Vote for a Condo
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I would like to know if you like #1 or #2 better.
These are the two on my short list.
I want a new professional renovation and private washer and dryer.
This has narrowed my choices a lot but I'm sure there are others.
I want a concrete block building from the '60's to the '70's. This type of construction is as solid as possible and the walls are sound proof.
#1 911 Washington Ave
I like this complex because it's easy to get to, there isn't a gate, it's not connected to a golf course, it's next door to Publix, and it's on the desirable west side of central Pinellas County.
I like this floor plan and renovation a little more than #2.
I like how #1 uses light surfaces for the galley kitchen juxtaposed with traditional medium brown floors for the rest of the apartment including for the little dining room at one end of the kitchen.
I'm assuming it's not actually a room, the wall on the left goes straight to the front door, and the one on the right takes a right angle.
The other end leads to the "outside" room with a washer and dryer.
I like the pass through floor plan.
#2 2617 Cove Cay Dr
2617 Cove Cay Dr Unit 306, Clearwater, FL 33760 [Updated 1/26] https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2617-Cove-Cay-Dr-Unit-306_Clearwater_FL_33760_M59456-26599?from=srp-list-card
I think #2's renovation is just as good as #1's but it it uses dark surfaces.
The dark surfaces used for #2 are intriguing. The kitchen does use lighter colors. I could learn to love this interior in about a day.
I like how the back "porch" room is actually an enclosed room.
#2 definitely has a worse location on the eastern coast. It does border Tampa Bay on the other hand and has an amazing view including the morning and evening sky and a partial water view.
Clearly I like #1 slightly better but both are examples of what I'm looking for and either would be more than fine.
Do you like #1 or #2 better?
Comments welcome!
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Going strictly from the photos, I’d choose #1.
Glad you’re moving away from buying a mobile home. I think owning a condo is a much better choice.
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I'm glad you think that.
Someone who lives here told me he believes the owner is trying to buy everyone out (or will soon?) before selling the park to a corporation on Wall Street.
This is happening to land lease mobile home parks here and all over the country.
This transfer of ownership to Wall Street has already happened to two of the parks out of approximately ten on my street.
Rents go up dramatically, services that were paid for with lot rent are sectioned off and billed separately, and the amount of money spent on park maintenance is cut.
Many residents will not be able to afford to stay. Those who can not afford to stay often can't find affordable housing and end up with nowhere to live.
The owner is in his '80's. His children have no interest in the business. It will be sold soon. I don't want to be here when it happens.
I'm also encouraged by the fact you think it's a better choice because buying a condo is not a simple or easy process.
I still have tons of research on my to do list.
I appreciate your opinion very much. Thank you.
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What do you think, Andy?
These near-luxury renovations are like finding a needle in a haystack. Almost all units in this type of building look like rental apartments the tenants left two weeks ago and almost none of them have washer and dryer hook ups (they usually have a room with coin machines on each floor). No way.
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#2 would be great. The problem with this complex is it's massive. You have to stop at a gatehouse with a guard and then drive to your building. So now you're at your building. At this point you're far away from everything and can't walk anywhere. This would weigh heavily against it for me but not disqualify it.
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This is a listing for a unit in the same complex. Rotting pressbord kitchen and bathroom cabinets, stained carpets, outdated bathroom, etc.
800 Cove Cay Dr Unit 1F, Clearwater, FL 33760 [Updated 2/14] https://share.google/o6UNFiHnmexjXuqjc
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#2 would be great. The problem with this complex is it's massive. You have to stop at a gatehouse with a guard and then drive to your building. So now you're at your building. At this point you're far away from everything and can't walk anywhere. This would weigh heavily against it for me but not disqualify it.
I don’t care for the floors in the second unit
I spent 5 years working for a company that owned mobile home parks. 3500 spaces spread out over 11 parks. We took very good care of the parks but a lot if owners don’t. The larger problem was the space rent increased every year, sometimes substantially. A lot of residents owed more on their homes than they were worth and they were stuck.
And then there is the hurricanes in Florida issue.
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Steve, Yeah, the hurricanes are no joke and one of the reasons I'm moving. I only remember my last three rent increases: $75 for 2026, $35 for 2025, and $25 for 2024.
The old man was probably the original developer in 1973.
I met him the other day.
I was walking and he was driving his gold Bentley SUV. I thought he was going to pass me so I stepped back. Instead he got out of his car to talk to the electric company workers. So we walked past each other. He waved at me in a kind of perfunctory way. For my part I smiled and waved at him.
I clocked him as the owner years ago. Who else would routinely drive a gold Bentley SUV in this neighborhood?
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Ax,
I would say in addition I like the floor plan of #1 a lot better. I think it's brilliant.
The views from #2 must be amazing but I think of that as being slightly relevant.
I would rather be in the city than trapped on a remote golf course. I'll have a like-new car, but I'm more than old enough to know cars break down, are in accidents, and people can get injured and can't drive.
I'll admit it though: what I want most is a clean slate: a beautifully renovated and perfectly clean apartment where I can finally relax.
I think it will come down to timing, the right confluence of events, before I'll know my options.
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Link to video
This is what can happen if you don't own the land and it happens every day.
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Too bad #1 doesn't have the view of #2.
One thing that would bother me a lot about #1 is that it looks like there could be a lot of foot traffic right by your windows.
#1 has the better kitchen, but didn't you say you weren't much of a cook?
#2 has a more pleasant exterior. And that view!
I don't like the ultra shiny floors in #2 and if I lived there I'd be covering the floors with lots of rugs.
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They're both on the 1st floor so both would probably have foot traffic.
I think most people would be headed for the elevators though.
I'm more worried about people walking in the apartment above mine!
I trust your judgment about the kitchens. Either one would be fine with me (I like #1's better but then again I like #1 better).
I absolutely need to learn to cook.
The view. Wow!
I wonder what being exposed to that view from the ground to the bay to the sky every day and night n all kinds of weather would be like to experience. It would probably be very, very relaxing and peaceful.
I'd take #1. If #1 was off the market and #2 was for sale I'd make an offer. Iirc, it's been on the market for a long time.
The architecture of the #2 complex wins hands down.
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Can you afford a small freehold house? Asking as I don't know the US market.
Flats in UK can be a pain.
Even when bought they now are often at the mercy of costly building maintenance firms, and even have extra floors added by builders.
And multiple neighbours.
The fewer the better. -
I have to sit down and make a final decision when I have all the relevant information and talk about it with my sister-in-law because I will have a Trust Fund and she will be its primary trustee.
She will use her power of attorney immediately to pay for a car titled in my name, a home in my name, and make a dispersement of about 20k I will then have basically as a checking account to pay bills and expenses for the rest of the year.
I will not have a mortgage. I won't have any lien holders. I don't have any debts.
Yes, there are a lot of moving financial and legal parts to owning a fee simple property by way of condominium ownership.
But the main reason I'm willing to do it is because I can't afford a single family home and I want a better quality of life than living in a rented apartment or a mobile home.
I added the HOA monthly fee which included insurance and and the prorated monthly property tax for one of these apartments (I don't remember which) and it worked out to be approximately $750/ a month.
I paid almost $900 in lot rent this month.
I understand the costs of condominium ownership can and do change.
It's in my favor that these are not condominiums built in a way or place that would make them prone to experience structural damage.
It's also in my favor that I'll have money if it's needed.
This will give you an idea of the housing market I'm up against!
Link to video -
Oh, in the US you need a car!
I don't care what anyone says about walking, biking, or taking the bus, you are dead in the water without a car. The efficiency differential is along the lines of you might be able to taxi round trip for 30 minutes of metered time, and it's expensive, or spend 2 1/2 hrs total riding a bike, or up to 5 hrs walking, to accomplish the same task.
All of the roads and the locations of the places you need to go were heavily imprinted on our infrastructure and society in the 1950's.
I got my first car when I was 16. I had one until about 7 years ago.
Living without a car in the US works for some people in large cities but for most people in most places being able to drive is something they value very highly.
My car's going to be a used car with almost no miles on it and I know it will be dead reliable, efficient, and durable.
I'm a car person. I've researched cars since before I was old enough to drive and I've bought many used cars and some new ones. This will be easy for me.
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Yeah, in Florida especially you need a car.
Daniel, if you want to learn to cook, let me recommend this - IMO the best learn-to ever. It teaches you techniques that you will need and gives you easy recipes to use with them. I had the 2000 version, but it was updated in 2018. $9 for the Kindle edition, but you could probably get it at the library to check it out.
https://www.amazon.com/Cook-Without-Completely-Updated-Revised/dp/1524761664
