Boomers Relocating to Sarasota: Neighborhoods Close to Downtown

Sarasota is not a "walk everywhere" town--it's too spread out--but there are neighborhoods you can live in that give you easy access to shopping and close enough proximity to downtown and the beaches. 

I think of Sarasota as a city of "pods": Each pod, or district, is walkable, but you need a car, or bus, to get from pod to pod.

While houses and condos in downtown, Burns Square, Gulfstream Drive and Laurel Park can be prohibitively expensive, the following "east of the Trail" neighborhoods offer affordability and access to local shopping:

• Arlington Park
• Alta Vista  
• Paver Park
• Gardens of Ringling Park
• Tamaron
• Riverwood Park
• Phillippi Gardens

Consider adding them to your drive-around list when shopping for property to buy in Sarasota.

Boomers Relocating to Sarasota: How to be a Defensive Home Buyer

You may be sure of what your intention is for your move to Sarasota. And now you're ready for the fun part: looking for a house or condo. Before you make any commitments, I'd like to offer my opinion about market conditions here and how to be perhaps more defensive in your approach.

Here in Sarasota, it's becoming (already is?) a seller's market. Houses in my neighborhood, whether at the $169K or +$400K range, are selling quickly . . . as, in a week. We're on the ascendant side of a boom, with lots of new large condos, hotels, going up downtown, as well as many tear-downs-with-new-houses and remodels in the neighborhoods. 

So, hopefully, prices will continue to rise. However, one never knows when ascent will shift to descent. So many variables can conspire--local, national, international--as we saw in the boom-bust of 2000-2012.

Unless you're in the 1%, or you're a cash buyer, if you pay top-dollar now for a house, and you decide for whatever reason(s) that you don't want to be here long-term, and if market conditions shift, you risk being stuck with property that you can't afford to sell, thus limiting your options for moving elsewhere, and threatening your credit rating if you short-sell.

I noticed last night on Zillow that there are still quite a lot of properties listed as foreclosures or preforeclosures. You might consider looking at foreclosures in the various neighborhoods you're targeting. At least then you may find a below-market property, so you have profit potential if/when you decide to sell it.

However high this market rises--and with Boomer demand, it looks like no end in sight for awhile--some houses will never resell for what the current owner paid now. An extreme example is a house in an east-of-the-Trail neighborhood that sold in August for $620K, while Zillow values it at $384K. (I know Zillow isn't perfect, but I use it for illustration purposes.)

If I'm wrong, and the high prices endure, that will be great for me, you, and everyone else. But there's no downside to keeping more of your money liquid and only spending what you absolutely need on the cute little cottage or airy condo you dream of. Much easier to upsize later than to be unable to downsize.

Boomers Relocating to Sarasota: Meeting People when You're New in Town

Sarasota folks tend to be down-to-earth and genuine. Not everyone, but in general that's the laid-back, easy-going vibe in this small town city on the Gulf Coast of Florida. And they smile and say "hello" when you pass them walking down the street. Who wouldn't smile when surrounded by all this daily beauty?

Remember, too, that you're not alone. Most people who live here now came from some place else. So they tend to be friendly to other recent newcomers.

Still, when you're new in town, it can feel isolating and lonely. Here are some suggestions for connecting with other humans in Sarasota:

Sarasota Newcomers Club

Women With Moxie

Meetup groups

Senior Friendship Center - lots of activities, including lunchtime dancing to a live band, yoga and tai chi classes, inexpensive lunch, low-cost medical and dental services, etc. Ages range from Boomer to older.

Live Music in Sarasota - Every night of the week--and, thankfully, that means from 7-10PM for many venues--you can enjoy live music by incredibly talented local and nationally touring musicians at informal small restaurants, bars, and clubs. For daily calendar of venues and performers, go to gotonight.com. For suggestions about musicians you may enjoy, go to bestmusictonight.blogspot.com. Don't be intimidated about showing up on your own. You'll find that most places here include a friendly mix of all ages. Mattison's City Grille, the Blue Rooster, J.R.'s Old Packinghouse Cafe, Siesta Key Oyster Bar, Marina Jack's Bayside Bar and Restaurant are some of the best places to be impressed, eat well, and have fun.

Neighborhood Associations - They typically meet once a month. There's also a Coaltion of City Neighborhood Associations. 

Animal Shelters & Rescues - 

• Walk and hug a dog, meet others who love pets. Sarasota County Animal Services, Humane Society Sarasota, Southeastern Guide Dog (play with puppies!). 
• Foster a dog, so you have immediate companionship at home, without any long-term commitment, and the fosters typically pay for meds and vet costs. Ewenity Herding Dog Rescue has a wonderful program and saves hundreds of dogs each year. (Including mine! best dog ever.)

Boomers Relocating to Sarasota: House Selection & Maintenance Tips

Whenever you're buying a home, you need to do your own due diligence, but you may not know about these quirky features of Sarasota, especially if you're moving from a different eco-system:

1) For any house you're interested in, make sure to check its position on the Sarasota Flood Map. There are inland waterways that wind through neighborhoods in Sarasota, sometimes diagonally. One part of the street has houses that are required to carry flood insurance, and on the other part of the street they don't have to get flood insurance. All homeowners are required to carry 2 policies: Wind and Property. Flood insurance is only required if you're in a flood zone.

2) Anywhere there's fresh water--inland waterways, ponds, and lakes--there can be alligators. Especially if you have pets, you won't want them running off-leash near fresh water, and you'll need high fencing around your property to protect them. Buying a house in an upscale, gated community doesn't protect you from wildlife such as alligators, so do your homework on this one.

3) If you want to check the crime statistics for a particular neighborhood, you can search for incidents at this CrimeMapping site.

4) Drive by properties you're interested in right after a rain storm, to see if and where water collects in the yard and driveway. You won't want to wear waders to get into or out of your car every time we get a summer storm.

5) Some residential streets have a sidewalk on one side of the street only. If you want more privacy, choose a house on the side without a sidewalk, so you don't have to deal with pedestrians--and pets--walking in front of your house.

6) Drive-by in the evening and on weekends, so you can get a sense of the neighbors and neighborhood. 

7) This handy Sarasota Neighborhood Map shows you the names and locations of designated neighborhoods and parks in the City of Sarasota. It's a good way to narrow down the neighborhoods that are close to the shopping and daily activities you plan to do.

8) Make sure to require a home inspection before you buy a house. Make sure to check for termites, along with typical structural and mechanical issues.

9) If you're planning to make Sarasota your "primary residence", you're eligible for a Homestead Exemption, which can greatly reduce the taxable value of your house and limits how much your taxes can increase per year. More info at the Property Appraiser Web site.

10) Start looking for reliable local service providers that you will need for maintaining your Sarasota home.

For example: One year shortly after I bought my house here, I was away for the summer, and a surprise storm blew over a tall palm tree that took down part of my fence, pulled out an electric line, and yanked off the fascia on my roof. My house-checker had to scramble to find a tree trimmer to cut and haul away the felled tree, the power company to restore electricity so my house wouldn't get mold from lack of A/C, a handyman to fix the roof fascia so bugs, critters and water wouldn't get in, and to fix the fence. That taught me to have a list in place, so I can administrate repairs whether I'm here or out of town.

For your convenience, I've included photo-links on the right side of this blog to local Sarasota service businesses that I've found reasonable and professional to work with. (I list them as a courtesy. Not paid ads.)

Minimally, you'll need a lawn service, a house-checker, and a pest control company if you plan to be away for extended periods of time, especially during storm season (May 31 - Nov 30).

Boomers Relocating to Sarasota: How to Choose a Neighborhood

If you're a Boomer looking to relocate to Sarasota, you may have spent time here on vacation or visiting relatives. And you've likely looked longingly at the listing photos in the windows of local real estate offices, dreaming of retiring to "Paradise", as we like to think of this town. 

If you've actually looked at available houses or condos with a realtor, you probably didn't know anything about the lifestyle consequences of living in any of the neighborhoods they took you to. They sell houses, and you dutifully checked out the rooms, features, yard and street of each one. 

But that's not a smart way to choose a neighborhood in Sarasota. You're not only choosing a house when you move here, you're choosing a lifestyle.

Sarasota is a city of designated neighborhoods. There's even a "Neighborhood Plan" that sets out Sarasota's goals for quality of life and neighborhood associations. (For instance, "Where urban amenities meet small-town living.") 

Each neighborhood has a name, with a welcome sign greeting you when you enter it. This is true of "developments" as well as old neighborhoods. And each one has its particular character and adjacency to shopping, nightlife (or not), dining, and access to other activity areas you need.

So it's a good idea to think about what your Sarasota lifestyle will entail. Are you a golfer? Will you be socializing at a country club? Are you a beach person? Do you mind waiting for the bridges to go up and down during Season when boats need to pass through? Will you be dining out several times a week? Is nightlife--live music, social settings--important to you? Are you a car-person or a walking-person? Would you like to be able to walk to nearby shopping and entertainment? Do you want acreage, with room for pets or livestock?

I'll give you a personal example: When I realized I should buy a house in Sarasota instead of renting seasonally, I thought I'd only consider living on Siesta Key. It's beautiful, laid-back, an easy walk to everything in the village, with plenty of live music and casual dining. 

But, putting aside the fact that I couldn't afford to buy a house on Siesta at that point, I realized, after renting on the Key for several seasons, that living here full-time, with business and personal activities located on the mainland, I didn't really want to have to drive on and off the Key all the time. And I didn't want to worry about summer storms on a barrier island. 

So I widened my search, and I looked at various neighborhoods, both with a realtor, and by driving around myself. As I did that, I discovered areas I never knew existed when I was so focused on living on Siesta Key. I also took note of the routes I'd be driving to get to and from the activities that make up my lifestyle. 

For instance, the neighborhood called Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores, which has interesting and eclectic house styles and runs alongside the Bay, just south of the Ringling Museum area, is charming and private in a way I found appealing. But the only way to drive downtown from Indian Beach is via Tamiami Trail (US-41), and I just didn't want that to be my daily, or multi-daily, commute. I prefer quieter back roads. And everything I want access to is located south of Indian Beach: downtown Sarasota, St Armands Circle, Siesta Key, Gulf Gate, and points east. It's a beautiful neighborhood, but it wouldn't work for me.

However, if New College of Florida, the Ringling Museum, Asolo Theater, Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, or access to Bradenton are relevant to your lifestyle, Indian Beach/Sapphire Shores might be a perfect fit.

As it turned out, there are neighborhoods "East of the Trail"--i.e., east of Tamiami Trail--that were more affordable than "West of the Trail" and offer easy access to a wide swath of Sarasota, from the Bay all the way east to I-75. For me, being East of the Trail was a good fit. And I wouldn't have discovered it if I hadn't learned to search for a house based on the neighborhood character and location that suits my lifestyle.

TIP: It's also helpful to find out if the neighborhood you're considering is "deed restricted" or not. That will affect your options when it comes to how you present your property or make changes to its appearance.

Boomers Relocating to Sarasota: A Complicated Real Estate Dance

Many Boomers dream of relocating to the Sarasota area when they retire.  

Sometimes they're ready now to leave their "up-north" lives behind and reside here full-time. Others look to buy a Sarasota home they can rent out for part of the year and occupy for a few weeks or months, until they're fully retired or done with caring for elderly parents. 

What's true for all of them is that each situation is different and will require a customized plan for making their dream come true. And it really helps to have knowledgeable professionals at hand to help them execute what can be a complicated dance of selling and buying in different states.

For instance, Jane and Jack (names changed) raised their children during many happy years living in a spacious suburban New Jersey house. Now that the kids are grown and living independently, and Jack is nearing retirement in a few years, the couple visualize splitting their year between the two states where they can enjoy the outdoor lifestyle they prefer: Florida and Colorado.

However, during the past two years, they've had to prioritize helping both of their elderly mothers transition from independent living to assisted care. During this time, they found a condo nearby that they can move into, so they can realize a profit now from selling their existing large home, and simplify their maintenance costs and chores. 

But while they were waiting for their new condo to be ready, they had to temporarily move into Jack's late parents' house. This also gave them the opportunity to prepare that house for sale.

Jack will be retiring in about a year, so he and Jane will soon begin looking for a golf community home in Sarasota County. 

In order to actually move here, though, they'll need to carefully time the sale of their New Jersey condo with the closing on their new Sarasota house. While they can choose a New Jersey broker for the sale and a Florida broker for the purchase, their relocation will be smoother if they use a real estate broker here in Sarasota who already has a referring relationship in place with a coordinating New Jersey broker. 

According to Mooshi Chapel, licensed Broker Associate with Keller-Williams Real Estate in Sarasota, "I pre-qualify the brokers I use for out-of-state transactions, so I can be sure they'll provide my clients with the same level of attention and follow-up they are accustomed to in working with my team." Chapel confirms, too, that every buyer has a different set of logistical challenges to tackle in making their new Sarasota life a reality. 

While there seem to be many houses and condos for sale here right now, Chapel says inventory is very tight, since so many variables have to coalesce to fit a home to a buyer, and so many Boomers are converging on this area, ready to purchase and move in.

Jane's and Jack's objective of a Florida/Colorado next chapter is taking a circuitous route -- including several moves within New Jersey before finally reaching Sarasota. Yet it's just a matter of keeping their eyes on the goal and finding expert help along the way to smooth the bumps. Within the next year, they're hoping the only "bumps" they encounter are the fluffy snowy kind they love on the ski slopes of the Rockies.