Eric Cavanagh

Oakleaf Plantation is an upscale family community located on the Westside of Jacksonville Florida. As a planned community, it has become one of the more desirable places in Jacksonville to purchase a home. The Real Estate in the Oakleaf Plantation area is shared by Jacksonville, FL in Duval and Orange Park, FL in Clay county. This community resembles a small city that provides all types of recreation and shopping. There are several huge Amenity Centers that boast large pool slides akin to what you'd find in a water park. With several tennis courts, multiple ball fields, jogging paths, meeting areas and club houses, there's plenty to do.

There are several different communities with in Oakleaf, as well as some older communities along Argyle Forest Road. You get to Oakleaf by going west off of Blanding Blvd and must travel several miles before reaching Oakleaf Plantation Blvd. Argyle Forest is a collection of developments built on the old Spencer Plantation; they parceled out the farm and developed it over a period of time. Many of the communities still bear the Spencer name in their title. There are several beautiful lakes along the road and one in particular that draws local residents to feed the ducks with their children on a sunny afternoon. If you're looking for a great deal on a older home, this is where you should look. You get all the benefits of living in a desirable area with access to great shopping and restaurants and the Orange Park Mall without the premium placed on the newer construction and the CDD fees.

Continuing to travel west on Argyle Forest Blvd you make your way to Cheswick Rd, Here you'll find a McDonalds, a Winn Dixie and a plethora of other stores. Turning south onto Cheswick you can access a number of newer neighborhoods built in the late 90's and you'll cross over into Clay County and some even newer neighborhoods if you take a left at the end of the road to go east again towards the brand new Argyle Elementary School. There is even a townhouse development here for a mix of residential choices. Prices in this section run from $150k to the lower $300's

Back out on Argyle Forest Blvd going west again you'll pass Watermill which actually encompasses all the housing on this part of Argyle Forest Blvd until you get to Oakleaf Plantation Pkwy. There were 4 or 5 builders in this part of the development and this area is full of good deals with many short sales and a spattering of foreclosures and REO's. Unfortunately this area has been hard hit because of the massive amount of new construction that occurred here between 2000 and 2006.

Many Families enjoy the fine amenities provided in the Oakleaf communities. Single Family Homes, Commercial Real Estate and Condominiums surround the area. There is a wide variety of places to shop and share great meals with family and friends at the brand new fabulous restaurants. With the recent addition of the Oakleaf Town Center there are 100's of stores and shops to visit with many national retailers being represented.

Turning left into Oakleaf Plantation you'll be entering an area of over a thousand homes ranging from small 1300 square foot houses to mansions over 4500 square feet and $600k-$800k. You'll pass 'Builders Row' as you come into the communities. "Builders Row" is a short street before entering Oakleaf Plantation proper where the 6-8 builders that were represented in Oakleaf built thier model homes. They are all private residences now but it is an impressive display of houses nonetheless. As you enter the development you'll pass Silver Fox Rd and there are neighborhoods both to your left and right as you near the massive Amenity Center with its gorgeous pool and dual waterslides that are three stories high! Going further back it is pure residential and as I mentioned earlier, a veritable cornicopia of house sizes and types.

If you are looking for a family freindly community and an area that is self contained for shopping and recreation, Oakleaf is perhaps as good as it gets. There are nicer places in Jacksonville, but not many. Most of this part of Oakleaf is in Clay County and that means some of the better schools in the area. Contact me for more information about this area or to get listings of available single family houseing or if you are interested in townhouse or condo information, there are townhouses in Oakleaf and codos in nearby Eagle Harbour. Visit my website at www.ericsellsjax.com

If I had a nickel for everytime I've been asked this.....

Working mostly with first time home owners, They here the term but are not really sure what it means. I just wanted to take a few minutes and write down a brief explanation of "short sale" and whether it's right for your situation.

It is anything but short. Typically the homeowner finds themselves upside down (owing more than the house could sell for) on the mortgage and falling behind on payments due to a host of different reasons. If the owner can demonstrate an unresolvable hardship to the lender they might agree to allow the house to be sold for less than the total amount owed by the owner in lieu of foreclosing on the house. Their incentive to do so is predicated on the fact that they would take less of a loss by short selling it than if they incurred the actual expense of a foreclosure.

While some people can take advantage of this situation and get a great deal, it's not for everyone. Typically the terms of the offer need to be approved by the lien holder(s), and this process can take up to 90 days. If you are on a time schedule for moving, this can be frustrating. In addition, these sales are almost always "as is" which means they won't do any repairs. At the very least it's going to need paint and perhaps carpet. At the most there won't be any appliances, there could be holes in the wall or other damage that could be costly. If that is the case it will usually be reflected in the price, but then you'd need to have the cash to renovate it to make it habitable (FHA has a special loan for that - ask me about this).

Lastly, don't expect any closing cost help from the lien holder(s); you'll need to pay all your own closing costs which could be 3-4% of the loan, and that's on top of your down payment. These days we see a lot of FHA loans because they allow for only a 3.5% down payment, but may be a little stricter in terms of the inspection of the house. This means to you that if the house is too rough, FHA won't approve the loan unless you get certain items remedied.

Final advice: if you go this route use a Realtor. The commission for the Realtor is built into the price and there are forms that are specific to this type of sale that must be used. You'd be better served, depending on your situation, to look at REO's if it's a killer deal you're looking for. The fact of the matter is that it's a buyers market right now and interest rates are at record lows. There are still plenty of regular resales out there and their prices are being driven down by the short sales and REO's in the neighborhood. Resales are willing to contribute to closing costs and will fix most major items uncovered during an inspection. If you're on a budget and a time schedule the resales are still your best bet!