Retiring Full Time to Naples - Community Advice (Lakeside, Immokalee: 2013, condo)

[movin1]

Remember, spring is the season when prices go up and there is a feeding frenzy. Come summer, you may see price drops on any properties that haven't sold.

Patience and timing.....

[MikeKurz]

Bab:
You should try to take a look at Verona Walk, it has all the criteria that you have mentioned. Nice people, restaurant , post office , no golf community, reasonable fees, bank, grounds kept in good order.
My wife and I were looking for something on a similar order and we found it in Verona Walk. You would be remiss to not check out this wonderful development.

[Trevor152]

Have you added the Isles of Collier a Preserve to your list? New construction, south/west of 41, only 4 miles to 5th Ave, close to beaches/shopping/hospitals, no golf, low HOA fees, no CDD, low Collier County taxes, and excellent build quality (ie. Solid wood interior doors are standard!). There is an onsite restaurant and a clubhouse with fitness/tennis/pool. There is also an optional membership opportunity to join the adjacent marina/yacht club that includes a private entrance from the community should you feel the desire to take up boating. Right now you can get a three bedroom two bath paired villa with pool and a two car attached garage for a price very close to your budget. While it is early, the majority of the residents there appear to be in your age group.

[bbtondo]

Mike: Thanks for the Verona Walk suggestion. I am sure we would love it, but it is more south than we prefer to live.

Trever: Isle of Collier is more south than we would like to be, but I really appreciate your suggestion.

DH and I just returned from Naples. We went to some open houses in the Vineyards, Longshore Lakes, Wilshire Lakes, Village Walk and Island Walk. We liked the Vineyards and Long Shore lakes the best, with Village Walk and Island Walk coming in a close second. I don't think Wilshire Lakes is for us for various reasons. The prices of the homes in these communities are in our budget, but the various fees and taxes are certainly a consideration.

If we bought in the Vineyards we would want to get the social membership at the country club which would add another $3,000. a year to our yearly budget. This may be a dealbreaker for us. The Walks and Longshore lakes appear to have the social benefits we like without a yearly fee to join any clubhouse.

So, the search continues!

Babs

[justNancy]

I haven't lived in the Naples area for 6 years (hard to believe) so there probably have been many changes. However, The Naples Board of Realtors has a site that lists every community alphabetically so I thought I would post the link. Click on "Communities" Hope it helps.

[url=http://www.naplesarea.com/]Naples Area Board of Realtors - Naples Real Estate | MLS Listings[/url]

Sounds as if you've done your homework. Longshore Lake is a great community.


Edit: I deleted my suggestion to look at homes in Verona Walk after reading your previous comment.

Good luck!

[bbtondo]

Originally Posted by justNancy

I haven't lived in the Naples area for 6 years (hard to believe) so there probably have been many changes. However, The Naples Board of Realtors has a site that lists every community alphabetically so I thought I would post the link. Click on "Communities" Hope it helps.

Naples Area Board of Realtors - Naples Real Estate | MLS Listings

Sounds as if you've done your homework. Longshore Lake is a great community.


Edit: I deleted my suggestion to look at homes in Verona Walk after reading your previous comment.

Good luck!

Nancy:

Appreciate the link! We are definitely doing our homework, but there is so much to think about. Who knows what the prices will be this coming Spring. We bought our condo in 2009 and made out well. Wish we were in a position to buy a single family home at that time, but it is what it is!

We've also looked at the new communities in North Naples, but the prices for what we would like are out of our budget. Of course we want a pool overlooking some kind of water. When you add that to a new home build the price is too high for us.

If we go with a resale in an established community, we feel that we know what we're getting and the pool/water view is more attainable.

When we looked in Longshore Lakes this trip it looks like they had recently redone the pool area with new pavers, redone the tennis courts and now they are currently updating the clubhouse/restaurant. We like that they are updating everything. I don't know if they had to pay an assessment for all these upgrades. Buying a home there next spring may be the perfect timing. We'll see!

Babs

[relocatingtonaples]

If you'd like something more centrally located with relatively low fees and a mix of age groups, consider Aviano or Marbella Lakes. Both developments are off of Livingston just south of Pine Ridge Road. Aviano is a little under 10 years old. Marbella Lakes is about 5 years old. So the buffer landscaping has matured and you know what you're getting.

We sold our house in Aviano earlier this year in order to build. We really liked the community and the house. It just wasn't big enough to have a separate office in the house. We didn't like the floor plans of anything else for sale there (although there is quite a bit of shuffling by people moving within the development - once people get a taste of it they don't want to leave).

Marbella Lakes was right next to it.

Aviano is not a large community, but that's an advantage if you'd like to get to know people. There are all ages there, and some permanent residents and some not. Lots of dog walkers to get to know, and the social committee organizes events and outings.

Living on a golf course community in another state, we got to the point that doing all our socializing within the community was too boring. The same crowd would be at the Clubhouse every Friday and Saturday, and get rip roaring drunk and act the same every weekend. After looking at the same menu and the same faces, sitting in almost exactly the same table, listening to the same band or DJ playing the same music, week after week, we no longer saw any appeal to doing ALL of our socializing within one development. We eventually gave up our full country club membership. We were still friendly with our neighbors and still attended private parties with them, etc. My only point is that having a restaurant in the development may seem nice at first, but you might tire of it when it begins to feel like the same old same old. Just a thought...

[bbtondo]

Relocating to Naples:

Wow! Really appreciate your advice. On our next trip to Naples we'll have to check out Aviano and Marbella Lakes. We looked at the new community Marbella Isles, but felt that it was REALLY geared towards families, rather than an even mix of all ages. We got that impression by the families looking at the models and the large family homes that were being offered.

I never considered that we would get bored at a community restaurant. You make a good point!

Thanks for your helpful advice!

Babs

[hackwriter]

My father lives in Village Walk. I think it is a beautiful community. They moved there in 1997 and there are a number of people who have lived there all along, so while it is family-friendly, my sense when I visit is that it skews adult. The landscaping is beautiful, it's well-maintained, and they've been very happy there.

[bbtondo]

Hackwriter:

Your first hand advice is very much appreciated! This is the type of information I am looking for. Thanks!

Babs