Nocatee - Future appreciation

[grayrunner]

Most people looking at the units in developments like Nocatee think of it as just looking at the house and accepting all the info from the salesman. It is not!

Your'e buying a percentage of the development with all of its past, present and future obligations. If you want to pay 400k for ex for a non- HOA single family house and it goes down in value you can still keep it if you want to. Iv'e lost several neighbors to foreclosure and it hasn't affected my costs. But not in this case.

If Nocatee ownership starts to default, you have to pick up the costs. They may say in the contracts they can't add it to the individual fees but the board will vote on it to keep the city inspectors from shutting the whole place down.
That's number 1.

Number 2. Most developments have short term financing during the construction phase. Banks are now notoriously tight on money. The interim financing is like a house of cards until the development reaches certain stages of construction and sales. It may(will) be dependent on factors you don't know about.

Number 3. Even the basic construction has potential liabilities. Chinese drywall, (Look at Cape Coral and Naples), promised city infrastructure improvements but the city doesn't have the money, etc!

Number 4. The economy!

Non disclosure only works if you can prove it! The brokerage and underwriter attorneys for new developments are working very hard on that one! Plus who you gonna sue when the corporations discard the expendable shell designed for bankruptcy protection?

Considering all that, is it worth the risk?

Anyone wants explicit info has to do his own research, its your money.
I'm on record on this board going back several years, look it up, I was saying the local RE prices were overpriced and unsustainable in 2007.

[Robyn55]

One option you haven't mentioned is defaulting on the CDD (municipal) bonds. Since I'm a lawyer - and I haven't read all the Nocatee documents (I have looked at the municipal bonds but that's about it) - I don't have a clue what might happen if X, Y, Z comes to pass. And won't speculate about it.

I do agree that anyone moving anywhere should check relevant documents. I also recommend hiring a lawyer before entering into any type of real estate transaction. A lawyer is usually relatively cheap compared to the dollar amount of the transaction - but people won't spend the money . This applies not only to CDDs - HOAs and condo associations - but to homes that aren't in any type of association (for example - you have to check how property in your area is zoned).

I will note that in my personal life - over the last 35 years - I have always bought newer never-lived in places (2 condos and built 1 house) in associations that were either recently completed - or very close to being completed. There is always uncertainty in life - but I like to minimize it in terms of where I live.

All construction everywhere is potentially defective - or not built very well - or in a state of disrepair - etc. There is nothing unique about Nocatee in this regard. FWIW - I've not heard of any Chinese drywall cases in Nocatee or other communities in St. Johns County. But that doesn't mean the construction in any particular place is good - much less excellent. You have to do your homework (or learn how to do your homework if you're not from the area - things that are important in Florida may be unheard of or even dangerous in California - e.g., we build for hurricanes and they build for earthquakes).

A home is the single largest investment the average person in this country makes. Yet I see too many people (a lot of them on this forum) making these decisions on a long weekend trip . These same people probably spend more time shopping and learning before buying a new refrigerator!

Finally - we can't insulate ourselves 100% from the financial troubles of our neighbors or the economy no matter where we live. More foreclosures - lower property values - lead to all of us paying more in taxes (or accepting reductions in services). When people and governments get into financial trouble - they tend to neglect their property more. I don't care where I live - I don't want a vacant foreclosed house next to me. Although I obviously don't have any choice in the matter. Robyn

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by JoJoCal19

I do have to agree with gray on the darkness aspect of Nocatee parkway and Palm Valley area. My wife used to work at the Sawgrass Mariott and drove every morning anywhere from 4am to 5am from the WGV and she used to complain of the same things. Nothing but darkness until you get near the round about where Palm Valley intersects with Mickler. I've only ever driven that route at night once and hated how dark it was. Of course it might be different now as she hasn't driven that way since last November.

Well Nocatee Parkway is a big improvement over old CR 210 IMO because it has 4 lanes. Don't have to worry about idiots trying to pass blind or dangerously on a 2 lane road. Robyn

[donisanasfan]

Clearly those who complain about the road through Nocatee have not been on it. Roscoe Road would be what I would classify as a death trap, but all roads in Nocatee are well lit, new, and beautifully landscaped.

[beachingit]

I have been shopping Nocatee and have found that some builders are subsidizing or paying off completely the CDD fees to generate sales.

[hlauburn]

Originally Posted by beachingit

I have been shopping Nocatee and have found that some builders are subsidizing or paying off completely the CDD fees to generate sales.

Which builders?