affordable condos/townhouses/ (Sarasota, Bradenton, University: for sale, real estate, apartments)

[Folsom4b]

does anybody know where some decent affordable condos/towmhouses in Bradenton/venice area? thanx in advance,wisconsinite moving to area within the next year!

[Cuzzant]

Can you provide some helpful information in your search, specifically, approx. size of residence, bedrooms/baths, age of home, and of course, your budget? All this info will allow others to help with your request.

[SoFLGal]

It's hard to pinpoint any one complex with just using the affordable category but I'll take a stab at it. All of these places have condos that are under $150K.

Do you have pets? Is any age condo OK? Do you have a preference in location or city? Are you looking for certain amenities? Are you trying to stay close to the beach or does that not matter? Will you be renting it out? And if so, how often? Did you want a 55+ community? There are 155 condos in just Sarasota county in the $90K-$150K range. It can be narrowed down a lot if you can answer a few of my questions. There are plusses and minuses to each complex.

High levels of foreclosures are causing all sorts of problems for condo associations, which are having to slash costs and amenities and often impose assessments on solvent owners to maintain deteriorating infrastructure.

Condo buyers need to find out as much as they can about complexes before they plunk down cash.

I suggested asking the following questions:
• How much money has the complex put into reserves to deal with future infrastructure needs?
• Are there any major repairs that need to be made?
• Have assessments and dues been increasing, and does the complex have plans to do so in the future?
• How many of the units are owned by investors?
• Do any investors control large blocks of units and are there any restrictions on renting?
Also ask to see the minutes from the last few meetings. These are the same questions that a bank will ask to determine whether to lend in a complex.

Here are a few condo complexes.

Bell Villino, Sarasota has condos in the range of $100K +/- slightly

Bird Bay in Venice is very popular and there are a few condos in the $100K range.

Bristol House on the Island of Venice also has some in that range. It's 5 blocks from the beach but the places are older and mostly a bit dated.

City Walk in Sarasota.

Las Palmas of Sarasota

LaPavia in Venice has a few condos under $150K and they are newer than most other comparable complexes for the money.

Orchid Oaks in Sarasota

Pine Run in Osprey

Quails Run in Englewood

Sentinel in Venice on the Island of Venice, by the beach but the condos were built in the 70's.

Sorrento Park in Osprey

Villa Nova in Venice

Village Brooke in Sarasota

Villagio in Sarasota

Vintage Gran in Sarasota.

Vistas on Beneva

Whitaker Bayou Condos, Sarasota. Great location

Willow Green in Sarasota

Woodmere at Jacaranda in Venice

[Folsom4b]

thank you SOFLGAL, covered everything I wanted to know I appreciate it a ton,

[Sunshine Rules]

There are literally hundreds of condo communities in the Bradenton, Sarasota, Venice area and many have units priced below $150,000. That is especially true of 55+ communities, which tend to be priced below communities that are not age restricted.

You can search the public version of our local MLS at Florida Homes for Sale direct from MLS for properties. It will have the most up to date information on listings.

Most condo communities in our area have pet restrictions on number and weight, some also on breeds allowed. Most also have rental restrictions, so if either of those are important criteria for you, be sure to ask about the individual condo community restrictions as not all agents post correct information in the MLS. A majority of the condo communities restrict certain types of vehicles from parking, such as pick up trucks and motorcycles.

If being able to swim all winter is a must for you, then you'll want to ask if the community pool(s) are heated. Not all are. Vintage Grand, for instance, has 2 pools but neither are heated so pool temps can get chilly in the winter months.

Some condo communities like Bella Villino have repair issues. Bella Villino was a condo conversion from apartments, and they recently determined a number of windows have issues with leaks so they are being replaced. Last I heard the board had not yet decided if a special assessment will be required to cover the expense. Not necessarily a deal breaker, but something I would want to know as a buyer.


There are quite a few condo communities I would add to a list already started on this thread.

In the north Sarasota/ University Parkway/ Lakewood Ranch area:
Carolina Landings -- great location near University Parkway, most townhomes have a 1 car garage
Greenbrook Walk in Lakewood Ranch -- concrete block construction, located next to one of the LWR parks
Summerfield Hollow in Lakewood Ranch -- no rentals allowed, nice community if you want to owner occupy
Parkridge -- townhomes, off of University Pkwy

Also in that area are both Palm Aire & The Meadows, slightly older golf & country club communities where membership is optional, lovely park-like settings.

In Palm Aire you'll find The Gardens, Eagle Creek and Palm-Aire condos/villas. In The Meadows you will find townhomes, condos and villas in communities such as Harpers Croft, Winslow Beacon, Willow Green, Longwater Chase and Chartwell Green. The Meadows offers walking trails and a community shopping area, plus 2 of the 3 golf courses are open to the public.

In a more central Sarasota location are several 55+ communities with good options if you want a villa with a garage. Village Plaza and Village Green are my 2 favorites. Many of the Village Green sections do not allow pets or rentals, something to keep in mind if that is an important criteria for you.

Center Gate, Casa del Sol and Mediterranea would be on my suggested list. Strathmore Riverside if you are interested in a 55+ community. Strathmore Riverside has a small, private marina for docking residents boats, the marina has access to the bay via Phillippi Creek.

In Palmer Ranch, a popular master planned community in south Sarasota, Serenade has a nice clubhouse with 2 separate sitting areas (one with a kitchen for private party use) and they have 2 community pools. Plaza de Flores is next door to Bella Villino, it offers concrete block construction and a clubhouse with pool and tennis courts. Pinestone at Palmer Ranch is another favorite of mine, great clubhouse, large community pool and sports courts, movie theater in the clubhouse.


There are a number of condo communities in our area that were originally built as apartments, then converted to condos in the early 2000s to take advantage of the real estate boom. At that time 100% financing was an option for both home buyers AND investors, so many of the units were snapped up by speculators. As a result, those converted condo communities had huge volumes of short sales and foreclosures over the past 6 years, with more investors jumping in to buy the cheap condo offerings. Therefore, you will find that some of those conversions have a majority of investor owners using the units as rentals vs owner occupied & 2nd homes. If you are considering owner occupying your purchase, that may be a factor to take into consideration as well. Some of the more popular converted communities in our area are Village at Townpark, Las Palmas, Admirals Walk, Vintage Grand, Bella Villino, Serenade, Villagio, Sarasota Palms.

[bridgesrn]

Hello Folsom, we found out condo by starting with Zillow, then engaging a local realtor. We love our condo in Wildewood Springs in Bradenton. It's a beautiful setting with lush vegetation. There are several floor plans from one to three bedrooms.