10,000 homes, 54 holes of golf, 200+ clubs, and a land lease structure that most buyers don’t fully understand before they purchase. HOA fees broken down by neighborhood. Candler Hills vs OTTOW Central explained. The 20% down financing requirement. And the true all-in annual cost at three price points.
On Top of the World is not a single community. It is a master-planned development by Colen Built Development — a family-owned company founded in 1947 — that encompasses multiple distinct neighborhoods spanning approximately 10,000 homes across several thousand acres on the southwest side of Ocala. The neighborhoods have different ownership structures, different HOA fees, different home types, and different relationships to the central amenity campus.
The most important distinction every buyer needs to understand before making an offer: OTTOW Central is a leasehold property. Candler Hills, Weybourne Landing, and Indigo East are fee simple (warranty deed) properties. These are fundamentally different ownership structures with different implications for financing, resale, and long-term value. Most buyers don’t learn this until they are in contract.
In OTTOW Central, you purchase the home (the structure) but you do not own the land it sits on. You sign a 99-year lease for the land, starting from when the home was originally built. When you sell, the buyer gets the remaining balance of the lease. There is no separate monthly land rent payment — the land lease is simply the legal structure of ownership, not an additional cost.
OTTOW HOA fees vary by neighborhood. The figures below are based on published community data and should be verified directly with the specific neighborhood HOA before purchase. All fees are monthly unless noted.
HOA fees sourced from Ocala Realty Experts HOA chart and OTTOW community pages. Fees are subject to change — verify with the specific neighborhood HOA before purchase.
OTTOW has three 18-hole golf courses on the property: Tortoise and the Hare, Roll and Swale, and another executive layout. All three are included for residents — you do not pay per round and there is no separate annual golf pass beyond the HOA fee. This is the single most significant amenity value in the Ocala market and a direct financial advantage over The Villages, where golf requires a separate annual pass of $2,000+.
The golf at OTTOW is not PGA Tour caliber. These are well-maintained community courses — executive length on some, full length on others — designed for daily play by residents. If you are a 2-handicap who needs championship conditions, this is not Pebble Beach. If you are a recreational golfer who wants to play three times a week without writing a separate check, 54 holes included in the HOA is genuinely exceptional value.
Guests pay a per-round fee. Non-resident rounds are available but limited during peak morning tee times, which are reserved for members.
The amenity campus at OTTOW is one of the most extensive in Central Florida. The main facility infrastructure includes:
The scale of OTTOW’s amenity infrastructure is the reason the HOA fee runs $512–$531/mo. That is meaningfully higher than most Ocala communities — but it also includes lawn maintenance and golf, two line items that cost extra elsewhere.
HOA fee alone is not the cost of living at OTTOW. Here is the honest all-in annual carrying cost at three typical price points, including property tax with Homestead exemption, HOA, and insurance. Mortgage is excluded — add your principal and interest on top if financing.
All figures are estimates. Property tax based on Marion County published millage rates and estimated Homestead exemption savings. Insurance estimates based on Marion County market averages. Verify HOA fees, CDD status, and insurance quotes for the specific parcel before purchase.
OTTOW has been building since 1981. The oldest sections — some of the attached villa clusters and early single-family neighborhoods — are 40+ years old. Road conditions, infrastructure maintenance, and home condition vary dramatically between the 1981 sections and the 2015+ sections. Ask your agent to drive you through multiple neighborhoods, not just the sales center area. The sales center corridor shows the newest product. The older sections look different.
OTTOW is golf cart friendly within the property. You can reach the clubhouse, golf courses, and on-site amenities by cart. You cannot golf cart to Publix, your doctor, or a restaurant outside the property. This is not a Villages-style golf cart network connecting to the broader community. Expect to drive a car for most external errands. AdventHealth Ocala is approximately 8 minutes by car.
Attached villas (the older villa clusters built in the 1980s and 1990s) often have different and sometimes higher effective HOA costs when you include what they cover vs what single-family homes include. Some villa sub-associations include exterior painting, roof maintenance, and certain structural repairs in the fee. Read the specific sub-association documents, not just the master HOA fee.
When you sell in OTTOW Central, your buyer must have 20% down or be paying cash. In a market where mortgage rates are high and buyers are stretched, this meaningfully narrows your exit pool. It is not a crisis — OTTOW has been reselling for 40+ years — but it is a real constraint that does not exist at Oak Run, SummerGlen, or Del Webb Stone Creek.
On Top of the World is genuinely excellent value for buyers who want maximum amenity infrastructure — especially golf — at the lowest possible purchase price and ongoing cost in the Ocala market. The leasehold structure produces real price discounts. The 54 holes of included golf produces real annual savings for golfers. The 200+ clubs and massive amenity campus produce real quality of life for buyers who want to be engaged and active.
It is a harder fit for buyers who need low down payment financing, who prioritize maximum resale liquidity, who want to leave a property to heirs with clean fee simple ownership, or who are comparing to The Villages specifically on scale and golf cart connectivity.
We can run the leasehold vs fee simple analysis for your specific situation, check the CDD status on any parcel, and compare OTTOW against Stone Creek or SummerGlen at your price point.
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