schools will not be open during my visit ,and every little bit of info helps .Good luck to you and your family.
thanks
Evan

[traveler01]

Hello all....Wow lots of questions. I worked for the pasco county sheriffs department a few years ago, and am glad to be out. Not to start out on a negative note, but if your coming from the north like i did, "pennsylvania" the schools are far below what you are used to. I have been here for 7 years and the only thing i like about florida is......i know what the weather is going to be like in the morning when i wake up....the beaches are ok, people are not the friendliest, and traffic is rough. I live on the west coast. All the areas you are asking about are on the outskirts of tampa. I worked in LOL and alot of people are commuters from pasco to hillsboro...If you really like to save money on taxes and the schools are better you should check out hernando county. In a few years pasco will be just like pinellas and its slowly getting there...The quality of life is easy here, so u have a big mixture of economic financial classes here....It all depends on what your looking for, and what brings you here...good luck and if you need any advice i promise not to be negative next time...lol have a good one

[Sharon2226]

Originally Posted by traveler01

Hello all....Wow lots of questions. I worked for the pasco county sheriffs department a few years ago, and am glad to be out. Not to start out on a negative note, but if your coming from the north like i did, "pennsylvania" the schools are far below what you are used to. I have been here for 7 years and the only thing i like about florida is......i know what the weather is going to be like in the morning when i wake up....the beaches are ok, people are not the friendliest, and traffic is rough. I live on the west coast. All the areas you are asking about are on the outskirts of tampa. I worked in LOL and alot of people are commuters from pasco to hillsboro...If you really like to save money on taxes and the schools are better you should check out hernando county. In a few years pasco will be just like pinellas and its slowly getting there...The quality of life is easy here, so u have a big mixture of economic financial classes here....It all depends on what your looking for, and what brings you here...good luck and if you need any advice i promise not to be negative next time...lol have a good one

haha--Ok...tell me how you REALLY feel. No, I appreciate your candor...and truthfully, I lived in Orlando after college for 12 years. I'm well aware of the crime, etc that comes with the nice weather of Florida! I really like LOL, personally...although, yes, it's congested when you jump on the highways, or any main streets...but, hey...that's Florida. I feel much safer than I ever did in Orlando, but I do have to watch my back. I doubt I'll drive much without my husband anywhere, to be honest. I work on the Bay...and the drive doesn't seem horrible. About 40 minutes in rush hour, I'm told...only 20 minutes when there's no traffic. All in all...this was a good move for our family. Still taking some deep breaths though...it's a lot to take in. We live on a nature conservation site, which is utterly breathtaking...but, there's a gator in the nearby lake... with water moccasins, bla bla...welcome to the wild world of Florida, I guess, right?

With regards to the schools...Pasco County schools are rated A, with the two that my kids will be attending, making the top 50 in the nation list...not Florida list, but the nation. Believe me, I did my homework...but anything else you can share...please do.

You say you live on the west coast? You mean CA?

[Monti17]

I just came back from visiting Wesley Chapel, Land o Lakes. it seemed nice, I am looking for a gated community, want diversity and to close to all..pasco schools, Seven oaks looked amazing...There are so many communities to consider..I am so confused...I want to learn more about Lutz....My husband is a Physical Therapist and I am a guidance counselor and need to consider empolyment opportunities as well...I plan to visit in Oct/Nov...any advice greatly appreciated...

[jellisfl]

Hello,
I live in Concord Station in Land O' Lakes fl. I live directly across from the new Middle School and High School that are opening in a few weeks. My husband and I went over and scoped the schools out and let me tell you they are going to be AWESOME! Huge baseball, basketball, football, tennis and track fields. First class construction! Everything seemed very secure and I am very excited to be apart of it. My children are not even in school yet, but I know I am definately sticking around so they can go to those schools. The market is a little bad here right now because of the slowing of the market, but not nearly as bad as South Tampa. Bexley's Ranch and JB Starkey Ranch are going to have 6 new schools between the two communities and the Mall broke ground 2 weeks ago. Home Depot bought Cox lumber on 54 and 41 and are building anew. Everything is coming along really well. I like if we stick with the area and the new stuff will overshadow all the older constructions that needs to be redone.

[jeannine987]

Can You please send me some info on re-locating and buying??? I want to move there, I am a nurse , I am wondering How the jobs are and the pay, as well as the prices of homes as I am a single mother with an 11 year old, no child support as Her dad left for canada when I divorced him. I have a pretty significant amount to put down, maybe 100 thousand but I need to know the schools are good, I can make a living and it a safe nice community... Please help me and be honest!!! Desparate In Long Island New York and looking to re-locate, Very concerned about education standards as well as safety and property- Jeannine Thank you soooo much for anyones anticipated reply.

[beachlady58]

I am planning on relocating from MA next year and will have a Frosh boy who loves Lacrosse. The downside of coming to FLA is that no one plays lax in FLA - except at Plant HS in S Tampa and I don't want to live in the city. Does anyone know of a great rated A HS that plays lacrosse?
Thanks!