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Are there any Cape Coral guys that can give me some information? I'm considering moving to Cape Coral for retirement and need advice regarding the area. Please feel free to PM me if you would be willing to answer some questions via email. Thanks.
My advice is if you are looking at a waterfront lot, make darn sure you know how to get to the Gulf. There are locks and lifts as well as land-locked freshwater canals that don't go anywhere. There are also genuine direct access sailboat lots with no bridge to go under. Get a good map from a realtor and study it!
Thanks for the advice...I think I had that part figured out about not spending all day cruising the canals. I'm curious about tide restrictions and fishing in the area. Also curious about the advantage of certain areas such as the Yacht Club area they are always talking about. I did receive one PM and will try to get information through that source however I am surprised there are not more Cape Coral/Ft Meyers guys reading this website.
I have a condo in Burnt Store Marina in Punta Gorda (I live in Cincinnati). I just stated going to the area so I'm not sure how much useful information I can give you. I have a 23 foot scout sport fisher and can tell you the boating is great in the area. I haven't had much luck fishing but that's mostly because I'm a newbie to the area. Feel free to ask me any questions. I'll learn.!!!!
Thanks for getting into the discussion.....good to hear the boating is great. It might be helpful to know why you chose Punta Gorda. Did you consider any other towns on the west coast of Florida? I'm curious...what did you do with your boat when the hurricanes hit last year?
I currently own a lot and a Yacht Club house and just sold a lot and a unit 74 gulf access house. As they said and you know becareful how long of a trip you have to open water. When they say "No Wake" They mean absolutely no wake. Another consideration to think of when deciding where to buy is some areas still have boat lifts (NW and area off Vetrans) a good deal of the SW you have to go through the lock, although not a big deal you must remeber the lock only operates so many hours a day so late trips or early trips may not be possible. Just be advised taxes are not cheap. If you have any other questions feel free to drop me a line I have researched a great deal about the area.
We bought in Burnt Store because of (1) water views, (2) the marina, (3) the product (i.e. nice three bedroom condo on the third floor, and(4) price. We wanted to be on the water as far south as possible. We only spend 3 to 4 weeks per year in Florida. I would prefer to be even farther south (bonita Bay) but cannot those prices on the water. Punta Gorda seems to be developing nicely with some great restaurants. Cape Coral is a little too crowded for me. I do have to cross the Harbor to get to open waters and the Harbor can be quite choppy. However, we have have had some beautiful sunset trips accross the Harbor, and enjoyed them very much. I would love to be directly on the Gulf, but again, I can't afford the prices. My boat was in Englewood during the Hurricane ('05) and had no damage. I did not have the condo or boat in '04. My wife is not a huge boating fan, but after a few day trips she now wants to go on the boat every day. If you want to enjoy nice beaches you must go by boat or for a long drive by car from Cape Coral. That's probably the biggest downside of the area. we love Burnt store Marina.
I've got 2 new canalfront homes (never lived in) for sale in Cape Coral. They are priced from the high 500's to the mid 600's range. If you go to Realtor.com and punch in MLS# 200540605 and 200606898, you can view photos and get all the details. Jim
I thank everyone for their input......I'm still not decided on Cape Coral, Fort Meyers, Punta Gorda, etc. I know my wife would like to plan on going to the beach as she sure doesn't want to spend her time on the boat fishing with me. I was curious about the comment about it being a long drive to a beach from Cape Coral. Where is the beach? There was a comment about going to the beach by boat.....would that be Sanibel or somewhere else? I know my wife wouldn't mind anchoring off a nice beach if that was the way to do it. I'd also like to know how the tide affects the river and the canals at Cape Coral? Is it a non-issue....total access no matter what the tide?
If you want to go to a nice Gulf of Mexico beach from Cape Coral, you either go to Sanibel or Ft Myers Beach. Sanibel is about $12 in tolls and parking fees and a long drive. Ft Myers Beach is less tolls and parking, but you have to get there early to find a place to park. Or just head for the County/State parks like Lover's Key or Barefoot Beach. Taking a boat to the beach can be a long ride, depending on where you are coming from. You need to check these things out before you drop a half mil or more on a house.
I live in the cape - just off midpoint bridge. I am 1 canal from river. Moved in 2000. I also have a place in st. james city. Had a double wide trailer but charlie knocked it down. I run the river to fish. Used to keep my mcKee at the St. James place on a lift - its just a few min. from matlacha pass. I can answer any questions you have - maybe easier if you called me - let me know -
When we retired, we bought our house on the Caloosahatchee river near the Franklin Lock in 2002. We are 26 miles from the gulf and about 113 from the Atlantic. Our neighborhood secret was discovered several years ago and prices have doubled or more but right now it is slow. The bad part of this area is that it is 26 miles from the gulf and with the winter slow zones a good 2 hour ride. We do have Tarpon and Snook fishing in right here. We have a little tide 2' sometimes but the water release from lake O effects our height maybe 3'. A wind out of the west can effect it too. There is a big to-do right now about the release of nitrates in the water releases so our river all the way to Sanibel is suffering. Our water is fresh so corrosion is not an issued here like it is near the gulf. Since we are off the path, we have no traffic or crime, something you can't say about other areas. Traffic especially in the winter is horrible. Seems like most drivers are rage driven. That's why we stay out of it as much as we can and certainly when the working folks go/come to work. Florida has a save our home cap if you are domiciled here and your RE taxes can't be raised over 3% every year. That cap is based on the appraisal when you declare. We come from rural Nebraska and really appreciate the abundance of medical clinics and hospitals. That's about all that I can think of at the moment. PM me if you like.
__________________
Knot for Profit
01 Pursuit Express 3000
Just read today in the Ft Myers News-Press. Everyday in Lee County there are 400 new house listings. Everyday 100 are sold. Everyday 300 will reduce their price.
Wow....lots of good information and I thank everyone who has posted or sent PM's. The speed zone thing is something I never even thought about but I see there is a speedzone restricion in the lower portion of the river all year round. What does that mean? Is it 5 mph? I'm beginning to see it can be a long ride to the gulf even if you don't spend your time in the canals. I've looked into property taxes and am amazed to see how high they are in that area. Is that true for all of Florida or just the area I'm looking into? Also, I saw some listings in Fort Meyers just accross the river from the yacht club area of Cape Coral and the houses there looked interesting. Anyone care to discuss the Cape Coral vs. Fort Meyers choice? I have been told Fort Meyers has more to offer in the way of stores, medical facitilites, etc. It also seems Fort Meyers is a bit more expensive than Cape Coral although it also looks like the real estate boom has slowed considerably in the entire area and this may be a good time to buy. I'm still learning and interested in any comments that anyone from the area may want to make. As a last question, it appears a lot of the houses are older and are tear downs. Does anyone know the cost per quare foot for residential construction in the area? Thanks.
If we are thinking about the same place we call that the miserable mile. It starts around Shell Point and goes west year round. The channel is very narrow there. The Cape Coral guys can tell you more. I paid 270K for my house in 2002. Today, my taxes are 5K with the SOH cap. Neighbors without domicile are paying 8K for a 2,000' house with navigaable water. From my perspective, the towns run together. We shop at the local Winn Dixie but go eat at Cape Coral or Pine Island. Sometime I wish we had bought in the cape because it is so much closer to the gulf. But when we go there and see the constant traffic I am glad we didn't. Not to say anything bad about the cape but we came from a rural environment and enjoy just going for a walk down the street. Four years ago would have been the best time to buy but since you can't turn the calendar back there is a lull in the market right now. We have 20 houses for sale in our neighborhood right now with a low of 400K and a high of 1,5M, all on the water. 20K will get you a pretty good house if you get off the water. I think Cape Coral would be the same.
You can look up any house in Lee County by looking here: http://www.leepa.org/
Hope this helps.
Dry
Thanks for your response....I assume you live in Ft Meyers? Yes, I can see I missed the boat in terms of not buying four years ago. The worst part as I see it is that a decent house near the river is at least $600,000 and taxes would be close to $12,000 a year. That is quite expensive when retired on a fixed income. I have a feeling the tax situation may be contributing to the slow down in the real estate market there. You are the second person to write to me about the traffic in Cape Coral so I guess it must really be awful. Am I to assume the traffic in Ft Meyers is not as bad? If you don't mind writing once more, where do you fish in the area and for what types of fish? Do you know of any online site where I could get a look at a chart for the river and the local waters to better understand where the channel is and how to get out to the Gulf?
First I want to apolgize to anyone in the cape for the traffic comments. I wrote this then choked down a taco and then read what I said. By then it was too late to edit. We live in Lee county east of Ft Myers, 26 miles from the gulf. Great for hurricanes but a long way to go to fish the gulf.
On the water, you will sure spend 600K easily enough but I think the taxes will not be quite that high. I agree that its alot of money and today we could not afford our same setup. You are right on the tax rationale. People on our block saw the prices their neighbors were getting and if they did not have the SOH cap, their taxes went up $3,500 last year!. Now there is a for sale sign in their yards. I took the wife to the eye surgeon today in south Ft Myers and was totally drained when we got home. Traffic is horrible, especially this time of year, everywhere except our street. We don't go out unles we have to and then not when the working folks are going home. Can't blame that on the cape, it's everywhere. We can fish for Tarpon and Snook right here within 5 miles from home. When we want to bottom fish we buddy up and charter for $750 for 6 and go 50 miles out to 100' water. The boat stays home. I have DeLorme Street 2005 but know of no online maps other than mapquest.com.
My neighbors bought a 60' lot a block from the gulf at Hudson, FL they paid 200K for it. If I were to do it today, I'd shoot for the Carolinas. Their secret may not be have let out.
Dry
You need to look a little further north, to Sarasota county. The Venice area has not had as much expansion as quicly as other areas and therefore does not have as bad the traffic problems you are hearing in the Cape. It is also a nicer area. The intra-coastal runs through town, it has an excellent pass to the gulf and there are still houses in the 300,000 to 400, 000 range within about 2-6 miles from the beach.
I live in the Cape since July. I have owned the home for 4 years and it was the right time. I have sailboat access which means no bridges, lifts or locks to deal with.
Gulf access means you access but may have to deal with one of the above.
I paid 215 for 100 x 125 lot and have a 2400 square foot home that was built in 1964 which has been totally redone. Have a dock as wide as the property and 2 boat lifts, 1 10K and the other 4K pounds.
The prices started out way to high this year as everyone was expecting another 35-45 % appreciation which we have had for 3 years now. This being the HIGH season ( Jan- May) for sales and tourist my suggestion would be to look around after that.
I saw one house where I personally though the guy was nuts, it was a 2 Br 2 Bath sailboat access on a 80 x 125 with a pool.
It stated out at 729 in December, now it's at 459.
Most of these older homes are livable with some minor home improvement but most of the homes that are being bought are TEAR DOWNS making way for new homes and some are huge.
I get daily e-mails from a realtor for my area and monitor what is going on.
BTW I am in the Yacht Club area right off Bimini Basin.
If you need any info just ask and I'll try to help out.
__________________ Capt. Bill~was Long Island for 52 years
Cape Coral 
