Sarasota Real Estate News

Today's blog provides real estate facts about Palmer Ranch, Siesta Key, and Country Club of Sarasota and information about upcoming meetings concerning rezoning an area of Palmer Ranch for multi-family housing.

Siesta.  During the last month, 41 properties sold on Siesta, and my favorites are Midnight Cove II (pet friendly, weekly rentals) for $290,000 and Peppertree (not pet friendly, quarterly rentals) for $300,000.  Both of these properties have easy access to the beach and bay.  The best deal on Siesta last month was a single family home that sold for $425,000 at 818 Plymouth.  In the past, cash buyers ruled, but the trend is now financed purchases, so most of the homes on Siesta that sold the past 30 days were financed.   

Gulf and Bay Bayside.  I'm currently holding Open Houses at 1269 Siesta Bayside Drive, a community on the bay that has beach access through Gulf and Bay.  This condo is a 2BR 2BA, 1,280 square feet, recently renovated, with a large lanai.  It's ground floor with no neighbors above, and fee simple with a 2 car garage.  The community is replacing the roofs, and there was an owner assessment; so my recommendation anytime you are considering purchasing a condo, pay careful attention to the financial stability of the homeowners association.  Best case is that there is money in the reserves to take care of maintenance and repair.  ALWAYS get a copy of the homeowners association minutes and do your homework!

Palmer Ranch:  48 homes sold, most of which were financed.  39 single family homes sold and 17 had private pools.  More homes sold in VillageWalk, followed by Arbor Lakes (new construction), and Huntington Pointe.  The best deals were in Marbella, Wellington Chase, and VillageWalk.

Botanica at Palmer Ranch: There are five great condos on the market in gated/maintenance-free Botanica, and the three homeowners associations are very financially stable.  Roof repairs/replacements do not result in thousands of dollars of owner special assessments.  You can get a 2BR 2BA condo with a garage for $289,000 and a 3BR 2BA with garage from $300,000.  Resort-style amenities with two heated pools are selling points.

Country Club of Sarasota.  3828 Spyglass Hill Road sold for $510,000, with 2,763 square feet, sold price/sq ft was $185.  I'm holding Open Houses tomorrow and next Sunday at 3870 Spyglass Hill, a home with 3,300 square feet, a golf course view, private/resurfaced pool priced at $519,000, and listed at $149 per square feet.  This home has been recently reduced, and the Sellers are ready to move on.  The nice thing about Country Club of Sarasota is the Serendipity Club with varying memberships at very affordable prices.  See SarasotaSports.com.  Membership in the Club is optional, and membership is also open to the public.  I was a member of a private club in Atlanta, and it's very nice to go to a place "where everyone knows your name."   

Public Meetings!  Save The Cowfield SRQ is a group that opposes building four-story apartments at the corner of Sawyer Loop and Northridge in Palmer Ranch, just south of Clark Road.  Owned by California builder/investor A.G. Spanos, the company proposes to change the current zoning for this multi-family complex, which will adversely impact traffic, blocking Wellington Crest subdivision's natural view, and affect the Palmer Ranch property values and wildlife.  See SaveTheCowfieldSRQ.com    I imagine that the buyers of the new homes at Cobblestone would not be happy to know that this initiative is underway, very close to their new development.  I'm getting involved, won't you help?

Those interested in opposing the zoning change are asked to:
1.  Sign a petition (see website)  SaveTheCowfieldSRQ.com
2.  Attend a community meeting at the Gulf Gate Library the evening August 19 (more details to follow on the website)
3.  Attend a public meeting at the Sarasota Board of County Commissioners meeting August 24th at 1:30 in opposition.

This is a great volunteer opportunity to get involved with the community and stop A.G. Spanos, a California investor, from changing our zoning laws and building four-story apartments.  See AGSpanos.com  

I am personally aware of another apartment complex in Palmer Ranch, Saratoga Place, owned by California investor JRK Holdings, Inc., of Los Angeles.  Go to RipOffReports.com and search for JRK Holdings and you will see what a mess this out-of-state investment company has made of a once great complex in Palmer Ranch on Central Sarasota Parkway, across from Turtle Rock.  Those folks can't even figure out how to get the dumpsters emptied...and most residents scram when their leases are up because of a lack of maintenance.  NOT good!  Sarasota County is overseeing the trash problem at Saratoga Place on an ongoing basis.  JRK Holding's business model is to reduce staffing/costs, increase their profit, and move on to the next property.   We just can't let this happen again in Palmer Ranch, let's all get involved to stop A.G. Spanos from changing zoning laws .  

Have a great weekend!

Linda