Wellington communities - Olympia vs Versailles (foreclosure, HOA fees, insurance)

[Newyorker2]

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Ok, so we were down in FL for the long weekend and I fell in love with the homes in Wellington. I went to Olympia and loved it and know the exact home that I want but will put off buying until next year when prices drop a bit more. My husband prefers the Acreage, and wants to buy a lot and build a home on it with a pool and guest house, I on the other hand, prefer the "security" and amenities of a gated community ( notice security in quotes). Can anyone weigh in on the pros and cons of gated community vs living in the acreage? I know of the HOA fees and regulations which dont bother me, but any huge differences in taxes, insurance etc.. My friend told me that taxes and insurance are less in communities than non.

Also, while i love Olympia, I have heard about the beauty of Versailles, though one person told me that Versaille home owners are dying to get out due to some sort of problem with the inspection of the land that the homes were built on and that they are beginning to sink. Can this possibly be true?? HELLP...we are not looking to move until probably next year, but i wanna do my due diligence before i consider coming down./
Also if anyone can offer me info on schools and typical lifestyle in wellington that would be great!

[NY-FL-DC-ATL]

I live in NYC now and I went to high school in WPB so I know a little something. The housing part you are on your own except for the fact in FL you don't really know your neighbors like that. I mean maybe the directly connected ones but thats about it. As far as the parts of town I know. Wellington has come up a lot in the last 10 yrs. When I went to school out there there was nothing out west people had to come east to shop and eat or play. When I come back to visit I've noticed they have developed a lot you can pretty much operate day to day without having to come east. They even made coming east a lot easier with the street improvements i.e. southern blvd.

Schools I know for a fact school of the arts downtown is very good achedemically and the school I graduated from is the #4 school in the country Suncoast. They used to bus kids in from out west so there shouldn't be a problem.Wellington HS was good back in my day too. There are several private schools that are ok too. I'm not sure how the new schools built after 1999 are.

[Kamiah1111]

I have looked at homes in both communities. If you can afford a home in Versailles you are better off buying in Olympia in the newest section. You will get more for your money and not be robbed by a dishonest HOA. Versailles has a lot of homes that people have abandoned and the construction seems to be poorly done. Such as windows leaking into the walls ect. But the very worst part of Versailles is their HOA. They have a philosophy that "if people can afford to buy in here we can charge them monthly fees in the 500$'s". That just gives you a false sense of security and trust for who is running that community. I know a few families in both communities but only the families that live in Olympia have nothing but good things to say.

[Reedsmit]

Be very cautious right now of buying in the Acerage; there is a major problem with a large number of cancer cases.
New 'cancer cluster' concerns in The Acreage

http://www.wptv.com/media/lib/90/f/b/4/fb4b2eeb-09dd-4fb5-9661-d5e2367dd419/Contributor.jpg (broken link) Reported by: Tim Malloy
Email: tmalloy@wptv.com
Last Update: 6/19 2:00 am
http://www.wptv.com/images/videobullet.gif (broken link)New 'cancer cluster' concerns in The Acreage 2http://www.wptv.com/images/videobullet.gif (broken link)New 'cancer cluster' concerns in The Acreage

http://www.wptv.com/media/lib/90/6/1/f/61f2fbd5-3a79-4700-be9b-33f90bf82a0a/Story.jpg (broken link)
http://wptv.img.origin.entriq.net/img/dp_thumbs/thumb_1245388854586_0p1224915129573298.jpg (broken link)

THE ACREAGE, FL--Acreage resident and personal trainer Jennifer White is obsessed with diet and fitness.
For three years she has been searching for the cause of a pituitary tumor that she fears will destroy her life.
"It's in my pituitary gland and we just don't know the source," she said.
Jennifer lives in The Acreage within two miles of Richard Cotromano.
Richard's five year old daughter Elizabeth suffers from an optic nerve glioma that requires chemotherapy.
He too wonders if there is something in the environment of the sprawling rural area that is causing cancer.
"It's so many people in such a small area. Something is not right"
Jennifer and Richard contacted NewsChannel 5 after seeing our report on three Acreage mothers whose children all developed brain tumors.
The children all survived.
I met another Acreage mother, Raeda Hourney, who lives a few blocks away from the women I profiled yesterday.
She told me her daughter Amarra has a lung tumor. She is six years old.
"My husband and I are from big families. Never anything like this, no cancers in the brain or the chest," she said.
"Cancer Cluster" is a frightening description of similar cases in a small area developed over a short period of time.
NewsChannel 5 medical expert Doctor David Soria says the proximity of one case to another is unique but not necessarily alarming.
He says it should be investigated but 'clusters,' a thousand a year are reported in the US, are hard to prove.
The six children who developed tumors in The Acreage lived within 2 miles of each other.
There is no panic, but there is concern and the state health department says it is in the early stages of investigating.

[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?

[looking_for_more_stuff]

Originally Posted by Kamiah1111

I have looked at homes in both communities. If you can afford a home in Versailles you are better off buying in Olympia in the newest section. You will get more for your money and not be robbed by a dishonest HOA. Versailles has a lot of homes that people have abandoned and the construction seems to be poorly done. Such as windows leaking into the walls ect. But the very worst part of Versailles is their HOA. They have a philosophy that "if people can afford to buy in here we can charge them monthly fees in the 500$'s". That just gives you a false sense of security and trust for who is running that community. I know a few families in both communities but only the families that live in Olympia have nothing but good things to say.

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...

[llong]

Playing off of the original thread...Any opinion on the "family atmosphere" in each community. We are a young professional family with 3 young children and are looking for a kid friendly community. Any opinions on one over another?

[Bobstar]

Versailles is full of young professional families with children and you can get a great deal in there now. Check it out for yourself.

[THX 1138]

Originally Posted by Bobstar

Versailles is full of young professional families with children and you can get a great deal in there now. Check it out for yourself.

Most of which are filing for foreclosure because they went in over their heads.

[skylinet]

Yeah, lots of "brass knobs" in there. When the bank takes over the property they rip out the nice lockset and put a cheap brass one on to replace it. It seems a new foreclosure comes up in there on my foreclosure list every week or two.
There are more than a few homes in there that went for a million and the first loan was 800k and the second was 200k. 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.