Ocala Real Estate Talk

Posts Tagged ‘Ocala Golf Course Communities’

I always have buyers looking for a retirement home and an item high on their wish list is a nice view.  Most retirement communities are laid out with parallel streets and the homes are back to back. This is especially true of newer communities. If you think about it this makes a lot of sense. The builder gets a maximum number of homes on his land.

There are options for what you’ll see in back of a 55+ home.

1. A house right behind you, which is by far the most common.

2. A house right behind you screened by a buffer of trees or shrubs. In this case you’ll still see you neighbor to some extent

3. A view of woods. You find this in a home located on the outside perimeter of a community.

4. A golf course view. This is a premium lot that adds a great deal to the price of a new home but you do find deals on resales.

Some of your best bets for finding a home with out another home directly in back of you are Oak Run and Ocala Palms. Oak Run isn’t laid out with parallel streets. It is divided into neighborhoods and a lot of homes face a buffer between these neighborhoods. Ocala Palms was set out to maximize the number of golf course lots. There are great prices on homes with golf course frontage in Ocala Palms.

If you’re interested in Ocala 55+ retirement homes then either call me, email me or better yet use my Ocala Dream Home Finder.

This is a home for sale in the exclusive Candler Hills part of the On Top of the World communities. The Huntley model is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home with 2,181 sq ft of living area. It features a gourmet kitchen with maple cabinets, stainless appliances, an electric wall oven, gas cook top and Corian counter tops. There is a formal dining room for entertaining. The Great room is large and bright with high ceilings and crown molding. The master bedroom is very large and leads to a master bath with a double vanity, tile floor, a walk in Roman shower and an enormous closet. There are 2 other bedrooms and a 2nd bath on the opposite side of the house from the master as is the case in a split floor plan. This home is located on a premium corner lot with a nice view from the screened Lanai. The build quality of Candler Hills homes is superior to most other newer 55+ retirement communities. The floors are hardwood and not laminate. The MB shower and around the tub in the 2nd bath are tile and not a fiberglass plug-in.  Candler Hills is known for extremely energy-efficient building practices. At only $185,000.00 this is a great price when compared to new construction or other nearby newer retirement homes.

My blog post profiling Candler Hills with info on the amenities, HOA fees, images of the community and a link to the golf course..

This Candler Hills resale on my web site with  20+ images and statistics about the home.

THIS HOME IS CURRENTLY UNDER CONTRACT TO CLOSE ON 1-26-12

My video tour of this Candler Hills home.

Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club

Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club is a completely built out Del Webb 55+ community located about 15 miles south of Ocala in Summerfield Florida. Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club is also just 10 miles north of the Villages. and all the activities and shopping but without the traffic and the high cost of housing.

There are 3250 homes in Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club on 1600 acres. The age of homes range from 1996 to 2007. The size of homes varies from just over 800 sq ft to over 2800 sq ft of living area. There are different methods of construction. There are frame homes with vinyl siding, a few with aluminum siding, frame and stucco and concrete block and stucco. Most of the frame homes with vinyl or aluminum siding were built prior to 2003.

Home prices in Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club vary quite a bit do to the size, age and construction of the home. There were 75 sales from January1 to August 25 2011 ranging from $89,900- for a 816 sq ft home to $270,000- for a 2344 sq ft home over looking the golf course.

HOA fees are a very reasonable $121.00 per month. They cover professional management services, guards at the 2 gates 24 hours a day, trash pickup, maintenance of the common areas and facilities and the use of the clubhouses and amenities. Golf is not included in the HOA fee.

The Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club home owners association has a great web site. Be sure to go to About Us and click on the video tour. The web site has information on all the amenities, activities, clubs and area shopping.

If you’d like to see homes for sale in Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club either call me, send me a detailed email with what you’re looking for or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder.

Below are images of Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club. All the images are original photos and are copy right protected.

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I often get buyers looking for newer homes here in the Ocala Marion County area. Many are interested in a new or newer Ocala 55+ retirement home. I end up telling these buyers that there has been very little building here since the market crashed in 2007. The reason for this lack of new construction is that resales are selling at prices below the cost of new construction and in some non retirement communities much less.

The below survey is based on active listings on the Ocala Marion county MLS as of July 7, 2011

Total residential listings 3915

new homes dated as 2011…..19

homes from 2010-2011………32

homes from 2009-2011………55

homes from 2008-2011……..114

homes from 2007-2011……..311

homes from 2006-2011……..571

homes from 2005-2011……..769

What does this all mean? It means that despite the fact that vacant land is available at fire sale prices and Marion County has suspended impact fees on new homes, builders still think it’s not worth trying to compete with newer resales. This is the time to but a house in Ocala.

The above numbers include both 55+ communities and non retirement communities and all types of construction including mobile and manufactured homes. They do not include homes offered by builders that are not listed on the OMCAR MLS.

Rainbow Springs Country Club is located about 30 minutes west of Ocala in Dunnellon. This is a golf course community that is not 55 plus. Rainbow Springs Country Club started building homes in 1980 and there are still vacant lots for sale today. Lot sizes vary but most are 1/4 or 1/2 acre in size.  There are some wood frame homes but most are concrete block and stucco. Sizes vary from just over 1200 sq ft to well over 3,000 sq ft. In addition to single family homes there are also condominiums.

Rainbow Springs Country Club is a great alternative to the 55+ golf course communities. You get larger lots and more privacy. Unlike 55+ communities you can find pool homes here. Most lots also have mature shade trees. There are also homes with golf course frontage.

Rainbow Springs country Club is a deed restricted community with very low HOA fees of about $110- per year. That’s because this is not a gated community and the fees only cover maintaining the common areas. Joining the country club is optional.

Rainbow Springs Country Club has a clubhouse and golf course.  The Clubhouse features a swimming pool, tennis courts, shuffle board, a fitness center, billiards, crafts and a small library. There are also two restaurants, the Grill adjacent to the pro shop and Juliette’s for more formal dining. Joining the country club is optional and is not part of the HOA fees. There are several types of membership, both golf and social and it’s best to contact the office at Rainbow Springs Golf and Country Club for details.

If you are interested in homes in Rainbow Springs Golf and Country Club email me, call me or use my Dream Home Finder. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart to see homes that meet your needs.

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Candler Hills Golf Course

HOA fees do not include golf in Ocala area golf course communities. Buyers who don’t play golf often are concerned that they might be paying for a golf course that they wouldn’t use. While buyers who do golf sometimes expect that golf is included in their HOA fee. Here in Ocala golf is not included in the HOA fees of any community that I’m aware of.

Part of The Villages is in southern Marion County and they do have free golf on their 9 hole executive courses. I don’t work down there and don’t consider it part of the Ocala area.

Golf fees vary from community to community. The Ocala Golf Course Communities page of my web site has links to most courses associated with golf course communities.

If you’re interested in Ocala Golf Communities call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder and put golf course communities in the special desires box. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart for golf course communities.  BTW I can also search on homes with golf course frontage.

Below is my Google map of Ocala Golf course communities. Not all the golf communities on my map are 55+ and several don’t have a blog profile yet.

View larger map

Summerglen Ocala Florida

Summerglen is a 55+ retirement community with a very nice golf course just south of Ocala. There are both new homes available from the builder along with quite a few resales. All homes were  built within the past 6 years. Homes in Summerglen are all concrete block with stucco and range in size from a little under 1500 sq ft of living area to a little over 2500 sq ft. Prices vary a lot but most are from the mid $100K range up to the mid $200′s. As of the time of this blog there is a very reasonable $125- per month HOA fee. HOA fees include maintenance of the common areas, clubhouse and amenities, trash pickup, guard at the gate and lawn mowing but not fertilizing. Summerglen is an active 55+ community with a great clubhouse, heated beach entry pool, fitness center, library, crafts, dog park, softball field, basketball court and a lot more. Two things that Summerglen offers that most other communities don’t have are lawn mowing and free RV parking, both are extra costs elsewhere. Golf is an extra fee. There is also a nice restaurant, Moreno’s Grill located next to the clubhouse.

Update 1/10/2011 : As of today HOA fees are still $125- per month. There were 14 sales in Summerglen between 6/1/10 and 12/31/10 with just 1 sale over $200K and an average sale of $167,400-.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Summerglen fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder , call me or send an email. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart which is custom MLS search for Summerglen.

Images below.

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Oak Run is a large 55 plus community with 2 golf courses. Oak Run is located just off SR200 in the SW corridor area of Ocala. Construction began in 1985 and although Oak Run is almost built out you can still buy a new house from the builder. Oak Run is divided into neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have evolved over a 25 year period and each one has a unique character. The older homes are  frame with aluminum siding. A little later the homes were frame with vinyl siding. The newer homes are concrete block and stucco. As time went by the size of the houses grew as buyers expectations increased over that 25 year period. You will find older homes as small as 700 sq ft of living area and newer homes well over 3,000 sq ft. Prices as you might expect vary tremendously. At the time of this writing list prices are as low as $62,000- up to almost $500,000-. Most homes are in the $100,000- to $200,000- range. HOA fees vary by the neighborhood. In a few areas the homes include lawn care which adds to the fee. In general HOA fees at this time range from $10o- to about $150- with homes that have lawn care being  higher at $216- per month.Amenities at Oak Run are extensive. They include 3 gates with a guard house, basic cable TV, curbside trash pickup and common area maintenance. There is a golf course, several pools including an indoor pool, multiple clubhouses, a restaurant and numerous clubs. Golf is not included in the HOA fee.

Update 1/10/11 : There were 64 sales in Oak Run between 6/1/10 and 12/31/10 from $39,000- (only 960 sq ft) to $230,000-. Of these 64 sales there were only 5 foreclosures and just 2 short sales. HOA fees seem stable.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Oak Run fill out my Dream Home Finder or send me an email. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart for Oak Run. Read the rest of this entry »

Stone Creek

Stone Creek is a 55 plus, gated, golf course community located in SW Ocala.  Stone Creek is a newer community that is still under construction with both new homes and resales available. The homes here are concrete block with stucco and range in size from 1550 to over 2400 sq ft of living area. Prices range from about $170,000- to almost $300,000-.  In addition to the Stone Creek golf course there is a huge clubhouse with a state of the art fitness center, craft and game rooms, a resort style outdoor swimming pool, an indoor heated lap pool, tennis courts, a softball field and even a fishing pond.  HOA fees are around $175- per month. Stone Creek is conveniently located just north of SR 200 with easy access to shopping, restaurants and health care.

Update 1/10/11 : There were 17 sales in Stone Creek between 6/1/10 and 12/31/10 from $150.000- and $255,000-. There were no foreclosures or short sales. HOA fees remain at $175- per month.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Stone Creek either email me or use the Ocala Dream Home Finder. I can set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for Stone Creek homes.

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