Best Value to Buy a Home near Disney?

[dominickolas]

Hello. I have been wanting to move to Florida for many years. I'm going to share my dream and hope you can help me. Thank you in advance.

I rented a home in 4 Corners (Davenport area) for three months a few years back. I am struggling with what is best and what is possible. I was hoping that this board may be the best place to get opinions. A lot of time, I am hanging around the DVC boards, but knowing in my head, that I really want to live there, not own a timeshare. Also, I never even stayed on-site. I have always rented a townhome, Condo, apartment or house.

I believe that by fall I will have $200-300k saved. I don't really want to get a loan, but if I do, I don't want a big one.

Family size of 4, kids are elementary school aged.

I dream of being more active with the warmer weather. I am actually not too active in a fun sense, but my work (home repair) is physical, but I imagine swimming (I don't know how to very well), Golfing, (I've never golfed beyond putt putt, but I caddied 1x and it looked fun), and Tennis (if I get a wrist surgery.) Don't look at those as excuses, I really want to increase my life expectancy and share it with my family.

I would also like to get a Disney annual Pass. Times 4. When I lived in 4 Corners we had the weekday select pass which was great. That is not available during Covid, but one day it may be. Of course the dream has us having Platinum and going to water Parks and Golf.

So and important consideration is my wife. That is the original reason we went to Florida as snowbirds a few years back. She is better medically with high humidity. We Honeymooned at Disney, but she is not nearly a diehard as me and the kids. I could go every week, she'd probably say 1x a year. SO Maybe I should expand my search and not be so close to Disney.

Here are some quick areas I have considered and the reason why. When we lived down there we looked at homes all of the time. It was an intended purpose of our trip.

Championsgate. There is a builder that the HOA includes Golf, TV Internet, and wouldn't need to to mowing.

Celebration- Expensive, but I think it will always hold it's value. Need to look at numbers on costs, but would need a loan there.

Aurburndale- That's going further west on I-4. Very pretty lakes driving and lower costs.

Clermont- West of Winderemere, a builder had some nice homes up that way.

Port St Lucie- This is my not go to Disney often option, cheaper prices, just going down I-95.

Ok, I'm going to hang up and listen. Thank you.

 

[mamaofsix]

I think the biggest question would be whether or not you have a job lined up? I would maybe rent for the first while and make sure my job was secure before taking the leap of buying.

 

[FCDub]

You need a realtor

 

[DL1WDW2]

First consideration should be school district , assuming you have job security .
Second should be finding a realtor. The Dis boards have posted many informative videos about moving to all the “areas” nearby.
Personally I moved to Celebration and renting until more info is available about the new Island Village expansion in Celebration by Mattamy Homes (?) ... the construction process has been delayed but info can be googled about the builder. Celebration is very strict about not allowing timeshares. This would be a big consideration to me. I would not want to live in a neighborhood with lots of unknown traffic and problems associated with temporary rentals .
But you are correct Florida can be very expensive. Traffic is terrible and beware of mold issues caution. Hopefully a great realtor will be your guide.

p.s. I casually monitor realtor.com by googling condos for sale in Celebration,Fl but it also has latest rentals and all types of homes in nearby areas.
Good luck

 

[_19disnA]

Someplace you like to go on vacation may not be the best choice of where to live full-time. You also mentioned that some family members would likely go to Disney more often then others. Isn't clear if you are still working or retired. Clearly, if still working, you need to also have a job lined up before deciding to move. You can find warmer climates all over the southern part of the US. Cost of living can vary quite a bit based on area, so I would first start developing a list of options and not just move to be close to Disney.

 

[hertamaniac]

There can be buyer's regret when the vanity of going to the theme parks wear off. I speak from personal experience in that we moved to central Florida over 15 years ago, but Disney was not the driving factor. It was part of the equation as was the weather.

However, fast forward to current day and I have seen Orlando traffic and costs skyrocket. For us, we are close enough to drive to the parks everyday, but far enough away to get a reprieve from the madness.

HOA fees are another factor and are prominent in Florida.

 

[dominickolas]

Thank you for all the replies so far. I guess you can say I do not have a job lined up however I have always been self-employed. I know there will be a ramp up period of transition but that is an acceptable level of risk for me. I'm not retired, however I live a lifestyle that allows me to be very close to my family. As far as schooling goes, we have done homeschooling from the beginning. Homeschooling is not for the faint of heart, but this pandemic forced homeschooling hasn't shaken our world much. However good school districts still make for good neighbors!

Yes I understand there is a risk of going where you vacation. This is always been my favorite place like many of you on here. I like what is non duplicatable. And I really like things to be wholesome. Yes, I have the Rose colored glasses of the best of Disney. My wife however does see the traffic and certainly would not like to shop at one of the crazy hectic Walmarts off of international drive on a weekly basis.

On my last trip when I was down in Florida I did work with the real estate agent, and we even got really really close to buying something. That was something that could have been a part-time residence, it had a much higher HOA fee but allowed short term rentals to offset the cost. I would like to talk to my real estate agent again once I have it narrowed down a little bit more with your help if possible.

But I have refined my parameters and don't think I would be comfortable with someone living in my house for extended periods of time. It really changes what you can put out into a home. I.e. personal pictures and anything else that you are afraid someone could break or take.

I really like hearing the tip about the MattAmy homes in Celebration. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to use builder names but they had very nice places. I know I like Taylor Morrison homes they were the builder that was up in Clermont. My wife would probably be much much happier in a new or newer home 2010 at least otherwise we would be spending just as much money to update it.

For those of you who are a bit further away, how far do you think is close enough that is not a major hurdle to get to the parks? For example, I live an hour from DC, but only go there maybe 2x a year.

Again thank you all for taking time out here to respond. I will check those area links that you say are provided on these boards as well. And if anything is too personal feel free to give me a private message if you prefer. But I just want to thank all of you so much for helping me because my head is spinning around a little bit too much and I just really appreciate you all.

 

[DL1WDW2]

It Sounds like you are being very smart and appreciate your sharing the process .

 

[Cold71]

Best of luck to you! My parents just closed on a house in Leesburg. I don't ever see myself moving the family down there but at least now I have a reason to go down a few times a year.

 

[mamapenguin]

I like Storey Lake. Location is great for Universal and Disney. Homes are in various sizes.

 

[dominickolas]

Storey Lake is very nice. I have to reexamine because they have two different sales sides, one for permanent residents and one for the short term allowed rental owners.

The short term renters in general have higher HOA fees. While shocking at first, I understand what they are for and don't get put off.

 

[Eastern]

Do an internet search on Celebration problems. I would not buy there.

 

[mamapenguin]

Storey Lake is very nice. I have to reexamine because they have two different sales sides, one for permanent residents and one for the short term allowed rental owners.

The short term renters in general have higher HOA fees. While shocking at first, I understand what they are for and don't get put off.

For the vacation villas, make sure you check out the driveway/ parking situation. Try visiting at different times also for a more accurate view of the situation. I have only stayed on the permanent resident side, but have walked and driven through most areas.

 

[delmar411]

I would check crimes in the areas you are looking at. Plus factor in the cost of a home security system. If I had a do-over, we would only look at gated communities.

Our current HOA fees include all landscaping (including sprinkler systems) and they mow the backyard, not just the front. Cable, internet, phone, trash, pest control around the landscaping, the club house, playground, and clubhouse amenities (tennis, volleyball, pool, etc). So while the price is high, it is paid quarterly, and really just covers the cost of those utilities.

 

[Eastern]

What about Doctor Phillips? You can get a townhome there in the low 300s.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Have you thought about moving out of the area some? There are so many great areas in Florida.
We currently live 3 hours away South, 1 mile from the Atlantic. .. and we love it here

 

[dominickolas]

I get that celebration has the Stepford Wives reputation, but I had forgotten about the lawsuits and crumbling infrastructure especially at the town square. It still seems to hold it's value though.
Delmar, I am sometimes aloof to crime, so that's a good reminder. There sure are a lot more Gated Communities there than anywhere else I've seen.

I am open to moving further away. The more south weather is actually even better for my wife. If it is on the East coast and close to I-95, it gives me easy access to come back North to see family especially for emergencies.

What areas do you recommend I look into?

 

[RamblingMad]

It’s likely that you only visited FL when the weather was nice. I’d go during the less than great weather before committing to the move. Right now I’m out in AZ, but I visited during the hot summer, so I knew what I was signing up for. But I didn’t expect the allergies.

As for where to live, it really boils down to where you end up working. And right now with interest rates super low, I don’t think getting a loan is a big deal.

 

[dominickolas]

It is true that I visited much more in the budget seasons which did not include summer. However, I am used to the heat and humidity and getting extra humidity is what the docs have called for. They have been for years. My wife has been prepping me for this move for years, she only lets me put the AC to 80 in the Summertime.

I don't have info on the allergies, so that is a blindspot, and so are FL bugs. This year in my area, I am due to get out 17 year cycle Cicadas which makes me wish I had my act together a year earlier. I do not think lovebugs are worse than the cicadas.

 

[Missingmypooh]

We enjoy the Clermont area, and there’s a few other lake county places if you follow the 429 into lake county. We like being close enough to pop over to Disney when we want, but out of the Orange County district. Plus there’s so many beautiful back roads,springs,and mom and pop stores still in lake you won’t find closer to Disney because they have all been gobbled up by developers (and I know it might happen to lake county in years to come, but I hope the chain of lakes will provide some limitations to the developments!)