Well, the drywall coming out of China has some problems like a lot of Chinese products and now I’m required to provide a Chinese Drywall Disclosure to home buyers. Recent reports say drywall from China churns out sulfur based gases that eat away air conditioning coils, pipes, and wiring. Worst of all, it stinks…  literally. When building materials became hard to come by during the housing boom around 2004, builders started importing goods from China. Man, they make everything over there.

One of the major builders to do this in Florida according to the Wall Street Journal is Lennar. I gotta tell ya, they’ve built quite a few homes here in SW Orlando since 2004 including Stoneybrook West, Windsor Landing, and Brookestone to mention a few. I’m sure there’s other major builders that used this product and I’m sure they’ll get pulled out of the rank and file once the lawsuits start piling up.

I can’t believe there’s another toxic import from China. It seems like it was not too long ago, the news was about lead in kid’s toys made in China. One thing that’s for sure is that Chinese products are cheap, but at some point quality will have to come into play.

Here’s a pdf of the new disclosure: Chinese Drywall Disclosure

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve worked with lots of buyers in the Dr. Phillips area and also encountered lots of confusion on which areas are considered to be the Dr. Phillips area and which are not, so I created this map so people can figure it out. The zip codes that make up the area are 32819, 32836, and parts of 32835.

I’ll begin with the finest and priciest communities in Dr. Phillips and then cover other price ranges in the coming weeks so stay tuned.

To begin with, Cypress Point is probably the finest community here in my opinion and the prices reflect that as well. Homes can be found just under a million dollars here but will most likely require some updating since the majority of the homes were built in the early 90’s. It’s a small price to pay for such a neat community. Some of the most well known residents in Cypress Point include pro golfers Scott Hoch and Lee Jansen who reside in some magnificent estates overlooking Lake Sheen. Neither one of them live on the best lots here which are on the peninsula at Point Cypress where you have views of Lake Sheen in front of the house and views of Lake Tibet to the rear. The developers have preserved much of the towering oaks that made up this property so you get that grand old south feel throughout the community. There’s also a magnificent clubhouse on Lake Sheen and the guard at the gate is fastidious.

Phillips Landing and Turtle Creek are next on the ladder but to some may be comparable to Cypress Point. The lots are smaller here with less trees, but the homes were mostly built in the late 90’s so the homes are a lot newer and require little if any updating. Both communities are divided into three sections so not all the homes are up to par with the estate homes.

ABD Development developed the Bay Harbour section of Phillips Landing and the homes start at about $500,000. The Heritage Bay section was developed by Park Square Homes and offers the most affordable option in Phillips Landing with homes starting around $400,000. The estate section along the shores of Big Sand Lake is composed of works by some of the area’s finest custom home builders and prices start around $800,000. The most desirable homes have frontage on Big Sand Lake and the priciest with all the homes priced over $1 million. Some of the most well known former homeowners here include AJ McLean of the Backstreet Boys and Scott Stapp of Creed.

Turtle Creek is laid out pretty similarly to Phillips Landing. The most affordable option here is the Avalon section which offers maintenance free villa style homes starting in the mid to high $300’s featuring flat tile roofs, great room style layouts, brick pavers, and courtyards. Boca Pointe offers the mid range option with homes starting in the high $500’s. I prefer this section over Bay Harbour at Phillips Landing because the homes were built by different custom builders and provides for a more diverse set of homes. The estate section called Water’s Edge offers the finest homes with some of them having frontage on the Butler Chain of Lakes at Fish Lake. It’s one of the smallest lakes on the chain and you have to navigate a long and sometimes very shallow canal to make it out to the rest of the lakes on the chain, but still anything with access to the Butler Chain is tops in my book. Just like in the Estates at Phillips Landing, the finest custom builders in Central Florida shaped the landscape here so you can imagine it’s quite nice to say the least.

Then there’s the beautiful grand old lady of the area, Bay Hill. Home to Arnold Palmer’s PGA golf tournament and some of the finest residences in the area. There’s quite a diverse mix of homes that have been built here since its inception in the 70’s, but the most desirable homes back up to the golf course and Lake Tibet or Lake Blanche on the Butler Chain. It’s been pretty common lately for homes to be completely rebuilt on the golf course and the lakes. Tear down properties on the golf course currently start at about $750,000 and the homes on the lake start at just over a million dollars.

The streets that provide the best views of the golf course include: Tarawood, Brookline, Classic, Bay Hill, and Masters. There’s a few others, but the majority of the best views are here.

There’s also a marina and the Bay Hill Club makes it a popular choice for boaters and golfers alike. The Bay Hill Condos offers units overlooking the marina and easy access to the Butler Chain with prices starting around $400,000. They were built in the 70’s and the 8 foot ceilings with popcorn is just too much to get over for some, but it’s a small price to pay for easy access to the Butler Chain

Bay Point, Bentley Park, Tibet Pointe, Isle of Osprey, and Emerson Pointe are small gated sections along the Butler Chain at Bay Hill which command prices far above a million dollars and conversely have the finest homes. My favorite out of the bunch is Isle of Osprey

The newest high end community in Dr. Phillips is Vizcaya. The homes here are the newest, but also have the smallest lots. Many of the homes are three story to accommodate such a large home on a small lot designed by ABD Development. Vizcaya is divided into several sections which include high end condos, townhomes, single family, and luxury homes. My favorite section is the area developed by Reiche Silliman called Mirabella along the shores of Little Sand Lake. ABD built the homes on Big Sand Lake with the best views, but I still prefer Mirabella. One of the neatest features of Vizcaya is that it offers a bit of an urban lifestyle with it being walking distance to “Restaurant Row“.

For those who prefer not to be in a subdivision at all like myself, there’s Kilgore and Charles E. Limpus Road along the shores of Lake Pocket and Lake Sheen of the Butler Chain of Lakes. Not too many trees, but grand estates abound on this small stretch of road. Joey Fatone of the Backstreet Boys, Payne Stewart, Tracy McGrady, and Frank Viola, former Cy Young pitcher of the Minnesota Twins, have called it home here.

In any case, all these areas are the finest options in Dr. Phillips. There should be something here to accommodate most tastes and lifestyles. The ever growing “Restaurant Row” just adds more appeal to the area.

related post: Best of SW Orlando, Vizcaya Lakefront Home Plans, About Windermere and the Butler Chain, Golf Communities in Dr. Phillips

227 Acadia Terrace
Kissimmee, FL 34747

Offered at $1,599,999

Impeccable quality and phenomenal craftsmanship defines this French Provincial estate built by Goehring and Morgan located on one of the largest lots available in Celebration adjoining a wooded preserve that provides privacy and views of the green on the 15th hole at the Celebration Golf Club designed by Robert Trent Jones. Only the finest materials such as the exotic granite and marble imported from Italy, intricate woodwork and trim details, and artistic faux finishes were included in the construction of this fine estate. There’s all the upgrades you’d expect and some surprises like the wine cellar that doubles as a tornado room, solid core doors, and the insulated garage with carpeting. The property is totally separate from the rest of the community with the wooded preserve on a half acre setting providing the backdrop. Come discover your oasis.

• 5 Bedrooms
• 5.5 Bathrooms
• 5,962 Square Feet
• Half Acre Lot
• Conservation Views
• Study
• Bonus Room
• Courtyard
• Formal Dining
• Formal Living
• Wet Bar
• Wine Cellar
• Coffered Ceilings
• 2 Fireplaces
• French Doors
• Central Vac
• Lagoon Style Heated Pool with Rock Waterfall & Spa

The Windermere home on Lake Down belonging to star Yankee left fielder Johnny Damon that was featured on MTV Cribs just went under contract to be sold. It’s located in the Sunset Bay subdivision located just west of Apopka-Vineland Rd. on Conroy-Windermere Rd..

If you’ve seen the episode, you’ll know it’s quite a property with 6 bedrooms, 6 baths, 7,471 square feet, 9,206 total square feet, 2 bonus rooms, sauna, library, steam room, well lavished exercise room with wet bar, multiple kitchens, multiple master suites, and a resort style pool. You get all that on 1.5 acres and a dock on the second largest lake on the Butler Chain, Lake Down. The home was built by Prestige Home Builders in the year 2000.

The section of the lake that this property sits on is one of the shallowest sections of the lake and for a long time considered less desirable until lakefront properties on the chain became a more precious commodity.

The asking price of the property when it went under contract was $2,999,000, but the original asking price when the property went on the market in February of this year was $3,350,000.

take virtual tour: Johnny Damon’s Home Featured on MTV Cribs

It certainly sounds like a neat development, but the prices are definitely on the pricey side and I’m sure you’ve heard that the real estate market is not that good at the moment. They’re priced pretty similarly to The Sanctuary at Lake Butler Sound so it’s not ridiculous. I think I prefer Lake Butler Sound just because of the fact that there’s a lot more homes completed and less construction messes to deal with. If I were paying $3-$5 million for a home (not that I could even afford the property taxes for that matter), I wouldn’t want to deal with all the debris and noise from construction for too long.

The prices for lots on Lake Cypress are a lot more affordable, but let’s not fool ourselves, it’s no Lake Butler. Prices for lots on Lake Cypress range from $950,000 to $1,300,000.

Two of the lots on Lake Butler are already under contract and if you decide it’s worth it to buy one of these lots, then you have to use one of the following builders: C.J. Unerstall, Derrick Builders, J. Richard Watson Company, Jones-Clayton Construction, N.W. Harris Construction Company, Stonebridge Homes, and Williams P. Campbell Custom Homes. My favorites on this list have to be J. Richard Watson and Jones-Clayton.

Their website claims that the developer for Waterstone also played a part in the development of Keene’s Pointe. For some reason, I always thought Castle and Cooke developed Keene’s Pointe. If anyone has any info about this, please make a comment.

I’ll be curious to see how long this development takes to build out and how it will look in the end. I’m sure it’s gonna look nice, I’m just wondering how long it’s gonna take.

download pdf:

Pricelist as of May 22, 2008 for Waterstone

All All Lakefront Properties For Sale on the Butler Chain as of June 7, 2008

The first property is said to be the home of David Siegel but it’s actually owned by his former wife, Bettie Whitaker. It’s called the Palazzo del Lago and boasts 17,913 square feet, 12 bedrooms, and 14.5 bathrooms along the shores of Lake Butler.

The next property is one of the many homes owned by Shaquille O’Neal. It’s 28,937 square foot 8 bedroom and 12.5 bathroom mansion with a blue tile roof and basketball court on Lake Butler next to the canal to Lake Louise.

The Windermere home of Tiger Woods in Isleworth is featured as well which features 8 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, and 6,692.

related posts: Palazzo del Lago on Lake Butler, Shaq’s House, Tiger Wood’s Home in Isleworth

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s a video of ESPN featuring the home of ex Orlando Magic star Tracy McGrady on a show a called The Life .

This t-mackin home was originally built for golf legend Payne Stewart by architect John Henry along the shores of Lake Pocket on Charles E. Limpus Road right here in Dr. Phillips. Henry called his creation Villa Serena because it was designed to offer privacy, security, and a sublime spirit.

It truly is one of the most majestic homes in Orlando with Henry’s signature palladium arches, abundant stone and plaster details, and influences from the Mediterranean Revival and Italian Baroque architectural styles. I’m not sure if the architect would describe it this way, but it’s macadocious.

related post: Former Home of Payne Stewart and Tracy McGrady

Here’s a video of the former Orlando home of AJ McLean who is most known for his membership in the pop band The Backstreet Boys. The home featured in this video is located on a street called Southern Breeze in the Estates at Phillips Landing which is an upscale community in the Dr. Phillips area.

It’s a guard gated community along the shores of Big Sand Lake on Apopka-Vineland Road with homes crafted by some of the area’s finest custom builders which include: J. Richard Watson, Mark Clayton, Steve Cahill, and Wyatt Anderson among others.

How do I know this from watching the video? I can just feel my real estate geekness oozing out.

There’s good news for fans out there. They’re back on a concert tour this year called Unbreakble with stops in Europe and the United States. I wish I could say I was a fan, but my teeny bopper sisters definitely were.

AJ was more known for acting in his early days with appearances on Nickelodeon shows such as: Guts, Welcome Freshman, and Hi Honey I’m Home. He then became famous and filthy rich with the Backstreet Boys, had a stint with substance abuse, and now recovered and focusing on his music career again. It’s like an episode from E! True Hollywood Story. Go AJ.

Listen to Streaming Audio: The Backstreet Boys New Single “Inconsolable”

related link: Audio Stream of The Back Street Boys New Album “Unbreakable”

The construction of Palazzo del Lago located at 9602 Chase Road in Windermere was commissioned by Bettie Whitaker who is the divorced wife of local time share tycoon David Siegel. This property built in 1994 along the shores of Lake Butler encompasses 3 stories, 20,639 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, a heliport, a lavish elevator, and extensive marble imported from Spain and Italy. Renaissance style statues like the one pictured here surround the entire perimeter of the property giving it a feel of a home from the Gilded Age.

Wait, there’s more. A 2,052 square foot lake house is situated intimately close to the lake featuring extensive glass to afford panoramic views of Lake Butler. It’s surrounded by a blanket of age old oaks that give an old Florida feel. I think the views from the boat house are probably better than the ones from the main residence. Frankly, the guest house is my dream house but being able to pay the property taxes which are just a hair over $100,000 could pose a problem for me.

Michael Jackson supposedly once offered $75 million for the property only to be denied. I’d imagine he was told to beat it.

Construction was completed by Capri Contractors, but were sued for $1.5 million by Bettie Whitaker in 1999 for leaking roofs and windows according to the Orlando Business Journal. That’s a lot of leaking, but in any case, it’s never been for sale and these photos are about a close as you’re gonna get. I’d love to see what the interior is like. I sure would like to get an invite to one of those fancy soirées they have there. I’d settle for a chance to photograph the darn thing.

see virtual tour: QTVR of Lake Butler taken by Ed Fink of Big Eye in the Sky