Where would you build, close to coast? (Sarasota, Englewood: house, neighborhood)

[kimmerthy]

You are wonderful, great info I will add to my list. I'm surprised by the demo costs too, that does include removal/take away, right? Happy to hear the building office is nice and helpful, I love our little village building/permit office here where I live, you get to know people when you have to visit them, a lot

I tell my husband we're in the wrong business, tree removal is redonkulous. I guess it can be a dangerous job, but I really can't think of any other reason for such high costs…$2500 for 3 trees?! Ack!

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by kimmerthy

I've pulled up some threads from the recent past in regards to building on vacant lots on SK and surrounding areas, some threads of which are mine. We want to be as close to the beach as possible with good schools. I feel like this is an oxymoron. I did find some lots in Portifino on the Bay, seems like a nice neighborhood, not as close to the beach (SK beaches), but pretty darn close with, it seems, the better of school districts (compared to actually living on SK).

So I had found a lot on SK, Solitude Lane to be exact, but it went under contract about 2 weeks ago Obviously, not meant to be, but maybe someone can make me feel better and tell me I wouldn't have wanted that lot anyway

So back to Portifino on the Bay…any pros/cons about the area? I did search the board and only found one thread. I know I had read that some part of Siesta Drive can flood, is this an area? If/when we do build, we would elevate…is this only done on the key or closer to the coast? I know POTB has Spanish style housing, we would conform to any convenances, of course. I'm getting a little flustered in finding a lot as close to the beach as possible without spending a mil (under half of that would be nice!), hence why I'm kicking myself about not pushing to get down to FL to check out the lot on Solitude.

I get worried about the Scrub Jay territory, don't they have to disclose this before purchasing a lot?? There are some lots on SK that seem "cheap" and have been on the market for a bit, should I stay away from these? We would definitely fly down to scope out the area prior to purchasing (I am aware the SO in the area). Ugg, my head is spinning. But researching is fun, for real! We'll be there in Dec and I'm hoping while cursing the neighborhoods a lot will magically appear that may not be on MLS.

LWR seems great for us, love the concept and all it has to offer, but it's really too far inland from where we want to be…schools and beaches are our top priority (I'm dreaming, right??)I would say beaches and schools, but we wouldn't win the Parents of the Year award

I'm trying to make sure I'm thinking of the same area. The Portofino that you are talking about is over by Vamo Rd, correct? I have a bank owned home for sale on the next street over on Livingstone. That area is really a mixed bag. There are duplexes over on Marbeth and Debbie St and a few others. There are historic early 1900's homes, newer Spanish style homes, duplexes, etc.

It's definitely a convenient area of town--close to the beaches, close to shopping and the mall, close to the YMCA and waterpark. Pine View School for the Gifted if nearby, if you chose that route. It services 2-12th grades and might be an option--just depends on what you're looking for. I believe the districted schools are Gulf Gate Elementary, Sarasota Middle and Riverview High, all of which I would have no problem sending my kids to.

Portofino on the Bay is a small enclave of 20 Mediterranean style homes in a maintenance-free, private waterfront community. Located on Little Sarasota Bay, Portofino on the Bay is in a great location, West of the Tamiami Trail and close to shopping, beaches and downtown.

The homes that are offered in Portofino on the Bay are 3 Portofino and 4 bedroom Mediterranean homes with floorplans that include luxurious features such as double balconies, 2-car garages, and plenty of room from just under 3,000 square feet to over 4,000 square feet. They also have 7,000 lbs boat slips available.

You can go to the Sarasota county GIS maps to see if there has been any indication of Scrub Jay activity on a particular lot.

Instructions for Determining if a Sarasota County Property is in a Scrub-jay Protection Zone

1) Go to the Sarasota County website:
www.co.sarasota.fl.us

2) This is the County’s main webpage. On the left-hand side of the screen there is a column titled Conduct Business, and one of the choices about half way down the list is Maps. Click on this link.

3) This takes you to the Sarasota County Interactive Map Center. Click on the top link in the left column titled Property Look Up Map.

4) A new window will open with three “panes” the largest of which is a map that may take a few minutes to draw. You will see the words “Retrieving Map” flashing on the screen as the map is drawn. Depending on your internet connection speed, and the amount of traffic using the County’s website, this may take a few moments. Once the map is drawn, you will see the county highlighted in yellow, with red splotches indicating the locations of the scrub-jay areas. If you know the exact location of your property, you can zoom in the map by using the cursor to draw a box around your property, and the map will zoom into that location. But the easiest method is to use one of the two Find tools on the left side of the screen.

5) Select either the Street Address or PID - Parcel ID links, enter the requested information, and press the Find button.

6) The information in the left side of the screen will change to show specific details about the address or property. Additionally, the map will also update by zooming into the chosen lot.

7) What you are now looking at in the main map window is an aerial photograph of your lot and the surrounding area. Your lot will be highlighted in yellow. If the map is shaded red, this means that your property will likely require an additional permit to address scrub-jay issues in order to obtain a building permit for your lot (see the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service website for information on how to do this: Ecological Services | Southeast Region).

8) If you wish to see a clearer view of your property, click on the Layers button in the blue area on the left side of the screen. This will bring up a list of data layers with check boxes next to them. Remove the check mark from the box next to the Scrub-jay Habitat layer, and press the Refresh Map button below the bottom of the list. You may also have to remove the check next to the Parcel layer to be able to see the aerial photo clearly.

As far as the cheap lots on SK, it's hard to tell without knowing what lots you are talking about. It might an environmental issue, it could be the size or location of the lot, maybe the neighboring homes are not so great, maybe they're overpriced.

Good luck with finding the perfect slice of paradise

[kimmerthy]

Thank you for the instructions to check for Scrub Jays, I love the step by step, I NEED that Will do a check now.

And that's another thing I've noticed about the new construction or what builders offer in these neighborhoods, there are not many 3 or 4 car garages. Gorgeous, huge houses with a 2 car garage, we need 4! I'm sure they would charge a small arm or leg for an additional 2 stalls

[macrodome2]

kimmerthy- a couple of posts ago you mentioned visiting in Dec. We came down in Dec 2012 to look at and the listings dried up after the first week on existing houses. This won't impact lots or new construction, but I don't know what impact it may have on tear downs being listed just before the holidays. I chalked it up to people not wanting RE agents and buyers traipsing through their homes over the holidays and preferred to wait until after New Years. This may not affect you due to what you are looking for.

[sware2cod]

Originally Posted by kimmerthy

Thank you for the instructions to check for Scrub Jays, I love the step by step, I NEED that Will do a check now.

And that's another thing I've noticed about the new construction or what builders offer in these neighborhoods, there are not many 3 or 4 car garages. Gorgeous, huge houses with a 2 car garage, we need 4! I'm sure they would charge a small arm or leg for an additional 2 stalls

You can build elevated (aka 2 story) rather than place the home on fill dirt/slab. The lower area can be a 4 or 6 car garage and be below flood zone. The main floor of the home would be the floor above the garage and this is where your official "living area" is located. You could add an elevator if you anticipate stairs to be a problem.

When the living area is several feet higher in elevation than required, you can get very nice discounts on flood insurance. For example, if the FEMA map/rule for your lot says 1st floor of "living" must be at or above 13 feet... let's say your lot as-is is at 10 feet elevation. If your lower garage has 9' ceiling height, then your main floor (the 2nd floor) would be 10+9=19 ft elevation. If FEMA requires 13 or better, then you would be 6 ft higher in elevation than required.

2 good things here: 1) nice discount on flood insurance 2) nice bugger of 6' helps if FEMA changes the flood zones/required elevations in the future. You home likely would still be well above flood even if they increased the required elevation from 13 to 15.

Plus you get the 4-6 car garage without having to extend the footprint of the home(because you built 'up').

[Cardiff by the Sea]

If you end up building in a location that does not require you to build up, additional garages are not that expensive. It is the frills that add to the cost per square foot. Garages don't have granite, bathroom fixtures, etc. Extra garage space should go on at $100-125 per square foot on a non elevated home. You might run into issues with lot coverage and set backs depending on the size of your lot, but it would not cost an arm and a leg to add garage bays if you have the room.

[kimmerthy]

Thank you, sware2cod, totally makes sense and nice to know, wasn't aware of flood discounts either. I guess we could also do a 2 car deep stall as well.

Cardiff, that's about what they are here for a single stall. We always said if we built again we'd add another for 4, not that we have cars to fill the stalls, but just nice to have the extra space. And yes, depending where we buy, guess we have a couple of options to figure out to fit what we want!

SoFLGal, that link isn't working

[SoFLGal]

Here you go : https://www.scgov.net/GIS/Pages/default.aspx

[dpbarr2000]

You may want to investigate vacant lots on Manasota Key. There is a pretty good selection of both gulf side and bay side lots. The advantage of Manasota Key over Siesta Key is the amount of land for the price. Small town atmosphere in Englewood with good schools.

[kimmerthy]

Originally Posted by macrodome2

kimmerthy- a couple of posts ago you mentioned visiting in Dec. We came down in Dec 2012 to look at and the listings dried up after the first week on existing houses. This won't impact lots or new construction, but I don't know what impact it may have on tear downs being listed just before the holidays. I chalked it up to people not wanting RE agents and buyers traipsing through their homes over the holidays and preferred to wait until after New Years. This may not affect you due to what you are looking for.

Thank you! Yes, it would be right after Christmas, around New Years. Makes sense about not wanting randoms driving through over the holidays, but I was hoping since it's gorgeous there most of the year, there wouldn't be a down time for selling, oh well!