For Sale By Owner Gainesville

Gainesville, Florida - $125,000

Bell, Florida - $180,000

Lake City, Florida - $100,000

Central Florida For Sale By Owner is proud to target homes in Gainesville, Florida as one of its primary fsbo markets. Click here to see homes and properties listed in and around Gainesville at Central Florida For Sale By Owner.

Gainesville, Florida is the largest city in Alachua County, Florida both by its land area of 62 sq. miles, and its population of about 125,000 according to the 2010 census. It is a keystone city, located along the I-75 corridor, half way between Atlanta and Miami. It is also roughly a two hour drive from a number of major cities in Florida, including Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa and Tallahassee. This is an attractive city with numerous beautifully landscaped parks and recreational facilities as well as a large number of golf courses, including a 72-par championship course. It is also considered attractive for a number of residents because of its relatively low sales tax of 6.25%. The median age, largely because of the University of Florida is only 25, and this also drives down the median income to just over $31,000 per year. If you do not include the university, the statistics show that Gainesville is a thriving Central Florida community, making it a solid for sale by owner home market.

Gainesville, FL is home to the oldest Florida university, (UF), which is one of the largest universities in the entire United States. It is also a bustling center of culture, sports, education and medicine, all of which benefit for sale by owner homes in Gainesville, FL. Shands Hospital at the University of Florida has brought a lot of jobs and thus a lot of homes in Gainesville, and is currently the leading employer in the city of Gainesville. Gainesville is renowned for its preservation of historical buildings, the beauty of its surrounding nature, numerous parks, museums and lakes which all provide value to someone selling a home for sale by owner. Gainesville is one of the most attractive cities in Florida because of all this, and is one of the most desirable cities for people to own or sell a home in Florida.

If you are planning to purchase a for sale by owner home in Gainesville, you might want to first check out Kanapaha Botanical Gardens. These gardens have been identified as the “Best Attraction in Gainesville” based on consumer reviews and ratings by experts from around the web. This is also a popular place for weddings, business meetings, and a host of other events one might want to rent a facility for, which shouldn’t be a shock with the natural beauty of the surroundings. Kanapaha Botanical Gardens also hosts a variety of unique events during the year, including the Spring Garden Festival. Another special event is the “Moonlight Walk” where live music is present and there is a whole new experience and perspective for guests to enjoy.

Kanapaha Botanical Gardens is made up of 24 main collections which can be accessed from a paved walkway that stretches on for over a mile and a half on a 62 acre facility! Included is Florida’s biggest display of bamboos available to the public and an enormous herb garden that is the largest in the entire Southeastern US. Kanapaha's gardens are organized in a variety of ways including exhibits that show the principle of natural selection. Kanapaha is well known for its display of Chinese royal bamboo, giant Victoria water lilies and Asian snake arums. These three are considered a staple for any visitor, and it is recommended that visitors come during the summer months for the most variety and color.

The walkways where you can view the displays at Kanapaha Botanical Gardens are mostly wheelchair accessible. There are plenty of rest areas, benches, and other small outdoor facilities placed around the gardens to enhance the experience and leisure for the guests. You are even allowed to bring dogs to this attraction. Kanapaha Botanical Gardens also has a lovely gift shop full of interesting items that you would have difficulty finding anywhere else.

Not to be confused with Kanapaha Botanical Gardens, another attraction people looking to buy for sale by owner homes in Gainesville may be interested in is the Historic Haile Homestead at Kanapaha Plantation. This enormous plantation is rich in history and is responsible for shaping much of the Gaineville, FL area. In 1854 Thomas Evans and Serena Chesnut Haile moved their family from South Carolina to Gainesville, Florida for a variety of reasons. While in Gainesville, the couple established a massive 1500-acre cotton plantation which they gave the name of Kanapaha. The Haile Homestead was finished in 1856 by slaves, and the expansive 6,200 square foot home stands today as one of the very few homes in Central Florida that date back to pre Civil War days. An even more unique aspect to the Haile Homestead is what the curators refer to as "Talking Walls." While nobody knows the exact reason it was done to this Gainesville home, the Haile family decided to write on the walls of their house. In fact, there are over 12,500 words in almost every room and closet of this house! This feature probably makes it one of the most interesting and important homes in Gainesville from a historical perspective. The Haile Homestead is open to public tours, and anyone interested in Gainesville homes should check it out!

Another interesting and historical home in Gainesville, FL is the Bailey House. While little is known about the house, a few facts show that it is had an important influence on the development of Gainesville. Bailey House is one of the oldest houses in Gainesville, and was constructed around 1850. Major James Bailey, builder of this house and an influential citizen in Alachua County, proposed moving the county seat from Newnansville, Florida to a more reasonable spot, which was later known as Gainesville, Florida. This was part of his own plantation, and put his home in Gainesville in a more politically influential spot. It has been changed a bit since the original house’s construction, but it provides an excellent example of pre Civil War homes in Gainesville, Florida.

If you are visiting open houses and homes in Gainesville, you may want to consider staying at the Thomas Center, or Hotel Thomas as it’s often called. This hotel sits in the middle of Gainesville, FL and is immaculately landscaped, making it the choice of such distinguished guests such as Robert Frost and Helen Keller. Nestled in the heart of Gainesville, Florida, the Thomas Center is the perfect spot for a visit at any time of the year. Its 94 guest rooms are often used for athletic teams, vacationers and businessmen just passing through. It also has multiple dining rooms and lounges for luxurious dining, but tours are offered if you would just like to learn more about the Thomas Center and not spend an extended stay. If that is your choice, perhaps you can spend time planning on moving into your new for sale by owner home in Gainesville instead.

New residents who have purchased a home for sale by owner in Gainesville will also probably want to visit the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. This Preserve is comprised of over 22,000 acres of land which provide great weekend recreation to anyone looking to take a break from browsing homes in Gainesville, FL. Popular activities throughout the year include hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, camping, nature watching, picnics, and boating on Lake Wauberg via ramp access in the preserve. Paynes Prairie also has a Visitor Center with exhibits, videos, and a large observation tower rising 50 feet into the air allowing the guest to take in the vast expanse of beauty in the preserve. They have even included cell phone tour stops to enhance the experience, so it’s something that anyone with a home in Gainesville should put on their list of things to do on the weekend.

A synopsis of the city of Gainesville, FL would not be complete without a second mention of the University of Florida, home of the Florida Gators. As the largest employer in the city, with no signs of slowing expansion, it is deducible that Gainesville homes growth will not stall any time soon. The University of Florida has maintained constant operations at its current location since 1906, but the history of this school’s origins can be traced clear back to 1853 and the post Civil War era. In that time, the University of Florida has become one of the largest universities in the country. It is also listed among the world’s top 100 schools by the Academic Ranking of World Universities. In addition to exceptional academics, the University of Florida is known around the country for exceptional athletics as well. This institution has won, as of 2010, 19 NCAA national championships and 219 individual championships.

Almost anyone looking to sell a home in Gainesville will miss the iconic Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, or “The Swamp,” as it’s often referred to in the world of sports. It is usually recognized as one of, if not the toughest, environments in all of college football. This is partially due to the notorious heat, humidity and noise level, which has been recorded at over 125 decibels on the sidelines. This is the generally accepted noise level where actual physical pain begins. In some areas of the facility, fans are only a mere 10 feet from the field, making the experience extremely hostile to any visiting team. There have been many renovations since the stadium was built in 1930, and today it is considered state-of-the-art. The swamp is also the largest stadium in Florida, and the average attendance is a little over 90,000 for Gator football games, making it the ninth most in the country. Once you have purchased your for sale by owner home in Gainesville, FL you should go to the stadium and check out a game. Be careful if you are a fan of another team, however, because “Only Gators get out of 'The swamp' alive!”

One of the most celebrated and popular icons of Gainesville, Florida is the Gainesville Raceway. This raceway has been bringing people out of their Gainesville homes since 1969 and held the inaugural Gatornationals event in 1970. The Gainesville Raceway is considered one of the fastest tracks on the NHRA circuit and is the site where drivers first clocked speeds of 260, 270 and 300 miles per hour. In 2000, eight out of ten national records were set in the professional classes. Gainesville Raceway also has a separate road track, which serves the function of vehicle testing and driving school. Gainesville Raceway has a one mile outer loop, and 1.6 linear miles of asphalt. Aside from the races, the road course also is able to handle corporate functions and grueling law enforcement training. The Gainesville Raceway had major renovations after the 2003 racing season, but was almost immediately ready to once again bring people out of their homes in Gainesville, FL.

An excellent attraction that anyone looking to sell a home in Gainesville, FL can use to promote their for sale by owner home is Lake Alice. This is actually a small lake that is also on the property of the University of Florida. This lake is in an area friendly to wildlife, and one of the only areas in Gainesville that a visitor can look at live, wild alligators. There is also a bat house maintained by the University on Lake Alice. To the north side of the lake, there is a pleasant boardwalk the one can take for an interesting self tour through a swamp and wooded area to a popular viewing deck.

It is not clear how exactly Lake Alice received the name it bears today. Before the 1890s, Lake Alice was referred to as "Jonah's Pond", but by 1894 it was clearly renamed to Lake Alice. A claim was made in the 1950s that it was named after the daughter of a man who made is home in Gainesville, FL and owned a farm that incorporated Lake Alice.

In the late 1980s, the University of Florida wanted to develop the shore of Lake Alice and add to the amount of luxury homes in Gainesville, FL, but the proposal would also have eliminated the bat house and student gardens on the grounds. There was also some question over the “Law School Burial Mound” which was built by Alachua natives about 1,000 years ago. In the end, Lake Alice was successfully defended by students and faculty until Florida Governor Lawton Chiles passed a unanimous motion to preserve the shores of Lake Alice in 1999. While for sale by owner homes are not currently found around Lake Alice, it is still a great place to tell a prospective buyer about if they want to know more about Gainesville before you can sell a home to them. If Lake Alice isn’t enough for a prospective buyer of a for sale by owner home in Gainesville, perhaps they would also be interested in Lake Wauburg. This lake sits roughly eight miles south of the University of Florida campus on Highway 441. Lake Wauburg is a popular place for UF students to enjoy the outdoors on the weekend. At Lake Wauburg, people with homes in Gainesville come out for the weekend to do some boating, swimming, play volleyball, and even wall climb. It is a great combination of outdoors, wildlife and social activities for anyone who just moved into a for sale by owner home in Gainesville.

If you haven’t yet realized it while reading this article, there are a lot of lakes in the Gainesville area. In fact, most homes in Gainesville, Florida are close to a lake. This is often an advantage when trying to sell a home for sale by owner in Gainesville, FL as well. One amazing lake in the Gainesville area is called Newnan’s Lake and conservation area. It encompasses 6,504 acres, and is located about 6 miles east of Gainesville, FL, with a little over 20% being shared by the City of Gainesville and Alachua County. This is part of a large group of real estate in the Orange Creek Basin that is owned by the public which include the previously mentioned Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park. These areas protect the wildlife and provide corridors for movement of the animals, all owned by the city of Gainesville, Florida. This protection also helps with the quality of water that the Gainesville area enjoys as well as a large portion of Central Florida because of the fact that the basins filter into the St. Johns River.

Some people looking for homes in Gainesville, FL , especially retirees, are mostly interested in walking trails. Bivens Arm Nature Park caters mainly to this hobby. You will find a large number of winding pathways that are flanked by a number of streams and wetlands while providing refuge from the heat in the shade of pine trees and majestic live oaks. Occasionally the walkways are built on boardwalks, but all are easily traversed by bicycles. You may see some wild alligators on your visit to Bivens Arm Nature Park, along with other various Florida wildlife, and the trails can take up to an hour to explore so it can make for a nice occasional outing. This is a nice area for people in homes near Gainesville, so you may want to look for for sale by owner houses near Bivens Arm Nature Park.

A major geological feature that should be mentioned, called Hogtown Creek Watershed, can be found flowing around many homes in Gainesville. Hogtown Creek is located in the northwest and southwest parts of Gainesville, FL and is one of the largest water basins in the area. Urban homes in Gainesville as well as suburban homes in Gainesville neighbor this creek for approximately 20 miles. As well as the many houses in Gainesville, Florida, The University of Florida and Gainesville High School are also located within this creek’s watershed area. The largest of the many Hogtown Creek tributaries are Possum Creek, Rattlesnake Branch, Springstead Creek and Elizabeth creek, which also run right by many Gainesville homes. numerous fossils, like shark’s teeth, bones, and marine castings, are often found in the bed of the stream. Hogtown creek is a major factor in replenishing the Florida Aquifer and providing water to most of the houses in Gainesville.

The Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo is interesting facility open to the public that may encourage people to buy homes in Gainesville, Florida. This affordable zoo is only $4 for adults and $3 dollars for children, but is worth so much more! The Santa Fe Teaching Zoo sits on a full 10 acres of land that are very geographically accessible to the citizens of Gainesville, FL. It has 75 species of animals, and 220 individual animals on the premises that cover almost every kind of animal you can imagine. It has a full time staff of 9 people, but also employs 80-120 students depending on the semester. It is also free to all Santa Fe College students with a valid ID. If you are selling your home in Gainesville, you should take a break and pay the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo a visit.

Encompassing 7,000 acres of land, another important preserve that may add to the value of homes in Gainesville, Florida is the San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. This park is located northwest of Gainesville in Alachua County. It is said that San Felasco has some of the best mesic hammocks in all of Florida. If you are wondering what a hammock is, besides the thing you would tie between trees at your new home in Gainesville, FL, they are simply a hardwood forest with a vast diversity of tree species. San Felasco Preserve State Park also has a large number of rocky outcrops and rugged hills that provide for a huge diversity of biological communities. There are vast numbers of sinkholes, springs ponds and small lakes all throughout San Felasco Preserve State Park, making it a unique gem in the Gainesville, FL area. Turkey Creek, Cellon Creek and Blues Creek all move through San Felasco Preserve State Park, adding to the opportunity for biodiversity.

One geological feature people looking for homes in Gainesville, FL might be interested in is called Devil’s Millhopper. It is a mystical feature in the middle of Florida’s sandy pine forests near the Gainesville, Florida area. It is a conspicuous depression in the ground that lead about 120 feet down to a small rainforest. A small creek can be found snaking through this rain forest, often disappearing underground and reappearing in other places. Because this massive limestone cavity provides adequate shade, a variety of plants can survive here and escape the harsh Florida summer sun that pounds Gainesville. Since its discovery in the 1880s, Devil’s Millhopper has been visited by numerous scientists who recognize its importance. Findings have included shark teeth fossils, marine animal fossils, and also the fossils of land animals that have long since been extinct. This has led to it being recognized as one of the most important sites for understanding Florida’s natural history. The issue of sinkholes is very well documented in Central Florida, but this is not much of a concern to anyone trying to buy homes in Gainesville, FL. All inspected for sale by owner homes in Gainesville are on safe geological ground.

If the great outdoors aren’t exactly your potential buyer’s thing, maybe you could convince them to buy your for sale by owner home in Gainesville by telling them about The Hippodrome. The Hippodrome was created with the goal of making a contemporary theater all can enjoy in 1972. It made its home in a remodeled convenience store and began with plays and classes for children. As it became more successful, it moved to the historic federal building in the middle of downtown Gainesville, FL. With the support of the Gainesville community it was able to convert the building into a 266 seat theater, along with a cinema that seats 80, a bar, box office, and administrative office space. The entire renovation cost roughly 2 million dollars, and led to the Hippodrome being designated a State Theatre of Florida. It is now considered one of the best regional theaters in the country, and entertains over 60,000 people every year. If you are planning to make a home in Gainesville, FL, this is a cultural icon you simply should not miss!

If culture is what you enjoy when looking for homes in Gainesville, FL, after the Hippodrome, you can visit the Samuel P. Harn Museum. This museum opened its doors in 1990, and aims to enrich people’s lives through inspiration and education. The Samuel P. Harn Museum features more than 8,000 works of art, including photography, as well as Asian, African, modern and contemporary art. The Samuel P. Harn Museum also hosts rotating exhibits that move throughout Florida and the world. You can visit them at the corner of SW 34th St. and Hull Road in Gainesville, Florida. This accredited museum is part of the University of Florida Cultural Plaza.

The Samuel P. Harn Museum is among the biggest university affiliated art museums with nearly 87,000 square feet, a 250 seat auditorium, study center, café, store, offices, and storage area. In 2009, work began on a new massive 26,000 square foot addition dedicated to Asian art, making the locals even more proud that the museum makes a home in Gainesville, Florida.

Perhaps the crowned jewel and one of the best selling points when trying to sell a home in Gainesville, FL is the Florida Museum of Natural History. This museum, which was one call the Florida State Museum, started in 1891 when Professor Frank Pickel bought a collection of minerals, models of anatomy and fossils in order to have a collection of teaching aides in his biology and agricultural classes. The collection soon grew from donations by other academics until the Florida Agricultural College was disbanded in 1905. At that point, the Florida Museum of Natural History became part of the new University of Florida and was subsequently made its new home in Gainesville, Florida in 1906. The collection of exhibits can now be found in sciences building, called Flint Hall.

Some non-permanent exhibits have included dugout canoes, featuring American dugout canoes dating from prehistoric times to the modern times. It will be available until November of 2013. Another temporary exhibit is called “Birds of the World.” This exhibit shows the process of how the popular book, “Birds of the World” was created. This book, released in 1961, is still considered an authority on birds from around the world and the Florida Museum of Natural History gives you a unique look at how it came about.

The permanent exhibits that make their home in Gainesville, Florida at this museum are the Butterfly Rainforest, Collections are the Library of Life, Discovery Room, Explore Research, Florida Fossils: Evolution of Life & Land, Our Energy Future, Northwest Florida: Waterways & Wildlife and South Florida People & Environments. Each individual exhibit has a unique perspective on their specific topic, and can provide a wonderful learning experience. Another permanent exhibit or section of the Florida Museum of Natural History is the Outdoor Gardens, which showcases native Florida Wildflowers and their importance to the ecosystem. There is also the Fossil Plant Garden which has many modern species of plants alongside their ancient fossilized relatives. Many intellectuals looking for homes in Gainesville, FL would be delighted to learn that this attraction is easily accessible to them. An exciting and unique cultural event takes place every year for those living in Gainesville homes.

Located on the Alachua County Fairgrounds, Gainesville is proud to present the Annual Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. This interesting and fun festival transforms the grounds into a marketplace with a theme straight out of the middle ages, and can be a major benefit to anyone trying to sell a home for sale by owner in Gainesville. The streets are filled with trumpets, laughter, dancers and singers, all decked out in medieval dress. All kinds of costumes, blacksmithing, jewelry, weavings, hand blown glassware, and wood carvings made in an authentic style can be seen and purchased at the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire. Many of those selling their wares are professional craftsmen who have traveled from around the country just to be at the Hoggetowne Medieval Faire and explain how their goods are made. There are eight different stages filled with entertainment, including gypsy dancers and excellent magicians. There is even a jousting field, filled with armored knights on the backs of horses who do mock battle under various pretenses. As if this wasn’t enough fun, everyone can enjoy rides on elephants, camels and ponies. This would be very popular for any new residents who have purchased a home in Gainesville, Florida.

One popular landmark in Gainesville, Florida that is dear to the local residents is the Seagle Building. You won’t find many homes for sale by owner in Gainesville, FL around the Seagle Building since it is downtown, but you will often find people visiting this building. This building was built in 1926 during a rush of people looking for land in Gainesville. It was originally supposed to be the Hotel Kelly, but the project was a flop and the Seagle Building sat unfinished for more than a decade. People in Gainesville were quite unhappy about this public eyesore and wanted a solution to getting the project completed. Eventually, in the mid 1930s Georgia Seagle, from Jacksonville, Florida, along with help from the University of Florida, the City of Gainesville, Florida, and some federal funding completed the building and named it after Georgia’s brother, John F. Seagle. The following year, it was essentially used exclusively by the University of Florida. Soon after, the building had trouble meeting fire codes and forced most of its tenants off of the top floors of the building. The erosion of business in the Seagle Building continued to erode until it was completely abandoned. It was then sold to a development company for a single dollar, with the understanding that the building would be totally overhauled. By 1983, the Seagle Building was once again viable real estate in Gainesville, Florida with about 40,000 square feet of rented out space. The story of the Seagle Building is similar to that of many homes in Gainesville. Though the housing market is down in Gainesville, it is never out!

Because the University of Florida’s land within the city limits of Gainesville, FL is tax-exempt, property taxes on real estate are higher than many other areas to offset this. The cost of living, however, is still quite low according to the national Cities Ranked and Rated Guide. The median household cost is also statistically below the national average. With the low cost of living, high education, small-town hospitality, beautiful weather and healthy atmosphere, Gainesville, Florida homes are attractive to many Florida residents, as well as transplant citizens from around the United States and world. Central Florida For Sale By Owner will aggressively market and advertise for sale by owner homes, condos, and lots in Gainesville.

To read more about Gainesville, visit the Gainesville, Florida Wikipedia Page