Real Estate in the WDW area

[Jim&AngieMarriner]

Hey everyone. I have a question for the folks who live in the WDW area. I will be retiring from Active Duty Army in about two years. My goal is to get a mid level job with WDW in an Anti-Terrorism/Force protection field. I have 17 years experience in Military Intelligence so i have high hopes about my prospects. ANYWAY.... I would like to start looking around for property in commuting distance. No more than say 20 Mins away. What city/towns would be best to get a nice 4 bedroom house? DW and I looked in Celebration last night and there were some decent houses but most were bank owned and were also Short Term Rentals. I know I have a LONG time before i really need to figure this out but I feel the need to plan. Its the military in me I guess.

Any advice you have is deffinately welcome, especially of where NOT to live. Thanks.

If this thread doesnt belong in here, Mods please move it.

[azcavalier]

I do *not* live in the WDW area I live in SW Virginia), nor do I know what neighborhoods are good or bad. However, last week I saw an article about how the economy/real estate bubble bursting has left 20% of homes in Florida vacant. So, I got online and started looking at homes in Orlando/Kissimmee area. I was finding 3000 - 4000 sq. foot homes for $250K or less, depending on how new they were. Makes me mad. I live in an area where the bubble didn't burst. It still takes a long time to sell something here, but it didn't affect the value. Nice to know i'm not under water on my home, but you could live somewhere else (like Orlando) in a nicer house, for a lot less than you can here.

[sassafras]

I have an aunt that was a realtor in Deltona until recently. She says real estate prices have dropped drastically in the last few years and it's pretty much a buyer's market. I think she said the average drop in price was about 40,000 a year in the last couple of years. Don't know of any close locations, but sounds like it may take quite a while for prices to rebound.

[Daisy'sMom]

The market is slow, the banks are not releasing any money. My sister is a broker here with about 25 realtors and they are having major problems with banks and buyers. She said buyers are under te impression that they can walk in and get any property for any price. The banks are not giving loans and the houses are not appraising for the loans...........Most of the homes are short sales and foreclosures. She said that right now her agents have over 90 contracts pending since last Nov or before waiting for the bank to approve. The bank holds on hoping they will get another offer that is better. So be careful, the real estate market is difficult right now.

[Jim&AngieMarriner]

I guess I should Make myself a bit more clear. Being Military I will be using a VA loan so i wont have any porblems getting the loan. At the moment though I am in a house so i will have to sell it before I move down to Florida. And I cant move down there until spring of 2013 at the earliest. Right now im just having fun looking at houses but would appreciate advice as to good areas and areas to stay away from. At a guess, I would say that thanks to the high taxes (at least by my standards) I would have to stay under 225,000 for a house.

[dnickels]

Some places you might consider

Winter Garden -stretches from the rear entrance of Disney property at the Magic Kingdom (about a 2 minute commute) up to the shores of Lake Apopka (about 20 minutes). Everything from new construction to houses built in the early 1900s. Has all the new shopping/restaurants you could want, but also has a historic downtown area that's really neat -Friday night music on the town square/plaza, monthly car shows, Saturday farmers market, that sort of thing.

Clermont -longer drive (probably 20-30 mins via the 429). Was an orange growing area but lots of new construction in the last 10-15 years. This is about the westernmost edge of the greater Orlando suburban area. Also has all the new shopping/restaurants you could want and an older downtown area, but their downtown isn't as nice as Winter Garden's.

Oakland -west of Winter Garden and east of Clermont. Smaller than Winter Garden and Clermont, not as many services (shopping/restaurants), but that also makes it quieter. The old/historic part of town has a very classic southern feel with lots of huge live oaks covered in spanish moss.

Winter Garden would get my vote. If you want something in a newer subdivision look south of the Turnpike, if you want something with more of a hometown/small town feel look at the area from Plant Street north to Lake Apopka. You probably want to stay away from the area between the turnpike on the south and Plant St on the north.

If you have Q's on a specific area don't hesitate to ask.

[Jim&AngieMarriner]

@dnickles Thanks this is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for! Got lots of time to look around but this gives me a great starting point.