Thinking of moving to Fort Myers -Need real advice (Cape Coral: real estate, rental)

[sbapasto]

Hello everyone-

We have been looking for a place in the Naples area for 2 years and have found its just out of reach with pricing. I was hoping some local folks could help give us an idea of where to look in Fort Myers based on these requirments:

Less than 500K
2+ br's
2+ baths
House or condo is fine
Beautiful water view of the river or the bay or the ocean
No lake views or manmade pond views
Very nice area with hospitals, shopping, restaurants, etc

A realtor told us South Fort Myers fits this description and that we could get a view of the river. We have read so many negative things about crime on this forum that were a little worried. That being said, we live in St Louis and that was the #1 murder capital of the nation in 2012 but in our area of the suburbs there is almost no crime so I realize that the crime coul dbe limited to certain areas. Also, we are torn that if we couldnt get a water view, would it be better to have a pool and be say walking distance of the beach. What do you locals think? thanks so much!

[xoomer]

You can't find a 2/2 condo in Naples for $500k with an ocean view? I just did a quick search on realtor.com and pulled up 54 condos meeting that description costing between $425-$500k. You need a better realtor--find one who will give you a Listingbook account--the best source for listed properties.

Good luck...

[sbapasto]

I just pulled up Realtor.com and the ones I got all had a water view that is a fountain or a pond or some man made body of water -- I did find 3 with a bayview. Not an ocean view at all though.

[xoomer]

Well, you are right, most of the properties are bay views or something similar even though they are listed as "ocean view" by Realtor.com

I still think you will have better luck with Listingbook.com--I found it a lot easier to use than any other real estate sites when I was looking for property to buy. I did a brief search there for Naples and found a a couple of condos you might be interested in, for example MLS# 212037207.

Naples is expensive--$400k for a relatively small "city view" condo! You might do better, as you mentioned in your post, looking in another area to find exactly what you are searching for.

[Hemidancer]

My realtor gave me a Listingbook.com account to use to find my rental and it was great. I was able to find exactly what I was looking for.

[Samiamnh]

For 500K you should be able to get nice canal home in Cape Coral......3/2/2,pool,gulf access,very little crime.Come on down.

[Compression]

Sanibel Island, and river or gulf front aside, I would think anything in Lee, and likely Charlotte counties is pretty fair game for $500K. Collier county not so much, but still quite a bit available there for that range.

Suggestion. Spend $250K on a nice home, use $250K to live the lifestyle...Beaches, boating, sportfishing, etc.......

BTW, One should mention, that since the OP mentioned they were moving to Ft. Myers, presumably for a reason, that Naples is approx 35 miles south, and Port Charlotte is approx 35 miles north of Ft. Myers. Just in case proximity to a job, or something else is of importance.

YC.......

[equalrightsforeveryone]

Originally Posted by yachtcare

Sanibel Island, and river or gulf front aside, I would think anything in Lee, and likely Charlotte counties is pretty fair game for $500K. Collier county not so much, but still quite a bit available there for that range.

Suggestion. Spend $250K on a nice home, use $250K to live the lifestyle...Beaches, boating, sportfishing, etc.......

BTW, One should mention, that since the OP mentioned they were moving to Ft. Myers, presumably for a reason, that Naples is approx 35 miles south, and Port Charlotte is approx 35 miles north of Ft. Myers. Just in case proximity to a job, or something else is of importance.

YC.......

I agree the bigger more expensive home you buy the more property taxes they will gauge you for,
Better to buy a smaller home. away from the "Canal" which in many cases are just drainage ditches that smell bad. Home cost less, taxes are less, and you can spend the money on yourself and have fun.

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by equalrightsforeveryone

I agree the bigger more expensive home you buy the more property taxes they will gauge you for,
Better to buy a smaller home. away from the "Canal" which in many cases are just drainage ditches that smell bad. Home cost less, taxes are less, and you can spend the money on yourself and have fun.

interesting advice considering this is what you did equal. And now you come on a forum complaining about your house price going down, your bad neighbors, lots of crime and how you can't wait to get out. btw Cape Coral's latest murder of the husband killing his wife , who's neighborhood did that occur in??

So to the OP if you are looking to be miserable just follow equal's roadmap it'll definitely lead you there.

[dmapes]

Last summer we looked for 2bd/2ba in Naples with a water view, or pool and walking distance to the beach; house or condo. Our budget was 300k. We were willing to buy pool with pond or fountain view. We found a few very small condos just north of the city of Naples (canal view, walk to beach, 1st floor, 900sq feet). There were some fixer-upper houses with pools in North Naples (long walk to beach and walk to the Mercado for restaurants and shopping). In south Fort Myers, there isn't any big river so your river view is likely to be limited (more like a small creek) and you have to watch out for being on a flood plain. We looked at some canal/bay view condos at the southern end of Fort Myers beach. At our price range they had outside parking and/or lanai washer/dryers, but the area looked nice (very close to beach and not first floor). We ended up buying at North Star Yacht Club in North Fort Myers. The condos were built in 2007 but never lived in. They're trying to sell out the last 25 or so out of 170. Really nice pool, with a separate kiddie pool and hot tub. The views from the upper floors are fanatastic, overlooking a wide canal, a peninsula, and the mile-wide Caloosahatchee River. Looking to the west, you can see out to Sanibel (about 15 miles away). The sunset and sunrise views are beautiful. The 'yacht club' part is really part of the Marinatown Marina and not something included in home owner's association fees. But there are several restaurants within walking distance (we're regulars at Dorado's) and all of the restaurants and shops in downtown Fort Myers are only a mile over the Route 41 bridge (with no tolls). The worst parts of Fort Myers are east and south of downtown. You might even get a penthouse for 500k which would have pretty spectacular views.