If You Live/Have Lived in Stoneybrook in Venice (Plantation: 2013, renter)
Sarasota - Bradenton - Venice areaManatee and Sarasota Counties
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Hi,
We currently own a vacation condo in Venice, but are looking to purchase a larger single family home in the area. It will most likely be used as a vacation property, but we are seriously researching relocating in the summer of 2016. Either way we specifically are looking for something with 3+ bedrooms in a resort-like community that is very family friendly as we have 3 children (ages 5-9). Based on that criteria we spent a lot of time on a recent trip at Stoneybrook and Grand Palm. We like both for different reasons.
We have a nice network of friends here in the Northeast and my children have good friends. Moving south would mean "starting from scratch."
Grand Palm appeals to us because everyone is new.
Stoneybrook appeals to us because there appears to be so many school-aged children already living there.
My question is for those who are familiar with Stoneybrook. I would love to know more about "the vibe" there. Are people welcoming to newcomers or are friendships really established? I can get stats about all of the communities online and see the activities calendar, but I would really love to hear from people who are familiar with the neighborhood and can provide insight on the dynamics of the people who make up the community.
We purchased in Stoneybrook in June of 2013. We're using the house from Oct to May. The community is about half family and half retired/seasonal. There are a lot of kids in this community. The Social Club and Community Director are always doing things for the kids. Upcoming is the basketball league, swimming lessons, and Easter egg hunt. Every month there is a movie.
I've met a lot of people at the pool that moved in around the same time we did and are around our age- late 50's early 60's. Many wanted to be here so they could have their grand kids down and not have to worry about it being all adult.
The families with kids tend to stick together and the folks that are retired/semi-retired tend to stick together. I've had no problem making friends at the pool and many of those people made friends at the tennis courts. If you are working and have small children, I imaging you'll have different interests and times you're available but I don't think you'll have a problem. The kids all seem to know each other and play together- at least on our block.
The people we bought our house from had two girls and they left to buy in GP, but they came back here to Trick or Treat with their friends this past October. You might want to ask about kids in GP on C-D, as I know there are some, but don't know if it's as many as here.
Houses were built between 2005 and 2013, so they are not that old. KB Homes still owns some lots in Stoneybrook, but they don't have any spec homes, you could contact them if you want new. We looked at Grand Palm as well. It's a very nice community, but the reasons we chose SB:
There will be almost 2000 homes by the time Neal is finished, SB has 830 (about 860 if KB finishes building)
Construction at GP will probably continue for the next 8-10 years depending on how fast they sell and what the market is. I think they've sold about 350 homes so far, if I recall what their sign said a couple of months ago.
We liked the pool better at SB. While GB has a nice pool, it's not really that big once you realize one side empties the slide, one side has a beach entry, and one side has steps. Plus it is only 4.5 feet deep at any point
At the time we looked the biggest house in GB was less than 2400 sq ft (they are now offering larger models). We bought a one story in SB that is 2425 sq ft and has a better layout for us.
I wanted lakefront and the lot premiums in GP are high. We could get more house for substantially less $$ on a lake in SB than GP.
In fairness- GP has better trails for biking and walking and the play park is better (although we wouldn't use that). It also has a dog park if you have a dog.
On a serious note, I think you've summed up the community pretty well and I would tend to lean more toward Stoneybrook for many of the reasons you pointed out.
My daughter has a friend who lives in Stoneybrook so I can comment but only as an outsider and not someone who actually lives in the community. When she visits it seems like there is no shortage of kids in the neighborhood to play with. There' also lots to keep the kids entertained there with the pools, playground, volleyball, basketball, tennis, in-line skating rink, movie theater, trails, activities for the kids, etc.
Thanks Macrodome for taking the time to write such a detailed response. It really is helpful to hear so many points from someone who lives in the community. Do you feel there are pros/cons to living on certain streets/areas within SB than another. We noticed Breadfruit is close to the entrance/pool/etc but fairly isolated from the community as a whole and runs along Center Road. We ideally would love to find a property with sunset views on a lake with a pool. Do you find the families/retirees are integrated throughout or do certain streets/areas appeal to one demographic over another? I personally loved the idea of a family-friendly community with a mixed-generation population. My hope is that we are able to purchase the home as a vacation property, but as we become familiar with it, settle in a bit and our kids meet local friends the idea of relocating won't seem so overwhelming. My husband and I have jobs that would allow us to work anywhere so employment is not an issue.
We considered renting in SB this summer to get a feel for the area and noticed there seem to be quite a few vacation rentals available. How do you find the renter population to be? We are concerned that we could buy a home and end up with a revolving door of renters next door. We had a chance to speak with someone in the office at SB that said there is a 28 day rental minimum, but noticed on VRBO that people offer weekly rentals.
One other downside I felt with Grand Palm was how crazy it was with potential buyers wandering around. I don't mind the idea of ongoing construction as it seems they do a good job of keeping it contained to one area at a time, but I don't love the thought of so many strangers wandering around for the next few years.
SOFLGal: Thank you for responding as well. I've read so many of your posts on these forums and really appreciate the time you invest into them. I've learned so much about the area, communities, and schools from you. In your experience are home built after 2009 usually OK regarding the Chinese Drywall?
Houses were built between 2005 and 2013, so they are not that old. KB Homes still owns some lots in Stoneybrook, but they don't have any spec homes, you could contact them if you want new. We looked at Grand Palm as well. It's a very nice community, but the reasons we chose SB:
There will be almost 2000 homes by the time Neal is finished, SB has 830 (about 860 if KB finishes building)
Construction at GP will probably continue for the next 8-10 years depending on how fast they sell and what the market is. I think they've sold about 350 homes so far, if I recall what their sign said a couple of months ago.
We liked the pool better at SB. While GB has a nice pool, it's not really that big once you realize one side empties the slide, one side has a beach entry, and one side has steps. Plus it is only 4.5 feet deep at any point
At the time we looked the biggest house in GB was less than 2400 sq ft (they are now offering larger models). We bought a one story in SB that is 2425 sq ft and has a better layout for us.
I wanted lakefront and the lot premiums in GP are high. We could get more house for substantially less $$ on a lake in SB than GP.
In fairness- GP has better trails for biking and walking and the play park is better (although we wouldn't use that). It also has a dog park if you have a dog.
I bought in Stoneybrook also and am happy with my purchase. My job in the northeast permits me to be there four weeks a year and I've already made friends. Lennar laid everything (everything's included) out in writing. Everyone else was all over the place with options and prices. KB does own lots but there seems to be some reason why Lennar had to take over building. Grand Palms is directly across Center Road from Stoneybrook.
Stoneybrooks HOA fees are under $500 a quarter. That's good. Water/sewer is a minimum of $30 a month. Electricity to run the AC in an unoccupied house runs at $70 a month in the Summer, much lower in the winter.
I almost bought in the Villages. That would have been a mistake. In any event, I will be keeping my politics to myself when I move down to Venice full time.
SoFlGal: Feel free to copy anything I've written as I don't consider it plagiarism, just sharing.
Tonyafd: We may have met the other day at the pool. Don't get your politics comment as I've found a mixed bag politically at SB, from the Canadian who loves Sarah Palin to the mid-westerners that voted for Obama. Lots of east coast folks too- which is where I'm from. (The Villages would have been a disaster.) How do you only spend $30 on water and sewer? Ours has been running over $60/mo when we're here (we don't have a pool). Electric is about the same.
OP- your questions. You'll get two types of renters: the snowbirds that tend to be retired and can take a month + off and the annual lease holders, the annuals I've met are young and have kids. The house across from me is an annual lease and that family moved out to buy a house in Gran Paradiso. Another family with 3 young kids moved in last summer. The only reason I know they are renting is because of the previous renters- otherwise you wouldn't know if they rented or purchased.
There are quite a few seasonal renters at the pool now but they tend to be retired. The pool gets crowded during breaks. Thanksgiving week, Christmas and New Years week and a couple of weeks this month there will be kids all over- many visiting grandma and grandpa. Venice schools are closed this coming week so we'll have our own kids here. And the kids have always been respectful.
We generally go to the pool in the morning so it's not as crowded. In fact in the cooler months/days we may be the only ones there. Everyone I've met has been very nice and inquisitive as to how it is living there. The only issues I have ever had with rowdy behavior (footballs in the pool) was actually the adults at Christmas time and they seemed to be visiting someone, not owners, not renters. You'd find that anywhere, just comes with the fact that FL is a vacation destination.
As to the weekly ads in VRBO. If the HOA catches them, they will be spoken to and if it continues fined. If you buy a house and see that kind of activity speak up, it will be addressed.
This was the place to be for Halloween. I purchased 5 bags of candy (220 pieces). Trick or Treat ran from 6pm to 9pm. It's kind of nice because you don't have to keep popping up all night to get the door. In fact I just sat out on a lawn chair in the driveway. I ran out of candy a little after 8pm. I was giving out 3 pieces each (2 toward the end) so I figure I had somewhere around 80 kids that night. If you turn off your front light, the kids just skip the house.
The kids are all over. There's a bunch on Granite Woods, Mesic Hammock, and Dancing River. The newer section is also mixed- Anhinga and Spotted Margay. I ride my bike all around and see them playing mostly on Sat & Sun. Breadfruit and Milkweed are a little out of the way. I think one side of Breadfruit may have a lake, but the preponderance of lakes are on the 5 streets I listed above. There are a couple of other smaller streets that have lakes and cross the five above. If you're looking for lakefront there's plenty of it and I didn't find outrageous premiums because the house was on a lake. We're on a lake in the section that was built between 2005 and 2009. The house was 5 years old when we bought it. Although the idea of watching the sunset over the lake is appealing, west facing lanais are hot. I would only recommend west or south facing if you're planning on having a pool. Otherwise you're in the sun in the hottest part of the day. We're facing east so we watch the sunrise.
Chinese drywall- that seems to have been taken care of. Haven't heard of any people having issues with CD. CD is relatively easy to spot for a home inspector as the wiring and a/c components turn black. It will also do a number on the faucets and mirrors and smells funky. Good inspectors know what to look for.
The issue with the ongoing construction at GP is that all of the trucks and contractors are passing the completed houses. I ride over there as well. Still River Drive has a constant parade of trucks delivering materials and contractors as they built up near the entrance first and are now building further into the community. Also look at the site plan. A couple of the streets like the one I mentioned is the main road for all of the other streets to get out. SB is laid out with lakes on either side of the main road running through it. GP has houses on either side. You don't want to be in one of them.
One last food for thought for SB vs. GP- SB is a gated community, GP is not. So anyone can drive around GP. I don't know if this will change in the future, but there is currently no guard shack in front of GP like there is for SB. That was a selling point for us as we are not here fulltime yet and were concerned with having the house broken into when we weren't here.
Renting this summer would be a good idea. We rented a house about 6 houses away on the same street from the one we ended up buying- that was by coincidence not planned.
Last edited by macrodome2; 03-07-2015 at 04:01 PM..
Reason: spelling, grammer fixes
Thanks Macrodome for taking the time to write such a detailed response. It really is helpful to hear so many points from someone who lives in the community. Do you feel there are pros/cons to living on certain streets/areas within SB than another. We noticed Breadfruit is close to the entrance/pool/etc but fairly isolated from the community as a whole and runs along Center Road. We ideally would love to find a property with sunset views on a lake with a pool. Do you find the families/retirees are integrated throughout or do certain streets/areas appeal to one demographic over another? I personally loved the idea of a family-friendly community with a mixed-generation population. My hope is that we are able to purchase the home as a vacation property, but as we become familiar with it, settle in a bit and our kids meet local friends the idea of relocating won't seem so overwhelming. My husband and I have jobs that would allow us to work anywhere so employment is not an issue.
We considered renting in SB this summer to get a feel for the area and noticed there seem to be quite a few vacation rentals available. How do you find the renter population to be? We are concerned that we could buy a home and end up with a revolving door of renters next door. We had a chance to speak with someone in the office at SB that said there is a 28 day rental minimum, but noticed on VRBO that people offer weekly rentals.
One other downside I felt with Grand Palm was how crazy it was with potential buyers wandering around. I don't mind the idea of ongoing construction as it seems they do a good job of keeping it contained to one area at a time, but I don't love the thought of so many strangers wandering around for the next few years.
SOFLGal: Thank you for responding as well. I've read so many of your posts on these forums and really appreciate the time you invest into them. I've learned so much about the area, communities, and schools from you. In your experience are home built after 2009 usually OK regarding the Chinese Drywall?
Thanks again to both of you!
Thanks for the kudos!
In general, the CDW homes were built from 2001-2007 with the heaviest use from 2004-2007. Keep in mind that just because it doesn't show signs of CDW, it could have been remediated. It's just something that you need to be aware of and make sure that you are asking the right questions and getting the proper disclosures. I've been in quite a few homes with it and have seen how it effects the hinges of the doors, roofing straps, appliances, A/C coils, electrical wires, etc. Pretty much anything that is metal, it corrodes. This is a pretty good website that shows pics etc of the damage: Welcome to Chinesedrywall.com When entering many of the homes effected there was a strong sulfur smell, almost like raw sewage.
Anyway, there is no substitute for a good inspector and there are also inspectors that inspects for CDW.
Some of the homes in Stoneybrook had Chinese Defective Drywall and some also had to have the plumbing replaced not too long after moving in because of leaks. I had two customers that moved out of there in the past year. Just be sure to get a home inspection if you buy. It is a great neighborhood for kids though because of so many activities. One entrance is off of River Rd. That road floods sometimes during the summer rainy season. KB Homes is still building in Stoneybrook if you want new.
Another development that is kid friendly is Lakeside Plantation in North Port. Home
Both of these communities have CDD fees which are included in your taxes. Not all communities have CDD fees. Check the listings carefully because I did see one home in Stoneybrook where the seller paid the CDD in full.
The Chinese drywall concerns are thankfully nearing their conclusion. In the past six months of inspecting only one house had a blatant issue. The illusive houses may only have a few sheets of Chinese drywall which will make them harder to diagnose. When a house is filled with it, it is apparent. Any copper will be heavily blackened, almost charred looking. Easy places to look will be under sinks but the AC, electrical panel and receptacles should also be checked.
Stoneybrook in Venice is not a community I would have at the top of the list.
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