South FL Townhouse or Condo

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by tmozer

I checked Bonita Beach listings. Nothing we would want to afford. Now Bonita Springs might be a different story. Not that close to the water but much more affordable. What is the Bonita Springs area like?

Bonita Beach is the beach in Bonita Springs. It's not a separate city like Fort Myers Beach is to Fort Myers. I lived walking distance to Bonita Beach for many years. I'm currently staying in a gated community right over the line in North Naples and shop at the Publix in Bonita Springs because it's closer than the Publix in Riverchase on Immokalee Rd.

It's hard to describe Bonita. It's a mixed bag. There are multi-million dollar homes around the corner from small cracker houses. It was a quiet little fishing village that exploded during the Florida housing boom. Bonita is bordered by Estero to the north, also a nice city with many new communities.

Since you're looking for a townhouse, you will probably be living in a gated community, so you'll have deed restrictions. Most of Bonita is very nice & safe, although I would not recommend some areas.

Some of the nicer communities have very high fees and often have both a master HOA and a monthly condo fee. A real estate agent can help you with that.

There are too many to name. Spanish Wells, Pelican Landing, Bonita Bay, Vanderbilt Lakes, Woods Edge, Bermuda Lago, Coconut Shores, Serrano, Worthington, Hunters Ridge, Highland Woods, Vasari, Palmira, Village Walk and more. The Brooks and Marsh Landing are on the Bonita/Estero line, so I'm not sure in which city they're actually located, but it really doesn't matter.

You probably should checkout the prices, location, amenities & condo fees and then come back to ask questions about specific communities you like. Use the link I sent you on gated communities and checkout the listings or Google some of the name I just listed. There are also Bonita Springs properties listed on the Naples Board of Realtors site.

[justNancy]

Follow up:

I drove to Estero on Christmas and passed Marsh Landing. It's definitely in Estero. There were many other developments like Pelican Sound & Fountain Lakes along the way. Many, many condos & townhouses available in several nice communities. Different price ranges, different amenities. Estero is a little further from the beach, but only a 10 to 15 minute drive to Bonita Beach.