Golf course homes in Ocala Florida. Description of Ocala golf course communities with images, prices, amenities and HOA fees.

Spruce Creek Preserve home for sale

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white house with tree in front

Spruce Creek Preserve home for sale. This Fir model, built in 1998 has 1,424 sqft of living area and 2244 sqft under the roof. It features newer carpeting, updated appliances, 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths and a 2 car garage. It is in an especially desirable location with no neighbors directly in back. There is a great view of the clubhouse from the Lanai. HOA fees are $117- month that cover trash pick up, use of the clubhouse, pool, fitness center, maintenance of the common areas and professional community management. Golf is not part of the HOA fees. This home is priced at $89,500-

UNDER CONTRACT  Only 57 days on the market !
SOLD

 

Short Term Ocala Rentals

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Every fall people from up north email me about renting a home usually in a retirement community for a month or two during the winter. If rentals like this exist they aren’t handle by real estate agents. First off when you rent a house for less than 6 months and one day in Florida the owner is supposed to collect hotel taxes. Secondly think about it from the owners perspective. The owner has to find a new renter every month or two? In addition there is no rental market in the hot Florida summers so the house sits vacant. Finally even if an owner wanted to do a short term rental they couldn’t pay a commission to an agent they’d have to handle it on their own. Realtors do handle leases, usually 1 year leases.

How to establish fair market value

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I spend about 95% of my time as a buyers agent here in Ocala. One question that comes up is “what should I offer?”. I suggest that a buyer look at comparable sales to come up with an offer. A good comparable would meet the following criteria.

same sub division

sold in the last 90 days

within 1 mile of subject property

+/- 10% of the sq ft of living area

same # of beds, baths and size garage

+/- 5 years in age, 10 years if home is over 10 years old

same construction type

All this above can be used by a buyer to come up with an offer on a home or it can be used by a seller to find a proper list price. In the end it doesn’t matter what a buyer or seller thinks a house is worth. What matters is the price that similar homes have sold for in the past 90 days. Sellers should keep in mind that in order for a buyer to get a loan a bank will send out an appraiser who will use very similar criteria for an appraisal.

Yes, you have to be 55 to buy in an Ocala 55+ community

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I always get this question even though you’d think it’s self-explanatory. Do you have to be 55+ to live in an Ocala 55+ community? At least one person on the deed has to be 55.  HOA’s require proof of age in the form of a driver’s license. Some also make you sign an affidavit to that effect. This is true of every Ocala/Marion County retirement community.

Ocala retirement homes with a view

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I always have buyers looking for a retirement home and an item high on their wish list is a nice view.  Most retirement communities are laid out with parallel streets and the homes are back to back. This is especially true of newer communities. If you think about it this makes a lot of sense. The builder gets a maximum number of homes on his land.

There are options for what you’ll see in back of a 55+ home.

1. A house right behind you, which is by far the most common.

2. A house right behind you screened by a buffer of trees or shrubs. In this case you’ll still see you neighbor to some extent

3. A view of woods. You find this in a home located on the outside perimeter of a community.

4. A golf course view. This is a premium lot that adds a great deal to the price of a new home but you do find deals on resales.

Some of your best bets for finding a home with out another home directly in back of you are Oak Run and Ocala Palms. Oak Run isn’t laid out with parallel streets. It is divided into neighborhoods and a lot of homes face a buffer between these neighborhoods. Ocala Palms was set out to maximize the number of golf course lots. There are great prices on homes with golf course frontage in Ocala Palms.

If you’re interested in Ocala 55+ retirement homes then either call me, email me or better yet use my Ocala Dream Home Finder.

 

Candler Hills Ocala FL home for sale

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picture of home in Candler Hills

This is a home for sale in the exclusive Candler Hills part of the On Top of the World communities. The Huntley model is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car garage home with 2,181 sq ft of living area. It features a gourmet kitchen with maple cabinets, stainless appliances, an electric wall oven, gas cook top and Corian counter tops. There is a formal dining room for entertaining. The Great room is large and bright with high ceilings and crown molding. The master bedroom is very large and leads to a master bath with a double vanity, tile floor, a walk in Roman shower and an enormous closet. There are 2 other bedrooms and a 2nd bath on the opposite side of the house from the master as is the case in a split floor plan. This home is located on a premium corner lot with a nice view from the screened Lanai. The build quality of Candler Hills homes is superior to most other newer 55+ retirement communities. The floors are hardwood and not laminate. The MB shower and around the tub in the 2nd bath are tile and not a fiberglass plug-in.  Candler Hills is known for extremely energy-efficient building practices. At only $185,000.00 this is a great price when compared to new construction or other nearby newer retirement homes.

My blog post profiling Candler Hills with info on the amenities, HOA fees, images of the community and a link to the golf course..

SOLD for 96% of list price in only 80 days

 

 

 

Golf is never included in the HOA fees

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Candler Hills golf course shows sand traps

Candler Hills Golf Course

HOA fees do not include golf in Ocala area golf course communities. Buyers who don’t play golf often are concerned that they might be paying for a golf course that they wouldn’t use. While buyers who do golf sometimes expect that golf is included in their HOA fee. Here in Ocala golf is not included in the HOA fees of any community that I’m aware of.

Part of The Villages is in southern Marion County and they do have free golf on their 9 hole executive courses. I don’t work down there and don’t consider it part of the Ocala area.

Golf fees vary from community to community. The Ocala Golf Course Communities page of my web site has links to most courses associated with golf course communities.

If you’re interested in Ocala Golf Communities call me, email me or use my Ocala Dream Home Finder and put golf course communities in the special desires box. I’ll set you up a Listing Cart for golf course communities.  BTW I can also search on homes with golf course frontage.

Below is my Google map of Ocala Golf course communities. Not all the golf communities on my map are 55+ and several don’t have a blog profile yet.