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Rotonda Click here for the 2006 review of Rotonda from Florida Magazine - you need to allow several seconds for it to appear! All the facts you need to known but are quite often not told, consumer pitfalls, investmentment information, imigration information as well as detailed property and area information. Rotonda located between Englewood and Port Charlotte, on the Cape Haze peninsula of the southern Gulf Coast is an area that has seen a veritable explosion of growth, particularly during the past five years. British interest in the area has also significantly increased during this time, encouraged by the comparatively lower property prices and aided by the relatively strong value of sterling. The Rotonda area originated as a large development on over 20,000 acres built between Sarasota and Port Charlotte, in Charlotte County. The area, laid out on an unusual circular grid system, attracted many investors who bought plots of land, which took some time to see any growth. However with escalating property prices and the creation of several quality golf courses all that has changed in the last few years, with many of the sub divisions now built out and prices rising substantially. Money Magazine selected Charlotte County as the Best Place to live in the South, for three years in a row. The criterion which is used to make this assessment includes the consistently fine weather conditions, the availability of leisure and arts pursuits, the economy and the low crime rates. Rotonda is a favoured location for many reasons – it has glorious year round weather. It’s a short drive or for those preferring the relaxed pace of life, a bike ride from the beautiful white sandy beaches at Englewood Beach and Manasota Key. Gasparilla Island and the quaint and attractive town of Boca Granda, are well worth a days exploration. Favoured activities apart from the superb golf courses include tennis, hiking, biking, boating, fishing and other watersports. The area has a plethora of wildlife ranging from wild boar to an abundance of bird life. You can enjoy canoeing, kayaking, searching for seashells or just relax, marvelling at the exotic sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico. Rotunda is a part of Florida a little of the beaten track, leading to an unhurried style of life. For those however preferring a greater range of services and facilities particularly in the evenings Punta Gorda, Venice and Sarasota are a 30 to 45 minute drive. The area has proved particularly attractive to American, Canadian, British and German property buyers. The Americans tend to be retirees who have relocated to Florida from the northern states. A significant number of the British owners rent their property out, when not making use of their homes themselves either for annual holidays or if they are retirees as a winter escape. If considering use of the property for rental purpose there are a number of considerations. The Gulf coast due to zoning regulations has far fewer properties than Orlando, which can be used for short term holiday lets. Rotunda is unusual in that short term rentals are allowed in the area, however as a result there are a significant number of properties in the area all competing for the rental market. If investment is a key factor in your decision to buy property in Florida, or rental income is critical to cover your mortgage costs, there are other areas on the Gulf Coast which are worthy of consideration where you will face less competition. From a capital perspective average house prices in Rotonda West, like many other areas of Florida shot up during 2005 and now exceed $325,000. Vacant lot prices rose by a spectacular 100% during 2005. There is one new housing start a day, with population set to grow given present trends from 11,000 to 16,000 by 2010 Many of the properties have been built by independent builders and standards can vary. There have been instances of some buyers buying directly from builders rather than using an experienced qualified licensed buyer’s agent. This is rarely a good idea and with some builders so confident of their reputation that they provide contact lists for all their past clients whereas one has been the subject of a Sheriffs Office report, the need for the independent advice of a Buyers Agent experienced in assisting British buyers and fully licensed in the state of Florida is strongly recommended, particularly as in Florida there need be no cost for this service to the Buyer. One recent incident emphasises this point. An Agent working with a Client was trawling through the myriad of builders in Rotonda asked the owner of one small building company how many properties they were going to build that year. The reply of, as many as I can till I drop may sum up an attitude to work, but was not a great comfort on quality standards or indeed who would take over the Company if he dropped during construction! Another unusual aspect to buying a property in Rotonda is that it is usual to buy the lots and properties as separate transactions. When selecting a lot, many British buyers prefer golf or preserve view with a rear aspect facing west, which provides for sun for most of the day and a backdrop for those spectacular Florida sunsets. Building lots in the deed restricted community of Rotonda tend to overlook fresh water canals, golf courses or preserve, many are just under a quarter of an acre and are therefore  more generous than those available on many other modern developments. Rotonda has seven pie – shaped sections which were generally developed in a clockwise manner, starting with Oakland Hills. As a result Oakland hills has most of the older properties in Rotonda, The Hills 18 hole golf course in the Oakland Hills section is the most established course in the area. The next section to be built was Pebble Beach, which was developed around the Palms 18 hole golf course. Properties in this section generally date from the 1980s or later. Then the Pinehurst and Broadmoor sections were constructed around golf courses. Coast/Beach Boca Grande, Englewood, Manasota key and Stump Pass beaches are a 10-15 minute drive from Rotunda. Golf Rotonda has a great choice of golf courses which means there is never one far from the doorstep. For those who are really into as many golfing options as possible there are a further 40 plus golf courses to choose from within reasonable driving time. Rotonda is really a golfer’s paradise with rolling greens and lush fairways spreading out all over the area under a blue Florida sky. Rotonda's golf courses were planned and designed by the renowned golf-course architect Ted McAnlis, and worthy of particular mention is Long Marsh which was hued from 300 acres of live oaks, pines and palmettos, and meanders through wetlands and hammocks and rolling savannahs. This par-72 course took 2 years of planning and construction to take full advantage of its natural breathtaking views and serenity. Fishing There are both saltwater and fresh fishing opportunities in abundance in the area with Tarpon, Kingfisher, Grouper, Snook, Bass and Trout all there for catching. Boating Boaters will discover a wide array of marinas, with both wet and dry slips and ready access to the Intercostal Waterway. Whether you have a passion for deep water sailboats, enjoy the fast-paced speedboat lifestyle, or anything in between, you'll find a marina to accommodate you Travel A Car is really necessary in Florida and certainly in Rotonda Tampa airport is a 90 minute drive (depending on the time of day) Sarasota/Bradenton 45 minutes, Fort Myers 45 minutes, Orlando or Miami 3hours. Other distances Englewood 10 minutes, Port Charlotte 10 minutes, Naples 1hr 30 minutes. Further details There are a range of Supermarkets and restaurants within a 10 minute drive of Rotonda. The nearest large shopping mall at Port Charlotte is a 15 minute drive. The area presently does not have as many doorstep facilities as other areas in Florida, of its size. Andrew Bartlett established and headed specialist British groups for two of Florida’s largest real estate Companies forming a unique, specialist, free service, which has advised thousands of Britons relocating and/or buying property in Florida. He also writes articles on Florida lifestyles and property trends for ‘emigrate America’,’ Place in the Sun’,’ Red guide to buying a property in Florida’, ‘Florida Magazine’ and ‘The Sunday Times’. To receive further information on how to obtain specialist advise on relocating or buying property in Florida, the advantages and disadvantages of different locations, and importantly How to obtain details of specialised fully licensed Real Estate Agents, experienced in explaining options from a British perspective. Click here