Parrish/Ellenton homes? (renters, neighborhood, movie theater)

[razsrq]

Originally Posted by wakefrr

We are looking to purchase in Covered Bridge Estates and wanted to know about Crime? Neighbor Hood Friendlyness ect. Can you help?

I have just recently placed an offer on a house in Covered Bridge. While viewing a a few homes there, I met a very nice gentlemen on a golf cart that spoke to me about the community. The worst thing that he spoke about were a few kids hanging out at the pool after hours. He also stated that a police officer living in the community appreciates the layout of Covered Bridge as there is only one primary road in and out. You are only there if you want to be there (or lost) and criminals hate when they have only one escape route. Besides this there are many winding roads throughout the community.

I have lived in Sarasota for over a decade and would not be moving here if I didn't truly feel this is a safe community. Before the decline in the housing market, some houses in the community were selling up in the $300,00 and $400,000 price range.

Happy hunting!

[meltinjohn]

Originally Posted by PaulaC

Meltinjohn,

Having read your posts for a while, I am so glad you are where you want to be. I have also made other choices, but your constant bashing of the Parrish/Ellenton area makes me wonder just what in the hell you were looking at. I'm sure you will be just as unhappy in MA after a while.

Just sayin'...

I lived with my mom and it was not my choice to move there at all. That is why I disliked it even more. It wasnt like I picked the place and got fed up with my choice. Even if some people were nice, it was too stale and fake. Where I am has suburbs like that also, but just to a lesser degree of hell.

<< city guy here.

[meltinjohn]

Originally Posted by PaulaC

Meltinjohn,

Having read your posts for a while, I am so glad you are where you want to be. I have also made other choices, but your constant bashing of the Parrish/Ellenton area makes me wonder just what in the hell you were looking at. I'm sure you will be just as unhappy in MA after a while.

Just sayin'...

I lived with my mom and it was not my choice to move there at all. That is why I disliked it even more. It wasnt like I picked the place and got fed up with my choice. Even if some people were nice, it was too stale and fake. Where I am has suburbs like that also, but just to a lesser degree of hell. Parrish was like the worst tho.

<< city guy here.

[flteacher36]

Originally Posted by wakefrr

We are looking to purchase in Covered Bridge Estates and wanted to know about Crime? Neighbor Hood Friendlyness ect. Can you help?

Do NOT buy in Covered Bridge Estates!!! I cannot stress that enough! I currently am living there, in a rental home that I just found is in foreclosure (like MANY) of the houses there. There was an armed robbery just a block from my house, IN the neighborhood on Willows Brigde Loop a couple of months ago...men running through the neighborhood with an AK47. The low-income apartments just up the road are infested with crime, and they are overflowing into our neighborhood, since it is not gated. Good luck swimming, or using any of the amenities, as they are always crawling with ignorant, trashy people screaming obscenities...at their kids and each other. If you are safety conscious, or concerned about the value of your property...STAY AWAY! Parrish is 10 minutes down the road, but a whole 'nother world. Low crime, young professional families. We are moving back to Kingsfield Lakes - LOVE it there! You will regret a purchase anywhere in Ellenton.

[lovinflorida]

I can supply you with some additional information about Parrish as I am a homebuilding rep for a national builder in the area. I would strongly suggest you focus your search on Parrish over Palmetto. The homes we offer in Parrish are beautiful and range from 199K to 212K.My address is ttesta@stanpac.com should you want further information.

[razsrq]

I have pulled the police dispatch reports for the past 6 months and found one home invasion, two car thefts and for the most part the rest of the calls are suspicious vehicle/person, domestic disturbance, etc. I have friends that live in a very quiet, VERY close knit loop/road with very nice houses down the road from me in Sarasota. One police officer and one detective live in the track of only 60 or so homes. In the past six months there, they have experienced 2 car thefts, a police car broken into and equipment stolen, a neighbor dispute that broke out into gun fire, other car break ins, etc. When I say your would be amazed how nice this community and friendly the neighbors are with each other, I sincerely mean it. Is it the times that we are seeing or is it truly this neighborhood?

I did notice that the article in the Bradenton Herald claiming that the home robbery attempt in Covered Bridge was targeted. Did anyone hear any other information about that? Please share.

I currently live in Sarasota off of Fruitville Rd. Just yesterday I heard 5 gun shots around 11 AM. I originally hail from Baltimore where crime is truly over the top and want to be sure that I am making the right decision moving to Ellenton.

Does anyone have any positive feedback to offer about Covered Bridge so that I can temper it with the negative? Homeowners, please voice your opinions. Are you staying, moving, etc? Please give the good with the bad.

Thank you in advance!

[Peter the Brit]

Razsrq
The phrase "out of the frying pan into the fire" comes to mind
I would recommend the Palmer Ranch area or Osprey (exclude vamo)

[FLmom77]

I can offer you some positive feedback on Covered Bridge, having been a homeowner there since 2000. We are currently leasing our home due to my husband being relocated for work, but we loved living there. I do think that some parts of the neighborhood are better than others- I think I speak for many when I voice my dismay over the Windward homes section of the development- it just doesn't fit in with the rest of the subdivision imo. We had great neighbors who we still communicate with regularly and if we still lived there, we would still be living in our home, and not just because of the current real estate market, but because we liked living there! It is a quiet and friendly place and hopefully, we will be able to sell our home when the market improves and hope that whoever buys it, likes living there as much as we did.

[razsrq]

I thank you for the information. I welcome even more comments from Covered Bridge homeowners.

Overall, I see some of the same problems/concerns in some of the other newer tract housing communities that I have reasearched. These include Lakewood Ranch, Palmer Ranch and to a lesser extent south Venice. (Not to mention, you pay much more per square foot)

As commonly known, it is extremely easy to point out fault and even easier to jump on the bandwagon of negativity. I see this online more than anywhere else.

I am heading out again today to speak to people I pass and round out my opinion, but please feel free to continue to post the good and the bad. I am very much a realist and want to make an informed final decision.

All the best to each of you.

[Mackeyser]

Originally Posted by flteacher36

Do NOT buy in Covered Bridge Estates!!! I cannot stress that enough! I currently am living there, in a rental home that I just found is in foreclosure (like MANY) of the houses there. There was an armed robbery just a block from my house, IN the neighborhood on Willows Brigde Loop a couple of months ago...men running through the neighborhood with an AK47. The low-income apartments just up the road are infested with crime, and they are overflowing into our neighborhood, since it is not gated. Good luck swimming, or using any of the amenities, as they are always crawling with ignorant, trashy people screaming obscenities...at their kids and each other. If you are safety conscious, or concerned about the value of your property...STAY AWAY! Parrish is 10 minutes down the road, but a whole 'nother world. Low crime, young professional families. We are moving back to Kingsfield Lakes - LOVE it there! You will regret a purchase anywhere in Ellenton.

Edit: I am a homeowner in Covered Bridge since October of 2008. I LOVE it here. Just love it. Moved from Culver City, CA. Florida is everything I've hoped for and more. We are within 15 minutes of nearly everything we need on a daily basis (Publix, Walmart, Home Depot, Loews, Movie Theater, banks, etc), but far enough off the beaten path that we feel a bit away from it all. I'm on the lake in Covered Bridge, so I see lots of water fowl. The storm views are spectacular if you like that sort if thing (I sort of do). I understand several builders were part of Covered Bridge, so as with anything, go in with your eyes open and get everything full inspected, but so far, it's been really good.

That incident was NOT specific to Covered Bridge, it was related to the homeowner.

Why is that so hard to understand?

Let's go through this again, for the fact challenged.

The man had a CASH HORDE on his property. The assailants knew he had lots of cash on his property and entered, armed and armored with the intent of stealing something SPECIFIC.

This was NOT a random crime. It has NOTHING to do with Covered Bridge, Ellenton, Manatee County or even Central Florida in a direct sense. It had specifically to do with the actions and habits of a specific homeowner. Folks he knew either knew or discovered his secret and decided to rob him.

Now, for folks who aren't happy for whatever reason with Covered Bridge, they've used the incident as cover for baseless claims as if this were a rationale for saying the place, itself, is unsafe. And I'd be the first to agree if the place attracted this type of homeowner or this type of activity. However, the fact that POLICE officers live here and chose to live here and specifically mention the fact that criminals do NOT like this set up because there is only ONE way in and out lends me to believe that the authorities might just know a little more about this than those that just have preferences based on aesthetics and want to use a singular instance to indict a place as if that incident captures the totality of that place.

Sorry, but that incident not only was horribly OUT of place for Covered Bridge, but nothing remotely like it has happened since.

And again, if anything, the only complaint I seem to hear from the teenage friends of my teenage kids is that it's TOO quiet here. Hardly indicative of rampant criminal enterprise.

If I'm overly strident in my defense of the place I call home, it's because I really take offense to those who've engaged in hyperbole to describe what is a really quiet and nice subdivision.

It's not fancy, upscale or chock full of amenities. It's quiet, central and filled with some pretty nice people.

I got no beef with folks saying this isn't their cup of tea. It wouldn't have always been mine, either. But unsafe? Filled with a criminal element?

That's just plain wrong.