Florida 55 and over community with golf course?

[garyt]

Looking for reasonably priced Fla 55 and over communities with nice golf courses. Looking first to rent for the winter a nd possibly buy. Manufactured home communities are fine. Just looking for some ideas as to where to start looking. May spend this January down there somewhere. I know it's really late to be looking for rentals but at least we can check some places out for next year. 

    My inlaws lived at Solivita and that would be ideal with two nice courses but it's a bit spendy. Where would you suggest we look?

[chipa]

The Villages in the Ocala area probably has what you are looking for.

[Warrior42111]

There is a place in central FL harmony preserve. Now the community it self is 55+ but the course (Johnny Miller Design) is semi private. Not sure if that's a deal breaker. Also decently located near Orlando and the beaches if either is your scene.

[chipa]

There is also Reunion Resort in Orlando/Kissimmee. they seem to cater to the older crowd plus they have a Jack Nicklaus course that I worked on. I lived in Orlando for 5 years, it's full of seniors and tourists and there's lots to do and plenty of g.c. The Disney courses have deals in the summer and you can play what the pros play for only $35.

[player12]

included in the Ocala area is On Top of The World, a 55 complex with 3 golf courses, plus many other courses available in greater Ocala area.  Check out their stay and play deals. 

[sabram]

3 hours ago, chipa said:

There is also Reunion Resort in Orlando/Kissimmee. they seem to cater to the older crowd plus they have a Jack Nicklaus course that I worked on. I lived in Orlando for 5 years, it's full of seniors and tourists and there's lots to do and plenty of g.c. The Disney courses have deals in the summer and you can play what the pros play for only $35.

I just bought a place south of Disney. I looked at Reunion. They revamped their golf membership plans within the last year. There is very limited availability and it is quite expensive to join the Reunion Golf Club. So I passed on that.

 

I almost bought at Championsgate Country Club. The Golf Membership is included in your monthly HOA fees and it is not nearly as expensive as Reunion. The homes are nice but very crowded and it's a mix of homeowners and tourist renters. Lots of nice amenities, but taxes are high because of the CDD fees.

 

I also looked at Southern Dunes and Harmony. There are some really good deals on re-sale homes at Harmony, which made me a little nervous. I like the course there and the community, but it is in the middle of nowhere.  Southern Dunes is a really good course and you can get a card for discounted green fees, but you can do that whether or not you have a home there.

 

Kings Ridge is a 55+ community in Clermont that is about 20 years old. They have a decent, but not great golf course on site plus an executive course. It is not expensive to join or play there. The neighborhood is beautiful and there are some nice decent value homes.

 

IMO, the best bang for the buck with a combination of fantastic amenities, beautiful new homes that are not too expensive and proximity to golf, is Del Webb Orlando, a 55+ community. Southern Dunes is 5 minutes away from the back exit; the newly renovated White Heron is on premises; Championsgate and Reunion are 10-15 minutes away, Celebration, Falcon's Fire and Providence are 15-20 min away, Waldorf and the Disney Courses are 25 minutes away etc. Del Webb has a golf club for residents that makes group tee times for residents 3 or 4 times a week at various area courses.

 

 

[socccer4life3]

tons of those in and around the naples area.

[golfortennis]

19 minutes ago, sabram said:

I just bought a place south of Disney. I looked at Reunion. They revamped their golf membership plans within the last year. There is very limited availability and it is quite expensive to join the Reunion Golf Club. So I passed on that.

 

I almost bought at Championsgate Country Club. The Golf Membership is included in your monthly HOA fees and it is not nearly as expensive as Reunion. The homes are nice but very crowded and it's a mix of homeowners and tourist renters. Lots of nice amenities, but taxes are high because of the CDD fees.

 

I also looked at Southern Dunes and Harmony. There are some really good deals on re-sale homes at Harmony, which made me a little nervous. I like the course there and the community, but it is in the middle of nowhere.  Southern Dunes is a really good course and you can get a card for discounted green fees, but you can do that whether or not you have a home there.

 

Kings Ridge is a 55+ community in Clermont that is about 20 years old. They have a decent, but not great golf course on site plus an executive course. It is not expensive to join or play there. The neighborhood is beautiful and there are some nice decent value homes.

 

IMO, the best bang for the buck with a combination of fantastic amenities, beautiful new homes that are not too expensive and proximity to golf, is Del Webb Orlando, a 55+ community. Southern Dunes is 5 minutes away from the back exit; the newly renovated White Heron is on premises; Championsgate and Reunion are 10-15 minutes away, Celebration, Falcon's Fire and Providence are 15-20 min away, Waldorf and the Disney Courses are 25 minutes away etc. Del Webb has a golf club for residents that makes group tee times for residents 3 or 4 times a week at various area courses.

 

 

 

Dumb question, but what are CDD fees?

[sabram]

23 minutes ago, Bluefan75 said:

 

Dumb question, but what are CDD fees?

Community Development District. It was new to me too. There are areas of Florida that establish specicial districts to develop infrastructure such as roads, sewers, utilities etc and charge fees like a tax to residents within the district. The area around Championsgate within Osceola County with lots of new development has some hefty CDD fees. They get billed along with your real estate taxes. The higher the price of your home, the higher the CDD fees. Del Webb and Southern Dunes are i Polk County and don't have CDD. 

[garyt]

49 minutes ago, sabram said:

I just bought a place south of Disney. I looked at Reunion. They revamped their golf membership plans within the last year. There is very limited availability and it is quite expensive to join the Reunion Golf Club. So I passed on that.

 

I almost bought at Championsgate Country Club. The Golf Membership is included in your monthly HOA fees and it is not nearly as expensive as Reunion. The homes are nice but very crowded and it's a mix of homeowners and tourist renters. Lots of nice amenities, but taxes are high because of the CDD fees.

 

I also looked at Southern Dunes and Harmony. There are some really good deals on re-sale homes at Harmony, which made me a little nervous. I like the course there and the community, but it is in the middle of nowhere.  Southern Dunes is a really good course and you can get a card for discounted green fees, but you can do that whether or not you have a home there.

 

Kings Ridge is a 55+ community in Clermont that is about 20 years old. They have a decent, but not great golf course on site plus an executive course. It is not expensive to join or play there. The neighborhood is beautiful and there are some nice decent value homes.

 

IMO, the best bang for the buck with a combination of fantastic amenities, beautiful new homes that are not too expensive and proximity to golf, is Del Webb Orlando, a 55+ community. Southern Dunes is 5 minutes away from the back exit; the newly renovated White Heron is on premises; Championsgate and Reunion are 10-15 minutes away, Celebration, Falcon's Fire and Providence are 15-20 min away, Waldorf and the Disney Courses are 25 minutes away etc. Del Webb has a golf club for residents that makes group tee times for residents 3 or 4 times a week at various area courses.

 

Where did you end up buying?

 

[golfortennis]

1 minute ago, sabram said:

Community Development District. It was new to me too. There are areas of Florida that establish specicial districts to develop infrastructure such as roads, sewers, utilities etc and charge fees like a tax to residents within the district. The area around Championsgate within Osceola County with lots of new development has some hefty CDD fees. They get billed along with your real estate taxes. The higher the price of your home, the higher the CDD fees. Del Webb and Southern Dunes are i Polk County and don't have CDD. 

Hmm, and here I was always brought up to think things like roads and sewers were what property taxes were for.  Silly me.

[garyt]

Thanks for the replies and keep them coming. While I would like a golf course on site  it's not a deal breaker. I'm not the type to play only one course over and over but would like the opportunity to join a club with tournaments, etc. It wouldn't even have to be a great course, just something decent.

Edited September 25, 2020 by garyt

[sabram]

2 minutes ago, garyt said:

 

In Del Webb.

 

I forgot to mention, there are other 55+ communities adjacent to Del Webb that are part of a larger development called Ridegwood Lake that enter through the same gate off of Rt 27, The homes are a little older and a little less expensive, but still nice and the amenities are not quite as nice, but the golf course options are identical

[ronnbee]

Stoneybrook Sarasota

[Jungleland]

Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton) could be an option.  It’s not 55+ but it might as well be.  It’s 40 miles south of tampa and a series of gated golf course communities, still building golf courses in this area as well.  It’s far enough from Tampa that it caters to retirees and 2nd home types (snowbirds).  

 

Glad to see CDD mentioned, basically a tax that is supposed to go away but that generally takes 20 years.  Couple the CDD with higher HOA dues in gated communities and you have some bigger monthly bills.   We pay $390 a month for our HOA but we get our lawn cut, chemical treatments and a community cable/wifi package that is pretty decent.  Fortunately we don’t have a CDD in our neighborhood.