Grand Vintage Condo vs Serenata Condo in Sarasota

[Sunshine Rules]

Originally Posted by johnnyboy5

Sorry to revive an older thread, but I;m confused about whether the OP was referring to Serenade in Palmer Ranch or Serenata. Are they the same place? The Florida Home Buyers site says "Serenata" is a complex built in 2005. Does anyone have any further info or observations on this complex? Thx.

Serenata is a condo community located in south Manatee county, at University Parkway & Tuttle Ave. The address is Sarasota with a zip code of 34243.

The original plans for Serenata were for an apartment complex, but it was changed over to condominiums by the Chicago based developer before units were sold. Unit sizes range from 732 sq ft for a 1 bdrm/1 bath unit to 1372 for a 3 bdrm/2 bath unit. (There are also 2 bdrm/2 bath units.) Some of the larger units have vaulted ceilings and balconies. Covered carports were available at an extra charge.

The Serenata complex is gated (electronic) with a large lake, small clubhouse with fitness center, resort-style pool, tennis courts & BBQ grilling area as the main amenities.

The layout of the units are nice, the community is well maintained and rentals allowed, with some restrictions.


By the way, if you are interested in Serenata you may also wish to check into the Pulte built/sold the townhome community next door, San Michele, which was built 2 years later, in 2007.

[TamRE]

Originally Posted by johnnyboy5

Sorry to revive an older thread, but I;m confused about whether the OP was referring to Serenade in Palmer Ranch or Serenata. Are they the same place? The Florida Home Buyers site says "Serenata" is a complex built in 2005. Does anyone have any further info or observations on this complex? Thx.

Serenata condos are close proximity to downtown Sarasota, cultural venues, and the beaches. It is a beautiful resort style setting with lush tropical landscaping, walkway around the lake, resident clubhouse and media lounge and future game room, state of the art fitness center, heated pool with sundeck and lighted tennis court. It is a gated community with a maintenance free lifestyle. It is ideally located in the University Parkway area with shopping, dining, golf, I-75, and airport nearby. There are no elevators in the complex. The homeowner association is involved in litigation with the original builder regarding roof replacements. The property manager is Chris Higgins at 941-351-8800 if you have additional questions. The HOA fees are around $300 per month. You can see Terri at the sales center in the Serenata Club House Sat through Wed from 10am to 6pm.

[kenmjohnson]

My wife and I are going to be on anna maria memorial week. This will be our second visit to look at potential rental properties. With the current market prices are attractive for CAP and was wondering about the Sarasota beach area while there? I am an IT consultant with flexible remote contracts so we are hoping to become the typical snow bird couple.
We are staying at Runaway Bay in Brandenton Beach - there are units for sale at reasonable prices and great ROI...but we are not familiar with the property and taking a 'wait and see' attitude.
Any and all feedback is appreciated.

[johnnyboy5]

Thx for the clarification. Much appreciated.

[Sunshine Rules]

If you are considering condo communities in this price range, you may also wish to check into

Carolina Landings - located just north of University Pkwy off of Honore, newer construction townhomes, great clubhouse with pool and fitness center, minimum lease is 3 months. Tenant can have a pet if approved (that's rare in our area, most condos don't allow tenants to have pets).

Parkridge - townhomes built in 2004 - 2006, located on University Parkway just east of the Lockwood Ridge shopping center. Community has a small clubhouse and community pool.

They don't have any active listings at the moment, but the Villages at Town Park in Lakewood Ranch is another option. It was an apartment conversion that ran into financial difficulties a few years ago, is doing much better now. They have a clubhouse with pool and amenities. Lakewood Ranch is always popular with renters.

In sourth Sarasota, Admirals Walk - 1, 2 and 3 bedroom units, clubhouse with pool and fitness center, was built as apartments in 2002 and converted to condos. Improving financials.

Pinestone on Palmer Ranch - great amenities, including resort-style pool and clubhouse with mini movie theater, was NOT an apartment complex converted to condos, minimum lease is 3 months.

Also on Palmer Ranch is Plaza de Flores - built in 2000, was not an apartment conversion, has a clubhouse with pool, fitness center and tennis courts.

Serenade and Bella Villino on Palmer Ranch - both apartments converted to condos, both have nice clubhouses with community pools. Bella Villino's clubhouse is more upscale in appearance but both nice. Both have optional garage parking, these have their own deeds, separate from the condo.


If you're willing to look at older condo communities with good rental returns, there are a number of them out there in both Sarasota and Bradenton. They may not be as pretty as the newer communities, but they still make nice rentals.

[CasaRica]

We also have been to a FHF seminar in To, and decided to take a small vacation and check on Vintage Grand. If you are going to say the VG is bad means that also all condos in Florida are not ok! Nothing will be good for you! Try to ask friends about the investment in Florida, and you'll find so many opinion, that at the end, you'll buy nothing! And some of then even did not check any condo in Florida or somewhere else! But they 'know' everything! Beware!
And if you try to find bad things in VG - you'll find everywhere! VG is in a good location, close to the mall and 15 min. to the beach, of course not granite counter top or stainless steel, but you'll feel like in a resort! Goodluck!

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by CasaRica

We also have been to a FHF seminar in To, and decided to take a small vacation and check on Vintage Grand. If you are going to say the VG is bad means that also all condos in Florida are not ok! Nothing will be good for you! Try to ask friends about the investment in Florida, and you'll find so many opinion, that at the end, you'll buy nothing! And some of then even did not check any condo in Florida or somewhere else! But they 'know' everything! Beware!
And if you try to find bad things in VG - you'll find everywhere! VG is in a good location, close to the mall and 15 min. to the beach, of course not granite counter top or stainless steel, but you'll feel like in a resort! Goodluck!

OK.....

I did look at Vintage Grand and I did buy somewhere else. VG is a bit run down and half the units I looked at had mold. Also, at that time, the developer owned over half the units. I could not get a loan even if I wanted to. With owning over half the units, the developer controlled the HOA. They could pass anything. Which IMO is a bad situation. Another issue that concerned me was they allowed vacation rentals. Since I was not going to rent my unit out, I didn't really want to be in a complex that did allow it. They also seemd to have a lot of long term renters. I prefer a complex in which a majority of the units are occupied by the owners.

[CasaRica]

We are interested to invested and to have the unit paid by tenant. And VG is pretty suitable for this.
Could've been better in terms of having a lower price but we don't have time to wait and look around.
The mold that you mention I suppose is the green one on the external walls on the first level. Are algaes and can be removed easily with pressure water.

[davery5872]

Originally Posted by CasaRica

We are interested to invested and to have the unit paid by tenant. And VG is pretty suitable for this.
Could've been better in terms of having a lower price but we don't have time to wait and look around.
The mold that you mention I suppose is the green one on the external walls on the first level. Are algaes and can be removed easily with pressure water.

If VG works for you, that's OK. And I know the difference between mold and algae. I am talking about the black mold inside two units we looked at. One was so bad the realtor would not enter one unit. I know this is not the developer or HOA's fault, it is each owner's fault. But mold has a way of creeping from unit to unit. So much more in wood frame construction, which VG is. Does the developer still own over half the units? I was looking for something to retire to in a few years and not to rent out. When we first went through the complex, we thought it was great. It was spread out and had a lot of things, such as pools, tennis, basketball, lake, etc. But the details did not work for us, if it works for you - that's OK.