Wellington communities - Olympia vs Versailles (Palm Beach: short sale, real estate, rental)

[Bobstar]

"How people ever thought putting no money down on a million dollar house was a good idea still amazes me... even as a realtor.
If you are okay waiting out the mess you can get a very nice house for pretty reasonable."

I could not agree with these two statement more. I think that sums up where we are right now.

Anyone looking to buy a house now, no matter where, needs to be in it for the long haul. In Versailles, you can get a very good deal now. The houses are very nice, the community is kept in very good condition and the clubhouse/pool, etc. looks great too. There are plently of young families. Many houses are also owned by snow birds. In my opinion, the schools the children attend are better (elementary and middle) than the schools serviced by Olympia. Also, while people may say the HOA dues are high, you get more than most other HOAs and despite people liking to point out that there are foreclosures (what community does not have them?), the HOA dues have not increased for 2010. Anyone curious should look for themselves.

[llong]

"How people ever thought putting no money down on a million dollar house was a good idea still amazes me... even as a realtor.
If you are okay waiting out the mess you can get a very nice house for pretty reasonable."


Do you have any predictions on the market for next spring? We are coming down Aug. 2010 and taking a look at the area(we've visited before) and if my husband and I like it, get jobs lined up, we will move June 2011. Where do you predict the market in Versaille will be then? I know foreclosures are heartbreaking for those in the situation though it maybe an opportunity for us???? What do you think?

[skylinet]

I don't work in Wellington that often so I am not an expert on the area so this is just an opinion from my observations. Many of the neighborhoods there were built during the boom so there is a lot of short sales/foreclosures since most people paid premium prices.

In Versailles you can buy a home that was built to be over a million for 400k. An obvious concern there though would be that how many 400k sales before the owners that are stable in their payments get fed up on the loss they are taking every month and walk away.

I don't think its as bad in Versailles, but many of the neighborhoods have been hit with short sale renters. People that are paying next to nothing to live there because the owners aren't paying the mortgage.

Vacancies, the short sale/foreclosure process can be lengthly and sometimes people move out or if it was investment in the first place the renters have moved. Versailles has lawn care in the dues, but I don't think they maintain it if the owner is not paying the dues. Or at least that's how it looked when I was in there this week.

Eventually the dust will settle and you will have a beautiful home... It all depends on what you are looking for and what lifestyle you are looking to live. I would also check out Boca and Palm Beach Gardens/Jupiter while you are down here.

[Bobstar]

"Versailles has lawn care in the dues, but I don't think they maintain it if the owner is not paying the dues. Or at least that's how it looked when I was in there this week."

No, they maintain it despite the owner not paying. The lawns of some of the houses do not look as good as the others because the automatic sprinklers are likley turned off....

In terms of sales, houses are moving very well in Versailles because you can buy a million dollar home (that was never really worth that amount) for $400+K. My realtor friend sends me updates and prices are stabilizing. Some of the larger houses are selling in the 600 to 700 range.

[THX 1138]

Rob Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice lives in Versailles, but honestly I would have bought a house in Palm Beach Polo for the prices people paid for those homes in there and you would have Bruce Springsteen as a neighbor.

[Kamiah1111]

llong
I would not worry about that unless you are looking to move to Loxahatchee. There is no link to that in wellington what so ever.

[ochousewife]

Originally Posted by looking_for_more_stuff

I actually live in Versailles (5 years) and would remind others that HOA fees are typically a lot less while the developer is still building in the community. Once the developer closes on the last home and passes the community over to the HOA the true cost of the HOA fees is realized.

The other consideration is that while the builder is still developing a community, if / when you go to sell your home not only are you competing against local sellers, but you are also competing against the builder who has a new home to sell, versus a used home...the builder has been out of Versailles since 2007, I don't have any idea when the builder will be out of Olympia...

Versailles has 450 homes within the community, Olympia looks to have more than 1000.

Last consideration relative to HOA dues...if you've ever been in our community, you would agree that amenities are top notch and well maintained. Included with your HOA fees are Home Security system monitoring, actual guards that drive through the community to check things out, not just sit in a guard house, High speed internet (16 Mb, not 1.5, 3, or 6), Basic Cable (channels 2 - 99), lawn maintenance (mowing, edging, hedge trimming), lawn fertilization, sprinkler maintenance, etc...

Regarding construction, I've heard of a couple homes that had issues in Versailles, and have also heard of several in Olympia...

HOA's, everyone has an opinion, but I feel the group we have has done a great job at keeping the costs down, pushing vendors to provide good service and not raising their fees in the economic times we are dealing with.

My suggestion would be to check out both communities while you are down here, keeping in mind what I said about HOA fees once the builder closes with the HOA and decide for yourself...

We are considering a move to Wellington and really loved Versailles much more than Olympia or the others in the area. I have many questions and would like to contact you to get some answers. We were just there last week and we saw no kids out (for sure it was hot!) and I am wondering just who my neighbors would be (besides Vanilla Ice). Are they doctors, lawyers and executives (the ones who are staying, not the ones I read about who were beauticians that somehow got a loan for a million to buy a home they never lived in)? We are coming from a neighborhood in KY where my neighbors are bank presidents, executives who are former NFL players, doctors, executives for Humana...and I would like the same. Another question is with more foreclosures forthcoming, how will the HOA subsidize those that aren't paying? I really like the area, but I am very anxious to leave my small, affluent (aka Mayberry), safe area where everyone knows each other (yes, they will talk about you behind your back, just like high school). Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!!!!

[Bobstar]

I bought in Versailles about a year ago. I have two small children. I am also a partner in a law firm. You will find lots of kids and professionals there. The HOA board is being very proactive in keeping the dues stable and will be pursuing deadbeats and seeking to have renters pay them if the owner is not paying its dues.

[Structure]

Originally Posted by llong

We too are concidering Wellington move next spring. This "cancer cluster" is disturbing information. Are they concerned about the community of Wellington as well?

Wellington is not on the same water supply as the rest of the county. They do not acquire water from the same system as the acreage and they do not use West Palm Beach city water.

[Structure]

Originally Posted by ochousewife

We are considering a move to Wellington and really loved Versailles much more than Olympia or the others in the area. I have many questions and would like to contact you to get some answers. We were just there last week and we saw no kids out (for sure it was hot!) and I am wondering just who my neighbors would be (besides Vanilla Ice). Are they doctors, lawyers and executives (the ones who are staying, not the ones I read about who were beauticians that somehow got a loan for a million to buy a home they never lived in)? We are coming from a neighborhood in KY where my neighbors are bank presidents, executives who are former NFL players, doctors, executives for Humana...and I would like the same. Another question is with more foreclosures forthcoming, how will the HOA subsidize those that aren't paying? I really like the area, but I am very anxious to leave my small, affluent (aka Mayberry), safe area where everyone knows each other (yes, they will talk about you behind your back, just like high school). Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide!!!!

I recently got a chance to speak to the HOA this week inside Versailles. She claims that there are no talks of HOA Assessments in 2010 and the last assessment was small (around $500) about 1.5-2 years ago. Out of 450 homes inside Versailles she also said that only 30-35 are under foreclosure.