Non HOA subdivisions (Cape Coral, Sarasota, Fort Myers: houses, neighborhood, deed)

[JohnInChicago]

Can anyone recommend non HOA subdivisions that are still a nice, clean place to live in the Ft Myer/Cape Coral area?

We lived in Parrish, Fl, (north of Sarasota), for 7 years and moved back north 3 years ago. Big mistake, I hate cold and snow! We're coming back, for good this time!

Thanks for your suggestions.

[Samiam2000]

Cape Coral does not have a HOA in the true sense of the word but there are city laws,which are good ones in my opinion such as not allowing work trucks and trailers in your driveway or boats and trailers to be parked in front of your house (back and side parking is ok) These are very reasonable and help keep CC looking good.If you want a contrast,cross the line into North Ft Myers and see all the junk piled up and parked around peoples houses.I know of one case of a person in the roofing business with trucks,trailers,a tar kettle and discarded materials surrounding his house on an otherwise very tidy neighborhood.

[Kim in FL]

Cape Coral has an HOA....and it has plenty of members and wanna be presidents.

The ordinances in place aren’t all the that bad. Just mow your yard, pick up your trash cans promptly, keep your car running, licensed and insured, get permits for breathing (ok, that’s a lie), and make friends with your crotchety old neighbors because they’ll be the ones calling the HOA Pres ( the city) on you.

I say some of this tongue is cheek.. I lived in CC for many, many years and never had any issues. Those who really complain are the ones violating the ordinances and should be living out in unincorporated Lee County where pretty much anything goes.

Fort Myers has some communities that aren’t HOA, but do have deed restrictions, not sure how restrictive they are:

Good luck in your search!

[FLKitties]

I agree with Kim and Samiam. The CC "rules" are really only a problem if you're a problem. If you're just looking for a decent place to put down roots surrounded by good, respectful neighbors and just want a little more freedom (and less fees) than is offered in an HOA, like being able to choose a house color without some committee's approval, I'd say there are plenty of places to live in Cape Coral and I'd gladly welcome you as a neighbor. However, if you're looking to avoid HOAs so you can park trailers and ATVs all over the place and don't respect the property rights of others, I'd say just say you'd be more comfortable in North Fort Myers or Lehigh Acres. Because you're from Chicago, however, I'm going to assume you're of the more "civilized" variety.

Cape Coral doesn't have the large number of HOA communities that Fort Myers does. It's a lot less structured here. More like Parrish was before all the newer communities were developed. There are only a handful of true HOA communities in CC that I'm aware of.