Naples, Osprey or Sarasota (Bonita Springs, Golden Gate: real estate, HOA fees, insurance)

[GailH]

Hi,
I am a first time poster, but I've been reading here for a while.

I am a retired nurse with a sister who is looking to join me in purchasing a home in South West Florida.

I have been to Naples, Osprey and Sarasota many times, but not recently, at least not within the past three years.

We are interested in a nice 4 bedroom home, about 2800 square feet or larger, with 3 full baths. A pool and lanai would be nice. We like to golf, play tennis, and we like the arts, music, dining, and like to attend concerts on occation. We love the beach, so we would like to be close to a nice beach.

My husband passed away a few years ago, and I am in a pretty good financial condition. I have a housing budget of about $800,000.00 without having to do any financing. I am wondering if I can afford a house like I described on or across from a nice beach with some of the amenities.

Your help would be appreciated. I would appreciate it if the negative posters would not lecture me about my choices, but I would like some positive feedback as to which town or city I should choose, and what are some of the positive features.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[justNancy]

Originally Posted by GailH

I have a housing budget of about $800,000.00 without having to do any financing. I am wondering if I can afford a house like I described on or across from a nice beach with some of the amenities.

Depends what you mean by "afford." If you spend that much on a home, your property taxes will run about $15,000 a year. That doesn't include property insurance, utilities and maintenance. Also, the gated communities have HOA fees. Some run as high as $8,000 a year, depending on the amenities.

Is being across from a beach very important? You can find some gorgeous homes in Naples for $800,000 less than 5 miles from the beach. Keep in mind that beach properties are very expensive. For example, listings for 4 bedroom homes in Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, one of Collier County's prettiest beaches, run anywhere from $3 to $14 million. However, you can get a very nice home just a few miles from the beach, for a lot less. $800,000 will buy a very pretty home in many of the Pelican Landing neighborhoods.

[GailH]

Originally Posted by justNancy

Depends what you mean by "afford." If you spend that much on a home, your property taxes will run about $15,000 a year. That doesn't include property insurance, utilities and maintenance. Also, the gated communities have HOA fees. Some run as high as $8,000 a year, depending on the amenities.

Is being across from a beach very important? You can find some gorgeous homes in Naples for $800,000 less than 5 miles from the beach. Keep in mind that beach properties are very expensive. For example, listings for 4 bedroom homes in Barefoot Beach in Bonita Springs, one of Collier County's prettiest beaches, run anywhere from $3 to $14 million. However, you can get a very nice home just a few miles from the beach, for a lot less. $800,000 will buy a very pretty home in many of the Pelican Landing neighborhoods.

Thank you justNancy. I have a very good financial portfolio. I am paying taxes on my home here and I can say that they are much higher than that. I have spoken with my financial planner about this move, and they feel it would be a good time for me to do this. I have a lot of flexibility, but will try to control myself with what I'm looking to buy.

I am looking to get some feed back on Naples, Osprey and Sarasota. I know Osprey is a much smaller town/area. I like it because I want to feel safe when I walk in the evening. I do want to have a close approximation to the beach. If I'm across the street, but have good water views, I will be happy with that. I don't mind driving to the rest of the places I want to go.

[hiknapster]

Nancy and I are both from New England. Although Florida is reasonable, they are not giving them away. Even across the street you'll be shelling out much more! (That's a joke, by the way!)

This is a close as you are going to get. It looks like your best bet is going to be Osprey.

253 Harbor House Drive, Osprey FL - Trulia

In Naples, you can get a much smaller condo. Only two bedrooms!

2650 Gulf Shore Boulevard North #603, Naples FL - Trulia

What you will want to do is get in touch with this woman. She is a fabulous real estate agent in that area. She will take care of you.

//www.city-data.com/forum/membe...al-209399.html

[FLBob]

Gail, you might look on the island of Venice, I'm a former resident of the city of Naples and I'm a current resident of Venice living 6 houses off of the beach.
The island of Venice reminds me of Naples when I first moved there. The town is very walkable and safe. We are near enough to Sarasota to take advantage of all that Sarasota has to offer without having to deal with "big city".
There are tennis courts maintained by the city and lighted until late in the evening, there are plenty of golf courses within minutes of the island, including a municipal course on the island.
Friends of mine purchased a 3200 sqft, 4bed, 1 office 3 bath pool home 10' ceilings through out less than 3 blocks from the beach, 5 blocks from downtown, 3 blocks from the tennis courts last year for less than your budget.

[MrsTommy]

There are houses within the city limits of Naples available now for your budget. Look in areas east of U.S. 41 but within the city, about 10 blocks from the beach. There are also some nice neighborhoods off of Livingston Rd. north and south of Golden Gate Parkway. If you do choose Naples, do your best to purchase within the City limits. City services are superior, Police and Fire response times are great and crime rates much lower.

I'm a native of Naples and I would agree with Bob's assessment of Vence. I've only made one trip there but what I saw reminded me a lot of Naples, 20 years ago (and that's a POSITIVE). Were it not for family, I doubt Tommy and I would even bother going down there any more.

[TANaples]

I cannot understand how somebody who is young would want to move to Naples. Actually, even if you are old (like me), I still don't understand it.

[justNancy]

If I were going to spend $840,000 on a house in Naples, I'd probably buy in Mediterra. Mediterra is not across from the Gulf of Mexico, but you would feel very safe taking walks at night and be surrounded by gorgeous landscaping. The home I mentioned in this post is in Mediterra. Living on or near the water has its disadvantages. The red tide would burn my eyes and sinuses and I was almost a mile from the beach.

[URL]//www.city-data.com/forum/fort-myers-cape-coral-area/769291-just-curious.html[/URL]

It's such a personal thing, I know, but until June, I was able to walk to the beach. I lived around the corner from mansions in an area with a lot of riff-raff. (That's Hik's word for some of the people in Bonita, and that's an understatement.) Seriously, I never could understand it. Here I couldn't wait to get out of my place and people with millions were building homes down the street. Still, I never felt unsafe in Bonita Springs, had a lot of nice neighbors, and often went out at midnight to watch the stars and play with the strays...the cats, not the men.

Venice is positively lovely, and I highly recommend it, but I always thought that's where the retired people from Naples move when they get really old!

[GailH]

Originally Posted by hiknapster

Nancy and I are both from New England. Although Florida is reasonable, they are not giving them away. Even across the street you'll be shelling out much more! (That's a joke, by the way!)

This is a close as you are going to get. It looks like your best bet is going to be Osprey.

253 Harbor House Drive, Osprey FL - Trulia

In Naples, you can get a much smaller condo. Only two bedrooms!

2650 Gulf Shore Boulevard North #603, Naples FL - Trulia

What you will want to do is get in touch with this woman. She is a fabulous real estate agent in that area. She will take care of you.

//www.city-data.com/forum/membe...al-209399.html

Thanks, I plan on trying to find a good real estate agent to help me find just the right place for us when i come down in November. I really haven't started to plan my trip yet. I have seen a lot of posts by her, and she seems very helpful to many of the posters. She replied to one of my posts on the Sarasota forum already.

I really need something with four bedrooms, because my sister lives with me, and we will have some family and friends visiting with us from time to time, so a smaller condo would not be suitable for our needs.

[GailH]

Originally Posted by FLBob

Gail, you might look on the island of Venice, I'm a former resident of the city of Naples and I'm a current resident of Venice living 6 houses off of the beach.
The island of Venice reminds me of Naples when I first moved there. The town is very walkable and safe. We are near enough to Sarasota to take advantage of all that Sarasota has to offer without having to deal with "big city".
There are tennis courts maintained by the city and lighted until late in the evening, there are plenty of golf courses within minutes of the island, including a municipal course on the island.
Friends of mine purchased a 3200 sqft, 4bed, 1 office 3 bath pool home 10' ceilings through out less than 3 blocks from the beach, 5 blocks from downtown, 3 blocks from the tennis courts last year for less than your budget.

Thank you. I remember our friend taking us to Venice one day, and I thought it was lovely. I think we ate outside on the sidewalk in front of one of the restaurants, and I thought it was just delightful. The home you described sounds very nice, I am sure they will enjoy that. I will have to look at a map, because I didn't realize that Venice was an Island, although I do remember crossing over some bridges on our way home. My sister and I like to walk every night after dinner, and it is beginning to get cold here.