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What is a master planned community? MPCs, or master-planned communities, are huge, custom-built residential communities.
They are often developed by a single developer and feature an abundance of recreational activities.
MPCs have been gaining traction in the United States since the 1960s. If you’re considering purchasing a house in one of these unique projects, the following information can help you.
What is a Master Planned Community?
Master-planned communities are large-scale, mixed-use residential complexes with comprehensive, carefully curated amenities that aim to replicate the feeling of living in a self-contained town for inhabitants.
Parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, tennis courts, and golf courses are all examples of amenities.
Additionally, some offer commercial operations such as stores and restaurants, and the largest may even have their own schools.
Green towns, garden cities, new towns, and neo-traditional communities are all terms used to describe these settlements. Numerous, but not all, cater exclusively to retirees.
Typical Master Planned Community Characteristics
Typically, these developments are located on the outskirts of urban areas, within commuting distance of a major city yet far enough off to feel a world apart.
Typically, included amenities are only available to residents and their guests.
While some master-planned communities are geared at the over-55 group, others accommodate and even cater to families.
Typically, either an authorized management company or a homeowner’s association is responsible for long-term management (HOA).
The typical master-planned community is sprawling and sprawling, encompassing more than 2,500 acres of land.
They can be as small as 100 homes or as large as 50,000, but they all have the goal of integrating residential and commercial assets into a coherent whole.
As such, they are frequently the work of a single developer. However, it is not uncommon for a developer of a master-planned community to ask many builders to design and build areas of the community.
The variety in structure sizes, styles, and pricing contributes to the unique yet coherent appearance and feel of these communities.
The first master-planned community is a point of contention. Some point to Victorian England’s garden city movement, while others believe that it dates all the way back to ancient Greece.
Regardless of its origins, the desire to create a safe, healthy, and inspirational place to live typically motivates their construction.
Six Reasons to Choose a Master Planned Community as Your Home
Although they are sometimes characterized as “cookie cutter,” limited, or isolated, master planned communities (MPCs) are anything but.
While these communities used to resemble something from ABC’s Suburgatory, they now frequently include anti-monotony rules to prevent repetition, and developers are more aware than ever of the importance of providing a community that is relevant to today’s consumers.
Security and Safety
Myth: Master planned communities are not any more secure than other types of neighborhoods.
Truth: MPCs not only give improved safety features, but also an unmatched sense of security.
Numerous neighborhoods in these cities are either gated or patrolled by neighborhood security, or both.
Additionally, they are located further away from commercial and industrial regions.
Gated communities reduce through-traffic within the community, resulting in less congested streets than open neighborhoods.
Amenities
Myth: Master planned towns are only comprised of parks and country clubs.
Truth: Historically, MPCs offered only country club-style amenities, but “over time, homeowners realized they didn’t want to be a part of a country club,” according to Phyllis DeWitt of DeWitte Marketing in a recent interview with NewHomeSource.
However, according to DeWitt, MPCs are now created with the homeowner in mind.
Developers are aware of the facilities that make a neighborhood desirable and give them.
Apart from memberships in parks and country clubs, MPCs offer amenities such as pools, golf courses, interest groups, community events, gym memberships, water parks, and hike and bike routes.
Each neighborhood has its own set of amenities, but regardless of which MPC you choose, you will have a selection.
Options for Customization
Myth: Living in a master-planned community entails having a “cookie-cutter” home that appears identical to every other property in the neighborhood.
Truth: MPCs allow for complete customization of homes. Builders offer a plethora of unique design possibilities for both the exterior and interior of the home.
You can design a landscape, select exterior and interior paint colors, select roofing and flooring materials, and a variety of other elements that will set your home apart from the competition.
Housing styles also vary. Indeed, the majority of communities have anti-monotony ordinances that builders must follow.
While the standards vary by community, they generally ensure that houses do not look identical.
Convenience
Myth: Master-planned communities are inconvenient because they are located so far away from locations and amenities that I require.
Truth: Many MPCs are similar to miniature, self-contained cities. They are home to a variety of enterprises, retail establishments, restaurants, and service providers.
“A master planned community is intended to provide a single location for residents to live, work, shop, and relax,” explains Frank Sitterle, partner and owner of Sitterle Homes in Texas.
“For families, there are excellent schools nearby. Numerous amenities cater to the everyday needs of busy professionals, while surrounding shopping complexes provide the rest.”
These communities are designed with your convenience in mind, guaranteeing that you never have to leave the neighborhood to obtain basic necessities.
Homeowner’s Association
Myth: Homeowners associations (HOAs) are inconvenient and difficult to please.
Truth: HOAs impose a slew of rules and limits on what you can do with your home.
They can, however, be extremely beneficial – according to a 2012 study conducted by IBOPE Zogby International for the Community Associations Institute, seven out of ten people who live in HOAs are satisfied with their communities.
HOAs were established to improve neighborhoods, not to obstruct them.
Numerous HOAs will assist you with some types of maintenance, such as lawn care and painting.
If you have any issues about the area, they may be able to offer some helpful suggestions or ways to assist you.
The majority of HOAs will work with you to customize your home while preserving its value.
Prudent Investment
Myth: Due to the current status of the housing business, purchasing a house in a master planned community is a dangerous investment.
Truth: Purchasing real estate in an MPC is a fantastic investment. Beyond the housing market and overall economy, MPCs attribute their increased sales to buyers’ belief that MPCs are the best place to invest, as well as the variable quality and level of remaining distress in other locations, according to real estate advisory firm RCLCO’s recent report, “The Top-Selling Master-Planned Communities of 2012.”
An MPC essentially adds stability to your home’s resale value. When the economy is prospering, your home’s value may improve more quickly and steadily than houses outside of an MPC.
On the other hand, when the economy is struggling, the neighborhood will assist retain your home’s value and prevent it from depreciating rapidly.
There you have it – six urban legends debunked! If you’ve ruled out master planned communities in your new home search, reconsider.
Consider these types of communities and their benefits in comparison to those of an older community.
You might be startled to discover your new house is located in an MPC.
In conclusion
Life in a master-planned community is not for everyone, especially if you prefer the big city to the suburbs.
However, their popularity is fast increasing because to the diversity of attractive amenities they often offer.