Traveling farther south, closer to Sarasota, Burns describes Naples Land Yacht Harbor, another resident-owned co-op with 352 homesites. You can live here for $205 a month, non-waterfront, $230 if your site is on the waterfront.
Continuing south, Burns is introduced to Tony and Pat Gless, residents of the Siesta Bay community in Fort Myers, a Sun Community property. They paid $35,000 for their manufactured home and yearly site rent runs $6200. A retired school teacher, Tony says they eschew internet and cable service, have an inexpensive telephone connection, and maintain a primary home in Michigan.
Tony says, “We’re careful. Think of us as urban Amish. We own some farmland (in Michigan), but we don’t have that much cash, so renting the land (in the community) was a good thing.”
Burns notes you can stretch occupancy to year-round and retire in a fashion that is comfortable and economically feasible. ##
(Photo credit: Sun Communities, Inc.)
