New Homes only in zip 33913 (Cape Coral, Plantation: HOA fees, crime rate, buying)

[FireStation46]

We were down last winter and checked out the major national builders. We liked Pulte's Bridgetown development.

We are going down the week of 9/2/17 to do some serious shopping and, hopefully, buying. A a new home, cash deal $300,000-$450,000 which would include any lot 'premium' for the 3 maybe 4 bedroom house.

Someone mentioned Ft Myers has a high crime rate to my wife and suggested we look at Sarasota. So now I have to overcome her fear about that. It looks like around the Pulte developments there are plenty of malls, supermarkets etc. It did not look crime ridden nor run down.

How is crime in zip 33913?

I like the developments that are close to RSW airport as family can come to visit and it would be a very short drive to pick them up or send them off.

This will be a retirement home. We do have one son that should go to a community college / tech college if there are any recommendations in that, thanks.

We can consider other developments. I was told WCI communities have lower association fees as their developments were not hit by impact fees etc.

So, what are the 'bad' areas around 33913 to avoid?

Any developments you recommend we check out other than Pulte The Plantation or Bridgetown?

All comments are welcomed and thanks in advance for your replies.

[elston]

I live in that zip code in the Gateway Community off Gateway Blvd. I feel as if I live in a park.....beautiful community,...gated and safe. I love it here and have no qualms about recommending it to you. There is a lot of new development going on adjacent to Gateway....but it all appears to be nice communities.

People get carried away warning about crime......This area feels so much safer than most suburban areas I new in the NE.

[chiluvr1228]

I also live in Gateway and it's one of the prettiest places in Fort Myers. It has biking & walking paths with lots of shade trees to keep you out of the hot sun. However zip code 33913 also includes Treeline Avenue, north of Daniel's Parkway which is also very safe.


I don't know if parts of Lehigh Acres has the 33913 zip code but you will want to avoid that area.

[Mr Cape Coral]

You can get accurate information on crime by area at:
Lee County Sheriff's Office | Lee County, Florida | CrimeActivity | IncidentIndexAll

[chiluvr1228]

Whew! Just checked out the house I am buying in Cape Coral and there have been 0 incidents.

[wjj]

I too have a home in Gateway (33913). As others have said, it is a very safe place. I would say any place in 33913 is safe and can be downright exclusive (see Miromar Lakes where it takes $1mil to get you in the door for new construction). There is a lot of new construction along Treeline in addition to Bridgetown. Take a look at Marina Bay as well. The only place within Gateway where there is new single family construction is Hampton Park. It is getting near completion. There is a lot of new construction in Pelican Preserve which is just north of Gateway and Bridgetown, but it is a 55+ community which does not seem to be what you are looking for.

WCI was acquired by Lennar earlier this year. But I will add a big caution when looking at HOA fees, especially for new construction. We looked to move to a WCI community a couple years ago. But being a CPA, I could not help myself and I requested the HOA's financial records. Lo and behold, at the time, there were zero reserves and no assessments dedicated to reserves. So HOA fees were lower but that was because there were no reserves established while the builder ran the Association. Once the community would be handed over to residents, there would have to be a very significant increase in fees and likely a large special assessment to make up for the fact that no reserves were established when the builder had control - many years worth in this case. We passed. We also looked at a GL community but they established reserves and built them up from the get-go. Their fees were higher, but there would be no shock when the community is turned over to residents. Reviewing the finances of any Association is critical before buying into any community, but especially so for new developments where a builder controlling the Association could be ignoring reserves.

No part of Lehigh is in 33913 according to various zip code maps available online. 33913 covers a very large area all the way down into Estero. It includes the airport, Jet Blue Park (Fenway South) and surrounds FGCU (which has its own zip code for the campus). Another area you might want to look at for new construction not far from the airport is Estero. There is a lot of new construction along Corkscrew Road a couple miles east of Ben Hill Griffin (which is what Treeline is called south of the airport). Corkscrew is the southern border of 33913 in some spots.

[FireStation46]

Thanks all. I spoke with WCI/Lennar today. Nice places in Gateway. She said there are other developments she has access to like Pelican. I did some estimates on executive homes in Pelican, no carpet, extended Lenai , tile all floors, lot and looks like Capri, Venice, Trevi will fit our needs. I don't golf, my eldest son does so I may add the $2,000 off peak golf package so he can golf during his visits.
We wil check out Toll Brothers and Pulte.

Good advice to see what reserves has on the HOA's.

I believe Pelican may not have large impact fees but other developments may?

It would be nice to buy new and ship most of our stuff there while I hang it in until 1/2021. We can visit the home for vacations during the year until we sell up here and leave for good!

Thanks for all the feedback!

Keep the suggestions comming!