Life In Bonita Springs

Looking for something to do in Estero?  Visit Mound Key.  Located in the middle of Estero Bay is Mound Key an archaeological site managed by Koreshan State Historic Site - State Park. 

Calusa Indians dominated southern Florida for centuries and resisted the Spanish explorers. Mound Key Archaeological Site is believed to be the ceremonial center of Calusa society.

The Indian shell mounds at the site rise more than 30 feet high and are estimated to date back nearly 2000 years. The site is only accessible by boat from the southern end of Estero Island, just north of Bonita Springs.  Review the list of boat ramps in the Bonita Springs and Estero areas.  The closest boat ramp and causeway area is at Carl Johnson State Park at Lover's Key.  Kayaks and canoes are available for rent.

Seasonally the entire Estero Bay and back water area is a no wake zone.  Be sure to check the speed zones and adhere to the seasonal guidelines or risk getting a ticket for a manatee zone violation.

Be sure to take sunscreen and plenty of mosquito repellant.  Open flames are not permitted due to drought conditions, and uh, the ability of the fire department to not drive there and put the fire out.

Mound key is a great day trip for boaters if they're spending the afternoon at Lover's Key Beach.  It's about a 10 minute boat ride away from the drawbridge at Fort Myers Beach by Lover's Key State park.

Two items to be mindful of while visiting Mound Key. 

• You may smell a skunk smell but it's only a plant that produces the odor and probably not the live animal.
• Keep an eye out for the spiny orb weaver spider. They're very unusual, brightly colored and have a shell sort of like a crab.

Baycrest Attached Villa Homes

Baycrest is a quiet enclave of 90 attached villa homes located in Pelican Landing in Bonita Springs, Florida. The buildings are one or two stories depending upon the unit and a unique design to the Bonita Springs area. There are three residences per building. Each home offers its own entrance and two car garage. Because the entries and garages are located on different sides of the building each villa looks, feels and lives like a single family home. The bonus is outside lawn-care by the home owner association.

Square footages run from just under 2,000 square feet of living space to just under 3,000 square feet. Baycrest homes have the option of having their own private pool. Pool can be installed at a home that currently does not have a pool, should a buyer so choose - lot size permitting.

Residences in the Baycrest at Pelican Landing offer views of preserves, Spring Creek, golf or lakes. All residences offer a minimum of two bedrooms plus a den to up to a three bedroom and each residence offers a two car garage.

The amenities of the Baycrest at Pelican Landing include a community pool, hot tub spa, barbeque area, and clubhouse & meeting area. Homeowners at Baycrest also enjoy the coveted amenities package of Pelican Landing.

To learn more about the extensive amenities package of Pelican Landing click HERE.

Located near the "South" gate of Pelican Landing, Baycrest offers easy access to many local conveniences which are within walking or biking distance. Additionally, Baycrest at Pelican Landing is located just 20-25 minutes to Southwest Florida International Airport, only 10 minutes to Coconut Point Mall and near many find dining and shopping establishments.

Homes in Baycrest at Pelican Landing are priced from the $400,000's.

Baycrest can be located on this printable Pelican Landing site map.

Estero Community Park and Recreation Center is the largest facility within the Lee County Parks and Recreation system.  The Estero Community Center is located in Estero Florida on Corkscrew Road, midway between US 41 and Three Oaks Parkway.  The park encompasses 55 acres and features 2 bocce courts, 12 horseshoe pits, 3 sand volleyball courts, shelters of varying sizes, a children's play area, 4 lakes, a 5K cross country course, a tortoise preserve, an outdoor amphitheater along with a 40,000 sq/ft. recreation center.

Within the Community Center itself you will find a fully equipped gymnasium that houses three full basketball courts or four volleyball courts. You will also find a fitness center with locker room facilities, a computer lab, a game room, a teen center, an art studio, and several large multi-purpose rooms for meetings or classes.  Hold the meeting of your next Estero Florida based club or organization at the Estero Community Center.

The Estero Community Park offers art classes, toddler programs, wellness classes for adults and children, sports leagues, an exciting senior program and a variety of children's programs. There is something for everyone in the family.

View the programs & sign up for one of the great classes contact the center. 9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero, FL 33928  (239) 498-0415

YOU MUST BE A FACILITY MEMBER TO REGISTER FOR THE CLASSES. Individual memberships are $5 while family memberships are available for $20. This fee is a one-time fee.

Estero Community Park is located approximately 3 miles north of Bonita Springs  and the Coconut Point Mall.  Residential home communities nearby include Estates at Estero River, Cascades, Grandezza, Wildcat Run, Colonial Oaks, Rookery, Pelican Sound and Copper Oaks.

Buyers of real estate in the Bonita Springs, Naples, Fort Myers and Estero, Florida areas have a great new resource to professionally plan and design the interiors of their homes and condos.

The International Design Center, by Miromar Development, is now open and is centrally located between Naples and Fort Myers.  It is at the SW Corner of Corkscrew Road and I-75:  Click For Map.  The International Design Center (IDC) is Southwest Florida's preferred resource for both design professionals and consumers.   Visitors are welcomed into a world of elegance and luxury that is unlike any other in the interior design industry.  There are over 40 established, distinctive showrooms present, world-class collections of the finest furniture and accessories, fabrics, wall coverings, lighting, kitchen and bath products, flooring and art.  More showrooms continue to open.  It is a one-stop shopping destination that will satisfy all of your decorating and renovation goals.

Design professionals and consumers will find the IDC provides a uniquely convenient and pleasurable experience.  First floor showrooms are open to the public.  Second and third floors are "trade" floors that focus on design professionals, although many showrooms encourage consumers to browse in order to become acquainted with their exclusive products. 

The IDC offers a number of innovative programs to assist consumers with their buying experiences.  One of these is our exclusive "Designer On Call"^TM (DOC) service, available to those  individuals who do not  have their own designer. Interested consumers are given a one hour complimentary consultation at no charge.

 The design center is located near the Miromar Outlets and SW Florida International Airport.  

• It approximately three miles north of Bonita Springs, Florida. 
• Nearby communities include:   Pelican Landing, Miromar Lakes, Grandezza, Stoneybrook, Wildcat Run and Bella Terra.

Other features of the IDC include: 

• Private group tours by appointment.
• Valet Parking.
• Designer on call.
• Gourmet bistro.
• Concierge desk.

When you're ready to decorate your Bonita Springs home stop by the International Design Center to see the latest fashions in home decor.

Miromar Outlets features more than 140 top designer and great brand name manufacturers' outlets.  Miromar Outlets Vendors include Off 5th Saks Fifth Avenue Outlet, Escada Company Store, Ellen Tracy, Brooks Brothers Factory Store, Cole Haan, St. John, Perry Ellis, Polo Ralph Lauren, Nike Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess,  Adidas, Reebok Outlet Store, Bose Factory Store, Lenox, Coach, Nautica and many more! Shoppers will find savings of up to 70% off retail prices because the outlets buy directly from the manufacturer.

In addition to a good time, great savings and great selection, Miromar Outlets also offers great dining, with restaurants including Luna Rossa Italian Restaurant, LaBamba Mexican Restaurant, Luna Pizza, Key Western Grille, Asian Bistro, Subway and more!

Miromar Outlets is an open air mall.  Enjoy fresh air, sunshine while you stroll between outlet stores.  The most recent phase is nearing completion.

Click here for A complete Miromar Outlet Map of Stores

Miromar Outlets hours of operation are:

Monday - Saturday 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Sunday 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 

Miromar Outlets is located just minutes from FGCU, SW Florida International Airport and a host of fine communities in the Estero and Corkscrew area.  It is directly across the street from the International Design Center.

• Enjoy the local water ski club, perform their show in the evening at the lake on the north side of the outlets.  Sunday at 4:00 p.m. during warmer weather.
• Take in dinner before the next Everblades game at Germain Arena.
• Out door fountain side dining - Enjoy a slice of the best pizza in town at Luna Pizza.

Directions: I-75, Exit 123, Miromar Outlets Boulevard/Corkscrew Road (formerly exit 19), between Bonita Springs and Fort Myers.

Think it's impossible? Not really. Every day buyers start the search for a Bonita Springs home in another, distant locale. The fact of the matter is, if you are planning a home search from great distance you can seriously focus and filter most of your search criteria and qualify your new home "candidates" by using the right tools. You can be included in the 75% of home buyers that begin their home search on the Internet, educate yourself and prepare yourself to more effectively shop for a home when you arrive to buy.

This article is a compilation of services my own buyers have enjoyed using to find their home and my own experiences from buying a home that was almost 2,000 miles from my state.

It seems almost everyone is doing their homework on the web before they buy a home in Bonita Springs. In all likelihood, you'll find a real estate agent on the internet if one hasn't been recommended to you by a friend or relocation company. Tips for selecting an agent may be to look for:

• Responsiveness - Do they respond to your inquiry in a timely manner.
• Internet Literacy - Are they able to understand and use the web and email to communicate important information to buyers. An agent with both a website and a blog is a must. The blog provides a wealth of information about local events "as they happen" and valuable tips and tools for home buyers and sellers.
• Area knowledge - It's not important that the agent know and retain a large amount of the information about every city, but they should at least know how to find a source for more information and they should be willing to find out more information for you.
• Contract knowledge and procedures to close. You should be able to know well in advance what is to be expected and the chain of events that will occur from contract through closing.

Great resources for buyers include a user-friendly website (kill the flash intro - they're a pain), website that may have IDX or Multiple Listings of homes for sale, a guideline for local customs/procedures for buying real estate in that area and local city/county information, a community tour and a blog about the Bonita Springs and Estero Florida areas.

The following helpful links area provided for buyers and sellers:

• The county tax collector http://www.leetc.com/
• The county property appraiser http://www.leepa.org/
• The county clerk of courts http://www.leeclerk.org/
• The school system http://www.lee.k12.fl.us/ & School Choice info at http://www.lee.k12.fl.us/studentassignmentdocuments.htm
• The CDD information site: http://www.cddswf.com/

The Clerks office usually has recorded the documents related to the community association or condominium association, which may include community site plans, as well as floor plans for individual condominium units. The Tax Collector provides CDD information, the CDD site provides the length of time and contact for the CDD manager and the Property Appraiser site provides aerial views with parcel lines indicators/lot lines. The Property Appraisers website also has an "estimated property tax" calculator.

Detailed community info: The Bonita Springs area, for example, has a large number of deed restricted gated communities that are fairly new. Many agents, myself included, have a library of marketing materials from when the community was built. For example, if a buyer is interested in purchasing in Spring Run at The Brooks I can send a .pdf attachment or a link to a blog post that shows the community site plan with the buildings & parcels numbered. In addition to the community site plan there area a variety of floor plans. They can easily be scanned and emailed or added to a blog. They may already be posted in a blogged listing.

Let's use this as and example: I have had buyers that were searching for the "Sabal" floor plan in Spring Run at The Brooks, a community in Bonita Springs. When this model of home does become available to the market it is easy enough to give the buyer a "window" into the home and it's location with the site map, floor plan, digital photos and a visual tour of the home. It's almost as good as being there.

When you're ready to start the search for your home, in Bonita Springs, Florida or the city of your choice, choose an Internet savvy REALTOR® that is dedicated to providing you the information to find your next home.

Looking for relief in the shifting Bonita Springs real estate market?There's more to selling a property in Bonita Springs than putting it in the MLS and waiting for the phone to ring. With excessive inventory buyers may not find your property. So why not have your property find the buyers? Did you know that over 94% of home buyers begin their search on the Internet? That's a national average and doesn't take into account that many of our buyers live outside of the area and are dependent upon the Internet for their realty information.

• Did you know that Google powers over 49% of all web search queries?
• Did you know that homes that are marketed using the Featured Homes Marketing System^TM get 500% more exposure, on average?

I do and that's why my state of the art marketing plan helps reach more buyers than traditional advertising plans, alone. Buyers are thinking outside of the box, so should sellers. Your home's exposure to the buying public can be worldwide in minutes!

Call today to find out how your Bonita Springs home or condo can:

1. Become a Showcased Listing on http://www.realtor.com/ with enhanced listing features, visual tour and extra photos.
2. Become a Realtor.com Featured Home^TM in the Bonita Springs or Estero zip code. Any search will display results of your featured home first.
3. Be strategically placed in Google search engine results for your home's search criteria. Search engine results link to your home's individual web page. A buyer searching for a home in Bonita Springs and your community is routed to your home's information page.

Call today to learn more about the latest technology available to market your Bonita Springs home.

The world is changing. The real estate market is changing. Shouldn't your home's marketing plan change, too?

Just a few miles North of Bonita Springs, Florida is Estero Florida. There isn't a whole bunch of fanfare as you cross the city line, so you'll probably miss it.  (It's right by the Ship on Tamiami Trail) Estero is one of the fasted growing communities in Southwest Florida.  Enjoy a few suggestions for activities in the Estero and Bonita Springs areas.

1.   Catch a Florida Everblades hockey game at Germain Arena Germain Arena also hosts recreational ice skating and various concerts, acts and events.  Check the schedule of events.

2.  Tour the Koreshan State Historic Site.  It is one of the earliest settlements in SW Florida.  There is an onsite boat ramp and also canoe rentals.

3.  Canoe or Kayak the Estero River.  Equipment can be rented at Estero River Outfitters.  The Estero River actually access Estero Bay and the Gulf of Mexico.  Fish the back water mangrove estuaries from your canoe!

4.  Visit Miromar Outlets - Over 140 stores and outlets shops at your fingertips.  A whole new addition is set to open shortly.  Several new restaurants have been added, also.

5.  Tour one of the great bundled golf communities of Estero Florida.  Pelican Sound offers use of formal and casual Golf Club and River Club dining, a beautiful and well maintained 27 hole championship private golf course, 6 lit Har-Tru tennis courts, a host of activities and clubs, gulf access via the Estero River and close proximity to gulf beaches and the SW Florida International Airport. Chris Griffith, REALTOR® with Keller Williams Elite Realty in Bonita Springs, Florida.

1. Clean and repair your home. It should go without saying, but clean your Bonita Springs home or condo as if you were going to eat off the floors. Make cosmetic repairs such as touching up paint, especially on corner bead. Pop in a few new plantings of fresh flowers. Make sure the home smells fresh and clean, too.

2. Remove clutter. Put away the figurine collection, toys and everything that is lining the bathroom and kitchen counters. A crowded house makes it look smaller and makes it harder for buyers to imagine it as their own home.

3. De-personalize. Take down family photos, trophies and other personal touches. A buyer needs to imagine the house as a blank slate, ready to be occupied and personalized by them. A buyer of a Bonita Springs Home can't imagine their own furniture in the home if there isn't a blank spot to imagine it in.

4. Consider holding a special preview. If you are having an open house from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., invite your Bonita Springs neighbors from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. It will allow your real estate agent to focus on the most interested parties when the real open house starts. You may want to also invite the agent that listed the home down the street. The agent will have first hand knowledge about your home and may actually show your home when they show their own listing.

5. Promote your home and open house event. Make sure your open house is listed on the Bonita Springs MLS AND the Rapattoni MLS and on other Internet sites such as Realtor.com. Pictures bring buyers, so post lots of photos, post a visual tour, send out flyers, put up signs and advertise in the local paper.

The Southwest Florida real estate market has seen several years of above average home appreciation. Sellers have enjoyed profits from selling their homes and using the revenue to upsize, pay off debt, pay for college or add to their retirement plan. If you have been undecided and waiting for the right time to buy a home, now is the time! Here are 5 great reasons to buy Bonita Springs Florida Real Estate.

1. Inventory - Supply and demand. When supplies go up, prices come down. The supply of Bonita Springs homes competing for buyers has been on the rise all year. Home sellers have offered more incentives to attract buyers from other homes. Developers are offering great incentives which include mortgage payments for a period of time, homeowner association fees paid for a period of time or designer upgrades and decorating packages. Real estate IS local. Even in a town like Bonita Springs there are neighborhoods that offer better choice, more competitively priced than the homes the next community over.
2. Interest rates - Mortgage interest rates remain at historically low levels allowing buyers to buy more home for less money per month. If you thought you were priced out of the Bonita Springs market, you might want to take a second look. Interest rates will eventually rise and as they do the size and features you want will begin to be out of reach.
3. National Economy - Low inflation and unemployment, a high level of consumer confidence, the stock market at all time highs and a national economy that continues to grow provide additional support that we are not in a housing bubble which will burst shortly after you buy a house.
4. Mortgage Programs - New and innovative financing programs have allowed for a greater number of variables to be considered during the loan application process. As the sellers market cools many lenders have begun to scale back certain lending programs. If you plan to buy a home, one of these programs may benefit you. By making the decision to buy a home now, you will have more lending options available to you.
5. Prices leveling - Real Estate values in Bonita Springs and all of Southwest Florida and around the nation have declined for some types housing since the beginning of summer. Inventories of existing Bonita Springs homes and condos are beginning to stabilize and recent statistics from local listing services and the National Association of Realtors indicate that housing prices may have reached their bottom in this cycle.

If you are waiting for the best deal on a home in Bonita Springs, now may be the best time to find it and score a great deal! Call today and find your little piece of Bonita Springs Real Estate in the sun.