Royal Highlands is located south of Leesburg, Florida, near where US 27 and the Florida Turnpike intersect. Royal Highlands is a stable, gated, 55+ active adult community with fewer than 5% of the homes on the market when we visited in February 2012. Built over a 10-year period beginning in 1996, it is a modern community with 1500 ranch style resale homes listed from $99,000 (2/2) through $325,000 (4/4, pool).

Royal Highlands home

Like Legacy, 4 miles to the north, nature reigns at Royal Highlands, with more than 1/3 of the land set aside for conservation. There are plenty of amenities including hiking trails, two clubhouses, indoor and outdoor pools, picnic areas, and lots of activities indoors, as well as at outdoor facilities for softball, tennis, bocce ball, and horseshoes. The Great Hall is a beehive of activity with social groups, activities, entertainment, and special events. There is even a yacht club: radio-controlled models, of course.

The community’s 18-hole, par-72 championship Monarch golf course is set amongst rolling hills and the four lakes in the community. Adjacent to the golf course is the Crown and Shield restaurant. The lakes also provide canoeing and fishing opportunities for residents.

Generous living area, pass-through kitchen

Our agent/guide Nicky Martz took us to see a unique home on the market. It offered 1,751 sq. ft. at a listed price of $149,000 ($51/sq. ft.). Not only were we impressed with the amount of house for the money, but there were no homes either across the street or in the expansive backyard; the home backed up to a conservation area and lake.

For more information about Royal Highlands homes or other 55+ active adult communities in the area, contact Nicky Martz by phone at 407-252-2596, by e-mail: Nicky@CentralFlorida55Plus.com, or you can visit her website at www.Centralflorida55plus.com.

Observation pavilion at PEAR Park

Our first stop on our Lake County tour was the Legacy of Leesburg, a gated, nature-themed active adult 55+ community located just south of the town of Leesburg. Although this is a resort quality community with a full complement of amenities, nature truly rules here. Across highway 27 from the entrance to Legacy is Palatlakaha Environmental & Agricultural Reserve (PEAR), one of the largest State Parks in Central Florida. Almost half of Legacy’s acreage consists of walking trails, wildlife wetlands, quiet lakes, conservation and bird sanctuary.  We saw many great blue herons in the area.

The majority of the 999 homes in the Legacy were built by Pringle beginning in 2000 . Of the four communities we visited, Legacy was the only one with new construction homes for sale. After the demise of the original builder, Florida Leisure Communities stepped in, and is in the process of building out and selling the final 72 new homes.

The onsite representative for the builder, Bill Webb, and our invaluable agent/guide Nicky Martz took us on a tour of the neighborhoods and the Town Center complex, the social center of the community, with card room, computer equipped library, and media center. Also available are a heated swimming pool, a fitness center, tennis courts, horse shoe courts and softball field. The legacy is a resident owned and managed, and apparently financially secure 55+ community. Less than 10% of the homes were for sale.

Open living area of Monarch model

Finally, we toured one of the new construction Monarch models, a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, single-family home, selling currently at $157,900. It was a spacious home with 1810 sqft. plus 2 car garage and screened lanai. We particularly like the optional bump-out in the garage that could be a golf cart nook or extra storage.  Other floor plan models were available as low as $150,900 (about 1700 sqft). Prices are subject to change of course. Contact Nicky Martz for information about new or resale homes by phone at 407-252-2596, by email: Nicky@CentralFlorida55Plus.com, or you can visit her website: www.Centralflorida55plus.com.

Highland Lakes Villas on the Green

We visited Highland Lakes in Palm Hardor, Florida June 2009, and looked at two units in the Villas on the Greens neighborhood. This is truly a great value for golfing enthusiasts. These 2BR 2BA villas had identical floor plans and were listed at $135.5K and $112K. Each had a 1 car garage and optional storage above the garage. An enclosed rear patio with utility is accessible from the living room or master BR. The dues and maintenance fees together were less than $220 per month and include golf membership, green fees, free RV and boat storage (fronting Tarpon Lake), all community amenities; the maintenance fee covers cable TV, lawn and exterior maintenance, trash and more.

Elsewhere in Highland Lakes you’ll find affordable single-family homes and condos with similar amenities and fees. Palm Harbor is a very desirable town directly on the Gulf, with abundant cultural, dining and shopping in the area. For more information, contact Retha Wright of Prudential Tropical Realty. She will be most helpful and lives in Highland Lakes. Her email is rwright@prutropical.com, call her at 727-785-2648, her office at 727-799-2227 ext 237 or visit www.rwright.prutropical.com.

Sun City Center Association

We visited Sun City Center June 3, 2009. The staff at the Visitor Center was very helpful and gave us a quick tour of the colossal clubhouse for this community of over 11,000 residents. There are nearly 200 clubs representing a multitude of interests, plus recreational facilities of all types. There are probably more things to do in Sun City than any other community in the Tampa Bay area.

Most housing is single family homes (SFH) selling for anywhere in the $50k – $600k+ range, new and resale. There are a few condo units and a number of older duplex villas dating as far back as 1961. The SFHs include older homes for as low as $150K and newer golf view homes at the high end of the price spectrum. There are over 100 home owner associations, each with their own maintenance fee that typically covers landscaping, lawn care and irrigation ($100+ per month). Insurance, taxes and utilities are the home owner’s responsibility. A $252 annual activities fee covers all the facilities, including pools and clubhouse, and all activities.

Most of the retail and community amenities can be accessed by golf cart, and in fact, there are 81 holes of golf for the community plus other special membership courses. This is an enormous community with over 6000 homes and 3 separate amenity campuses. Safety consists of a volunteer patrol that watches the community all night. The location is next to a state park far from the congested urban areas, but ample shopping is on site, and not far away are beaches and Tampa Bay.

For more information, call the Visitor Center at 813-642-2044 or visit Sun City Center.

Kings Point Clubhouse

We visited Kings Point June 3, 2009 as we were leaving the Sun City area. This is a gated community, and in fact, security is such that we didn’t get to see much of the community; we were directed to the on-site sales office where Walt Towner answered our questions and provided plenty of information about this community. In spite of its location in Sun City Center, FL, Kings Point is a separate entity, physically separate from Sun City Center, and has different bylaws that govern its over 100 home owner associations. There is a palpable rivalry between the two sections that we sensed on more than one occasion. Housing here consists of mostly attached villas, and some one-story condos in contrast to single family homes in Sun City Center. There are over 100 clubs representing a multitude of interests, two clubhouses, 63 holes of golf, indoor and outdoor pools, and walking and hiking trails. Kings Point borders on Little Manatee Park.

Kings Point opened in 1973, so its over 5200 units are newer than the original units in Sun City Center. Housing ranges from 800 sq ft condos to units with nearly 2,000 square feet. All homes include covered parking ranging from a one-car carport on older units, to 1-2 car garages on newer homes. Expect to pay $125K – $200K for nice 2BR. Maintenance costs $350-600 per month, but includes all recreational amenities (except golf) as well as exterior building maintenance, insurance, basic cable, landscaping, trash removal, security patrol and water service.

Like the rest of Sun City Center, most of the retail and community amenities can be accessed by golf cart. Ample shopping is on site or nearby, and not far away are beaches and Tampa Bay.

For more information, contact Walt at 813-215-9319 or his website, visit the King Point official web site, or the Kings Point golf website.

On Top of the World

It would be impossible to conduct a comprehensive tour of condos in the Tampa Bay area, or most of Florida, for that matter. There are thousands of communities, each with anywhere from one to hundreds of buildings.  Since condos are generally sold by off-site independent realtors, it is not easy to look at individual units. We searched through the open house ads and found a couple of condos at On Top of the World a large 55+ golf community. The first was not available for showing, so we looked at a larger 2BR/2BA unit. It was listed at $99,800 and had a few upgrades (power hurricane shutters, tankless water heater) but still needed some updating.  There was a patio,  but it was not accessible from inside. Although the real estate agent claimed it was built in 1989, the building looked considerably older. Most buildings at the community are multi-story; this one was 3 stories.

On top of the World is typical high-density condo living. If you don’t mind lots of neighbors on either side and often above and below, condo living can be a good choice. You have no yard to maintain, but there is little covered parking, and not all units have washer/dryer. At On Top of the World, you have a choice of 1, 2 or 3 BR condos ranging in price from $39k – $200k with anywhere from around 1000 – 1500 sq ft. of living space. While there is no new construction here, there is a wide variety of buildings, floor plans, and unit amenities with plenty of units to choose from. The community comprises around 5000 condos, some with golf or lake views.

On the plus side, there are lots of amenities at this community, such as free golf, heated community pool and hot tub, fitness center, and a very active recreation center. There are plenty of daily activities, and lots of chances for meeting new friends. It is conveniently located in Clearwater, FL with great shopping nearby.

For more information, contact Florence Lugo of Flo Lugo Realty at 727-447-1194.