Del Webb Ponte Vedra (near Jacksonville FL) is lovely.
http://nocatee.com/communities/del-webb-ponte-vedra/.
It’s one of the places we’re considering when my husband retires and we move from south Florida. The clubhouse and amenity center is incredible but I think the homes are a bit overpriced. Here’s are a couple of the homes for sale -
http://www.estately.com/listings/info/37-hammocks-landing-dr
http://www.estately.com/listings/info/21-thicket-creek-trl–1.
$450k is more than we can pay. We live in a smallish town in OK whose major employer, a large oil company, pulled all their office staff out when they merged with a other several years ago. Everyone here thought the combined hq was coming here but boy, were we wrong. Our house has not increased in value since we moved here 27 years ago!
I’m hoping to find somewhere in the mid/high $200s to low $300s. (& that we can sell our house, not a good market here)
My MIL lives in one in N. Ft. Myers and has really enjoyed it. She been there for 11 years. Lots of different priced homes, they are more like condos…you don’t own the land, just the house. She has met tons of people, even 2 husbands. ;). They have 3 pools, and a huge clubhouse where you can get involved in plays, cards, dinners, etc. I think it is much less lonely to start in a new neighborhood there at your age than a regular one. I actually have a friend my age…55, that lives in The Villages and has been there several years. Her partner is about 15 years older. She really likes it, but admits she’s always the baby in the group. They travel a lot, so probably only there half the time.
I currently live in a community of 400 homes, from many retirees to people purchasing their new homes. Sure, it’s nice to see kids, but younger parents really don’t want to hang with adults my age, other than niceties in the park. No more than I feel like hanging with the 75 year olds. I do think there comes a time when you move and want to hang with people, get to know people…and the setup for the community is for that, the 55 + areas are great.
alwaysamom-thank you. We are still a few years away from this move (at 52 and 58 presently) - so been doing some online research and now planning to visit a few areas over the next few years to narrow it down.
swimcatsmom - many of these communities have smaller, lower priced homes as well. It’s all relative - we are coming from such a ridiculously expensive area that $450,000 seems very reasonable - so that’s our down sizing target. Around here - it is impossible to find a community of one level homes - all of the new construction is luxury townhomes - the last thing I want is 4 levels. The latest craze is for the down sizing empty nester - a 4-level luxury elevator townhome at $1,000,000+ - and they seem to be selling very well!
Yes, a one level home is a priority for us. I have stairs at work and can tell I would not want them in my house and my husband can barely manage the stairs at my office. If we got a condo or apartment, it would need an elevatar for sure!
Patsmom - that does look nice.
Many of these communities north of me. Some, like the Valencia’s, increase in value. Communities in same area that are not so new sell homes for less. Some people use the facilities daily, eating at the club for breakfast or lunch, the pool area, gym, clubs (art, computer, book clubs, etc). Charitable groups are formed within each community.
The downside is that fees are high, because everything is done for you on outside. Some communities don’t plan well, and are always redoing the club house or DR, whatever. It helps to read the Homeowners manual and see if HO dues rise yearly. Personally, I’d stay away from the huge communities, which have boards within sections, and where you feel out of control with how things run.
I must say, everyone in such communities never wanT to leave. They may downsize within their community, but not move out.
For the record, I don’t live in a 55+ community.
Valencia has a fairly high HOA. That is definitely something I would look at - if they incresse too much, it could b e a problem.
swimcatsmom - have you visited any communities yet?
I’m looking forward to the visits - now that we are done visiting colleges, lol. I like checking out new areas, touring model homes, etc. We are pretty sure we would want a new home rather than resale. We have been in our present home for 23 years - way more than expected - I am ready for fresh and new.
I do understand that the HOA fees have to be considered - but all of the amenities have to be paid for somehow. Condo fees tend to be even higher - but we are pretty sure we want a detached single family home.
No, not yet. The 55+ idea only flitted into my head recently.
My problem is I have limited vacation and use most of if going home to visit my Mum and brother in England so finding time to visit is difficult. I’m thinking of flying back to SC from England this year and having H meet BE and combining a visit with our son with a couple of tours of communities. Time might be a bit tight though.
I’m fine with the HOA fees as they provide good facilities. I would be concrrnedxabout huge increases as we well be on a fixed income.
The very first house we purchased ages ago (have sold it a long time ago) has a high fee related to MUD. Basically, the community relied on their own water utility, and it could even build their own roads and make sure that the school district would build an elementary school inside that community which serves school age kids from this community only. They provided excellent facilities but the monthly fees are high. It was much later that we found that their swimming pool actually does not belong to this community. It was almost like paying 1.3 to 1.4 mortgage.
Whenever I raise the concern that we might not afford to retire in this country (especially before the medicare kicks in), my wife would show me some “manufacturing home” community where the rent would be as low as less than $1000 per month and reassure me that the living cost in US could be not high. But do we want to live in a mobile home? It seems they market these homes to retirees. The price of such a “house” could be as low as $40K (not $400K) if not brand new. (We pay almost $2000 for a 1-bedroom apartment in the south bay area right now and it is higher than our mortgage for a 2400 sq ft house in another state.)
(Unrelated: When we drove to a salad place for our lunch today, we noticed that the car in front of us is marked as a “self-driving” car by Google. There are two people inside the car but I could not tell whether one of them was driving the car or not. There is some strange thing on top of the roof of the car that keeps spinning (its shape does not look like a radar.) I am not sure whether the car is really self-driven at that moment. It was on a local road, not on the free way. But since we lives relatively close to Google’s HQ, there is a chance they might be out experimenting with that self-driving car. A coworker told me the other day that he heard that a Google self-driving car was traveling from San Jose to Fresno in California on the freeway.
My mother’s community in So. Florida is not a 55+ community, but in her small neighborhood of maybe 50-60 homes, they tend to be older with a few families strewn in too.
The pros was that my parents built the house-single family-free standing one level and customed it to what they wanted ie; huge indoor porch with floor to ceiling windows.
The negatives that she has shared over the years: Dealing with HOA, not always fun. All the houses look exactly the same and they dictate everything from paint colors to landscaping, etc. NO PRIVACY-huge one. Homes are zero lot line and right on top of each other. That would drive me nuts. Having to call the front guard gate every time someone comes to the house.
I don’t know…not for me. I like meeting new people easily and knowing neighbors are watching out for me and the house, but on the other hand, too close for comfort.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2206-W-Del-Webb-Blvd-Sun-City-Center-FL-33573/44949326_zpid/
$169k but needs updating
I want to live in a one floor house, in a community where the maintenance is done by someone other than me (things like mowing the lawn or shoveling snow, and the like). But I’m not wedded to an over 55 community. There are also plenty of mixed age communities that offer a community center and activities…and plenty of towns have vibrant activities going on as well.
@swimcatsmom, although I’m more than old enough for a 55+ community, my chicks are still living in apartments, moving every year or two, and not yet married. So I can see the possibility that their circumstances might change.
I’m looking forward to our family being at the stage yours is in – especially because it comes with the possibility of grandchicks.
My daughter and her husband don’t want kids. My son very much wants a family but needs to find a girlfriend first!
In a few years maybe we can start a CC match maker app. Mine is still focus on her career.
I think half the people in my neighborhood have babies.
It’s kinda fun.
At the moment I enjoy living in an age diversified subdivision. I like having kids around of all ages. This could change. We have retired folks, many having moved here to be near their grandkids, plenty of younger families with kids of all ages, newborns to college age and beyond. I used to think there were no high school kids around, but they are here… I just never saw them because they are so busy.