Vacation property condo in Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch vs. other areas? (Bradenton: short sales, real estate)

[ghoulia]

I just spent a week in Sarasota scoping out various 2 bedroom, 2 bath condos as a possible vacation property. I met with realtors and saw condos in Seranade, Bella Vilino, the Meadows, Palmer Ranch, Lakewood Ranch, Villagio and several others. I'm looking to spend around $115k on a condo in a gated community with a pool, and also is about a 15 minute drive from Siesta key beaches and Sarasota downtown (for spring training games).

The real estate agents I met with and the broker I hired all seemed really excited about Lakewood Ranch - it was the "most for [my] money" was what I kept hearing.

I looked at three townhouses in Lakewood Ranch, and while they did meet my price and safety requirements, they are too far from Sarasota city center and Siesta key beaches for my taste as a vacation property.

Any thoughts on the condo communities that I mentioned? In particular, I liked the Villagio 2 bedroom 2 bath condo best for $ and location. I'm looking to escape Massachusetts winters in the future. If my family can't use the property as much as expected, I would rent it out. Again, Lakewood Ranch was mentioned repeatedly as the easiest to rent out due to demand.

What do you folks recommend? Have I overlooked any particular condo communities? I don't want 55+.

[bbronston]

What gated condo in Lakewood Ranch did you find for your price?

[ghoulia]

There are several visible on Zillow on Black Walnut/White Sage Loop.

[bbronston]

Technically, they aren't in Lakewood Ranch but that is only technically. Are you aware of the history of that development? If not, you might want to Google Willowbrook Condos.

[Sunshine Rules]

Or you can check out a couple of links:

http://www.bradenton.com/2012/08/28/4174488/kb-home-reaches-repair-agreement.html#storylink=cpy

http://www.bradenton.com/2012/08/16/4160357/homes-must-be-secured-in-east.html#storylink=cpy



The Meadows is often overlooked by many condo buyers because it's not Palmer Ranch or Lakewood Ranch, the condo communities there are mostly built in the 1980's, so typically more dated than those built in the late 1990's or early 2000's. I happen to like the Meadows for a number of reasons. First, they were built as condos, not apartments as the others you mentioned, so the walls & ceilings between floors have more sound proofing. That's an important thing to know if you have a downstairs unit and your neighbor above is a night owl. Or they argue a lot, or play the TV loudly. You get the picture. The monthly condo fees of many of the more modestly priced communities in the Meadows are reasonable, the communities well managed and they are healthy budgets and reserves. Residents there also have the option of joining the country club and it's great amenities, the club offers various tiers of memberships and often run special rates for summer months or for winter visitors. And the Meadows has large shade trees and a number of walking trails, plus a small shopping center with a pub, a couple of little restaurants, bank, beauty shop, etc.

Bella Villino was apartments converted to condos, the developer still has a number of units within the complex, they rent them out and take a few out of rental and sell them here and there. Located in Palmer Ranch, it's a popular complex with buyers and renters. Overall the community looks well maintained and has a very nicely decorated clubhouse, a community pool with lots of appeal. I did note on my last trip there the other week that the fitness center is showing signs of wear and tear. You can access the minutes of a number of BV's past board meetings by going to the management company's web site: http://www.pcmfla.com/progressive. There are both positive and negative things to be found in the past 6 months worth of minutes. For instance, the various phases are looking into consolidating into one association vs multiple ones, a plus. A September report discusses briefly building roof repairs and that repairs to some windows may require replacement of the windows. If I were buying there, I would definitely ask for and get more information about those items.

Serenade is another affordable option in Palmer Ranch. I've sold a number of units there over the past year. Like most of the condo conversions from 2005, they ran into budget issues for several years due to a high number of foreclosures and short sales. Serenade did do something different than many to get their finances back on track. They hired a firm that has been aggressively pursuing delinquent maintenance fees from unit owners and banks who take back units in the complex via foreclosure. As a result, their finances have improved over the past couple of years and they are starting to play catch up on their reserve funds for future major repairs and maintenance. They did have to do a slight increase in the condo fees at the start of this year to cover about $50,000 in repairs that had to be done as a result of damage from tropical storm Debbie last year. Serenade has 2 community pools, a nice clubhouse (which was redecorated in the past 12 months), a decent fitness center, tennis courts and on site management. They have also repainted the exterior of the buildings in the past year and have been working on the landscaping as well. All gives good curb appeal to this complex.

Villagio was built as upscale apartments with the marketing targeted towards professionals. It too was converted to condos in the 2005 time period and Villagio has gone through financial difficulties due to a high number of foreclosures as well. The association board and a number of residents have worked hard over the past few years to keep expenses down and still do required maintenance, there was a newspaper article about it a while back. They too have on site management, I am more of a fan of the current management company than the previous one for a number of reasons. On the down side, the community pool is small for the size of the complex and number of residents.


You mentioned you are looking into a condo for a vacation property. If you are considering renting out your condo at all, you should definitely check out the Rules & Regulations and tenant/rental restrictions before buying to make sure they will work for your future plans.

[blueherons]

Are you going to rent this out at all?

If so, no way would I pick something in Lakewood Ranch. While I'm personally not a fan of Lakewood Ranch, I can't imagine why anyone would ever want to rent out there on vacation.

Also, who are these people that think LR is 15 minutes from beaches? I live less than a mile from the key and during season it has taken me longer than 15 minutes. Off season it takes about five with traffic. Forget about making it to the public beach during season.

There are so many great neighborhoods outside of gated communities in Sarasota that are a few minutes from the beach that can give you what you want.

Sunshine gave you great advice. I think Palmer Ranch would be a nice fit.

[Phillyborn1278]

Look at Pinestone in Palmer Ranch. Gated, close to Siesta Key, resort style pool , well maintained....Lakewood Ranch is nice but to far from beaches.....good luck

[makos]

Originally Posted by ghoulia

There are several visible on Zillow on Black Walnut/White Sage Loop.

DO NOT BUY THOSE!!! STAY AWAY THEM FOR ALL COST!!!

They were built by KB Homes but they are very very badly built! We are talking about Willowbrook Community.

Look:

KB Home sues 41 Willowbrook subcontractors | Lakewood Ranch Herald | Bradenton Herald
Willowbrook residents reach out to others in KB Home protest | Lakewood Ranch Herald | Bradenton Herald
//www.city-data.com/forum/saras...-home-buy.html

Staw away from that area! While it looks real good, it is a time bomb! Also I dount you would find any good condo in LWR under 200k.

[gomet]

Try the Woodside condos complex's. All are on Bispham Rd., off US 41 in the Gulf Gate section of Sarasota. Mostly built in the 80 and 90's. Great location. However, none are gated. Don't rule out because they are not gated. These are 5 minutes to SK and are close to the Gulf Gate stores, which are great. You should be able to find in your price range. None of these complex are condo conversion's.

Good Luck.