Oak Island Harbor

[donny]

I have seen a villa that we like in Oak Island Harbor which is not gated. We have always stayed in gated communities and would be glad to hear of any comments about non gated communities, anyone know what the area is like, should we be concerened that its not gated, also what a difference in price range you get even within the same community,all the villa photos look lovely, this villa seems on the higher price side than other quotes, any advice would be great.
thanks

[ellie]

Unless a gated community has a guard on duty all the time, 24 hours a day, then to be honest you might as well be in a non-gated community as so many people have access to the gate code that it gives very little security - and you only have to drive behind someone to get in through the gates anyway. Lets face it, everyone from the trash collection to the pizza delivery guy has to access these homes.

We went to visit someone on a gated community recently and the code we had been given wouldn't work so the guy behind got out of his car and very helpfully put in the correct code for us! [msnwink]

Orlando is, in the main, very safe, and there are some lovely communities available, both gated and non-gated so really it is a matter of deciding what is important to you and then looking to see what is available.

I would certainly not restrict my choice to purely gated communities, as you will be missing out on some beautiful homes.

Have fun choosing!

[florida4sun]

Hi I lived in subdivisions with and without gates, I found it made no difference to day to day living. When we go back we usually stay in a community without gates.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by donny
I have seen a villa that we like in Oak Island Harbor which is not gated. We have always stayed in gated communities and would be glad to hear of any comments about non gated communities, anyone know what the area is like, should we be concerened that its not gated, also what a difference in price range you get even within the same community,all the villa photos look lovely, this villa seems on the higher price side than other quotes, any advice would be great.
thanks
[/quote]

[Newhomebuyer]

Oak Island Harbor is a good location. Some of the villas are on small lakes and some have quiet back gardens (yards) It is very close to the parks and there are a lot of good restaurants close by. It is part of the same community as Oak Island Cove so there are quite a lot of villas at this location. The owners of the villas will be able to describe the exact location of their property in relation to lakes, other villas etc. They will also be able to give you an idea of what they offer which may explain the difference in prices.

The fact that this is a non gated community will not have made a difference to people who have chosen it in the past. Many non gated communities are just as quiet as gated ones.

[jimiansville]

I agree with Ellie. Before buying in Florida we rented on gated and non gated communities and it didn't make any diference from a safety point of view for all the reasons that Ellie has outlined. I would concentrate on finding a villa that meets all your requirements rather than getting hung up on whether it is gated or not.

There are lots of great homes on offer and I'm sure you will find a lovely home!