Working in Bradenton and I’m from out of state. Where do I live?

[ScottHall]

Originally Posted by Sunshine Rules

If you're considering Lakewood Ranch, you might also look within the 34212, 34219 zip codes i.e. Parrish mailing addresses.

Also, just north of the Manatee county line in zip code 34203 and the eastern part of 34243.

Any neighborhoods that have been built in the past 20 years will come with HOAs and deed restrictions, it is what it is. The newer the community, the more pages of restrictions. Generally, the more amenities being offered by a community the higher the HOA fees.

CDD fees in the Lakewood Ranch area can be as low as $600/year or as high as $6000+ a year. However, many fall in the $1000 - $2200/year range. The largest portion of that CDD fee, the bond portion, will eventually get paid off. Most bond portions run 30 years but I have seen 20 years in some places. The O&M (operations & maintenance) portion, generally under $500/year, is determined each year by the CDD board and that debt will not retire in a fixed number of years. The CDD fees are always tacked on to the property tax bill for a property and you can find the property tax bill for any property here online.

What may be confusing is that Lakewood Ranch is a planned master community, it is not a town. Some mailing addresses say Bradenton, others Lakewood Ranch. Some of those homes advertised as Lakewood Ranch actually have official street addresses of Bradenton, not Lakewood Ranch. Lakewood Ranch is mostly located in southern Manatee county, but has now expanded south into northern Sarasota county.

A lot of homes that say Bradenton are not located within the city limits of the town Bradenton, but rather in Manatee county with Bradenton mailing addresses.

A lot of homes that say Parrish are not located within the tiny town of Parrish, they are located within Manatee county with Parrish mailing addresses.

This all would probably make a lot more sense if you could find a full Manatee county map for reference.


If you are considering Sarasota county for homes, you will want to factor in the commute times. Unless you settle somewhere close to I-75 or in north Sarasota county, you could end up with a considerably long daily commute time due to traffic, speed limits, traffic lights, etc.


P.S. The broader the search area you are willing to consider, the easier it may be to find a home. Right now the inventory of homes for sale in our area is the lowest I have seen in over 20+ years in real estate. Resale single family homes are down to a 1 - 2 month supply of inventory. To put that in perspective, a 6 month supply of homes is considered a "balanced" market, in that neither the buyer or seller have an advantage. If it's a clean home that's priced anywhere near current market, it's under contract within a day or two of being listed, often after receiving multiple offers.

Thanks, this was really helpful.

I plan on staying in Florida for around 4 years. I even consider renting but the rent for houses I’m interested in are ridiculous. I’d rather live in a condo/townhome but my wife wants a home.

Can you explain bond portion? It sounds sort of like someone is incarcerated at Lakewood ranch. But in all seriousness, is this just something that the new owner is responsible for after I sell the house, similar to an HOA? Thanks.

[Avalon08]

I just looked at the map. If I were working in Samoset, I'd try to find housing in the area south of SR 70 in between Lockwood Ridge and I-75, north of University. I think they might still be in Manatee County but not sure. There are lots of beautiful communities in there and plenty of new developments going in. (I don't know how many are 55+.) I know you think it's only a 20-minute drive from LWR to Samoset, but you haven't been here in season when the traffic is horrendous. If you're further out in LWR, you've got all the congestion around I-75.

[ScottHall]

Thanks for the input, I’ll look into this!

[SellingNWCape]

Originally Posted by ScottHall

I plan on staying in Florida for around 4 years. I even consider renting but the rent for houses I’m interested in are ridiculous. I’d rather live in a condo/townhome but my wife wants a home.

If you don't plan on staying long or are on the fence about buying, there's a program called Home Partners of America where they will purchase a home meeting certain criteria off the regular sale market and rent it to you, essentially expanding your rental options. You then have the option to purchase within 5 years. An agent in Tampa made a video about it last year https://youtu.be/kV9k64G2Oh8 but the most up-to-date info is also available at https://www.homepartners.com/how-it-works/faqs. You still use your regular real estate agent and it looks like both buyer/renter (you) and house (seller) go through some application/vetting process to get approved and buy the house. Not ideal for everyone but might open up options for others not finding good rental options.

Also, you asked earlier about Greyhawk Landing and Eagle Trace - yes, both developments off of SR-64. I would vote against Greyhawk, at least the newer (west) portion as the HOA cares little for QOL issues. The older (east) section may be better in that regard. Tons of amenities, though. If you purchase and want best resale potential, go for something in Lakewood Ranch as just as others recommended it to you as the place to be, so do countless others so it has a higher perceived value to newcomers to the area. If you want something closer to work and the rest of civilization, maybe look at the University Park area. We really liked that area but the pet policy did not work for us. That or anything just west of there were pretty nice and convenient to the whole UTC area.

[ScottHall]

Originally Posted by SellingNWCape

If you don't plan on staying long or are on the fence about buying, there's a program called Home Partners of America where they will purchase a home meeting certain criteria off the regular sale market and rent it to you, essentially expanding your rental options. You then have the option to purchase within 5 years. An agent in Tampa made a video about it last year https://youtu.be/kV9k64G2Oh8 but the most up-to-date info is also available at https://www.homepartners.com/how-it-works/faqs. You still use your regular real estate agent and it looks like both buyer/renter (you) and house (seller) go through some application/vetting process to get approved and buy the house. Not ideal for everyone but might open up options for others not finding good rental options.

Also, you asked earlier about Greyhawk Landing and Eagle Trace - yes, both developments off of SR-64. I would vote against Greyhawk, at least the newer (west) portion as the HOA cares little for QOL issues. The older (east) section may be better in that regard. Tons of amenities, though. If you purchase and want best resale potential, go for something in Lakewood Ranch as just as others recommended it to you as the place to be, so do countless others so it has a higher perceived value to newcomers to the area. If you want something closer to work and the rest of civilization, maybe look at the University Park area. We really liked that area but the pet policy did not work for us. That or anything just west of there were pretty nice and convenient to the whole UTC area.

Thanks so much for this info! I’ll look into this!

Looking at houses in this area has been one of the most complicated locations I have ever looked at in my entire life.