How we Found Mentone Court
Having sold our live-aboard boat, we looked for a condo or house with room for guests (a Murphy bed in a one-bedroom unit would suffice) with some form of outside space like a patio, deck or porch. A pool would be nice, but neither Gail nor I would ever use it and it would drive up condo fees. Monthly carrying costs were important because I also have to maintain Alto in the marina which for the new smaller boat is around $1700/month.
The Search
For 3–4 years I had been looking at everything on Zillow.com listed for ≤ $650k on a weekly basis hoping to find something affordable, maybe a multi-family situation with extra units that could be rented to help pay for itself. I even looked at commercial real estate for something like a shop with an attached small apartment. See the Zillow map screen shot below of what was listed for under $600k in Sarasota in early 2024.
There were only six condos for sale within 2000 feet of downtown’s center, and most were one-bedroom or efficiencies. As time went on the situation seemed to get worse; i.e. condos were more expensive with little available for under $1,000,000.
The Search
For 3–4 years I had been looking at everything on Zillow.com listed for ≤ $650k on a weekly basis hoping to find something affordable, maybe a multi-family situation with extra units that could be rented to help pay for itself. I even looked at commercial real estate for something like a shop with an attached small apartment. See the Zillow map screen shot below of what was listed for under $600k in Sarasota in early 2024.
There were only six condos for sale within 2000 feet of downtown’s center, and most were one-bedroom or efficiencies. As time went on the situation seemed to get worse; i.e. condos were more expensive with little available for under $1,000,000.
So I raised my price limit. As of December 1st, 2024, there were only eight homes for sale at ≤ $800k in the downtown area, within a radius of 2000 feet around the center, oval on the map above. There are high rise buildings everywhere downtown with thousands of condos, yet only eight were for sale for ≤ $800,000!
Of the eight, most were efficiencies or one-bedroom units and a few had no patio at all. Some had no elevator and were up stairs which would not work for Gail. All had high HOA fees and taxes adding up to at least $800/month and more like $1200 plus electric and insurance.
There were zero single family houses within our price range walkable to downtown. So I did what everyone does. I set Zillow to send me updates on any new properties under $600k listings, daily. If a deal comes up you have to move fast, as everyone is watching for it.
The Mentone Court Condos
But then, one unit did come up for $375,000. It was in the Rosemary District on the edge of Gillespie Park, which is
Of the eight, most were efficiencies or one-bedroom units and a few had no patio at all. Some had no elevator and were up stairs which would not work for Gail. All had high HOA fees and taxes adding up to at least $800/month and more like $1200 plus electric and insurance.
There were zero single family houses within our price range walkable to downtown. So I did what everyone does. I set Zillow to send me updates on any new properties under $600k listings, daily. If a deal comes up you have to move fast, as everyone is watching for it.
The Mentone Court Condos
But then, one unit did come up for $375,000. It was in the Rosemary District on the edge of Gillespie Park, which is
There was lots of closet space and a comfortably sized lanai leading directly to more outdoor space for the first floor units, something quite rare in town.
Not in a flood zone, it had the least likely to be called evacuation level rating (D). Its stuccoed block building and tile roof was more hurricane resistant and cheaper to insure. It had a stable association board with long-standing services, like building insurance, professional management, gardening, etc. Short-term rentals were allowed for ≥2 weeks, avoiding daily Airbnb renters coming and going. The HOA of $522 was affordable and there were adequate reserves. Being under three stories meant no periodic Milestone engineering reviews, nor was it required to have large HOA reserves decided by engineers, not the condo association.
But, the unit needed renovation which is why it was on the market a couple months before we bought it. It is small, but well laid out with lots of closet space. There is no swimming pool, which saves at least $400/month on HOA fees. Saving $400/mo in HOA fees is worth $64,000 of financed condo. We spent $75,000 on tile floors throughout, two new bathrooms, a new HVAC system, and new kitchen cabinets with appliances. We added a kitchen island, and a motorized cat. 5 roll-down hurricane screen on the lanai which also provides sun and privacy protection.
Now we are up to $445,000. We did not want to spend more than $450,000 on this condo because if we could not use it for any reason (think health problem) we wanted to be able to rent it and make a ROI of at least 5%, which is compared to our most conservative investments (we’re in our 70s). See below for the numbers.
Our Personal Use Unit
All 16 units in Mentone Court are identical. The HOA fee is $522, taxes $226, home insurance $150 for a total of $900 per month in carrying costs, under than the typical HOA alone for most Sarasota condos. But, at a $445k total cost, in order to generate a yearly 5% ROI we’d have to rent it at $2,750/month. That may be a bit high, relative to other places with tons of amenities (i.e., the large rental apartment complexes) going for around $3,000 per month. So we are keeping it for our own use and to loan it to friends if we can’t be there.
Second Rental Unit
Doing the renovations on the first floor unit, we met excellent HVAC people, tile workers and carpenters. We were confident we could fix up another unit. So when we were offered another 2nd floor unit with a covered car port in a private sale at a reasonable cost that needed little renovation with a brand new HVAC system, we bought it. We hoped to rent or sell it to offset the costs of our first floor unit. We put $35,000 into new plumbing, new paint, another roll down hurricane screen, refinishing the tub, steam cleaning the tile/grout, new fans, and all new kitchen appliances and sink. Gail is unable to travel these days, so this unit is on the market for sale. It is among two or three 2 bed/2 bath units in the downtown and edge district for under $500,000. In fact, it is the only one for sale under $450,000.
