Buying a vacation home? Windermere vs. Celebration

[Tiffany]

Hi,

So we are seriously thinking about buying a condo 2br min in the Disney area. Short term we would use it for our vacations, right now we spend about a month in total in central FL over the course of a year and then when my hubby retires in 5yrs we would spend at least from just after Christmas through April down in FL.

Right now you seem to be able to get some realy great deals on condos located in the "Lakeside @ Lakes of Windermere". You seem to get more for your dollar than what is avaiable in Celebration.

Thoughts on Windermere?

 

[ChristmasElf]

Nice location in Windermere. We live really close to 535 and love the fact that we can be to WDW in less than 10 minutes and shopping is close as well.

There is a new outdoor mall if you come out of the Lakeside and turn right.
Follow 535 til it crosses under the 429 and Fowler Groves is on the right side.
SuperTarget,Lowes, Bealls,Barnes and Noble, PetSmart,Panera Bread,Best Buy and a lot of smaller shops are all located in here.
Not to mention a bunch of restaurants like Chilis, Longhorn Steaks, Mimi's Cafe,Chik Fil A, Mc D's,Five Guys,Macaroni Grille, and more!

There are 4 Publix's within just a couple miles of here as well.

The 429 is a convenient way to get to the Florida Turnpike and the 408.

You will be able to see the Disney fireworks from your balcony!

Windermere is in Orange county. You didn't say if you would be renting your condo out while you were not using it but just an FYI -Orange county does not allow any short term rentals like Osceola county does. Lake county has areas that allow it and some sections where it's not allowed.

 

[Tiffany]

Nice location in Windermere. We live really close to 535 and love the fact that we can be to WDW in less than 10 minutes and shopping is close as well.

There is a new outdoor mall if you come out of the Lakes and turn right.
Follow 535 til it crosses under the 429 and Fowler Groves is on the right side.
SuperTarget,Lowes, Bealls,Barnes and Noble, PetSmart,Panera Bread,Best Buy and a lot of smaller shops are all located in here.
Not to mention a bunch of restaurants like Chilis, Longhorn Steaks, Mimi's Cafe,Chik Fil A, Mc D's,Five Guys,Macaroni Grille, and more!

There are 4 Publix's within just a couple miles of here as well.

The 429 is a convenient way to get to the Florida Turnpike and the 408.

You will be able to see the Disney fireworks from your balcony!

Thanks for the information, Windermere does sound great. A 3br, 2bath for less than $100K or around just seems almost like it is too good to be true.

 

[scrappy910]

Will you be financing this condo? My dd and sil have been looking at purchasing a beach house/condo in the St. Augustine area. When they looked into getting financing the first question they were asked is if it were a condo or house. They were told that condo financing is difficult to get. In fact they have a bid in on a short sale house and have been approved for the loan, but then the finance company noticed that the house is listed as part of a condo association and they are giving my dd and sil a hard time with the loan.

 

[Art 1]

I see that you have a dog as your avatar. There is a good animal clinic in Windermere. I know the owner.

Celebration has some very very poor construction. You would really need to check the place out.

 

[Feralpeg]

Obviously, I love Windermere. I like Celebration, but would not want to live there. Celebration is very much a tourist area. People treat it like another attraction. It is surrounded by tourist draws.

Windermere, on the other hand, is not a tourist area at all. Even though it is within 10 minutes of WDW property, you'd never know it. Tourists just don't come out this way. I love it because it is so quiet.

 

[klj27]

We visited a friend in Windermere this summer and felt like we were a world away from WDW. I think it would be a great place to live.

 

[palmtreegirl]

Easy choice between the two, Windermere.

 

[debranator]

You really ought to look at the prices of 3BR houses in the area..instead of condos.
If you were amazed at the condo prices..take a look at some of the houses in the new developments...
the houses will hold their value a bit better..
and..you do not have the condo carrying charges.
My total bill including,...gardener..pool man.. and hoa charges..comes to about 3,600 a year.
Also..and VERY important..
Investigate the HOA at any community that you are interested in..
some..are really bad..and could make your life miserable.
One final note.....
I just bought a home here[on the Windermere border] a few months ago...
and..found..that the real estate market here is the strangest I have ever seen.

New homes...sell for less..than older homes.
Even the exact same house..next door to each other...may be 100 grand cheaper...
when..I asked..why...the comps on the older homes..do not show..that the newer homes are cheaper...
I was told.."they are not comp..they are better".
I also chose my house..and the area..after realizing..that I did not want a development with an established HOA...I bought mine..as it is still in the builders hands.
So..do a bit of investigating...as the real estate here is amazingly priced.

 

[hopemax]

My parents live in Winter Garden, so I've spent a lot of time driving through Windermere. I haven't spent nearly as much time in Celebration, but enough to know that I like the feel of Windermere better. Celebration feels "manufactured" while Windermere feels like a homey small town. And Celebration, is right near 192, which is busy with tourists, so you get everything that comes along with that, once you leave Celebration itself. Traffic, tacky tourist shops, lots of development.

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Windemere hands down as long as you don't mind dirt roads. Several of the roads in Windemere are unpaved (and reportedly will stay that way).

If you do decide to purchase in Celebration make absolutely certain you have a thorough, independent inspection done by someone who is excellent with construction matters. Too many of those places have been found to have serious structural damage.

You should do that in any case of course.

Check the tax basis, and the access roads. 192 jams in a heartbeat and unless you know "the back way" out of Celebration it can pose a real problem for you.

In Windemere, potentially you are closer to several main thoroughfare/arteries and have options for travel if one road is jammed.

 

[Tiffany]

Will you be financing this condo? My dd and sil have been looking at purchasing a beach house/condo in the St. Augustine area. When they looked into getting financing the first question they were asked is if it were a condo or house. They were told that condo financing is difficult to get. In fact they have a bid in on a short sale house and have been approved for the loan, but then the finance company noticed that the house is listed as part of a condo association and they are giving my dd and sil a hard time with the loan.

So I am thinking about taking $50K loan out of my 401K to use a down payment and then we would look at financing the remaining $50 to 60K.

 

[Tiffany]

I see that you have a dog as your avatar. There is a good animal clinic in Windermere. I know the owner.

Celebration has some very very poor construction. You would really need to check the place out.

Hi,
The dog picture is not mine unfortunetly. That for the info about the construction issues in Celebration.

 

[Tiffany]

You really ought to look at the prices of 3BR houses in the area..instead of condos.
If you were amazed at the condo prices..take a look at some of the houses in the new developments...
the houses will hold their value a bit better..
and..you do not have the condo carrying charges.
My total bill including,...gardener..pool man.. and hoa charges..comes to about 3,600 a year.
Also..and VERY important..
Investigate the HOA at any community that you are interested in..
some..are really bad..and could make your life miserable.
One final note.....
I just bought a home here[on the Windermere border] a few months ago...
and..found..that the real estate market here is the strangest I have ever seen.

New homes...sell for less..than older homes.
Even the exact same house..next door to each other...may be 100 grand cheaper...
when..I asked..why...the comps on the older homes..do not show..that the newer homes are cheaper...
I was told.."they are not comp..they are better".
I also chose my house..and the area..after realizing..that I did not want a development with an established HOA...I bought mine..as it is still in the builders hands.
So..do a bit of investigating...as the real estate here is amazingly priced.

Thanks for the info. We are not looking to relocate so we want something that we can lock up and head back up north without worring. So we were thinking a condo would be best.

 

[Tiffany]

Windemere hands down as long as you don't mind dirt roads. Several of the roads in Windemere are unpaved (and reportedly will stay that way).

If you do decide to purchase in Celebration make absolutely certain you have a thorough, independent inspection done by someone who is excellent with construction matters. Too many of those places have been found to have serious structural damage.

You should do that in any case of course.

Check the tax basis, and the access roads. 192 jams in a heartbeat and unless you know "the back way" out of Celebration it can pose a real problem for you.

In Windemere, potentially you are closer to several main thoroughfare/arteries and have options for travel if one road is jammed.

Thanks for this great information. This is exactly the type of information I was looking for. I think a condo at the "Lakeside @ Lakes of Windermere" seems like the right place for us.