Retiring (hopefully) soon (University, Naples, Lely: sales, apartment, HOA fees)

[cardi rn]

My husband and I are retiring soon and looking to spend part of the year in Naples. We have viewed some houses in Manchester Square, Indigo Lakes, Wilshire and Delasol. Are there mainly full time residents in these communities or a mix? I'd appreciate any insight

[FireStation46]

Good luck on the retirement plans!

I am trying to suggest to my daughter,Intensive Care RN, her fiancee RN to move near us.


For your inquiry more info will let folks on this forum zoom more on your lifestyle needs.


Are you going to be snowbirds and just come in from time to time or looking in those areas you mentioned full time?

Apartment, condo or single family home? Budget? # of bedrooms, one or two story if a home? Build new or buy existing?

What area have you visited before and found attractive?

We visited Florida up and down the west coast several times until we found what are heart, mind and budget liked the best.

Folks here are very helpful so the more you can share will help you get great insights.

Hopefully you will have the time and budget to visit often over different seasons to get a better sensation of what you want.

Good luck with your plans!

[cardi rn]

We plan on coming and going as we have children and grands that we can't convince to move south with us!

We can't decide if house or condo will suit our needs, love the idea of home with pool for the kids. We have rented homes in Lely for many years but feel North Naples is where we'd like to be.

Looking for at least 3bed, 2 bath with low HOA fees and active community.

We are heading down tomorrow for a few days, looking at Calusa for condos, Indigo, Manchester and Wilshire for homes.

Can I ask where you landed in Naples?

[bbtondo]

When DH and I were looking at homes to retire to we looked at Delasol, Wilshire Lakes and Manchester Square. Not too familiar with Indigo Lakes.

We were looking for a community where the majority of people were retired, and not a community with mostly families.

We got the impression from Delasol and Wilshire Lakes that there were more families there than we wanted. Didn't want to be the odd man out being retired and at a different point in our lives. I also got the impression that these two communities didn't have a large social calendar.

Manchester Square is a small community. We also got the impression that there wasn't a large social calendar. Not sure about the families living there.

I don't know your budget, but Riverstone is a lovely community. It is full of families if that is what you're looking for. I believe it has a large social calendar. I would think your grandkids and grown kids would like the pool and the clubhouse there. Very family friendly. I've heard from some retirees that we know that they were not happy because of all the families there. To each their own!

JMHO I think you should pick what is good for you, not for anyone else. What may happen is that your kids and grandkids may not come visit as often as you think.

So, that's just my take on what I experienced with these communities. Good luck in your search for a retirement get away!

[FireStation46]

You will have more visitors and more often once you have your place. Guaranteed!

You did not mention your budget. That will help others chime in with their suggestions.

We preferred new build. Meets the latest construction standards vs. older builds. Lower infrastructure maintenance as all was new.

We looked all over Naples and opted out of there. We also opted out of 55+. A couple I knew from University days bought down there in a planned sigle family home community 55+. They have more amenities i.e. full restaurant/bar clubhouse, golf course. We looked many places in Naples but eventually opted elsewhere.

We built new last year but opted not to have a “pool” and jacuzzi installed on our single family home. Went for one-story vs. two for lower HVAC costs, dealing with storms as higher is usually frame over block. The pools in the homes our builder put in homes throughout development are rather small, requires monthly pool maintenance contract, and adds to the utility bill and insurance costs. We will pay an HOA fee which includes a good size pool and they can deal with maintenance and fees are spread out over the entire homeowners vs. me facing variable bills.

You may want to check out Toll Brothers for new condos. They have several projects around. Their base level up to top end tend to be a notch over the levels other builders start at. Pulte has projects in the area. These are national builders listed and the stock exchange they withstand market turns better than local builders IMHO. You may find regional builders that have been around a long time you like over the nationals.

Manage additions on upgrades, it is a battle, but you don't want to be the highest priced in the development. We went 25% up on options for the home we built. Then the builder made a mistake and had to put in additional exterior upgrades that they had to pay for, not us. Still, we are not the most expensive home.

We have all age groups, lots of ages. They even have their own closed group Facebook page which was handy on sharing tips, looking for recommended contractors for Pest, HVAC maintenance companies, baby sitters, Pet Vets, neighborhood parties :4th of July, New Years, Girls night out etc.


Enjoy your visit. Download WINK news app to get a feel of what is going on all around SW Florida. Fun to get the local feel especially when you are away.

Best thing is take notes, lots of photos of condo/homes you visit. Then revisit at other times over a year or longer to check it out often. We did at least three different visits and tracked builders web pages.

We got the “deer in the headlights” look on our first visit but after additional trips we got more discerning as to where and what we wanted.

When we found a new development they were to open on a Monday we flew in on a Friday and bought the lot and it took about 6 months to complete. That was our 4th visit.

Enjoy your visit and good luck!

[cardi rn]

Thank you for the replies!! We went into mockingbird yesterday but the sales office was closed. We did sneak into one being built and liked what we saw.

After looking at Wilshire, indigo and delasol we are leaning towards a new build.

We looked at Lamorada and were impressed with the community center and neighbors were very friendly. Is anyone familiar with this community?

[FireStation46]

Any update on your plan?

[dave w]

Originally Posted by FireStation46

You will have more visitors and more often once you have your place. Guaranteed!

You did not mention your budget. That will help others chime in with their suggestions.

We preferred new build. Meets the latest construction standards vs. older builds. Lower infrastructure maintenance as all was new.

We looked all over Naples and opted out of there. We also opted out of 55+. A couple I knew from University days bought down there in a planned sigle family home community 55+. They have more amenities i.e. full restaurant/bar clubhouse, golf course. We looked many places in Naples but eventually opted elsewhere.

We built new last year but opted not to have a “pool” and jacuzzi installed on our single family home. Went for one-story vs. two for lower HVAC costs, dealing with storms as higher is usually frame over block. The pools in the homes our builder put in homes throughout development are rather small, requires monthly pool maintenance contract, and adds to the utility bill and insurance costs. We will pay an HOA fee which includes a good size pool and they can deal with maintenance and fees are spread out over the entire homeowners vs. me facing variable bills.

You may want to check out Toll Brothers for new condos. They have several projects around. Their base level up to top end tend to be a notch over the levels other builders start at. Pulte has projects in the area. These are national builders listed and the stock exchange they withstand market turns better than local builders IMHO. You may find regional builders that have been around a long time you like over the nationals.

Manage additions on upgrades, it is a battle, but you don't want to be the highest priced in the development. We went 25% up on options for the home we built. Then the builder made a mistake and had to put in additional exterior upgrades that they had to pay for, not us. Still, we are not the most expensive home.

We have all age groups, lots of ages. They even have their own closed group Facebook page which was handy on sharing tips, looking for recommended contractors for Pest, HVAC maintenance companies, baby sitters, Pet Vets, neighborhood parties :4th of July, New Years, Girls night out etc.


Enjoy your visit. Download WINK news app to get a feel of what is going on all around SW Florida. Fun to get the local feel especially when you are away.

Best thing is take notes, lots of photos of condo/homes you visit. Then revisit at other times over a year or longer to check it out often. We did at least three different visits and tracked builders web pages.

We got the “deer in the headlights” look on our first visit but after additional trips we got more discerning as to where and what we wanted.

When we found a new development they were to open on a Monday we flew in on a Friday and bought the lot and it took about 6 months to complete. That was our 4th visit.

Enjoy your visit and good luck!

So, where did you end up?

[cardi rn]

We are coming back down next month to look some more!! My husband likes to golf so he's interested in Esplanade, don't like the CDD and worried the rates will increase when the builder hands it over. Lamorada has a few homes that we will check out. Still doing lots of research, this isn't an easy decision. I appreciate this forum and have learned a lot!! Thank you for asking!!!

[FireStation46]

Originally Posted by cardi rn

We are coming back down next month to look some more!! My husband likes to golf so he's interested in Esplanade, don't like the CDD and worried the rates will increase when the builder hands it over. Lamorada has a few homes that we will check out. Still doing lots of research, this isn't an easy decision. I appreciate this forum and have learned a lot!! Thank you for asking!!!

Rates will jump, no doubt about it. See if you can check with a completed development the builder did and ask someone there how their fees jumped. We were lucky, we found a development with no CCD but still the community fees jumped upa bit. Nit bug but enough,