Our Neighborhoods Royal Oaks

Community By David Snelling, Reporter Thursday, March 18, 2021

History

Royal Oaks is a gated community in Miami Lakes which is split into two sections - east and west - that are on either side of Northwest 82nd Avenue.

Residents may access the neighborhood through four guard gates.

The community is west of the Palmetto Expressway and north of Miami Lakes Drive.

It is bordered on the west and east sides by Northwest 86th Court and Northwest 77th Court.

In the early 1980s, the late developer Ray Lovell sold empty lots to future homeowners.

Lovell created a set of deed restrictions for them to abide by that reflected his vision for Royal Oaks, said Juan C. Fernandez, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty Miami Lakes.

There are 1,200 single-family homes in Royal Oaks, which has several subdivisions, according to Fernandez, who has lived in the community since 2003.

Amenities

The Royal Oaks Shopping Plaza and Park Centre Shops are nearby.

Royal Oaks has a tot lot.

It is the first Miami Lakes neighborhood to use License Plate Readers, crime prevention technology that scans tags as vehicles enter the community.

Three lakes are in the eastern neighborhoods and one is on the west side.

The community began with a few homes in 1984 and grew to the size it is today.

There are still a few empty lots left to build homes upon, Fernandez said.

Houses are single story or two stories, with two car garages.

Some homeowners live alongside the lakes and enjoy water views.

The smaller homes have three bedrooms and two baths; there are up to seven bedrooms and five-and- a-half baths in the bigger properties.

The Royal Oaks Homeowner’s Association has 667 members.

Exterior changes such as paint colors and landscaping must be approved by an architectural review board, Fernandez said.

What does it cost?

Owners of lakeside properties pay $200 each year in HOA fees to maintain the waterways and two pocket parks.

Homes built on dry lots pay $150 annually. Fernandez said 533 homes that don’t belong to the HOA don’t pay fees.

Those homes don’t fall under deed restrictions and the architectural review board’s regulations, he said.

“Some homes are custom-made, which was Lovell’s vision for the community, and others are not,” Fernandez said.

All Royal Oaks home- owners pay $786 each year in special taxing district fees to fund the guard gates and the license plate reader system.

A dozen homes in Royal Oaks are currently on the market. Prices range from $589,000 to $1.495 million, Fernandez said.

During the past six months, 27 homes sold for prices that spanned $525,000 to $915,000, according to Fernandez.

Who lives there?

There are some renters in the community. Owners of all ages include health care professionals, business owners and entrepreneurs.

“I know two doctors who live on my block and an engineer who lives next to me,” Fernandez said.

He called Royal Oaks “a quiet and peaceful community. I love living there.”