Indian Creek, Indian Ridge/ Indian Ridge Oaks?

[grammynelliebelle]

Is anyone familiar with the above developments? I think the Oaks is a mix of regular homeowners and st rentals. How about the others? Are the neighborhoods nice? Have been looking at real estate sites for a possible retirement home and am wondering if these areas would be suitable. Probably would be there fall, winter and spring and establish residence.We would probably come back north for the summer and it might make sense to rent the house (to family, friends and friends of friends ) during the summer which is peak season in WDW.Any other areas that might be good for this type of arrangement. thanks! Grammy

 

[isla bonita]

This is a personal view please understand.


For short term rentals it is a great area! Close to parks the I4 and restaurants an such. The neighborhoods a lovely we rented our first home in IRO.

With that said I would not want to live in such a busy area on a full time basis. JMHO Its great to visit for 3 or so weeks but way to busy for me full time. I also would want neighbors. Friends for our childgren I guess that is not something you all would need.

If it is just the neighborhood you are looking at I would say yes they are very nice areas and very close by to each other.

 

[tednvon]

Hi Grammy, we stay 3 months in Sunset Lakes which is very close to the 3 communities you mentioned. This is our 3rd year at Sunset Lakes. We also stayed 3 winters in Indian Ridge so do have some thoughts for you.
Indian Ridge and Indian Ridge Oaks are kind of sister communities right next to each other. Oaks is a little newer. Both do have weekly rentors and year round residents. Based on our observation I am guessing about 60/40 in Indian Ridge (60 being renters) and 70/30 in Oaks(70 being renters). I would guess that Indian Creek is almost all weekly rentals.
Quick opinions:
IRidge...oldest of all the homes Probably late 80's early 90's; best size lots of anywhere with nice spacing between the homes. It has become a little more run down in last couple of years and homes in there are really selling low. With TLC these could be very nice spacious 3-4 bedroom homes, most with pools. Need to be careful of number of foreclosures and conditions of some of the homes, but that could be happening in any community now in Florida. It has very low homeowners fees. You do your own lawn work. I am guessing less than $500/year for fees.
IROaks...a little newer with homes now closer together. Many small back lots with back yards fenced. Homes there are also a bargain, and we see school buses and folks walking dogs quite often. Homes are 3-5 bedroom, I think, most with pools. I would guess homeowner fees would be similar to IRidge.
Both IR and IROaks are GREAT locations to get to Disney but well off the busy roads. Old Lake Wilson is south of 192 and both communities are about 2 miles south of 192.
ICreek is much newer and I think much larger with 3-6 bedroom homes. It is a very nice community and I again in an excellent location. I would guess the homeowner fees are much higher here but not sure. Again very easy access to Disney. Homes are going to be more expensive but still way below 2005/2006 prices.

Other options. If you want to shop a little, Lindfields is very similar to IRidge and IRidge Oaks. Older homes going for very low prices with a fair amount of foreclosures. They have many permanent residents also.
Sunset Lakes is by far our favorite. Small community, gated, lovely homes (very close together) but most backing up to a large oval lake. Very well take care of with fees just over $1000/year. I would guess about 30% owner occupied with the rest rentals. Very quiet, excellent location to Disney but totally away from the busy 192. About 3 miles to Disney entrance.
Those are some thoughts on communites that are all kind of in the "Formosa Gardens Blvd" area of Old Lake Wilson Road or Formosa Gardens Blvd that run parallel to each other about a mile apart...easy to see on Google Map. If you do a google map and put in "Sunset Lakes" or Indian Creek you can see the communites on Satellite as well as the roads...
Good Luck and let us know if be of any further help...Ted

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Thanks Ted for your input. We have been away and I just got to check this site. I am familar with Sunset Lakes as we have been staying at EI for the past three winters. We tried to go over and see Sunset Lakes last winter but couldn't get by the gate. I would be very hesitant about buying for retirement in EI as I think with the number of forclosures the HOA could get very high and the condo/townhomes where some permanent residences are located looked to be getting run down. Even with lower prices, the pool homes are still more than we would want to pay.What do you think about Davenport, just off I-4 area, or Clermont, just beyond theWall Mart area? At this point we dont need to be "5 minutes away" and we really dont plan on renting it commercially. Happy Thanksgiving! Grammy

 

[tednvon]

Hi again Grammy,
If you are in the Disney area this winter PM me and I will be happy to get you the code for Sunset Lakes.

As you have figured out, 3-4 bedroom homes look a lot alike in Florida, and the weather is pretty much the same 10 miles north and south of Disney, so the real question in the price range of $125K to 200K is the community, it's stability, safety, fees, number of rentals vs. owner occupied homes.
This just takes old fashion research, common sense, and gut instincts.
As you know, Florida has huge number of foreclosures and no community is immune from distressed properties.

Clermont is one of our favorite cities. Much more of a community than Kissimmee or Davenport. You are correct, addresses for Clermont start just north of WalMart but the actual city is about 10 miles north of WalMart.
I am not familiar with any of the communities north of WalMart other than to know they are mostly rental communities until you get up by King's Ridge. and Legends Golf communites. One of the rules of thumb is to look for screened pools in the back. If many of the homes have no pool these are most likely non rentals. North of WalMart you will see several communites with only few pools out back and they are probably not rental communities.
Homes without pools sell very low, and if you do not rent it out, a pool can be a pain in the butt unless you can afford to have a professional care it at about $25/week.
South of Disney also had multiple communities with lots of weekly rentals that pretty much ends at Southern Dunes in Haines City. There are some very low home prices in Haines City of you use Realtor.com and search homes from 80K to $150K. These look to be developements that did not get off the ground and were not designed as rentals. Most have no pools but are almost new.
We did stay our first winter in Hampton Lakes in a very nice home along Hwy 27. Our big concern here was dodging 70mph cars and trucks trying to get on and off Hwy 27. Lots of stoplights since then but still a little like entering the Indy 500 from a dead stop.
Again, do your research. Look at all the costs involved, HOA fees, who does the lawn and community care and who pays for it. IMHO, the farther from Disney, the better the deal, thought deals are everywhere compared to 4 years ago.

I agree, we owned a 7 bedroom in EIsland that we sold 4 years ago, and that community seems to be mostly doing OK. It is so beautiful and so close to Disney that it is hard to image it could fail, but the HOA fees were really high when we owned and I am sure they are higher now.
I am sure it will still produce good rentals for those who work their tails off marketing or cut rates to the minimum, but really nice homes could end up sitting next to foreclosures and the weekly renter will be clueless about the condition of community if the home is nice and clean.

Good Luck and do not be afraid to ask more questions. I am by no means an expert but have watched the area with great interest, especially since we sold and felt we got out at the right tim with a home that large.

All the best...Ted

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Thanks Ted. So much to think about. We are going down for a week Dec 4 to Dec 11 and then Jan 2-April 16 so we will have plenty of time to look. I will pm you so we can see Sunset lakes. Grammy

 

[tednvon]

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Just wanted to mention that there a many owners who post on this board who indeed work their hearts out to get homes rented and are committed to keeping homes and communities in tip top shape. As I mentioned earlier, no community is immune from distressed properties. My gosh, just look at the "can't miss" high end developement of Reunion. I firmly believe that this economy will turn around as it always has and no matter what the economy I know 3 things for sure...
1. Florida is warm and will stay warm in the winter...
2. Baby boomers are aging quickly and in the next 10 years many of us will be looking for warmer climates in the winter and...
3. Disney World will remain the world's top attraction for families for the next umteen years...
So this is a formula that will equal a real estate boom once again, just not sure when. If we stayed 6 months or more, I would buy in an instant with the prices where they are today.
So to all the owners out there who keep these communities alive and vibrant by working countless hours a week to market and care for thousands of these properties, a big thanks for perserverence and committment.

Ted

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Ted, Totally agree and so does dh! Grammy

 

[grammynelliebelle]

Hi TednVon, Guessing that you have started your winter stay as have we. Happy New Year! Sure didn't mind leaving the snow behind. We are now busy with volunteering for the Marathon but soon will start our driving around checking out neighborhoods. Could you pm me the info for Sunset Lakes. We would really appreciate it. Between visitors, perhaps we might meet for coffee sometime. Our own little DIS meet. Thanks! Grammy (Carol)

 

[tednvon]

I sent you a PM. If you did not get it, please advise on this thread...thanks...Ted

 

[loveysbydesign]

We have always stayed at Windsor hills in the past but on our most recent trip this past Nov. we stayed in Indian Creek and loved it! We stayed at Happiness house
http://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p258654 but the owenr does have a few other rental homes in IC to!
There is actually a home for sale right now in Autumn Creek Circle where we stayed and I've treid so hard to talk my dh into buying it!