The truth about Cape Coral/ Ft Myers SWFL Area (Fort Myers: insurance, high crime)

[Danni123]

I hate to intrude on your thread, but since it is about the Fort Myers area I thought I might find someone here with the info I need.

I own a rental in Fort Myers, but live out-of-state. I have had a property management company renting the place for me for the last 1.5 years, but have had the WORST communication (they never call me back when they say they will, etc) from them the last 5 months and in my opinion it has cost me several months of vacancy. So I am looking for another property management company, but was hoping to find someone good on a recommendation.

Anyone know of a good, reliable, reasonably-priced property management company for Fort Myers rentals??

Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

[LostFtMyers]

Originally Posted by MikeP

I too am sorry you've had this trouble. I've been here (Cape Coral) for 12 years and certainly it is different than when I arrived (both good and bad)
The population has doubled in that time, so naturally crime has increased. 160,000 poeple commit more crime than 80,000.
If you moved here to retire 8+ years ago I can understand why you don't like the changes. It was mostly retiries then. The area is getting bigger and younger.
I've never once felt unsafe here. It is about as safe as a city this size gets.
I've also never heard the Cape refferd to as little russia except in your posts.
I hope you have better luck in the future.

For those of us who have been around a whole lot longer than 12 years know what I mean by "Little Russia". The Cape is also know by other descriptive names like Cape Cardiac or Cape Coma. Years ago there was a very popular bumper sticker that read "Cape Coral Sux"; many people had that sticker on their bumpers as a way of conveying how people felt about the city.
The city's answer to that was outlaw the sticker. So much for the 1st amendment in Cape Coral.
You weren't around when the city had some of the dumbest laws in the country like you weren't allowed to have a fence in your own back yard higher than 4 feet; you could not park your personal pickup truck in you very own driveway. If you had a custom van, you could not park it in you own driveway. Cops there make excuses to get out of doing anything other than writing speeding tickets. They are very very good at that. They even entrap people by hiding behind the Del Prado overpass. If I am not mistaken Florida law says they cannot hide behind any man made object looking for speeders (remember the old days of a cop hiding behind a billboard sign).

If you know the history about the Cape you would know in its conception it was meant to be the worlds largest retirement home by the Rosen brothers. Oh if one could travel back in time.... BTW I am not a retiree, far from it. I did not move here from some northern city. I was born and raised here. I like to think I know a little about what I am talking about here.

[mytimenow]

You weren't around when the city had some of the dumbest laws in the country like you weren't allowed to have a fence in your own back yard higher than 4 feet; you could not park your personal pickup truck in you very own driveway. If you had a custom van, you could not park it in you own driveway

Just a quick comment --- many of the developments in SW Florida were oroginally concieved as "deed restricted", whether they be single family subdivisions, condos or homeowners associations in Ft. Myers, Cape Coral or Naples. These deed restrictions even though they were written in eons ago, are often still in effect. They can govern everything from what type of home goes on the lot to what type of vehicle can park in the driveway. I know in my neighborhood you can't park commerical vehicles and fences can only be a certain height. Anyone living or thinking of living in SW Florida needs to check those things out with their realtor or attorney before they move into any neighborhood.

[whippersnapper]

Originally Posted by Danni123

I hate to intrude on your thread, but since it is about the Fort Myers area I thought I might find someone here with the info I need.

I own a rental in Fort Myers, but live out-of-state. I have had a property management company renting the place for me for the last 1.5 years, but have had the WORST communication (they never call me back when they say they will, etc) from them the last 5 months and in my opinion it has cost me several months of vacancy. So I am looking for another property management company, but was hoping to find someone good on a recommendation.

Anyone know of a good, reliable, reasonably-priced property management company for Fort Myers rentals??

Any advice would be very appreciated.

Thanks!

i rent from Wonderland Realty who does property management in Cape Coral and I like them lots However, I'm not positive they handle Fort Myers rentals (but I don't see why they wouldn't).

[Danni123]

Originally Posted by whippersnapper

i rent from Wonderland Realty who does property management in Cape Coral and I like them lots However, I'm not positive they handle Fort Myers rentals (but I don't see why they wouldn't).

Thanks for the lead. Anyone else? (I would like to interview 3 places before picking one).

Thanks in advance.

[12345medal]

Hi, I was born and raised here in Fort Myers 43 years ago. We lived on Fort Myers Beach down by the Holiday Inn and 1971 my parents built and new home in Briarcliff. Coming from a family with 8 siblings we all live right here in Fort Myers, Estero, Lehigh and GATEWAY. Gateway is a beautiful community except for the DUMP/Landfill. Other than that it's a nice place to live and raise your family. I never cared for the Cape Coral area but it's anyones own opinion. My husband and his family live in the Cape. He grew up on the Cape and prefers Fort Myers, Estero, Corkscrew, South FTM, and so so on Lehigh. We live in GATEWAY it is classified as UPSCALE for neighborhoods. Anyway I just wanted to give so input in this subject. Have a Great Day and Stay Safe on The Holidays.

[thebigr]

[quote=Danni123;2190823]Thanks for the lead. Anyone else? (I would like to interview 3 places before picking one).

Thanks in advance.[/QUOTE

My wife has a very good friend that is in that buisness. As soon as I speak to her I will send you the info. I know he works the Fort Myers area.

[Suncoast Guy]

Originally Posted by MikeP

I'm not one to post, but I felt I needed to address some of the nonsense I've been reading. There's good and bad and I'll address both, but there are clearly people grinding axes in this forum.
First I've read a couple posts saying that there is a lot of crime in Cape Coral or that it's unsafe. This is an absolute joke. Cape Coral is one is the safest citys in the country for it's size. Look at the data. East Fort Myers is a tough area and it's true that Lehigh Acres has seen a significant crime increase.

Yes, I myself have read a lot of people talking very bad about Cape Coral and was shocked, it's not true. Cape is safer than most places in FL for it's size. I can't understand why somebody would want to lie that bad about the Cape. If they don't like the Cape, they should move!

Originally Posted by MikeP

Several posts have said this is a bad area for kids or families. When I moved here 12 years ago that may have been true, but so many young people have moved here in recent years that it's much better. The parks and rec department is unreal. There are tons of activites, classes, sports and the ball fields are like minor league parks. My wife has a mom's groupl that meets once a week at he park. The library has tons of programs too, we're there at least once a week.

Agree.

Originally Posted by MikeP

Some areas I'd recommend.... 1. Pine Island it's the best ! Close community, inexpensive Island living 2. McGregor Blvd area of Fort myers. A little pricey but charming. 3. Cape Royal (AKA Royal Tee CC) .It's a beautiful gated community with all houses on the golf course. Prices are from upper $200's into the millions. 4. SW Cape. My favorite section of the Cape.

I would also recommend "The Golf Club", or what use to be the Golf Club in SE Cape Coral. My aunt has lived there for 12 years, she loves it. She has nice neighbors and it is a very quiet neighborhood. SE Cape Coral, along Country Club, and other parts, are very nice. (P.S.- The Golf Club two main streets are Wildwood Pkwy. and Palm Tree Blvd., if anybody wants to know.)

[121804]

Originally Posted by Suncoast Guy

can't understand why somebody would want to lie that bad about the Cape. If they don't like the Cape, they should move!

They probably can't convince anyone to buy their house

[jim09091]

Originally Posted by mytimenow

Just a quick comment --- many of the developments in SW Florida were oroginally concieved as "deed restricted", whether they be single family subdivisions, condos or homeowners associations in Ft. Myers, Cape Coral or Naples. These deed restrictions even though they were written in eons ago, are often still in effect. They can govern everything from what type of home goes on the lot to what type of vehicle can park in the driveway. I know in my neighborhood you can't park commerical vehicles and fences can only be a certain height. Anyone living or thinking of living in SW Florida needs to check those things out with their realtor or attorney before they move into any neighborhood.

It's funny that I came across this post - I live on Bonita Beach. When the street we live on was carved up into bayfront lots (which have been split and split and split down to your typical 1/4 acre lots) - many restrictions were written by the landowner (I want to say it was in the 1950's) including no clothes lines, minimum sizes for structures and no "negroes". One of our neighbors shared with us a copy of the original restrictions that came with their house many years ago. Thankfully, since then the restrictions have caught up with the times but it shows you how it was different then.