where is a good area to look for a retirement/vacation home? (Cape Coral: foreclosures, rental)

[lynne4t]

Hello,
My husband and I are heading down there in a few weeks to start checking into different areas of SW Florida in which to buy a vacation/retirement home. We're partial to Port Charlotte, but we are open to any place on the sw coast from Venice to the Ft. Myers area. I see a lot of steals in North Port and Cape Coral, any thoughts on those areas? I know some areas are not the best right now, but as long as the communities aren't going broke and turning to ghost towns, we would like to take advantage of the markets and hope for eventual recovery. We are very new to this and are open to and would appreciate any and all suggestions.
Thank you!

[justNancy]

There are numerous threads on this subject. You'll probably have to get a little more specific to get some good answers from people on city-data, i.e., price, size, amenities desired, distance to the beach, etc.

Yes, there are a lot of bargains in the areas you mentioned. Depends on what kind of atmosphere you desire.

[SoFLGal]

I was gonna say exactly what Nancy said. If you could get more specific on exactly what you are looking for we could get you going in the right direction. There are some great deals in North Port, where I live. But you would need to get more specific on your needs for us to know if North Port is a good fit for you.

North Port is about 25-30 minutes from the beach, most of the homes in NP are newer, it's the second largest city in the state of Florida in land area but is only about 30% populated. Most of the shopping for North Port is in nearby Port Charlotte which is about 10 minutes away. There are still quite a few foreclosures in NP just as there is in all of SW Florida. I would suggest taking a trip down here to investigate some of the different areas.

Good luck with your search

[lynne4t]

okay, I'll try to be more specific.
We are planning to take a 2 day trip in October for the sole purpose of checking out neighborhoods. I was hoping I could completely rule out some places before we got there, so we won't have a completely crazy 2 days.
We are still trying to narrow down what is important as far as specifics. I can say we're looking at 150-250k. Not concerned about schools. Proximity to beach is somewhat important, but not a deal-breaker. Probably want a pool, but wonder what to do with it in the summer months when no one is there. (any idea?) We are 46 and 55 years old, so retirement is a little while away. Obviously there are no guarantees, but it would be nice if the value of the home appreciated sometime in the next 10 years!
Some sort of community, whether an actual gated, or just a nice neighborhood would be good.
There's a chance we might be offering it for seasonal rental at some point.
Ummmmm....I'm not sure what else. Oh, we don't golf but might like to boat.
Can you be more specific about what specifics are important?
Thanks so much!
Lynne

[FLBob]

In your price range one place that may not be on your radar but is worth a look is the Cape Haze Peninsula. Look at the homes in Rotonda. There are numerous golf courses, Englewood beach is about 20 minutes or less away. Boca Grande is also just minutes away from Rotonda. There is great fishing and boating in the area. It is a growing area, but for the foreseeable future there is a lot of natural feel to the area. People I know that live in Rotonda love it there. Most of the communities are deed restricted, a feature that goes a long way in maintaining and improving property values over time.

As a resident of Venice, I'm biased towards Venice. It's a great beach town, and the activities are numerous. Everything you need is here.

One thing I do need to ask is why you are looking to buy now when retirement is a little while away? Why not rent while on vacation, taking your time to learn areas. You'll get a much better feel if you say come to Venice and spend the entire two days walking and riding around town. What I see happening to a lot of people that attempt to see numerous neighborhoods is a short period is that they see a town from the main roads and never get to see the place like the residents do.

[tommy-105]

Originally Posted by lynne4t

Hello,
My husband and I are heading down there in a few weeks to start checking into different areas of SW Florida in which to buy a vacation/retirement home. We're partial to Port Charlotte, but we are open to any place on the sw coast from Venice to the Ft. Myers area. I see a lot of steals in North Port and Cape Coral, any thoughts on those areas? I know some areas are not the best right now, but as long as the communities aren't going broke and turning to ghost towns, we would like to take advantage of the markets and hope for eventual recovery. We are very new to this and are open to and would appreciate any and all suggestions.
Thank you!

It might help if you try to explain what it is about Port Charlotte that you like. Is there family there? Or is there something in particular that you like? Usually it's the canals that attract boaters.

[mrcoolmrcool28]

Boy you really can't do much in two days, We looked around the area for about five years before we bought anything, coming down about twice a year.

Just a thought, we decided to just buy a buildable lot so we didn't have to worry about a house and upkeep when we are not there.

For the money you are talking you can buy a lot, build a brand new house on it when you are ready and still be on a saltwater canal for boating in Port Charlotte, could even fit a pool/cage in on that budget.

The most valuable properties are on Charotte harbor but you won't find anything like that in the price range you mentioned, so next would be saltwater canals with close access to open water and on intersecting canals which gives you long water views, or corner water lots, those can still be found.

So good luck, don't be in a big hurry, there is LOTS to see, many places to visit, Do a LOT of internet searching (We did) look at the areas from sites like Google Earth as well as others and see what looks good from your own living room before you come down then visit those places. Prices will still be good for a while, tho I have noticed they seem to be going up a bit since when we bought....But that's a good thing right??? Mr.cool

[lynne4t]

The only reason we are partial to Port Charlotte is because we are familiar with it. My parents owned a vacation home there for 20 years. Also, it seems as though it is one area that was getting a lot of really good press, and even recently voted #1 retirement community. The canals are a draw. Honestly, though, it WAS a bit busy on the main streets .
We are used to country living, but like variety, too! Obviously we would want communities with low crime rates.
The reason we want to buy now is because the market is so good and we are hopefully at or near the bottom of the slump.
Google maps are a great resource as you can actually "walk" down the streets!
Land is a consideration. Mr. Cool-where did you buy yours?
Bob-I will search areas you mentioned as well as North Port.
Anyone have an opinion on Cape Coral?

[Angelala]

I have an opinion on Cape Coral, we bought a house on a lake 2 1/2 years ago and decided we wanted gulf access (while the prices were down) so we sold our house and bought a beautiful gulf access in the SW area. We love it! The area is beautiful and the people are friendly. We are minutes to restaurants and only about 40 minutes to Sanibel or Ft Myers beach (faster if my husband is driving) If you look at the stats on Cape Coral the crime is low for the size. We could have bought anywhere and decided we liked CC and have no regrets at all. Our ages are 47 and 51 so we are not retired yet either.

[tommy-105]

Originally Posted by lynne4t

The only reason we are partial to Port Charlotte is because we are familiar with it. My parents owned a vacation home there for 20 years. Also, it seems as though it is one area that was getting a lot of really good press, and even recently voted #1 retirement community. The canals are a draw. Honestly, though, it WAS a bit busy on the main streets .
We are used to country living, but like variety, too! Obviously we would want communities with low crime rates.
The reason we want to buy now is because the market is so good and we are hopefully at or near the bottom of the slump.
Google maps are a great resource as you can actually "walk" down the streets!
Land is a consideration. Mr. Cool-where did you buy yours?
Bob-I will search areas you mentioned as well as North Port.
Anyone have an opinion on Cape Coral?

I found this map on a site that competes with City-Data, so I don't think I'm allowed to link to it. It breaks down overall crime rates in Port Charlotte by neighborhood. With 100 being the safest.