Manatee County (Sarasota, Bradenton, Palmetto: HOA fees, insurance, crime)

[sugarat]

Hi, I was going to make a trip down to look at homes in the northern Manatee county (Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton). There seems to be really good deals around Moccasin Wallow Rd both in Parrish and Palmetto. I checked out the crime for Manatee county and have read a lot of the remarks regarding gangs and most of it seems to centralized around us 41 in Palmetto and Bradenton. Does anyone have any experience in the northern Mantee area with the new buliders Ryland, Maronda, etc. There are some great buys on existing inventory homes from some of these builders. Also who has property without CDD's (that's another conversation in itself), safe areas, good buys, smart buys. Thanks for your help.

[returningtonepa???]

Originally Posted by sugarat

Hi, I was going to make a trip down to look at homes in the northern Manatee county (Palmetto, Parrish, Ellenton). There seems to be really good deals around Moccasin Wallow Rd both in Parrish and Palmetto. I checked out the crime for Manatee county and have read a lot of the remarks regarding gangs and most of it seems to centralized around us 41 in Palmetto and Bradenton. Does anyone have any experience in the northern Mantee area with the new buliders Ryland, Maronda, etc. There are some great buys on existing inventory homes from some of these builders. Also who has property without CDD's (that's another conversation in itself), safe areas, good buys, smart buys. Thanks for your help.

palmetto is changing from a sleepy town to gang central----too bad as housing is affordable----

parrish and ellenton are fairly safe---con--traffic south on 75 can be brutal----
i would be careful with ryland homes---scan the archives of the bradenton herald on any of the home builders and check the fla west coast BBB

[sugarat]

is gang central applied to all of Palmetto or just certain areas. Palmetto seems to conver a lot of area.

[returningtonepa???]

Originally Posted by sugarat

is gang central applied to all of Palmetto or just certain areas. Palmetto seems to conver a lot of area.

it's more towards the areas directly off rt 41,and 301----less in the downtown area------stay away from the projects or the small development west of 41---check the areas at nite----note the cars per home

there are some nice areas,but traveling at nite is risky----innocent people have been caught in drive bys

[sugarat]

Good advice, thanks.

[PaulaC]

sugarat,

Ellenton and Parrish are pretty good areas. I would avoid Palmetto altogether. We live in Parrish and have really enjoyed it.

CDDs and HOAs are two entirely different things. Which one are you opposed to? In short, HOAs are simply associations which are responsible for the maintenance of the common areas and enforcement of the rules and regulations of the subdivision. A CDD (Community Development District) is where a development entity uses a bond from the local government to fund the building of the infrastructure. Therefore, in one location (such as Lakewood Ranch), you could pay both a HOA and CDD fee. CDD fees are added to your ad valorem tax bill each year. In some subdivisions, you will only have HOA fees.

[sugarat]

Thanks PaulaC. CDD's are the thing we are trying to avoid. HOA's are fine and most of the time a helpful thing if you like living in a nice neighborhood. In your opinion, are there any areas/ developments/ builders in Parrish that are worth checking out (without CDD's preferrably)?

[PaulaC]

sugarat,

There are some homes available in the subdivision we are in, called Ancient Oaks. Mike Koontz built them and we are very happy with the quality and size of the lots. Neal Communities has a development in Parrish and Pat Neal has a very good reputation. I do not recommend Pulte Homes which is building in Harrison Ranch. That's just my opinion as I have lived here 37 years and have not heard anything good about Pulte. Anyway, most of the newer subdivisions here are HOAs, but generaly speakiing from what I have heard, the main area with CDDs is Lakewood Ranch. I am not aware of any of the subs in Parrish with a CDD. Someone else may know of something, but I'm not sure. Your best bet is to stay with newer construction (after 2002) due to insurance. My insurance this year was $696. Let me know if you need anything further.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by returningtonepa???

it's more towards the areas directly off rt 41,and 301----less in the downtown area------stay away from the projects or the small development west of 41---check the areas at nite----note the cars per home

there are some nice areas,but traveling at nite is risky----innocent people have been caught in drive bys

just check out newsmanatee.com and see what happened yesterday in Palmetto...

[Oobie119]

My husband and I are in the same situation as you. We are really looking to Parrish. Lots of new homes exist with no CDD fees. They are newer areas, some gated. From what we know the area is growing, but stay far away from Palmetto. Parrish is very rural so don't anticipate much night life nearby, we are anticipating a more rural lifestyle but we are still investigating the area too. We cant seem to find much more we can afford in areas such as Sarasota or East Bradenton. If so, we can get much more house in Parrish..