Article
Jackpot!
Looking around in Lakewood Ranch.
By Robert Plunket
Welcome to my new blog. Here’s what I do: Every Sunday afternoon I go to open houses in Sarasota and Manatee and then I write about what I see. I’m looking for the unusual, the charming, the bargain, the special house or condo that’s a cut above the competition.
It’s all done by serendipity. For instance, this Sunday I set out to look at the Parade of Homes in Lakewood Ranch. I first went into the sales office to get a map, but before they would give me one, I had to fill out a form. For some stupid reason I told the truth. The saleslady took a look at it and somewhat embarrassedly told me I really couldn’t afford to live in Lakewood Ranch and that my only hope was a re-sale in one of the less fashionable areas. Well!
But I only took this as a challenge. I decided to forget the Parade of Homes and take a look at Watercrest (or as I call it, Watercress) which I have driven by a million times and always thought looked nice. It’s a group of 20 buildings all overlooking the lake, just north of Main Street and the cool shopping center with Morton’s and the movies. I have some friends who live there, a hip young couple, and even though they’ve never invited me over, I trust their taste.
The first unit I looked at was a revelation. It was No. 302 at 6430 Watercrest Way. The view is incredible – the golf course and a long view of the lake. It was the perfect combination of something urban and something country, a fancy city apartment but in the country. Best of all was the price: $439,000.
The nice lady who was showing the apartment told me about the builder’s closeout sale they’re having, so I then journeyed down to the last building to check out the models. I was a little skeptical as the last building is the only one not facing the lake and as you probably know, the first rule of real estate is “buy the view.” But I went up to the fourth —or top—floor and walked into the end unit.
![](/blog/uploads/floorplan.gif)
Wow. The living room was almost 30 feet long, with enormous windows looking out over the treetops of the nature preserve. It almost had a loft kind of feeling. The master bedroom and bath were luxurious and immense and the two guest bedrooms were bright and sunny and didn’t have a corridor in front of their windows, the downfall of so many Florida apartments. It has nine foot ceilings, three bathrooms, a two-car garage, so bright and sunny and so un-hemmed in, and upgraded to the max. Asking price: $560,000.
Afterward I checked out the competition, other condos and townhouses in Lakewood Ranch, to see if they’re all this nice. They’re not.
See you next week.
Filed under
Share
Show Comments