Sarasota, Venice, and Lakewood Ranch New Homes

Vilano is an exciting new home community in Sarasota, just east of I-75. Vilano offers the unexpected: one acre home sites.  Buyers who value privacy will appreciate preserve or lake views, with large luxury homes starting in the $500,000's. Vilano in Sarasota Vilano's HOA fees are kept relatively low ($240 monthly) for homes in this price range by paring down the extras: Vilano has no community pool or clubhouse. Homes in Milano have 20 feet ceilings, iron staircases, side load garages, and standard paver driveways.  Residents enjoy huge bonus rooms which are perfect for home theaters or game rooms. Three car side load garage and paver driveway Please visit my website to learn more about Vilano, view floor plans, search available resale and inventory homes for sale, and contact me for a tour.

Plans were announced this week to build a new town in Southwest Florida powered completely by solar energy. Babcock Ranch is east of I-75 between Punta Gorda and Ft. Myers, and is similar to Lakewood Ranch in Manatee County in size.  Babcock Ranch is expected to consist of 20,000 homes priced from $250,000-$900,000.  Following Lakewood Ranch's lead, Babcock Ranch will have a higher density downtown core of commercial buildings surrounded by residential development.  With this number of homes, Babcock Ranch will be larger than the current population within the city limits of Venice. Proposed Babcock Ranch master plan Energy supplied to Babcock Ranch will come from a 75 megawatt solar plant nearby operated by FPL.  Residents shouldn't expect to be "off the grid" in Babcock Ranch, since power will be supplied through FPL's main power grid during peak energy use and night time.  Electric rates will be the same as the rest of FPL's residential customers.

I toured Islandwalk with customers on Friday and was impressed with some incentives on under-construction homes. These homes are Taft St. models, with water view, priced in the mid $250's including home site.  Comparable resales in Islandwalk, and comparable new homes in Villages of Milano, are $25,000-$40,000 more. Visit my page for Islandwalk and view these pre-construction homes for sale, as well as all currently available resales.  Please contact me for a tour.

As your Sarasota and Venice new homes specialist, I work with a lot of people who are unfamiliar with the process of purchasing a new home.  Here are some answers to common questions, and some things to look out for. Your Sarasota and Venice new home search made easy. Home site selection:  The advertised price usually does not include what is known as a "lot premium". Some of the builders in our local market do list spec homes in the MLS with an all-inclusive price.  A lot premium is usually applied for a preserve view or a lake view.  Those can run between $10,000 and $60,000, in addition to the price of the actual home. Negotiability:   In real estate everything is negotiable, but less so in new construction.  In our local market, the builders know they will sell out because of a shortage of resale homes.  From time to time, I post updates about builder incentives which include discounts on lot premiums and designer upgrades.  I will help you try to negotiate any