Life In Bonita Springs

If you're looking for something to do in Bonita Springs this weekend you need to hop to!  The Bonita Springs Bluegrass Festival is currently underway at Riverside Park in Olde Bonita, just across the street from the Banyan Tree.  The weather is suppose to be awesome so get out there and enjoy it and meet your Bonita Springs neighbors!

This event is a fundraiser for the Liberty Youth Ranch.  Read the link for further details.

Here's the Scoop:

• What: 11th annual Bonita Springs Lions Charities Bluegrass Festival
• Who: The Doerfels, Shorty Vincent Band, Stoney Brook, American Folk Trio, Palms Bluegrass, Sawgrass Drifters, Carolina Road, New River Boys, Thunder Mountain, Roger Bass & the Hillbillies, Lost Mountain Sound
• When: 2:30 p.m., today through Sunday, Dec. 2
• Where: Riverside Park, 27300 Old U.S. 41, Bonita Springs.  Click the Map to Riverside Park
• Cost: $12 for Friday, $15 for Saturday and $10 for Sunday. Weekend pass is $28.
• Info: Call 992-0154

Hello Bonita Springs!  Welcome the first guest writer making an announcement on Life In Bonita Springs.  Welcome warmly Marv and his Italian Gourmet Club.  If you're looking for a great way to meet people and break bread with new friends in Bonita Springs - all with a glass of wine consider joining Marv's Italian Gourmet Club.  Marv sounds like he has a sense of humor, too.  Just what Bonita Springs needs! 

Here's what Marv wants you to know:

I am Marv Alpert, not to be confused with the infamous Marv Albert and I am the president of the W.I.G. The Westchester Italian Gourmet Club.  We recently purchased a home in Bonita Springs and would love to start a gourmet club here in the Naples-Bonita Beach area like the one we had in Westchester NY.

We meet every two months in a member's home and cook regional foods of Italy.  We have a lot of fun composing a menu based solely on a specific region of Italy (there are 20).

We have about three couples and the hosting couple invites another couple to attend.  Each couple brings two bottles of wine for the specified region, and prepares one dish for the meal.  Only one of us is really Italian but we all share a passion for Italy and Italian food. Think about It four couples, eight bottles of wine so no wonder every things the meal is great!

Our website is http://www.westchesteritaliangourmet.wetpaint.com/ and here s a video I made of one of our dinners : http://www.motionbox.com/video/player/1f9ed8b61915e992#1

So if you d like to join our Italian Gourmet Club in Bonita Springs just drop me an email at:

alpert (at) mail.com  

If you or your Bonita Springs club would like to make an announcement you're welcome to contribute your announcement by way of email or phone call.  Email or call 239-273-7430

Don’t let your buyers miss this Oakmont single family home in the secure, gated community of San Remo at Palmira in sunny Bonita Springs, Florida. Clean as a whistle and lovingly cared for by its original owner this home has been buffed and polished, priced right and ready for your choosiest home buyer. Listen up Bonita Springs - A jaw dropping price of $350,000!! ML#207047608

Enjoy the sunny southern exposure and lake view from this larger than average lot with a generous side yard. Features include tile throughout the main living area, window treatments, crown molding, storm shutter panels, custom paint, heated swimming pool, a whole house back up generator and professionally wired breaker box. San Remo is just minutes to Bonita Beach, fabulous shopping at Coconut Point, world class dining and SW Fl International Airport, too. Perfect for full or part time living. San Remo's amenities include community pool, tennis, fitness room, meeting room, mail station and playground. Low fees - $711 per quarter includes lawn service.

Take the visual tour of this San Remo Oakmont home: Visual Tour

San Remo is a sister Divosta Community of Village Walk of Bonita Springs and is located just next door. Both Village Walk and San Remo have the same floor plans available.

• Capri - attached villa
• Cayman - attached villa
• Oakmont - single family villa
• Carlyle - single family villa

The floor plans are included in the tour link below and the floor plan can be emailed in adobe PDF format upon email request.

Standard features of homes in San Remo and Village Walk include solid poured concrete walls, storm panels, central vacuum and security system.

To learn more about the community, read also: San Remo at Palmira - Bonita Springs, Florida

I've found that Terri's Summer Breeze Cafe in Bonita Springs is a great spot for finding outrageous bumper stickers. I'll have to start digging through my hard drive for a few I've snapped there .... and even a few "classic" cars that were just remarkable.

Terri's is THE breakfast spot in town. Everyone knows everyone and after a few trips they just start making your "regular" without taking your order (if you're like me). If you're looking for Terri's is in the Centre at Bonita Springs - the Northwest corner of Bonita Beach Road and US 41 (Tamiami Trail for all of you tourists and googlers) It's tucked in a corner closer to Kmart than the Publix. Look for me and my crew, or the Keller Williams Running and Limping club when you get there!

PS Terri's has the best biscuits in SW Florida - order the Granny, biscuits and gravy.

If you really need a map, it's here:

Terri's Summer Breeze Cafe

maps.google.com

3300 Bonita Beach Rd
Bonita Springs, FL 34134
(239) 992-0275
Get directions

More information »

Bonita Springs Florida Holiday Boat Parade

It's not just Bonita Springs, Florida ... almost all inter-coastal communities have a holiday boat parade!

The 21st Annual Bonita Springs Boat Parade is scheduled for December 08, 2007.   If you aren't registered to participate should start planning where you'll park to see the show.  Popular locations for parking and viewing included the Imperial River Boat Ramp and The Riverview Center (for parking) with a walk to the Imperial River Bridge for viewing.  Additional shopping center parking is nearby at the Fresh Market - Office Depot stores.

Bring a chair,  jacket or blanket, flashlight and wear reflective shoes for safety.

The parade route begins at Fish Trap Bay, turning around at Holly Lane and Esther Drive just north of Brendan Cove.  The parade ends at The Fish House Restaurant on Bonita Beach Road where awards will be presented. 

Prizes in the following categories will be awarded as follows: 

• Best Illumination
• Best Not-for-Profit  
• Most Original & Creative  
• Capt. Jack Sheehan Award (Best Decorated)
• Capt. Ed Fischl Award (Most Spirited)  
• Capt. Carl Johnson Founders Award (Best of Show)

Here's the low down:

• What:  The Bonita Springs Boat Parade
• When:  December 8, 2007 ~ 22nd Annual Holiday Boat Parade
• Location: Along Imperial River - Starting 6pm from Fish Trap Bay
• Contact: 239-992-2943

Also Read:  Newpaper Article

Bonita Springs Florida YMCA

The YMCA is a movement about people - all ages, races, religions and incomes.  The Bonita Springs YMCA is governed by a volunteer board of community leaders. This charitable mission allows YMCA programs and services to be available to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay.

The Bonita Springs YMCA provides hundreds of programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body. Everything from aquatics, arts and performing arts, child care, fitness and wellness, sports and specialty programs is designed to help you, your family and your community grow. 

The Bonita Springs YMCA hosts several events per year and the public is invited to participate.  Most recently, the Bonita Springs YMCA was host and home to the Bonita Springs Relay For Life.  The schedule for the next Relay and other events at the Bonita Springs YMCA will be posted as they become available.

Additional programs include:

» Active Older Adults
» Aquatics
» Child Care
» Summer Camp
» Family
» Fitness & Wellness
» Special Programs & Events
» Sports
» Youth & Teens
» Tennis

Join your friends and neighbors at the YMCA.

The Bonita Springs YMCA is located just off of East Terry Street just a block or two east of the I- 75 overpass bridge.

Address and MAP

27200 Kent Road
Bonita Springs, FL 34135

Telephone: (239) 992-9622
Fax: (239) 992-9174

Facility Hours:

Monday - Thursday: 5:30 AM - 10:00 PM
Friday: 5:30 AM - 8:00 PM
Saturday: 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Sunday: 1:00 PM - 5:00PM

Bad Ass Coffee in Estero, Florida

Yes, Bad Ass!  At the corner of Three Oaks Parkway and Corkscrew Road in Estero, Florida a new plaza has just been finished.  If you've driven by you've, no doubt, marveled at the Lowes Home store.  It's so darn cute!  They made it appear like a row of bungalow homes but it's a box store.  I just happened to stop in to Lowes to buy a screw driver when I found Bad Ass.

In that Lowes plaza there is an out parcel building with several smaller shops.  One of the shops is Bad Ass Coffee.  Since the sign went up everyone has been talking - Have you been to Bad Ass?  Not me, not yet.  I snapped a few pictures of it the other day while getting keys made at Lowes but I didn't have time to run in.  Do you find it ironic that there is a motorcycle parked smack in front of Bad Ass Coffee?  Do you think they only serve true bad asses and my Realtormobile has no business in the parking lot?

If you stop by to get your hot cup of Joe and find it just wasn't quite hard core enough for you, walk next door.  There is a martial arts studio beside it.  You'll be an Estero bad ass one way or another, right? 

Your review of Bad Ass Coffee is welcome.  Please add it to the comments below.  I also welcome your random suggestion of what to try when I get there!

Additional shops in the Bad Ass strip out parcel include Mattress Giant and Quiznos Sub sandwich shop.

Bad Ass is located north of The Brooks of Bonita Springs on Three Oaks Parkway and east of the Estero Community Center.

Bonita Springs Home Sellers Listen Up!

If you are starting the process of hiring a listing agent to sell your Bonita Springs Home you've found the key to home selling success. Use the guidelines below to help find the most technologically advanced agent to market and sell your Bonita Springs home.

Here are 10 Tools Your Bonita Springs Listing Agent must use to compete in today's aggressive buyers market in Bonita Springs, Florida.

1. A real estate blog. Updated daily with local content that pulls buyers in.
2. A static website. You don't need to know what this means but your agent does. If they don't know what you're talking about when you ask ...
3. Membership in the local Board of Realtors.
4. Access to all local MLS systems. Yes, both, as in we have two services and you will not have 100% coverage unless your property is listed in both. Don't fall for the song and dance about data share - it's that extra step that almost nobody ever takes.

5. Wide angle lens camera for property photos. We're selling real estate and a picture is a thousand words why would anyone use substandard photo equipment? Enough said.
6. Realtor.com upgraded membership so your home ranks higher in that network. (homes with photos and visual tours are displayed before those without)
7. Supra Key lock boxes - not combo boxes. Supra tracks every time the home is accessed for your safety and restricts access at night. Once that combo box number is given out anyone can enter your home unmonitored and unrecorded any time of the day or night.
8. Syndicated sites that will be hosting listings of your property; Trulia, Oodle, Craigslist, GoogleBase, Corporate 
9. Scanner or .pdf maker software to handle your transactions, offers and closing paperwork via email if you are a part time resident, traveling or outside of the country. Your disclosures, floor plan and community site plan should be uploaded to your MLS listing of your home so buyers agents can use them to help sell your home.
10. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly Truth Calculators:

• An absorption rate calculator
• Holding cost calculator
• Seller's net breakdown so you have thorough knowledge of how long it COULD take to sell your home, what it will cost to hold the home THAT long and what you will make or owe at closing based on a subjective sale price.

Free Bonita Springs & Estero Wind Storm Inspections

The nutshell version: Get your home inspected for free to save money on home owner insurance premiums. Period.

Who is eligible for the program?

Owners of single-family homes in Bonita Springs and the State of Florida.

How to apply:

Apply online at http://www.mysafefloridahome.com/or call the Florida Department of Financial Services, 1-866-513-6734.

Here is How it works:

In two to three weeks, an inspection firm will schedule an appointment. The inspection will last 30 to 45 minutes, and the report will be sent to the owner of the Bonita Springs home in about a month.

This free home-inspection program run by the state has cut participants' premiums hundreds of dollars according to newly released figures from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

The My Safe Florida Home program is available to all single-family homeowners, but not to owners of condos and townhouses, for whom there is no similar program available. The home-inspection program, which typically would cost $150, has been in effect for nearly 18 months, and officials want to get the word out to encourage more people to apply.

"In some respects, people think it's too good to be true because it's a free inspection," said special programs administrator Tami Torres. "They think there must be strings attached or something, but there aren't. It's really all about educating people and hardening our housing stock in Florida."

Here's how to get started. Steps for Windstorm Inspections

If your Bonita Springs home is eligible and in need of upgrades you may be able to apply for a grant and financial aid to help update roof, gables and shutters.

Get crackin' and schedule to get your home inspected today!

Read Also: Bonita Springs Homeowner Insurance

Condo Commandos and Really Bad Neighbors

This caught my attention & I thought this was kind of clever and scary all at once. The guy that invented it will probably make some bank on the add words alone, but it isn't really monitored content and surely Fair Housing laws are violated.

Read also: Housing Discrimination in Bonita Springs Florida

The site was discovered when I was driving back from on of my Bonita Springs listings listening to talk radio 98.9 WGUF (I'm crazy like that). The Jerry Doyle show runs a piece on this guy that had crappy neighbors so he started a website called http://rottenneighbor.com/ so that:

1. A person can tell the world that their neighbors are bad and what they do that is so nasty.

2. Before you move into a new area you can search by zip code to see if there are bad neighbors.

The owner of the website has already been on the Today Show on NBC, talk radio and is all over the news. The site is getting tons of traffic and it's only a few weeks old. Come on, you can't resist putting in your Bonita Springs zip code, can you? I just HAD to see who the condo commando was in my Bonita Springsneighborhood.

THANK GAWSH IT WASN'T ME!!

This is an example of what one complaint was in Fort Myers:

"jerk next door "

This guy does a redneck tune up on his crappy bike every weekend usually on Sunday morning or afternoon and doesn't even drive it! take a ride already!

The down side to this site is there are people that have posted complaints that are unfounded and motivated by hate, bigotry and discriminatory. You may just want to check your neighborhood to protect yourself and your Bonita Springs neighbors from a bad egg with a keyboard.