OT: Anyone look at Celebration Town homes?

[GoingtoWDWagain]

Visited Celebration Town years ago, it was beautiful. Anyone ever look at these homes, just wondering what the asking price for them is? Anyone own or know anyone that owns there? How are the schools in the town, etc..? I remember seeing the parents drive these little cars/carts to pick up their children from school, looked like fun.

 

[ducklite]

Condo's are selling for just over $200K to close to $700K, single family homes start at over $500K and run to over $3M.

Celebration schools have gotten mixed reviews, and most people will tell you there are areas in the greater Orlando area with better public schools and much more affordable homes.

Anne

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

Go to Ziprealty and look up Celebration(34747) and you can get current homes on the market. You can access single family homes and condos/townhomes. I like this site the best because the list pictures, room measurements, property taxes and HOA dues. I think you have to register with them, but it wasn't a big deal, no fees.

To give you an idea of how prices are running--I just looked this morning.

1688 sq. ft.-2025 sq. ft-$399,000-495,000. These aren't large lots, but the houses are cute.

2200-2500sq.ft-$559,000-$800,000-These homes include an inground pool.

You can also look up the addresses on Zillow.com to see how the homes roughly appraise and what homes in the area have sold for. It will also show comparables in the area that are for sale.

Have fun looking!


Rachel

 

[jessica52877]

We sat next to a nice couple and child from Celebration at MGM and were talking. She had one in school and then a 4 year old. She was extremely pleased with the school so far, but her son was young. She loved the environment of living there. We too looked years ago, before much was there, it wasn't even completely finished. If my husband could find a good job nearby I would love to move there in a heartbeat.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

I should also add that not all homes fall in those prices ranges. I'm just giving some examples. There are several homes that fall above $500,00 that don't have a pool or those exact measurements.

Rachel

 

[minnie1928]

We looked at the model for the townhouse in April (the only model open at the time). I was really stunned to see how cheaply it seemed to have been built. I wasn't impressed with it at all. It appeared that they went higher end on the kitchen and then completely cheaped out in the rest of the place. Overall, I was disappointed.

However, the community as a whole is beautiful and if the homes were built by a different builder, I might consider it.

 

[PatriciaH]

There are over 425 homes for sale right now in Celebration. You may be able to get a good deal soon!

 

[DawnM]

Really? Oh my goodness!!!! Why is that?

DH would never even consider moving there. He calls it "stepford wife living." He also needs some LAND.

But I wouldn't mind so much!

Dawn

There are over 425 homes for sale right now in Celebration. You may be able to get a good deal soon!

 

[GoingtoWDWagain]

Really? Oh my goodness!!!! Why is that?

DH would never even consider moving there. He calls it "stepford wife living." He also needs some LAND.

But I wouldn't mind so much!

Dawn

I agree it does seem a bit "stepford wife living" But, I'd consider moving there too, if DH could find work there, a girl can dream

 

[jessica52877]

I just like the idea of the town. I would like that anywhere in the US probably and in fact definately where Celebration is located is not my ideal place. I like that it is more like the old days of living, all close together, all in one little town.

 

[PatriciaH]

Really? Oh my goodness!!!! Why is that?

DH would never even consider moving there. He calls it "stepford wife living." He also needs some LAND.

But I wouldn't mind so much!

Dawn

The town is beautiful but there are so many house for sale (like the rest of Florida) due to:

-investors trying to get out now that prices are dropping
-interest only loans going up
-no work/low paying ($7/hr) work can not support the high mortages, taxes, insurance, electric and groceries
-schools are not great in Florida
-crime wave in the Orlando area lately
-town has not become what the Disney Company made it out to be

All in all there are a lot worse places to live in the country You should come with a good job and a lot of money if you are moving to Florida though.

 

[livie1205]

i do not agree with the comment of schools are not great in florida...just like anywhere it is mixed. I live in Tallahassee, florida and most schools here are A schools...My kids go to a school now that is a A school and the teachers are great.

 

[wdwcoltsfan]

The town is beautiful but there are so many house for sale (like the rest of Florida) due to:

-investors trying to get out now that prices are dropping
-interest only loans going up
-no work/low paying ($7/hr) work can not support the high mortages, taxes, insurance, electric and groceries
-schools are not great in Florida
-crime wave in the Orlando area lately
-town has not become what the Disney Company made it out to be

All in all there are a lot worse places to live in the country You should come with a good job and a lot of money if you are moving to Florida though.

I'm curious as to what you mean by the town has not become what the Disney Company made it out to be?

Also, are most of the residents permanent or second home? If it's second home, do they rent them out? We are looking for a vacation home(not to rent) and we don't want to be in a short term rental area. We would prefer to live in an area where we could get to know our neighbors, etc. We understand people may have others stay in their home, I'm mostly referring to areas where homes are with management companies and it is a source of income.


Rachel

 

[PatriciaH]

Short term rentals are not allowed in Celebration. I would say it is split between vacation/second homes/investments and permanent residents.

At a stockholder meeting a few years ago someone asked Roy Disney about Celebration and he said he considered it a failure. Right after that Disney sold off the Downtown and the Golf course and removed their name from most of the town. They still have a huge presence here as they own a lot of the undeveloped land. Most recently they buldozed thousands of trees near the high school for development. They have still not finalized everything going in over there. Word is they got over $500,000 an acre for the latest buildings going up (medical offices and an over 55 apartment community.) They promised a lot of things when they were building the town that never happened (wonderful schools, amazing technology, many more stores in the downtown, etc..) The overdevelopment/condos have gotten very out of hand lately as well. A lot of people sold everything and moved here with a dream that never came true. Many of the early town people moved on there are still a few of the older ones here. You will meet nice neighbors if you move here -just don't count on them being here year round or even next year.

We really enjoy the town right now. We will wait it out and see what happens with the crazy building/tearing down of our greenspace. Hopefully they will not ruin a good thing.

 

[pixie08]

I was just resurrecting this thread because I was wondering if there is any other input. DH and I are seriously considering moving to FL in a year or two. NYC (Long Island to be exact) is just way too expensive and as crazy as some people may think the prices are in celebration our home prices are the same or more in this area with taxes double or even triple that of celebration.

I love the feel of Celebration- love the community aspect. We do not really have that in NYC area. What worries me is I left the town and in 2 mins I was in a very nasty area of Kissimee. I have also heard many negative things about living in Orlando (mostly on ciity-data.com) but i am just not sure who to believe. We also looked at Lake Mary and the home were very nice- but again no real community.

We have also not ruled out the Tampa area. Dh Is an accountant and in a year and half he will be finishing his MBA and taking his CPA. Luckily, there is a good job market in his field no matter where he goes. My job on the other hand (Interior Designer) is a bit harder.I was hoping to apply with Disney in their imaganeering department- but who knows if that would happen and that would not be an option in Tampa.

 

[mickey squared]

We recently relocated to Celebration from LI 4 months ago due to DH's job. He works at MCO so we were quite limited in areas. I can tell you it is a MAJOR culture shock from LI. I have 4 kids so I can tell you more info if you want to pm me.

 

[kritter]

I would love to know more about Celebration some day we want to relocate to Florida!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[2bearsmom]

Check out Celebration on google earth or maps.live.com to get a feel for it.