Buying a Vacation spot in Florida, Orlando area.

[Fetch07]

Looking for suggestions of area's to look at, main hobby, Golf

Hey, names Chase, from Alberta, Canada.

Hope this is right in the right section.


My wife and I are heading down to Orlando, FL in April for 2 weeks and are looking at purchasing a home/town house for our vacation spot, we have several family members/friends that have homes in Florida.

We are looking for suggestions on where we should start looking when we are down there.

Our main hobby is Golf, although there are many golf courses, being super close to a course is not a huge deal. We are looking for a nice community that has the ammenities.

We are in our early 30's so no old folk communities! haha We have 1 kid and 1 on the way.

We are open to suggestions, thanks.

[sabram]

Take a look at Reunion Resort. It has three golf courses that are very good (a Nicklaus, a Palmer and a Watson). They have a water park, swimming pools, restauarants, club house etc. The recession and real estate debacle has hit Orlando very hard. As a result there are some amazingly low prices. You can get a 3 BR 2.5 bath condo 1,500 sq ft at Reunion for less than $150,000 and a 3 BR house for less than $200,000. in 2007 they sold for twice that much. It is located about a 10 minute drive south of Disney.

[Shemp]

Why would you buy in Orlando? Crowded, everything is expensive traffic can be unbelievable.. In summer it's ghastly hot and humid, in winter it can be cold. Imho you need to be south of Sarasota on the west and Port St Lucie on the east and within a mile or so of the water to give yourself the best shot at decent weather.

[Fetch07]

[quote name='Shemp' timestamp='1327841759' post='4172001']
Why would you buy in Orlando? Crowded, everything is expensive traffic can be unbelievable.. In summer it's ghastly hot and humid, in winter it can be cold. Imho you need to be south of Sarasota on the west and Port St Lucie on the east and within a mile or so of the water to give yourself the best shot at decent weather.
[/quote]

Thanks for the info, we are not dead set on Orlando. This is why I need suggestions, we could be better off in a different area. We have only been down there twice, once near Davenport, stayed at a friends at the Regal Palms Resort and then again near Hollywood.

Keep it coming!

[wildcatfan]

You might check out Paseo in Ft Myers.

[wybrh]

[quote name='Fetch07' timestamp='1327814994' post='4170957']
Hey, names Chase, from Alberta, Canada.

Hope this is right in the right section.


My wife and I are heading down to Orlando, FL in April for 2 weeks and are looking at purchasing a home/town house for our vacation spot, we have several family members/friends that have homes in Florida.

We are looking for suggestions on where we should start looking when we are down there.

Our main hobby is Golf, although there are many golf courses, being super close to a course is not a huge deal. We are looking for a nice community that has the ammenities.

We are in our early 30's so no old folk communities! haha We have 1 kid and 1 on the way.

We are open to suggestions, thanks.
[/quote]


You might want to look into Palm Coast/Flagler Beach area. There are a number of communities that were just starting construction when the market tanked. Now you can buy and build for very low prices. Lots of good golf and close to the beach. If you want any more info, PM me.

[Fetch07]

Thanks for the info.

Any others i can look at?

We will be getting a Realtor when were down there just want some ares to look at.

[Lefty Cat]

Do a very thorough search, now is a great time to be buying real estate in Orlando, or Florida for that matter. Keep in mind that the heat in Orlando in summer is almost unbearable. Being closer to either coast makes it more tolerable with the sea winds.

[tpariff]

A few tips:

1. It's hot in Florida during the summer no matter where you are. If you're looking for a "cool" place from May through September then Florida is NOT for you. Doesn't matter if it's Miami, Orlando or Pensacola because it's still hot. The good thing is that you get used to it after a while.

2. You'll get more of a fall / winter (relatively speaking) if you stay north of Gainesville. It can be 6-10 degrees cooler during the winter months when it gets "cold" in those areas.

3. Certain markets have better R/E prices than other. The best values can be found where development moved to the outskirts of a major area. For example, I've lived in south Tampa (a few minutes from downtown Tampa) since 1996. When the R/E market crashed the prices here took a hit, but not as bad as they did in the outlying areas (Brandon, Wesley Chapel, etc). Those outlying areas still have dirt to develop whereas south Tampa is basically built - very little vacant land.

4. You're young so you'll probably want to avoid Ft. Myers and Naples and the east coast between Palm Coast and Palm Beach (avoid Vero Beach, etc). There's nothing there but old people and their parents. Sarasota has some old folks too, but not as many as Naples. If I were in your shoes knowing what I know today I'd look at Tampa / St. Pete / Clearwater; Orlando; Jacksonville; or Palm Beach / Ft. Lauderdale. I'm not a fan of Miami because I don't speak Spanish and can't stand the traffic. Orlando traffic can be bad, but IMO nothing in the state of Florida compares to Miami's traffic. From 2003 - 2006 I traveled the whole state for work and absolutely hated going into Miami / Dade county.


Good luck. Feel free to PM with questions.

Kevin

[parpar41]

What's your rush?

Florida real estate prices are not about to increase dramatically any time soon.

some might argue that prices have not yet hit bottom.

Do all of your research to find the areas that work best for you, so you can jump on a good deal at the right time.

I wouldn't be buying anything just yet, however.

[Steve_FLA]

As an Orlando resident for the past 7 years maybe I can help. I'm sure you already realize it's hot here in the summer, so I don't need to go there.

Orlando overbuilt golf courses in the 1980's and 1990's. Also with the tough economy golf courses compete with each other to get your business. If you stay away from the courses around Disney and the convention center you can play 7,000 yard courses for $30 on weekends, even cheaper during the week. There are also private courses which in my opinion are fairly priced and some do not require an initiation fee.

As far as living somewhere nice and near young people, there are plenty of choices. Baldwin Park in downtown Orlando is new, nice and with young families. Winter Park is nice and has very affluent areas. The Lake Nona area is the fastest growing area in Orlando and is where a lot of young families settle. I live in the Waterford Lakes area, which is on the Eastern Side of Orlando and has plenty of golf courses to play and is family oriented. Just stay away from Disney!!! It's all tourists and time share owners.

If you are serious about moving to Orlando and want to talk to a resident shoot me a PM and we can talk.

Good luck,
-Steve

[Florida Gator]

ORANGE COUNTY NATIONAL! Has hosted Q-School in the past, has the BEST practice facility in the area- hands down. The Legend at Orange Lake is great, Bay Hill if you have a spare kidney to trade if you are not a resort member. golfnow.com has great tee times and can get you onto private tracks like Alaqua and Bella Colina as a "Member for the Day" packages at a good price. ENJOY! With any luck- I will be living back home in Orlando by the time you visit.....

[golfnhack]

[quote name='Florida Gator' timestamp='1328723674' post='4238447']
ORANGE COUNTY NATIONAL! Has hosted Q-School in the past, has the BEST practice facility in the area- hands down. The Legend at Orange Lake is great, Bay Hill if you have a spare kidney to trade if you are not a resort member. golfnow.com has great tee times and can get you onto private tracks like Alaqua and Bella Colina as a "Member for the Day" packages at a good price. ENJOY! With any luck- I will be living back home in Orlando by the time you visit.....
[/quote]
OCN is in the middle of nowhere. So unless you can put up with a 20 minute commute from the nearest neighborhood to OCN, plus the 10 minutes it will take you to get to the range, OCN is NOT practical for an everyday course.

As others have said here.... avoid the tourist areas.... that includes Reunion. Stay as close to Orlando (the city) as possible. that puts you smack in the middle of everywhere. There are 80+ courses to choose from.

Also, if you want to play OCN at decent rates, make sure you stay in Orange county. However, I would not limit my house location because of 1 course.

[awil]

Lots of good courses in the naples fort meyers area. They also have a really nice airport that is easy to travel through and that hlps plus the weather gets to like 50 -60 for like 2 1/2 wekks in january . Plus the real estat ehas hit hard their to . Really now is the time for a buyers market. Plus if you ever want to go out on the ocean they have a good bay that is really big . Gets pretty deep but safer than open ocean. I know you said thats not your hobby but sometimes its fun to rent a boat for a day every now and then

[mizunogolf74]

Having lived here seasonally for a few years now I would recommend either the Harmony/Lake Nona area or Destin/Fort Walton Beach. Two different areas but something for you to check out online.