FL Residents - Orlando Need Your Help.

[chrismiss56]

Hi to all

My dh and I (along with 2 DD 20 and 16) are giving serious consideration to moving to FL and working at WDW in about 5 years. I currently work for TDS.

We are starting to look at developments and existing areas for housing. Any suggestions? Looking to be less than 30 minutes from WDW - need a one story house. IMPORTANT - in an area where neighbors actually talk to each other. Right now I live on a block where people are too busy or too uninterested to get to know their neighbor. UGH

Question? What is usually covered by homeowners association fees? Up north in the Chicago area it could cover public access, landscaping and snow removal. Only the newer developments charge a fee here.


So what do you get for your fees? And what area would you recommend?

Thanks in advance for your help!!

Have a Magical Disney Day!!

 

[chrismiss56]

Giving a bump hoping to get some help

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[chefmanny]

It depends on the association.
Most cover exterior of the building maintenance, lawn service, common area maintenance, but it depends on the association documents.

 

[ahutton]

On our last visit I went on an adventure on 535 towards Sand Lake Road. There were many nice looking areas of housing there, and it appeared to be different sizes and prices. It would be a fairly easy commute.

Back before US/IOA was built we went down there for an extended period of time. We lived up near Vineland and Kirkland Drive (I think that was the nearest major intersection) and the area was nice. We rented a townhouse. Never talked to neighbors, but it was pretty quiet. I've heard others complain that there were too many vacation rentals in their complex so the noise and turnover was awful. I don't know how traffic from that area would be now, it was reasonable as US was opening, they invested a lot in making traffic move well.

As for the Association dues, I would ask the realtor you contact to get the information of what is covered. Some do all or portions of utilities and trash, some just manage common areas, while others include your structure insurance and you just need a policy for your own contents.

 

[dvcgirl]

Well, you need to be a little more specific. There is a huge range in price in one story houses in the WDW vicinity. And those prices are going up up up. For example, the Dr. Phillips and Windermere area are going to cost you much more than say the Kissimmee area. Lots of people who work at Disney live in the Hunter's Creek subdivision.

As for association fees, most do *not* cover lawn maintenance. Some subdivisions have community center buildings with pools and that tends to make your fees a bit more. Some neighborhoods are gated, others guarded....so that affects the fees as well. Ours down here covers maintanence of all the common areas and a security patrol.

 

[ChristmasElf]

There are several sub divisions going up in Winter Garden as well.

Go down WinetrGarden-Vineland Rd (just off 535) there is a development called Horizons that is really expanding all over the area.
KB Homes is also now starting to build in Orlando and the prices are reasonable.

There are also a lot of CM's that live out in Clermont. (Lake County) Housing is a little bit lower there and the commute is not too bad.

Hunters Creek HOA is ridiculously over priced. They micro manage EVERY LITTLE THING. When we lived in there, the neighbor across the street put a small bush in front of her A/C unit to hide it a little from the street. One day, a car drives by the front of their house, woman gets out with a tape measure and starts measuring away! A week later my neighbor comes over with a letter that stated her plantings were not pre approved and that her side fence (that was there when she bought the house) was 1 and a half INCHES too high!!
There was always someone driving around policing every little move made by people who lived there. Some of the letters that were sent out were very petty. We later moved to Windermere where it is much nicer.

As far as people being friendly. There are for the most part several neighborhoods that have organized picnics and similair things, but for the most part, it's so hot that people go from the air conditioning to the car or their own pool and we really don't see a lot of people walking around during the day. Sometimes at about 10 at night when it is cooler, people go for walks.

 

[Feralpeg]

I live in Windermere. Our HOA dues are about $650 a year. They cover maintenance of the common areas, the pool and roads. We do our own lawn maintenance. Our HOA is very picky about the look of things. You can plant your own shurbs, however they must be within certain parameters. Our homes were all landscaped by the builder before we moved in, so it isn't much of a problem. You must have things such as fencing approved by the HOA.

Our neighborhood is very friendly. Right now there is still a lot of construction going on, but even the construction workers are friendly. We walk on a regular basis and everyone speaks to us or waves to us.

Hope this helps.

 

[chrissyk]

We just built in Celebration. So far, everyone here seems very friendly, and you can't beat the commute to WDW

 

[chrismiss56]

Thanks to all for the information

We are looking at a 4bdr/3 ba house - not over $450,000 - must be one story or master suite on main floor. Within 30 minutes of WDW ............any ideas?

Hoping to go down after the first of the year to look

Have a magical Disney Day!!

 

[Feralpeg]

Try looking into Summerport or The Lakes of Windermere. I believe that they are both in the price range you mentioned and are within 20 minutes of WDW.

 

[chrismiss56]

Thanks to all for the great tips!!

Bumping it one more time to see if anyone else has a suggestion.

Have a magical Disney Day!!