Driftwood Estates Homes

[rehdrahk]

There seems to be a handful of these homes for sale in Driftwood Estates in the $250,000 to $350,000 range:

http://www.emeraldcoasthomesonline.com/(zszwsd555czva5yp2nlp3k45)/propertyDetails.aspx?mls=463368

Does anyone know how much these went for when they first hit the market?
Quality of the homes?
Any other additional information?

It is a little alarming to me that there are about a dozen of them on the market, and on google.maps it does not appear that the neighborhood is very large.

In your expert opinion are they are they at a good price-point to be purchased? TIA

[Smiling JOe]

Considering that it would cost you about $240K to build that house, plus another $70K to get an entry level lot around here, I think you will find it difficult to find many homes in that price range. Most of those homes were built by a National Builder, Adams Homes, and you might Google "Adams Homes problems complaints," to see if you can discover some buyer feedback on the company. I will warn you that the area of that point is known to be fairly low elevation, and their tends to be some drainage issues in that general area. Perhaps not enough to stop people from buying, but enough that buyers should ask many questions and know what you are buying. The same builder, Adams Homes, is building in a new subdivision named, Eagle Bay, and the homes are more cottage-style, and I believe the prices start around $250K for a new home.

[BeachSiO2]

We bought and flipped a house in Driftwood between late 2004 and 2005. Ours was a 4/2 and 2000 sqft. We bought it and had to hold it for over a year before we sold it for a profit. We were very lucky. It appears they are having to cut them even more now. We also had no problem with construction or drainage and were on one of the more interior lots.

Here's the property appraisers website and you can search by address and see other sales nearby.

http://www.waltonpa.com/

Good luck!

[beachmouse]

Adams is pretty much a tract home builder, but for their category, they've got a reputation for better quality control and fit and finish than Horton, Henry, Whitworth, etc. and generally tend toward being a reasonable value for what you get.

Their subdivisions in Destin and SoWal have tended to be subdivisions bought from other builders who had slower sales than expected and wanted to move on. They built sizeable parts of Emerald Lakes, Maravilla Cottages, and Seascape in addition to Driftwood and two smaller subdivisions in the Driftwood area.

If you're buying to live there, and have a good report on drainage concerns, they're a pretty reasonable choice. If you're buying to flip, not so much because you're still pretty much competing with a builder who can offer price cuts or other incentives if their property doesn't move quickly enough. It's a company that's willing to take a pretty small profit per home because they know they'll make it up with volume over time.

I'd guess a lot of the homes on the market there now were bought to flip, and the new sellers got caught up in the downturn in the market.

[destinsm]

There seems to be a handful of these homes for sale in Driftwood Estates in the $250,000 to $350,000 range:

http://www.emeraldcoasthomesonline.com/(zszwsd555czva5yp2nlp3k45)/propertyDetails.aspx?mls=463368

Does anyone know how much these went for when they first hit the market?
Quality of the homes?
Any other additional information?

It is a little alarming to me that there are about a dozen of them on the market, and on google.maps it does not appear that the neighborhood is very large.

In your expert opinion are they are they at a good price-point to be purchased? TIA

Check out the website linked below... Looks more like 37 currently on the market... flippers paradise gone bad...

http://www.destin123.com/Driftwood_Estates.htm

[barefootguy]

The homes in Driftwood phase 2 were selling pre-construction for around $460,000. Last spring they had around 80 homes sitting vacant. They lowered the prices $50,000. A couple sold. Then in June they lowered another $80,000. They sold 20 homes in 2 weeks, one being to me. (We were told the builder was gonna raise the prices back up on that coming monday, so we quickly bought.) A couple months after I bought they lowered another $50,000. The remaining vacant homes have slowly been selling. There is another 117 acres in development, 245 lots, but not a single lot has sold. The roads are in, the ponds are stocked and landscaped, and the pool and club house are finished. Last summer there was a family of 9 red wolf/coyotes, 2 bobcats and a handful of deer living there, but they moved out during the winter.

[scooterbug44]

People might be selling because of flood insurance issues.

[waltondude]

Why are those people constantly at the BCC meetings complaining about massive drainage policies with water pouring over roads and through yards? The BCC is constrantly struggling with where they are going to get the money to fix the problem.

[SHELLY]

Flood Woes on the Mend
Aug. 26, 2005--SANTA ROSA BEACH -- A developer and builder have agreed to pay Walton County a portion of the cost to improve drainage in Driftwood Estates, a subdivision near Sandestin that has been plagued with flooding problems.

As a result, the county will start issuing new building permits for the development after a more-than-two-month hiatus.

In late May, the County Commission had said that no new homes would go up in the subdivision until the developer, builder and county could find a resolution to the drainage problems.

Now, everyone seems to have agreed on a solution that will keep the neighborhood dry and allow construction to continue.

Adams Homes and developer Olson and Associates will chip in $60,000 each toward the $250,000 cost to install drainage pipes and add shallow ditches in the subdivision.

"I think we've got a good plan here to give the residents of Driftwood a dry yard that they can mow," John Johnson, director of Walton County Public Works, said at a recent County Commission meeting.

Residents of Driftwood Estates claim that the ongoing construction in the 463-lot development created a major stormwater drainage problem.

Dozens of residents have told the county that every time it rains, roads and yards flood and standing water is a problem.

For about five months now, the residents and county have gone back and forth with Adams Homes and Olson and Associates to find a solution.

Driftwood Estates resident Allen Osborne said at the meeting that the new drainage plan is "a good solution."

Olson and Associates bought the property, located north of Mack Bayou Road on Choctawhatchee Bay, from Sandestin owner Intrawest in 2002. The developer contends that the drainage problems existed before that purchase.

Shannon Howell, senior vice president with Olson and Associates, said that the flooding problems lie in countyowned drainage ditches, which the developer spent $24,000 to repair in the past month. However, the work did not alleviate enough of the flooding.

The developer has agreed to pay for part of the latest repair efforts so that it can continue with the second phase of Driftwood Estates, Howell said.

"I think it's a win-win for everybody," Howell said. "We understand where the residents are coming from. (But the drainage) was never our obligation."
------------------------------------

So...the drainage problem was fixed back in 2005...right? :roll:


.

[Smiling JOe]

Shannon Howell, senior vice president with Olson and Associates, said that the flooding problems lie in countyowned drainage ditches, which the developer spent $24,000 to repair in the past month. However, the work did not alleviate enough of the flooding.

"I think it's a win-win for everybody," Howell said. "We understand where the residents are coming from. (But the drainage) was never our obligation."

***************
What :idontno: ? Since when is proper drainage not an obligation of the developer?

[SHELLY]

Shannon Howell, senior vice president with Olson and Associates, said that the flooding problems lie in countyowned drainage ditches, which the developer spent $24,000 to repair in the past month. However, the work did not alleviate enough of the flooding.

"I think it's a win-win for everybody," Howell said. "We understand where the residents are coming from. (But the drainage) was never our obligation."

***************
What :idontno: ? Since when is proper drainage not an obligation of the developer?

I understand the squirrels, turtles, snakes and lizards that lived in that area never had a problem with drainage before the developers tore out the trees, plowed up the soil and paved over the area.


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[rehdrahk]

Thank you all for all of your information .... it has been very helpful .... owning a home over here in Fort Walton in a neighborhood that has flooding issues after hard down pours makes me a little leary of Driftwood .... maybe they named the neighborhood accordingly to fore-warn you that you may have logs floating in your yard ?

[barefootguy]

... and our street name? Loblolly Bay ... Loblolly Bay is a beautiful, fast growing and short lived shrub or tree (or community?)

We've been here almost a year (not long), and haven't had a flood yet. We get standing water in our yard if we run the irrigation everyday, but our pond is on it's way to drying up. The fish are going to be flopping in the mud if we don't get a good 40 days and 40 nights of rain.