ICI Homes sales associate Mona Bugdal is an Oakmont original — in the best sense of the word!
A local real estate veteran, Mona remembers Gainesville’s premier master-planned community when it was still on the drawing board. In fact, she remembers using her car as a sales office, and homesites being crafted from former pastures.
“True story!” she says.
Although cattle may have predated Oakmont on Gainesville’s booming west side, years of careful planning and conservation have yielded the area’s top residential destination. Mona sees it every day as she helps new residents find their Oakmont home.
“It is the happiest, nicest place as far as the people who live here,” she says. “You see them with their baby strollers, walking the dog, going to the activities center. It’s very friendly.”
Her from-the-beginning perspective comes in handy. Read on for more of Mona Bugdal’s observations.
Location, location, location
A Gainesville resident since 1998, Mona is in her seventh year with ICI Homes.
“There’s no place like this in Gainesville,” she says of Oakmont. “Nobody even really has land to do something like this again. And I think it’s also that we’re the first community development district in Gainesville. So when they developed the community, the community amenities were put in first. And they couldn’t have done that if we weren’t a community development district. By Year 2, the Residents Club was going up.”
“My most favorite thing is we were have people living here from all over the world because of UF,” Mona says. “We know people from everywhere.”
She also knows where to send new Oakmont residents to experience their surroundings, citing Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and the Santa Fe River as preeminent natural resources. Mona recommends Payne Prairie’s La Chua Trail for safe viewing of Florida wildlife.
“It is classic old-school Gainesville,” she says. “It’s downtown. If you think of eclectic Gainesville, they’ve got really cool art and this old bar that looks like Frank Sinatra’s going to walk in.”
Growth continues
You can find Mona Bugdal and fellow sales associates at ICI Homes’ newest model-home row. It features the popular Arden for our 65-foot home sites, as well as the Serena and Charlotte floor plans for our 50-foot lots.
“People try to buy these models all the time,” Mona says. “I tell them, ‘I can’t sell you this, but we can copy it.’”
Her advice is don’t dawdle if you’re considering a new custom Florida home in Oakmont. The local market remains active, and some competition may come from current homeowners!
“We have people who have built three homes with us in here,” she says. “They’ve moved from small to large, large to small, and to other lots. There are some families who’re on their third ICI Homes home at Oakmont.”
when it was still on the drawing board. In fact, she remembers using her car as a sales office, and homesites being crafted from former pastures.
