help...thinkin of st augustine/jax move (Jacksonville, Plantation: to rent, HOA fees)

[pumba]

Hi - my hubby & I are thinkin'of relocating to the Jacksonville>St Augustine area in 08. We've got friends in Julington Creek and have heard that the St Johns county schools are good. anyone have any input? trying to sort thru' all the internet data to make a god choice...is painful. We have a 6 yr old son to think about schooling wise>>but also would like to be near the beach>>and not have too terrible a commute...right now my hubby has almost a 2 hour commute down into Atlanta from home in Cumming.
prefer not to go into huge community development>much prefer a subdivision even if a big one>would like some acreage if possible..>maybe 3 bed/2 bath house>

What's the cost of living like?
housing?
any info is greatly appreciated>want to hear positive and negative>we don't have to go to the Jacksonville area>but would prefer to stay on the east coast side.
thanks
Pumba

[FLPL75]

Hi pumba
Where will your husband be working so we can get a better idea of locations to suggest.

Wow 2 hours from Cumming to Atlanta, whew we almost moved to Cumming when a job transfer was a possibility. My husband would of been working in Atlanta and we thought it would of only been 1 hour. Now I am even more glad we are staying.

Julington Creek is nice and you are correct about the St Johns schools.
Some of the older neighborhoods right around there have some bigger lots.

Do you have a price range you want to stay in?
I have a good friend that is a realtor if you want the name of someone you can trust to find you a home not just a house.

We are on the Southside and it is 12 miles to the beach, Julington Creek would probably be about 30 mins to the beach. You would have either Jax beach area or St Aug to chose from.

Karla

[pumba]

thanx for the info Karla> hubby probably working in Jax city area>we want to be out south>maybe Julington or down into st aug> not too fussy> want something below the $250,000 price range>worried about all the HOA and CCD costs>plus understand the cost of living is way higher> what's an average water bill, electricity, cable etc?? want to try crunch the numbers.
Hubby going to work w/head hunter>he's in commercial security installation> project manager. I'm an pediatric occupational therapist and hoping to find a job either in the school system or a private practise. Do you have a state funded 0-3 year old special needs program? we have Babies Can't Wait here in GA> sure Fl has something similar> where therapists go into the home to provide services for kids that qualify??
really gathering info right now>want to make a good, informed choice. we'd like to buy somewhere where we can stay for 5+ years. can't decide if its better to rent 1st and then look for house>or buy and just move right in. Def. like the st johns schools the best. Don't mind being outta the city...or a commute> so prefer going south more.
thanx for any input

[FLPL75]

Hi there
We have a 2100 sq ft house and our ele bill including water runs anywhere from $120 to a high of $245 during the summer using the A/C. We do have a well for our irrigation system this keeps our water bill down.
Our cable is about $145 for expanded (no movies) cable, internet, DVR.
Our old neighbor who moved from across the street to Cumming told me his gas bill alone to heat his house was close to $200 a month. Not to mention his water bill has been $70 a month without watering the lawn. So based on what he is paying up there compared to what he was paying down here, it is less here.
I am not sure about the program for children because we don't have any, but another poster hereinfla may know that information.( I will send her a PM to look at this thread)

If possible could you make a trip down to look at the different areas? Thats the best way. There are some areas of Fruit Cove and Switzerland that might have what you are looking for in your range.
When I talk to my Realtor friend I will see if he knows of any.
My husbands boss lives in Fruit Cove and her house is on 3/4 of an acre.
Karla

[riveree]

Pumba,

If you decide to look in the Julington Creek area, you'll see and hear a lot about "Julington Creek Plantation" - which is really nice, and you might find a small home in there for $250k range, but since you are trying to avoid the add'l CCD & HOA fees, look on the outside of the Plantation - there are little neighborhoods all around the Plantation that might be closer to what you're looking for. Myfask basically said this in the previous post, but I just wanted to give you a clear distinction since there is "Plantation" and then simply "Julington Creek area" to choose from.

A little to the North you'll find another popular area, Mandarin, that might suit your needs.

If you're in Jax, you'll be using JEA for your utilities. They send you one bill which is for water, sewer & electric. It can really vary from house to house, but a rough example would be a 2000 sq foot house might run you $100-$150/month for the total bill. It can be higher in the summer, obviously, but if you're just looking to stick a number on it for working out your budget, you might want to try $150. Some houses have septic in the Mandarin/Julington Creek areas, so I'm not sure how that fits in price-wise.

[daisies76]

We live in Julington Creek Plantation. HOA is 360.00 per year and CDD fee is 498.00 per year added on to the property taxes.

Our house is about 1800 sq ft, we use JEA, and our electric bill (combined with water) runs about 200.00-250.00 per month. Summer is generally a tad bit higher, and winter runs about 175.00, so I think averaging it out for the year, 250.00 would be pretty close.

We pay 65.00 for cable, (no movie channels) 65.00 for phone w/internet combined

As for a house under 250k, that will be very hard in Julington Creek plantation (You will find quite a bit in the Julington Creek area for 250-300k)
but Im sure you can find one in the Mandarin area, which is also pretty nice. Housing prices have gotten pretty high in Jax area as a whole in the last couple of years.

[riveree]

Originally Posted by daisies76

We live in Julington Creek Plantation. HOA is 360.00 per year and CDD fee is 498.00 per year added on to the property taxes.

Our house is about 1800 sq ft, we use JEA, and our electric bill (combined with water) runs about 200.00-250.00 per month. Summer is generally a tad bit higher, and winter runs about 175.00, so I think averaging it out for the year, 250.00 would be pretty close.

Yeah, you can see our JEA bills are all over the place! I've never hit $200/mo. (yikes!) and my house is just under 2100 sq ft, but maybe I'm a bit of an electricity miser. Hey! turn that light off! It can depend on lot on how your windows are placed, age of home, etc., so yeah, maybe you're better off estimating higher than my $150 idea considering what others have posted here.

Daisies76, I'm curious, does your CCD include the bonds? I looked at building in Julington Creek years back (around 2002 I think), and I remember the realtor saying that some of the expenses, such as the bond portions, could be written off in your taxes...is that the case?

[John Breen]

Acreage is a problem close to the coast unless you've got the big bucks. St. John's co. has some very good schools where jax. public schools are not the best. Being somewhat close to the coast is what fla. is all about.

[daisies76]

Originally Posted by riveree

Yeah, you can see our JEA bills are all over the place! I've never hit $200/mo. (yikes!) and my house is just under 2100 sq ft, but maybe I'm a bit of an electricity miser. Hey! turn that light off! It can depend on lot on how your windows are placed, age of home, etc., so yeah, maybe you're better off estimating higher than my $150 idea considering what others have posted here.

Daisies76, I'm curious, does your CCD include the bonds? I looked at building in Julington Creek years back (around 2002 I think), and I remember the realtor saying that some of the expenses, such as the bond portions, could be written off in your taxes...is that the case?

Funny! We had our house built out here in 2002. As far as the bonds... hmmm, honestly Im not positive on that. Looking at our tax bill, it just says Jul Creek Plant CDD 488.90 (I thought it was 498.00 sorry) So I dont know if that includes bonds or what, but I dont see anything on our property tax bill listed as bonds. (Well actually I see a School bond @ 24.42, but thats it)

We have a pool, so maybe its higher because of the pumps, but I didnt think it made that much of a difference to our bill back when we didnt have the pool vs. now that we do, but Im sure that plays a part...(duh) We keep our house at 72-73 degrees. (I hate when the inside is too hot, plus we run 5 ceiling fans all day and a large box fan overnight to drown out my husbands snoring ) Oh...plus we usually keep the back door open to let the dog go in and out while we are at work, so then that AC has to work extra hard, but I do not want doggy messes in the house, so unforunately we have to do that.

And actually our bill for March was 190.00, so we were happy, but April we are up to 260.00. I guess we went AC happy.

[riveree]

Actually, your JEA bill doesn't sound so bad after you describe the scenario! Yeah, it's different in my house, we keep it warmer for the birds and I am the doorman for the dogs ('we want in, we want out, we want in...'), no self-service here.

I also planned for very few Southern windows when we built (I get plenty of eastern and western light with the western well-controlled). And I am a big believer in plantation shutters - they let in the light, but not the heat when angled right. They're pricey, but I know they save me money with JEA.

Overall Pumba, I don't think you need to be overly concerned with your utility bills here, I think they are considered reasonable compared to much of the country.