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It was widely reported early this month that there has been a breach in Big Hickory Island, dividing it right at the place where the beach has been enjoyed by residents of Pelican Landing and by guests of the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa. According to the Fort Myers News Press, first there was a trickle coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, and then a torrent divided the island. In about a week, the breach went from 10 feet across to about 60 feet. The island has been steadily losing its beach ever since Hurricane Charlie in 2004. and Pelican Landing officials are very worried about two large pavilions used by beach goers. Plans were already underway to renourish the beach, with costs shared by Pelican Landing and The Hyatt, but permits have not yet been granted by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. Many hope that the permits will be issued in time for March or April action to renourish the beach and close the breach. As a former resident of Pelican Landing, I can testify how important the beach is to the residents and to wild life. Many residents walk their end of the island to enjoy the wild life and native vegetation. Turtles and other nesting creatures have lost their beach as well.
 Charlotte Katz Work with me and I’ll help you find the home that suits you best, at no cost to you. Whether you’re relocating, looking for a winter home, or want a condo to rent when you’re not using it, I can save you time and money. I always go the extra mile and together we’ll find your dream home, whether it’s homes or condos in Naples, Estero, or in south Fort Myers. I never represent real estate sellers, so I can concentrate on meeting your needs.
Naples Real Estate and Estero Florida Homes
My marketplace is the area from South Fort Myers, through Estero and Bonita Springs, to North Naples. This focus on the area where I live has given gives me invaluable historic and current knowledge. Not only do I use the Multiple Listing System, but I maintain my own real estate database of new home communities. I can give you a competitive advantage in home-buying, whether it’s a resale or a builder’s new home. And, it will cost you nothing extra.
You tell me your needs and preferences and I’ll do the groundwork. That means you’ll avoid frustration and  confusion. You can spend more of your time here in Bonita Springs, Naples, Estero, and Fort Myers, enjoying the many things we have to offer. Working on your own, you could spend weeks looking for the right home, because there are so many attractive communities and such a wide range of homes to choose from.
Toll Free: 800 551-3974
Charlotte Katz, Inc.
Estero, FL 33928
239 495 9818
Licensed in the State of Florida
Call me for any type of information concerning Bonita Springs Real Estate or any information about real estate in Southwest Florida.
On our site you’ll find knowledge and resources necessary for exploring some of the Southwest Florida real estate markets – the ones that I concentrate on. You can learn about other cities along the Gulf coast and what they offer by doing some searches on the web. You may want to investigate Cape Coral, Ft. Myers, and east Naples. Then move north to Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda, Sarasota and even St. Petersburg. Each city has its own natural beauty and ambience that is so unique to Florida, yet also offers its own special lifestyle that makes Florida such a desirable place to call home.
We are just about at the end of the high season for condo sales in southwest Florida, so many sellers have reduced their prices. But, I don’t think you can do better than you can at The Residences at Coconut Point or The Meadows in Estero, where new units are available at astonishing discounts from their original prices. And, they are selling!
At The Residences, current prices start at $149,900, which will buy you a one bedroom unit that was originally priced in the $400,000s. Unit prices go up based on square footage to just $299,900 for three bedroom units at about 2,000 square feet. Original prices for the latter were in the $800,000s. First come, first served is important here, because they are not marking up prices for location or best views.
The condo units at The Residences were built for the luxury market and have upscale finishes such as granite counter tops in the kitchens and marble tops in the bathrooms. Ceilings are ten feet high and all doors are 8-foot solid core. Security is excellent and residents of the five buildings and the units over Fashion Drive shops share use of a splendid large pool and spa, community room, and fitness center. Restaurants and shops of all kinds are just steps away, as is a large Target store with groeries and a 12-screen cinema. Call the sales center at 239 948 1347. Let them know you learned about what they’re selling on this blog, please.
Also built for the luxury market, the condos at The Meadows are over 2,000 sq. ft. and priced from $190,000 to $215,000. Second floor units are the largest, with 3 bedrooms. All units have two-car garages. Prices are based on size and flooring: units with tile throughout the living areas instead of carpet cost $5,000 more and 2nd-floor units cost $20,000 more than 1st floor units. The developer is offering buyers 3% of the purchase price toward closing costs. The last time I checked, there were ten units still available and some other special incentives.
You can’t walk to the Coconut Point Mall from The Meadows, and there are no golf course or expansive views. But you can drive to the mall in two minutes and The Meadows offers a pool, fitness center, billards, and clubhouse with a catering kitchen. It is located just off Rt. 41. Call the sales office at 239 947 1600. Let them know you learned about what they’re selling on this blog, please.
I thought readers might be interested in how the Bonita Springs and Estero area is doing with respect to the number of foreclosures and short sales on the market. Actually, I was interested myself so I did a little research today, May 10, 2010. (I will try to get this information and publish it once a week, so watch this space, probably on Mondays.)
Right now there are well over 2,000 homes listed for sale in all of Bonita Springs and Estero. I am happy to see and report that only 67 of them are foreclosures and 272 are potential short sales. From a price standpoint, the foreclosures range from almost $2,000,000 to less than $40,000. Many of our larger gated communities do not have any foreclosed property on the market: Bonita Bay, Shadowwood, Lighthouse Bay, Spring Run. In Pelican Landing there is one villa property and one condo for sale.
The price range for potential short sales is a bit wider, no surprise since it’s the sellers who set those prices, not the lender. (It is a short sale when the lender permits it to sell for less than the seller owes on the note.) The highest priced home is $2,775,000 and is not in a gated community. The least expensive home, a one bedroom condo, is listed at $25,000. Most of the potential short sales are not in the higher end gated communities, although quite a few of them have at least a few. They can be found at prices well over $1,000,000 in Quail West, Solenzara on the beach, West Bay Club, The Colony at Pelican Landing, and Wildcat Run. At Palmira four single family homes and one condo are potential short sales, but at less than $1,00,000. Similarly, the single family home and the condo at Bonita Bay are less expensive properties. At The Brooks, there are no potential short sales reported in Shadowwood or in Spring Run, but there are three each in Copperleaf and Lighthouse Bay.
Purchasing a foreclosed property is a lot easier and quicker than purchasing a home that’s a potential short sale. In the first case, the lender already has possession of the property and the process is relatively straight forward. The property is sold “as is” and you may find work to be done and missing appliances, but it will usually be a very good deal. Although we read a lot about federally-mandated improvements in the short sale process I’m hearing that nothing much has changed to speed up the process and acceptance or rejection of offers by the lenders. I read the other day about a home that was foreclosed on just as an offer to purchase it in a short sale was accepted by the same lender – obviously with different people acting for the lender but not speaking to each other.
Let’s see what this market looks like next week.
Charlotte Katz
(Excerpted from Fort Myers News Press, 5-15-2010)
Living at the upscale Mediterranean-styled shopping, dining, entertainment district in Estero is like living in a little downtown.
People who do it enjoy the urban feel and accessibility. The exception from true urban living is it’s brand-new, super-clean and policed by security officers on Segways, golf carts and cars.
Coconut Point is a 500-acre master-planned community in Estero with 110 stores, 27 restaurants, office condos and 290 residential condos: some of the latter over shops on Fashion Drive and the rest in five buildings behind the shops. I, the owner of this blog, live at The Residences at Coconut Point. I’m repeating here that part of the News Press article that talks about my life at Coconut Point. (A short time ago, I wrote about the terrific purchase opportunities at The Residences, where prices are so sharply discounted that 30 units have gone under contract in the last sixty days.)
Even before Charlotte Katz, 82, lived in one of those buildings, she was a proponent of mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly places. Last weekend, she paused for a quick chat before heading out for errands at Dillards, J.Jill and Talbots. A buyer’s real estate broker, Katz and her late husband, Milton, lived in Pelican Landing in Bonita Springs. They bought the Coconut condo to flip it before the housing market crashed. After two years on the market, their Pelican (Landing) home received its first offer three weeks after Milton died, so Katz moved to Coconut Point as they had planned. Even though the timing was tragic, it was a good move, she says.
“I don’t feel isolated, and I have never lived alone in my life,” Katz says about her new home. “I like the fact that if the mood strikes me, I can just walk over and get a gelato.” She swims in the pool a few times a week and walks the shopping district for exercise.
Katz’s trained eye admires the fine building quality too. The homes have 10-foot ceilings, 3-centimeter granite kitchen countertops, marble bathroom countertops, private lanais or rooftop decks and solid-core, two-panel interior doors. Everyone wants to visit when you live above a shopping district. “Every time I tell someone I live at Coconut Point, their eyes light up,” Katz says. “Without fail.”
The release of new flood maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) represents the first change in the flood plane designations in the county in more than a decade. It’s taken almost that long for the county and FEMA to come to terms over the addition of base flood elevations, or the height above sea-level of water during the worst flood event in the last century.
Oil is no longer gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. The ruptured oil well has been sealed, with a more permanent plug in the works. Even so, the local fishing industry isn’t celebrating. Some say more marketing needs to be done to get the word out that seafood coming from the Gulf is safe. Through sampling, it’s tested and certified as safe before it gets to a grocery store, a fish market or a restaurant.
Hundreds of nonprofit organizations serving Southwest Florida are at risk of having their tax-exempt status automatically revoked by the Internal Revenue Service in October, the Daily News has found.Among those on the list are the Marco Island Taxpayers Association, the Golden Gate Area Taxpayers Association, the Naples Press Club and the East Naples Civic Association.
South Lee County real estate transactions reported from August 2-8, 2010. Click on link at left to view the entire list of sales.
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