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Ocala Palms Golf Course Community

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Ocala Palms entry sign

Ocala Palms

Ocala Palms is a golf course community located in the NW part of Ocala Florida.  Ocala Palms is a 55+ community. There are a few frame and vinyl homes but most are concrete block and stucco here.  Home prices and sizes vary a lot. The size can range from 1,000 sq ft of living area up to almost 3,000. Ocala Palms has a lot of homes with golf course frontage and a fair number of hard to find 55+ pool homes. HOA fees include the club house, outdoor and indoor pools, tennis, a 24 hour guard at the gate, common area maintenance, curb side trash pickup but not golf. Ocala Palms is a golf cart community meaning you can drive your cart down the road but you can’t make it to any shopping. The HOA is for social activities. The clubhouse, golf course and common areas are not owned by the residents which is not unusual in this area.

4/2015 HOA fees are $185- month. They include the guard at the gate, trash pick up, and use of the amenities, Golf is not included and is extra. There is also an extra $20- monthly fee for cable TV which is mandatory.

Update 3/16 HOA fees are $197- month plus the mandatory cable TV fee. Sales have really picked up over last year.

Update 1/20/2018 HOA fees remain the same at $198 month plus $20 cable tv.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees are now $205- month.

Update 3/4/2021 HOA fees are now $217- month.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Ocala Palms fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, give me a call or send an email. I will set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for Ocala Palms.

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Sold comps don’t lie

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I was talking to a buyer while giving a tour of a couple of 55+ communities. When asked what people got off the list price I replied that homes sell for about the 96% of list price like you see in my Market Reports. My Market Reports are based on info published monthly by our board of Realtors. She seemed to think there was an odd desperate seller out there ready for a low ball offer. I told her she could make any offer she wanted but it really should be based on sold comps to be taken seriously. In 55+ communities it’s easy to find sold comps from the past 90 days and sold comps in 55+ and most non 55+ stick to that 96% of the list price statistic.

Is Ocala headed for a sellers market ?

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When the real estate market crashed in 2007 Ocala was hard hit. Resales went so low new home builders couldn’t compete. No one has started a major new community in almost 10 years. Subdivisions that already existed continued to build sporadically during those years but there were no new major investments. Only in the last year have we seen new investment. Shea homes started a Trilogy community. DR Horton is building in the area including JB Ranch. On Top of the World is building in new areas of Candler Hills and Indigo East. But those are established or revived subdivisions that already existed in some form.

In other parts of the country you buy a home in a town because you got a job there, you grew up there or you have relatives there. Here in Ocala people come here to escape the winters, retire on a budget or to escape the taxes and home owner insurance of southern Florida or some other state. Ocala needs it’s home inventory to constantly increase to keep up with newcomers. To some extent the flow of newcomers slowed when they couldn’t sell an existing home but it never stopped. People retire when it’s time to retire. Based on this I feel Ocala will have a housing shortage and a sellers market in the near future.

Marion Landing Ocala Florida

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Marion Landing entry sign

Marion Landing is a 55 plus retirement community located in SW Ocala. Marion Landing is in a great location just off SR 200 close to shopping, restaurants and hospitals. There is a nice clubhouse with it’s own bowling alley, a large solar heated  pool, tennis court and even a small fishing pond. HOA fees cover water and sewer, common area maintenance,all amenities and twice weekly curb side trash pickup.  Marion Landing was built over a period of 30 years. There is a mix of homes here.  There are mobile homes from the 1980’s, frame and vinyl construction and some very high quality newer block and stucco homes. Even older less expensive homes here show pride of ownership. Marion Landing is not gated but there is a night time security patrol. If you have a dog you cannot fence your yard here like some other nearby 55+.

Update 3/2015 HOA fees are still a very reasonable $112- month.

Update 3/16 HOA fees remain at $112- month which is a great deal considering they include water up to 35.000 gallons per quarter.

Update 1/30/17 HOA fees still $112 month. A great deal.

Update HOA fees are now $125- month and include water and sewer. Still a great deal.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees are now $127- month and that includes water and sewer !

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Marion Landing fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, call me or send an email. I will set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala MLS for Marion Landing.

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Spruce Creek Preserve Dunnellon FL

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Spruce Creek Preserve entry sign

Spruce Creek Preserve

Spruce Creek Preserve is just off SR 200 in Dunnellon Fl. This is a great location because it is just a short drive to restaurants, shopping and health care in the SW 200 corridor area. Spruce Creek Preserve is a gated, 55+, golf course community.  Houses in Spruce Creek Preserve are frame with stucco or frame with vinyl siding. Homes here can range from 1,000 sq ft of living area to over 2,000 with most being in the middle. HOA fees of around $120- per month which includes the guard at the gate, clubhouse, common area maintenance, curbside trash pickup and basic cable TV. Golf is not included in the HOA fees. Spruce Creek Preserve is a very nice community that shows pride of ownership

Update 3/16 HOA fees are $121- month. Fees are very stable here and it seems like a well run association

Update 1/20/18 HOA fees are $124 month. A great deal.

Update 1/23/19 HOA fees went up to $127- month. A great value still.

Update 3/2/2020 HOA fees went up to $127- month. A great value still.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Spruce Creek Preserve fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, call me or send me an email. I can set you up a Listing Cart on the Ocala Marion County MLS for Spruce Creek Preserve.

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Ocala 55+ communities vs The Villages

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yellow Golf Cart with 57 Chevy hood

This is a quick comparison between retirement homes in Ocala and The Villages. There are 2 major differences between Ocala 55+ and the Villages. They are the golf cart lifestyle and money.

The Golf Cart lifestyle. In the Villages you can drive your golf cart along golf cart roads all over. So much so that most Villagers use a gas powered cart because you travel further without your battery running out of juice.

On Top of the World is the only community in Ocala where you can drive a golf cart to shopping. This is because there are 2 shopping centers on either side of the main entrance and you never need to leave private property to access them. There is no golf cart driving down public roads or on the sides of the roads. You can access 2 grocery stores, 2 banks and a few restaurants, a post office and miscellaneous shops but it is nothing on the scale of The Villages.

Money. You pay a serious premium for driving your golf cart around The Villages. The 55+ communities in Ocala and Summerfield, which is just south of Ocala and north of the Villages are much less expensive. By that I mean in the area of 25-30% less or you could get a much larger home for the same money. Almost all homes in Ocala built after the late 90’s are block and stucco where as many newer homes in The Villages are still wood frame.

Activities. If never ending constant activities are your thing The Villages has a definite edge but every where I go when I’m in The Villages seems crowded. Ocala offers a more laid back quieter lifestyle but you can still find plenty of activities. Del Webb, On Top of the World and Triolgy all are know for active lifestyles.

If you are looking at The Villages you owe it to yourself to look at homes here in Ocala and Summerfield. Call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. I am not associated with any one community and work for you.

Trilogy Ocala Preserve

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large paver area with furniture looking out to a small pond

View of Reflection Lake from Lakeview Veranda

Ocala Preserve is a new Trilogy community developed by Shea homes. It is located on SR 27 in the NW horse farm area of Marion County just a couple of miles west of I 75. There may from time to time be a couple of resales but most homes here are new. The HOA fees are currently $395- month but cover a lot. There is outside maintenance including mowing, pruning, lawn care and water for the lawn. You pay for water you use in the house. Trash is not included and is $17- month extra. You also get cable tv the Centurylink Prism Essentials package but a DVR is extra. A blazing fast 100 mg internet is also included in the HOA fee. There is a fitness center with Technogym equipment which can interact with an app on your smartphone. The clubhouse called the Oak House has a restaurant, a special kitchen for cooking classes and private dining area. There is an outdoor heated resort type pool and a lap pool but no indoor pool. There is also a golf course designed by Tom Lehman, The Club at Ocala Preserve. Trilogy at the Ocala Preserve delivers a definite resort feel popular in newer 55+ communities. Of special interest to those who are not 55+ yet is a section of the community that is not age restricted. In addition to all of the above there is a dog park, extensive walking and biking trails, Reflection Lake where you can fish or kayak, pickleball courts, tennis, and a large green area called Reunion Park. The community is gated with a real life person at the gate.

Update June 1 2018 HOA fee is now $415- Month

Update 3/2/2020 HOA fee is now $430- Month

If you are interested in new homes at Ocala Preserve call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder. I can show you new homes at Trilogy, competing Ocala 55+ communities and newer resales to help you make the best decision for your move.

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Marco Polo Village 55 plus

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Marco Polo Village 55 plus entrance sign

Marco Polo Village 55 plus

Marco Polo Village 55 plus is a different kind of Ocala retirement community.  It is not gated and there is no clubhouse, pool or other amenities. The homes are concrete block with stucco and are located on large 1/2 to 3/4 acre lots. Most homes are from the late 90’s to early 2000’s. Marco Polo 55 plus is basically a neighborhood of single family homes with deed restrictions that make it 55 plus. There is also a Marco Polo Village that is not 55 plus so it can be confusing if you don’t know the area. There is a minimal yearly HOA fee to cover common areas maintenance. Marco Polo 55 plus is located just off SR 200 and close to anything that you might want. Homes here are large and of high quality.

Marco Polo 55+ seldom has more than 2 or 3 active listings. There are similar non 55+ neighborhoods nearby. Quail Meadow is some what similar, 55+ single family homes on 1/4 acre lots.

If you would like a list of homes for sale in Marco Polo Village 55+ fill out my Ocala Dream Home Finder, call me or send an email.

Managed by: Vine Management of Ocala, 1515 E Silver Springs Blvd #110, Ocala, 34470

Contact is Rebecca McCray 352-812-8086, email: info@vinemanagementofocala.com

http://www.marco-polo-village-one.org

 

Marco Polo 55 plus street scene

Ocala Home Owner Insurance and Roof Age

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I was looking at retirement homes for a buyer I’m working with and the homes he liked were from the late 90’s. A couple of listings boasted that the home had a 30 yr architectural shingle roof in great condition. Maybe the seller and the listing agent don’t understand that a roof older than 20 years is hard to insure regardless of the shingle warranty or the roof’s condition. Last year I decided  to shop for a better price on my home owner insurance after seeing better rates that many of my buyers were getting. My house is a 1998 with a 30 year roof. It was while searching for better rates I personally discovered the difficulty in shopping for insurance with an older but very good condition roof. I did succeed in lowering my insurance cost but I was also rejected by a couple of major Florida insurance carriers. This is a great link to my current insurance agent, Windward Insurance FAQ page on their web site with a question that addresses older roofs in Florida.

Marion Landing Home for Sale

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Front of tan colored home with 2 car garage door

A nice home in Marion landing for sale. Built in 1992 this home is 1653 sqft under air with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, a large bonus room, cathedral ceiling living room, formal dining area and 2 car garage. It has an updated roof, AC and water heater. Marion Landing is a 55+ community. HOA fees are $112- month and include water and sewer as well as trash pick up twice a week. Amenities include a nice clubhouse, a solar heated pool, tennis, basketball, shuffle board and a fitness room. Unique to Marion Landing is a private bowling alley and a fishing pond. Marion landing is located just off SR 200 and close to multiple grocery stores as well as restaurants, health care and shopping. List price $115,000.00 SOLD

See my profile of the Marion Landing community with further information as well as numerous pictures of the amenities. Pictures of the home below.

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