Bonita Springs and Fort Myers FL Area

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

mobie hoe communities

Maybe in my younger days, but I don't much look for them any more.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

If all you want is a pool, look at Fountain lakes, low HOA fees.
there are some mobile home communities along Broadway and also one called Corkscrew Woodland.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Be sure and check out rules of 55+ communities. In ours, the only way and under 55 could live here full-time would be if the 55 plus person also lived here full-time (not just owned).

Nancy

So, an ole geezer can have a trophy wife?

& vice versa.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Craigslist has a lot of listings, too.

Almost 400 posted just today:

ft myers / SW florida real estate - all classifieds - craigslist

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

So, an ole geezer can have a trophy wife?

& vice versa.

Yep. And some do.

Nancy

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

went to a craft sale at Riverwoods Plantation. it is a very attractive manufactured home community on Broadway in Estero. over 55.
saw two other communities which border on the estero river. those homes are extremely close to each other.
Are you sure your daughter wants to live in one of these communities, over 70 is really more like it.

[ronparise Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close ronparise]

I live here

I have lived in the Ft Myers area since 1995. I have to laugh at the folks that complain about the traffic; of course I used to commute on the DC beltway when I lived in Maryland, so the traffic here doesn't seem too bad to me.

You wont find anything on Estero Island (Ft Myers Beach) or Sanibel Island within your budget. There are nearly new homes for sale in Cape Coral or Lehigh Acres for sale under 75k. And condos all over the County under $75000

Come see us and decide for yourself (there are timeshares that you could swap into). If you do decide to take a closer look call me, Im a licensed Real Estate agent and would be happy to show you why I decided to live here (no obligation)

Ron Parise

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

I have lived in the Ft Myers area since 1995. I have to laugh at the folks that complain about the traffic;

Of course, I knew the area 20 years before you got there, so have a little different gauge of traffic.

'95 was the beginning of the Boomer Boom, and by January '97, stuff that was $200K in '95 was $1M on up.

I know you know what I'm talking about, how many people have died on I-75, and how often it gets shut down, especially at rush hour, and why they are adding another lane to it. You know traffic runs along at 85-95 mph, bumper-to-bumper, cars jumping from lane to lane, and when stuff happens, it's bad stuff.

There was a time when all the highway there was US 41/Tamiami Trail, and it was mostly two lane, and albeit a pain in the butt, it was no worse than US 41 is today, at how many lanes? 6?

In that regard, SW FL has become like SE FL.

I'm not telling anyone what to like or where to live . . . just trying to share facts objectively, concerning an area I love . . . just saying that there is still an area like Bonita used to be, because US 41/I-75 swing east to get around Charlotte Bay, bypassing that area. There is a place where you can still go out back, get in your boat or on your jet ski, go to the bay of the Gulf, and still have some bucks in your pocket.

As has been discussed here, that area is only 25 mile north of Sanibel/Captiva.

Also, as I have mentioned, yes, Bonita Beach, Vanderbilt Beach, FMB, San Carlos Island, Sanibel and Captiva are pricey, even the foreclosures, which I have posted. But, then, $450,000 for something that last sold for $900,000 is a deal to some, and it did not last long. Only a few could afford the property taxes. A similar, nice, Gulf Access canal home can be had for $250K 25 miles north.

We're poor folks, $45K for something that last sold for $173K folks.

I also know folks who own in some of the nicer gated golf communities, say from Forest Club on south, and their developments are hurting, quite a few who bought way above current values having walked away.

Come to think of it, I know some folks who have places in some of the hoyty-toyty gated golf communities, and I would take a place in them free, cuz I know some folks who have places in some of the hoyty-toyty gated golf communities.

I could find a link if I need to, but 1 in 7 who own homes valued at $1 million or higher, have stopped paying their mortgage, and most are being allowed to stay in them.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

The short of it is, if you can't find a place in SW FL now, you might as well forget about it.

Do your homework. Check out property taxes. All county records are available online.

Check out POA and COA fees.

Check out restrictive covenants.

Check out insurance.

18 of the 29 Homepath Estero properties are under contract.

38 of 60 Bonita Springs ones are under contract.

Since it's been talked about, heres a manufactured home in a 55+ community for $47K:

http://www.homepath.com/search.html?...bdi=&ci=Bonita Springs&listingid=24333466

Another man. home is under contract at $39K or less.

I'm laughing cuz I googlemapped it and it is near Highland Woods, one of those place where I know someone so I would not want to live there.

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

my friend bought a condo on Rattlesnake hammock in naples in 2003 for $92,000 furnished, she refinanced it two years later for $160,000, then the market tanked and she walked away from it. she says they were selling for $40,000, but I think closer to 75000 would be realistic. the condo has only a pool and she said the monthly fees were between three and 400 dollars.

[desertgal Member Find all posts View Profile Close desertgal]

We just returned from the area; we rented a condo on FMB for ten nights and had a great time. Wouldn't mind spending winters down there at all! We looked at a few open homes (condos) in Bonita Springs on our last day. Very nice but as JLM say - not cheap. Oh and we drove through Villages at Country Creek, which was very attractive, and got some info at their clubhouse. We're still not sure whether we should buy something, or what that something should be... not keen on spending a ton of time on this project. Although now that we're back home to cooler weather, it might move up on my priority list!

[rapmarks Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close rapmarks]

Country Creek has the lowest home prices and the lowest HOA fees in the area. We looked for two full years before buying. our fees are lower than communities with just a pool and we have a lot of amenities. I do not understand why other ommunites have such high fees.
Last night, we went to a dinner show at the clubhouse. It was $35, tax and tip included. this same show plays elsewhere for $25. We had caprese salad, strip steak (good size) potatoes, vegetables, tiramisu, soft drinks garlic bread for that price., we have a fantastic chef what a meal and show for that price and seved very well. i think 150 people attended. there are 4 or 5 activites at the club house each week, many with entertainment.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

.Wouldn't mind spending winters down there at all!

Kinda my point. If you could be on FMB, Bonita Beach, Van . . . well, you can read my list, that's one thing. IMO, it is hard to get that same feeling, that resorty, Old Floridey feeling outside of those areas. Other areas are city, with nice weather.

OTOH . . . well, I've already said it.

Also, as far as Country Creek goes, there are some somewhat reasonable places there.

http://www.bonitanaplesrealestate.com/countrycreek.php

http://www.countrycreek.com/all-coun...-listings.aspx

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Another source is auction.com. I have numerous comments about it on the Florida Househunting thread, and the jury is still out on it.

We won an auction, $45K for a house that was listing for $68,900 on homepath. Add a $2500 Buyers' Premium. We have not closed, but have been all but assured it is going to.

Of the 79 auctions I watched, only one or two met the reserve. There's no way of knowing how many that did not meet the reserve were accepted by fannie mae. The plus is that auction.com (REDC) does have a working relationship with fannie mae, and lenders, so all involved are familiar with what's going on. Many in the traditional RE world are not familiar with it.

Other benefits of homepath are low down payment, no appraisal necessary, and incentives such as 3.5% toward appliances or closing costs, and RE commission bonuses (those appear to have expired for now). Also, none are short sales . . . all have been foreclosed, taken back, are owned by the bank, and they are anxious to get them sold.

Another benefit of buying in Florida, already mentioned, is that all properties' histories are available online. You can select a property, googlemap it and run up and down the neighborhood to see what it's like, find all the sales history, all the appraisal history, and see what property taxes have been.

It's been a lot of hassle and what we don't know is what offer through a normal RE agent would have been accepted.

Auctiom.com and two major Florida online auctions in January, so the cupboard's a little bare right now. It will fill back up.

[desertgal Member Find all posts View Profile Close desertgal]

To me, the biggest downside to Country Creek is distance to the beach, because I sure did enjoy those long beach walks every day. But I guess there's a price to pay (price, traffic and maybe other things). Bicycling distance to the beach would be nice.