Northern Naples Area Help (Fort Myers, Golden Gate: to rent, HOA fees, condos)

[AmyLiz]

Does anyone know anything about the area around Immokalee Rd. and the numbered avenues ne--like 20th Ave. NE. Is this a good area or bad? Is it more in the country than city? Is it in a flood plain? Anything you could help me with would be beneficial. I am considering moving to sw Florida, and trying to find a good location. Thanks.

[RMD3819]

This is considered Golden Gate Estates. It is more country than city. Check http://www.city-data.com/forum/flori...-good-bad.html. There are some threads on this area. Overall it is safe.

Flood map: FEMA Map Service Center - How to Find Your Flood Map

If you post a little more about your situation we can give better advice. Do you have kids, jobs etc.?

[AmyLiz]

Thank you for your response. I love all of SW Florida, and am going to relocate there this year. I am having trouble deciding which city. I do not need employment or public schools. The problem that I see with this area is that builders have over built, have built on tiny lots, and many seem to have HOA fees. I don't like cutting grass all the time, but I am use to having a big lot. I'd rather cut grass than lose my privacy. I'm looking for a fairly new home-hopefully less than two or three years old with more than 2200 sq ft. I don't see any reason to build a house, since so many are available. The Golden Gate Estates area is attractive because of the large lots and nice homes. My price range is 250,000 or less. Any suggestions would be welcome.

[RMD3819]

HOA fees are in gated communities and condos. There are no HOA fees in GG Estates, unless you live in one of the subdivisions IE Orangetree, Waterways etc, and those are not really considered the Estates.

Most of the lots in GGE are 2.5 or 5 acres. There are some exceptions, of course.

If you don't want to mow then many properties are mostly brush with trees with little lawn. Others have grass on the entire property. There is a ton of lawn care companies to mow for you.

The other thing to consider is proximity to shopping, beaches etc. GGE is considerably distant from much of this. Some see this as a positive, others as a negative.

I would think with your housing budget you could find a good deal.

[justNancy]

Golden Gates Estates is very pretty. However, it stretches for many miles. I recently looked at a nice house and it was way, way out, more than 20 miles from nowhere. For $250,000 you should be able to find a nice home close in, meaning not far from route 951 and the Coastland Mall. As already mentioned, it all depends on what appeals to you.

IMO there is good and bad when it comes to HOAs. I understand why someone might not like rules. Before I moved to FL, moving to a gated community was out of the question. However, one of the gorgeous homes I saw last week was at the end of a cul de sac in Golden Gate Estates, but the house across the street had trash lying all over the lawn.

Still, there are some great buys in that area. You just need to drive around and check out the community. Good luck!

[AmyLiz]

It's the fees that the HOAs have that bother me. And I don't care much for little lots. I would love to have a home in the GGE area with a large lot. With enough trees you wouldn't see the neighbors.

[RMD3819]

Originally Posted by AmyLiz

It's the fees that the HOAs have that bother me. And I don't care much for little lots. I would love to have a home in the GGE area with a large lot. With enough trees you wouldn't see the neighbors.

Seclusion is why many move to GGE.

[BigMunch]

In this market in that area I would offer 50 grand less than they are asking and see how they respond. They may just accept you offer, and at worst they will counter offer. Just the lots out there were going for between 125,000 and 200,000 a couple of years ago, now they are around 20,000 to 50,000

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by AmyLiz

It's the fees that the HOAs have that bother me. And I don't care much for little lots. I would love to have a home in the GGE area with a large lot. With enough trees you wouldn't see the neighbors.

I totally agree with you. I am not looking in the $250,000 price range, so I'm more limited to size and acreage than you. However, I also don't want to feel completely isolated either. I guess I could always get a couple of large dogs!

As I've written before, so much of home buying is personal..size, style, location, etc. I remember when I rented a place on Sanibel and asked a couple why they spent so much on rent when they could have purchased a nice home in Fort Myers. They said they enjoyed living on the island, which was their personal desire, whether or not it made sense financially.

On another thread, a poster knocked me for saying I care about certain things where I live, as if I were a snob. That's ridiculous, since I owned a singlewide in a park for many years. It's just that some people love living in high rise buildings, others enjoy condos or townhouses, and many just want to rent whether or not they can afford to own. In the past, I had problems with rowdy neighbors, so maybe that's made me a little paranoid. It isn't seeing the neighbors that bothers me so much, but hearing them, especially at 3AM. If you can find a home that is insulated from other people's noise then, for me, that would be a blessing.

Good luck with your search. Since you wrote "any suggestions would be welcome" I was only giving you my opinion. You don't have to use it or agree with me since we're all different and YMMV. Peace.

[AmyLiz]

You all have been a great help. I just wonder what happened to the area to cause all the financial trouble. It just seems like all the sudden things went sour in the area. I'm sure part of it was a slowdown in the travel industry which Florida depends so heavily on.