Plantation FL Homes with No Homeowner Association Fees

This is the first in a series of posts listing South Florida neighborhoods that are HOA-free!  Today’s installment focuses on Plantation, FL neighborhoods with NO homeowner’s association. 

As is typical of cities in western Broward County, the majority of neighborhoods with no homeowners association can be found on the eastern half of those towns since new construction mainly happened from the coast inward and HOAs have become commonplace only in recent decades.   Plantation is no exception and most of its neighborhoods with no homeowners association are located east of University Drive.  Next to each neighborhood’s name, I’ve included the price range of homes you’ll find in that neighborhood as of the date this post was published.

Some of the eastern side of Plantation’s neighborhoods that are HOA-free include:

• Breezeswept Park Estates (mid-$200’s to high-$300’s)
• Country Club Estates (low-$300’s to high-$400’s)
• East Plantation (high-$200’s to high-$300’s)
• Golf View Heights (low-to-mid $300’s)
• Historic Plantation (mid-$500’s to $1.5 million)
• Lakeview Estates (mid-$400’s to mid-$500’s)
• Lauderdale Golf Estates (mid-$200’s to high-$300’s)
• Marcano Estates (high-$300’s to low-$500’s)
• Mirror Lake Estates (low-$300’s to low-$400’s)
• Plantation Gardens (low-$300’s to low-$500’s)
• Plantation Golf Estates (mid-$400’s to low-$800’s)
• Plantation Harbor (mid-$400’s to high-$700’s)
• Plantation Hills (high-$300’s to mid-$400’s)
• Plantation Isles (mid-$300’s to mid-$700’s)
• Plantation Landings (high-$300’s to mid-$600’s)
• Plantation Park (mid-$200’s to mid-$500’s)
• Plantation Point (low-to-high $200’s)
• Plantation Secluded Gardens (high-$300’s to high-$400’s)
• Plantation Sunrise Heights (mid-to-high $200’s)
• Royal Palm Estates (high-$300’s to high-$400’s)
• Royal Palm South (high-$300’s to mid-$500’s)
• Tropical Estates (low-$400’s to mid-$500’s)

In the western side of Plantation, only a few HOA-free neighborhoods exist, including:

• Melaleuca Isles (low-$300’s to mid-$500’s)
• Nob Hill Estates (low-$300’s to mid-$400’s)
• Plantation Acres (high-$300’s to over $2 million)

If you’re a home buyer looking for Plantation FL homes for sale, let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll do our best to help you find it.  The current inventory in the above-mentioned neighborhoods is plentiful.  Let us show you the ones that match your criteria and see for yourself why Plantation, Florida is a great place to live!

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Living Free of Homeowner Association Fees and Constraints

With an eye towards helping homebuyers save money and perhaps find more affordable housing, tomorrow I’ll introduce the first in a series of posts that will highlight neighborhoods that are HOA-free!

Every so often a home buyer will let me know up-front that they’re not interested in looking at homes in any neighborhood run by a homeowner association.  The most common reasons I hear are that they either don’t want to pay a homeowner association fee or they simply don’t want to live by other people’s sets of rules.  Most homeowner associations (HOAs) have rules and regulations that anyone purchasing in that neighborhood has presumably been made aware of by the previous homeowner via the HOA documents.  Among other things, maintenance fees pay for the upkeep of a community’s amenities… regardless of whether you use them or not.  Many homeowner associations have protocols which residents are supposed to abide by.  This can include completing an application to be submitted to the Architectural Review Committee if the resident wants to make any modifications to the exterior of their home, which is not necessarily limited to the structure as it oftentimes includes major landscaping changes.

On the flip side, there are advantages to living in a community that has a homeowner association.  One of the benefits is that you don’t need to worry about such things as living next to a house whose owner painted it purple or some other color that doesn’t blend with the rest of the neighborhood homes.  Another benefit (which some will dispute) is that it keeps property values up by forcing residents to keep their homes and its landscaping in good condition.  However, this works best when the HOA has some “teeth” (for example: the ability to charge fines when a homeowner breaks the rules).  Homeowner associations also allow residents to share in the costs of maintaining common areas and any amenities available within the community (examples include a pool, spa, clubhouse, exercise room, tennis courts, children’s playground, lighting, gated entries, etc.).

Throughout Florida, homeowner associations did not start to become popular or commonplace until about 20-30 years ago so you’re more likely to find more neighborhoods that are not governed by a homeowners association closer to the coast than further inland.

Pompano Beach Florida Condo – Vacation Rental

Do you have a friend or relative who plans on visiting South Florida in the next few months and would prefer not to stay in a hotel during their stay?  If so, a short-term rental condo may be the solution! 

This Pompano Beach vacation rental condo is located in Hillsboro Shores Executive Club which features two swimming pools, a fishing pier and more!  The condo community is situated directly on the Hillsboro Inlet in Pompano Beach and offers panoramic views of the Hillsboro Lighthouse, inlet and ocean beyond. Boating enthusiasts may rent dock space on a first-come, first-served basis for boats under 29 ft. for a reasonable fee. 

This 1-bedroom, 1-bathroom condo has been updated and may be rented for as little as 2 weeks or a few months!  The rental amount is $900 for a 14-day rental or $1,200 per month.  Cable, electric and A/C maintenance is included in the rent.  This condo is available for rent through December 27, 2007 (at the off-season rates mentioned here) as well as in March 2008 (seasonal rates apply).  If you own a boat and want quick access to the ocean, this is the place!  View a virtual tour of this Pompano Beach FL vacation rental condo.  For additional information, please contact Leanne Paynter at 954-846-1600.

South Florida Real Estate Market Conditions – June 2007

The Florida Association of Realtors (F.A.R.) has released the sales reports for June 2007.  Compared to last month, the number of single-family resale homes that sold in Broward County increased by about 17% and Palm Beach County saw a smaller increase of approximately 3%, while Miami-Dade County experienced a decrease of nearly 5%.  At the same time, the median sales price for single-family resale homes in the Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area increased while it decreased in the West Palm Beach and Miami metropolitan areas. 

Sales of resale condos in all three South Florida counties slowed.  Meanwhile, the median sale price of resale condos in Broward and Palm Beach Counties has decreased while the Miami metropolitan area’s resale condo sale prices has experienced a slight increase in comparison to last month.

*Median is the price at which half of the homes sold for more and half sold for less.

Source: Florida Association of Realtors (F.A.R.)

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Calculate Your Monthly Mortgage Payment

Whether you’re a first-time home buyer or a seasoned buyer, take advantage of free online tools to assist you in your decisions. Before your start looking at homes for sale in South Florida, you need to know how much mortgage you can afford.  If you’re not ready to visit with a mortgage broker to get pre-approved for a Florida home loan, here’s a free online mortgage payment calculator you may find useful. 

Screening Tenants for your Florida Rental Properties?

Do you screen your own tenants for your investment property in South Florida?  It’s important to remember that tenant screening when trying to rent out your real estate investment properties can be fraught with potential liability. Major risks include violating federal acts such as the Federal Fair Housing Act or the Federal Credit Reporting Act (remember that you can get a free copy of your credit report annually either by telephone, mail or through the government authorized website). The Fair Housing Act identifies seven protected classes: religion, national origin, race, ancestry, sex, familial status and disability. The Credit Reporting Act requires that if you turn potential tenants down you are required to provide them with a written notice explaining why they were turned down if the reason was to any extent based on their credit report.

To reduce your liabilities and increase your odds of getting good tenants for your investment properties, consider using a South Florida property management company or an objective third party (such as a screening company) to handle the screening of your tenants.