June 2, 2025 • 18 mins
In this episode of Jim Sells the Suncoast, Jim is joined by Courtney Jeffries and Melissa Maldonado of Crestwind Lakewood Ranch, an upscale 55+ active adult community offering a vibrant lifestyle and elegant single-family homes. With 500+ homes sold and just 150 opportunities remaining, now’s the time to discover why Crestwind is one of the most desirable boutique neighborhoods in Lakewood Ranch.
From pickleball tournaments and resistance pools to a calendar full of live concerts and clubs, Courtney and Melissa share what makes Crestwind more than just a place to live—it’s a place to thrive.
🔑 Key Highlights
🏡 Community Overview
- 649 Total Homes: Boutique-style layout with ~150 homes remaining for sale.
- Flexible Options: Mix of move-in-ready inventory and customizable builds still available.
- Buildout Timeline: Expected sell-out within 18–24 months; full completion within 2–3 years.
📐 Floor Plans & Price Ranges
- Single-Family Homes Only: Over 20 floorplans from 1,500 to 3,500+ sq ft.
- Home Features: 2–5 bedrooms, flex spaces, optional upstairs suites with bonus bed and bath.
- Prices: Starting in the high $400s and reaching over $1M for large luxury builds.
- Pools: Most floorplans allow for private pools; partner-installed or prepped for future builds.
📍 Lakewood Ranch Location
- Conveniently Situated: Inland for peace of mind, yet minutes from beaches, SRQ, Tampa, and downtown Lakewood Ranch.
- Walkable & Bike-Friendly: On-site trails span 3+ miles with wetlands, lakes, and nature views.
🏊♂️ Amenities & Clubs Galore
- 8 Pickleball Courts + annual Crestwind Cup tournament
- Tennis, Bocce, Horseshoe, Dog Park, and Resistance Pool
- 16,000 Sq Ft Clubhouse: Fitness center (with circuit training system), yoga studio, arts & crafts room (with kiln!)
- 100+ Clubs & Full-Time Lifestyle Director: Events, cover bands, concerts, and social opportunities galore
💰 HOA & CDD
- HOA: $450/month – Includes lawn care, irrigation, pest control, high-speed internet, cable, and amenity access
- CDD: Varies by lot/collection – $1,500 to $1,700 annually, paid with property taxes
🛠️ Build Timeline & Warranty
- Build Time: 9–11 months for personalized builds; ~15 move-in-ready homes available at any time
- Warranty: 2-10 coverage with builder check-ins at 60 days and 11 months post-close
💼 One-Stop-Shop Service
- Preferred Lender & Title: CTC Mortgage and K Title streamline the closing process
- Incentives Available: For buyers using in-house financing and title services
🐾 Community Guidelines
- Pet-Friendly: No breed or weight restrictions; fencing permitted (4’ wrought iron style)
- Rental Rules: No short-term rentals; 12-month minimum lease
- Age Restrictions: 55+ community with flexibility for adult children and seasonal guests
A Personal Note from Jim:
Hey there, I’m Jim Ahearn, your go-to real estate guide and host of Jim Sells The Suncoast podcast! 🎙️✨ Dreaming of Florida life? I’ve got you covered! As your dedicated buyer's agent, I’ll handle everything from walk-throughs to closing, making your home-buying journey as smooth as a Florida breeze.
Whether you're local or tuning in from afar, I’ll bring the Suncoast to you with virtual tours and expert advice. Let’s chat about your dream home and I'll connect you with all the right people to make it happen.
Ready to move to paradise? Drop me a lin
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jim (00:00):
welcome to, Jim Sells the sunco Today I am thrilled to
(00:03):
have Courtney Jeffries andMelissa Maldonado here from
Crest.
They've been in the business fora little bit Melissa 20 years
and.
Eight years.
You guys have just finishing upover there.
CREs wind.
I say welcome and thanks forcoming on.
Courtney (00:18):
Thank you for having us.
Jim (00:21):
So tell me a little bit about the background of what
we've got going on there.
Melissa (00:26):
So Crest Wind is a 55 plus active adult community.
We are one of two in theLakewood Ranch area, so that's
something that's unique aboutCrest wind.
We're highly amenitized, so wehave all of the lifestyle that
you can imagine.
Full-time lifestyle director onstaff, tons of clubs.
(00:46):
There's like over a hundredclubs.
So there's something foreverybody.
Jim (00:52):
We won't ask you to name all hundred clubs, but what are
some of the big ones or, what'sthe draw?
What are people doing out therethat is enticing the other
people around us?
Melissa (01:00):
I would say pickle ball's huge.
And specifically within all ofour Crest wind communities, we
do something called the CrestWind Cup.
So once a year, all the crestones get together.
They meet at one of thelocations and they compete in a
big pickleball tournament.
Jim (01:17):
I be That's highly cut through.
Melissa (01:18):
Yes.
Courtney (01:20):
It's pretty serious business.
Jim (01:22):
Yeah.
So tell me, how big is thecommunity?
How many homes and where are wein build.
Courtney (01:27):
So we're gonna have a total of 649 homes, which is
another thing that sets us apartfrom other, builders in the
area.
We have a boutique stylecommunity, and we're actually up
to about 500 sold right now.
So we have about 150opportunities for someone to
still either come and purchase amove in ready home, or if they
wanna personalize, we still havethat opportunity for at least a
(01:51):
hundred people.
Jim (01:52):
Oh, fantastic.
So 150 homes left, so that'llbuild it out.
What kind of timeline do youthink that is?
Is that about a year and a half,two years?
Courtney (02:01):
That's about right.
We think about a year and ahalf, two years for being sold
out and then probably closed outmaybe about two to three years
by the time that they finishedbuilding the last home and
closing out the entirecommunity.
So they still have a chance.
Jim (02:15):
Yeah.
So how many, tell me about thedifferent homes in there.
What kind of style?
How big.
Let's run the gamut from theentry level size and price to
maxing everything out.
Melissa (02:25):
So we're all single family homes in here.
Square footage is gonna start alittle over 1500 and price
points gonna be in the highfourths.
Courtney (02:35):
Okay?
And
Melissa (02:35):
then we can go up to a little over 3,500 with kind of a
bonus room, second story, andpricing could go into the
million dollar price point Iwould say.
Jim (02:47):
Oh, okay.
So there's a huge span ofeverything.
So really you're looking atsomething for everybody, whether
it's that second home comingdown and they just want a nice
little place to stay whilethey're here to somebody living
full on right there in theirhome.
Melissa (02:59):
Yep, that's right.
Over 20 floor plans to choosefrom.
Jim (03:04):
Okay.
That's pretty expansive.
Are all the lot footprints.
Courtney (03:11):
So we actually have three different collections and
okay.
colter's pretty unique in that,in our price sheets.
And also on our website and oursite plan, you're gonna see
different colored shaded homesites, which basically those are
going to specify what home orwhat collection from each home
can be built on those homesites.
(03:31):
Okay.
So we've got some home sitesthat are gonna be the smaller
ones 40 feet wide and maybeabout 130 feet long.
And then our largest home site,I think we've sold a few of the
larger home sites right now, butthey can go from.
Maybe 15,000 square feet.
14,000 square feet.
11,000 square feet, some of thelarger ones.
But for the collections, thehome will be 50 feet wide, so
(03:54):
the home site will have to be aminimum of 60 feet wide and then
130 feet long.
So that allows for people to beable to build pools and have at
least a decent sized backyard.
Jim (04:05):
That's gonna be my next question You're in Florida.
Are you really in Florida atthat point?
Melissa (04:11):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
We love pools.
So the only floor plan, we onlyhave one that's just a little
too deep to accommodate a poolon our home sites.
But besides that, they can allhave a pool.
Jim (04:24):
Can you offer the pool installation with their build,
or is that something they doseparate?
Melissa (04:29):
We do.
Yeah, they have the optioneither or.
So we work with Coast to Coastas our partner pool company.
They can build a pool along withthe build of their home, or we
can always prep for a futurepool and then after they close,
they can work with whoever theylike.
Jim (04:45):
Great.
I love the options.
Go on with that.
So let's go back.
The smaller home, 1500 is thattwo bedroom, two bath.
And then when we get to thelargest, what's the how many are
in.
Courtney (04:56):
So that's a great question.
So our smallest floor plan,which is in the 1500 square foot
range features two bedrooms withtwo baths, two car garage.
And then you have a a flex room,which can be like a little
office, a little den.
that collection three homes thelargest home in that collection
is approximately 1800 squarefeet.
it's also two bedrooms two bathwith a den, but that den can be
(05:20):
converted into a third bedroom.
some of our floor plans you to,personalize and convert that den
into a third bedroom.
when it comes to the largerhomes, those are at least three
bedrooms with three baths andalso a den.
when you add a bonus room, whatreally sets our bonus rooms
apart is that you have a bonusroom with a bonus bedroom and a
(05:45):
bonus bath.
It could be like a littleapartment for an older child, or
if you need to have someone,like a living nurse Or when you
have guests, you can just send'em upstairs.
Jim (05:56):
That's right.
That way you guys stay friends.
Courtney (05:59):
Yes.
Jim (05:59):
Beyond the home purchase, what where are the additional
costs?
What's the HOA and CD, and thenwhat does that, what is that
encompassing?
Melissa (06:07):
Yep.
So your HOA is four 50 a month.
Okay.
That's gonna include the highspeed internet, cable tv, all
the lawn maintenance, includingthe irrigation and the pest
control.
And then use of everything atthe clubhouse,
Courtney (06:21):
right?
And
Melissa (06:21):
then your CDB is gonna vary.
We do have the three collectionsof homes, so it's between 1500
to 1700 annually with yourtaxes.
Jim (06:30):
Okay?
So it is paid with the taxes.
Nice.
It's outta sight out of mind.
It's paid.
You don't have to worry abouttrying to write something
separate for it.
Courtney (06:37):
Exactly.
Jim (06:39):
Okay.
And then four 50 is not bad atall.
Especially when like you alludedto earlier, you look at the
number of clubs and amenitiesgoing on.
Let's talk about the amenities.
I'm assuming clubhouse pool.
What else do we have goingthere?
Melissa (06:52):
Oh yeah, so pickleball, we have eight courts, two tennis
courts.
Courtney (06:57):
We've got bocce, we've got horseshoe, there's a dog
park for dog lovers.
We are dog friendly.
We also have the resistancepool, which is actually a very
unique feature.
'cause when you have, peoplethat have maybe issues with
their hips or, lowerextremities, it gives them a
great exercise to walk or swimagainst the current and not have
(07:18):
to do a high impact exercise.
And we also have ourstate-of-the-art agent, which is
like a circuit.
You don't need a personaltrainer.
You can literally have a fullbody workout in 23 minutes
without the need of a, personaltrainer.
We have an arts and crafts roomwith a kiln, so people love
that.
And then our full-time lifestyledirector also plans events.
(07:42):
And that's another plus, likealso culture likes to entertain
and we actually have cover bandsthat come around every three
months or so and they go todifferent culture communities,
like the Liverpool Legends, justto name a few.
And we have a great concertseries for all of our residents.
We just had one on May 24th.
It was amazing.
(08:02):
We went there to see how ourlifestyle really impacts our
residents.
And I actually had a great time.
Jim (08:09):
I think that's, when you look at the price for$50 that's
a lot.
Having a kiln or a personaltrainer or doing a law is gonna
cover that just in itself.
are there any plans for future.
Is it one amenity center?
Is it spread out?
Where is that in relation towhere the homes are being built
in
Melissa (08:28):
Yeah.
So since we're a little smallerboutique community we find that
the clubhouse that we have is,it's plenty, it's 16,000 square
feet.
You don't run into overcrowdingup there having less residents
on site.
That's one nice thing they'regonna have access to being able
to participate in the fitnessclasses and not have a wait list
(08:49):
for all those things.
Jim (08:50):
Okay.
Expansive as far as acreage.
Do you know how big thecommunity is?
I know you said 649 homes whenit's completely built out.
And what's the percentage ofmaybe green areas and walking
ways.
Melissa (09:05):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a good question.
We do have lots of naturalwetlands and lakes.
there's walking trails allaround the community that they
can take advantage of.
And then within the community,you can go three miles front to
back without ever having toleave.
Oh.
Jim (09:20):
Yeah.
That's plenty big.
Three walk in this weathersometimes be all you're doing
that day.
What kind of outline forconstruction is?
What's the timeline?
If somebody wanted to build apersonalized house from ground
up and pick everything, whatkind of timeframe are.
Courtney (09:36):
Great question.
So once somebody puts their 10%deposit you can anticipate
getting the start package inabout 90 days or so.
And then the time, depending onobviously weather and the size
of the home, I would say aboutsix to seven months.
So our average build time, weusually.
Tell our buyers that we put ausually a 10 month window.
(09:58):
It could be, anywhere betweennine to 11 months.
And, fortunately during weather,we always wanna protect
ourselves, right?
We give them a three monthwindow.
But we're usually about 10months.
Jim (10:09):
Yeah.
That's not crazy.
And then if somebody's saying,Hey, I need a house.
Next month or two months orthree months, you've got some
that are already built that theycould step in, decide the one
they like.
and those are free set onspecific lots.
Melissa (10:22):
Exactly.
Yep.
We do, it's a smaller part ofour business plan, but we do
have about 15 kind of go in at atime.
So lots of options for peoplethat need something quick.
Jim (10:33):
Yeah, that's nice.
So they can come in, Hey, Iwanna, I can wait a year so I
can do the whole thing.
Or, we're moving down here nextmonth.
What do you have?
Courtney (10:40):
We like those.
Yeah.
Jim (10:45):
What kind of support does Kohler have for the home buyer?
What's the warranty and followup on that?
Melissa (10:50):
Yeah, so we have a two 10 warranty in place.
They're gonna get all thedocuments, to read that over.
And then we have, after theyclose, they're gonna get a
walkthrough at about 60 days,and then they're gonna get
another one at the 11 month kindof mark.
Jim (11:07):
Okay, and is there, are you vertically integrated?
By that a mortgage company or amortgage availability, or
preferred lender titleinsurance.
Is there the ability to come inand take care of all of that at
one stop.
Courtney (11:23):
Absolutely.
We do have our CTC mortgage,which stands for Clear to Close.
And then we have K title, it'sColter title.
And when the buyers use ourpreferred lender and title
agency, then there are someincentives that are tied to
using them.
Not only are the incentivesgood, we have communications
with our, partners to talk aboutour backlog so that way our
(11:47):
buyers can anticipate or we cananticipate any challenges,
hiccups, or delays.
And that way it's not a surpriseto the buyer when they go with
an outside lender that doesn'tnormally communicate with the
builder.
So we do help our buyers willstreamline that process and
basically just creates lessheadaches.
Jim (12:04):
Okay.
What kind of ongoing maintenancecommon areas is going on?
I can say as it goes forwardwhen they're gonna close that
out and then that passes over tothe residents.
Melissa (12:17):
Yeah part of the HOA is taking care of all of that
community maintenance.
And then in addition to that,the CDD being a part of Lakewood
Ranch, your CDD fee is takingcare of kind of maintaining all
of Lakewood Ranch so thateverything looks beautiful.
And that's for about 30 years.
So that's gonna be wellmaintained.
Jim (12:36):
That'll be that underlying infrastructure.
Yeah, absolutely.
What are any specific guidelinesor restrictions you should be
aware of as far as pets rental,any of those kind of things that
might stand out?
Courtney (12:49):
Our HOA guidelines basically you can't have any
short-term rentals in here.
But being that we have a lot ofI would say maybe second home
buyers or maybe some snowbirds,sometimes when they can't make
it down, they.
List property for rent.
But we don't really manage thatpart of it, so it's hard to
pinpoint how many, second homeswe have here.
(13:09):
But definitely we do have an HOAand they basically stipulate no
short-term rentals, one yearminimum lease, if I'm not
mistaken.
Yep.
And they're pretty active.
So I think, that's actuallygood.
It helps maintain the communityvalue.
A lot of people Sure, sure have,yeah.
Rentals and not knowing who'sright, who's your neighbor, you
don't
Jim (13:28):
have the in and out of it going.
Yeah, absolutely.
Are there any pet restrictionsor what about fencing?
Melissa (13:34):
No pet restrictions.
We do allow a fence.
It's like a wrought iron style,the black fence, four feet.
We allow that.
And then I also wanted tomention too that the only real
restriction in an active adultcommunity 18 and under cannot
live in the home, but they canvisit for up to three months in
a year, and then 19 and oldercould actually move back in if
(13:56):
they ever needed to.
Jim (13:57):
Okay.
Fantastic.
Tell me about any stories ortestimonials of anybody that's
come in and I love hearing whensomebody has that winning story.
Melissa (14:08):
Yeah, something.
Jim (14:10):
Somebody's moved in
Melissa (14:11):
on our website.
We actually have a greattestimonial section.
They have a whole video on therewhere they're interviewing
residents.
So go to crestman liquidranch.com and you'll be able to
find a whole video on interviewsand everything.
Jim (14:26):
Fantastic.
So let me ask you as we'rewrapping up here, what is it
that you wanna say that whywould somebody wanna come here
to cresting?
What's the draw and what arethey gonna find?
Courtney (14:36):
I think we hear that the draw is the brand and then
the brand is, usually activeadult communities have a stigma
that, oh my goodness, I don'twanna live in a 55 plus
community.
I don't wanna live a buncharound a bunch of older folks.
Jim (14:51):
Florida from like the 1960s is very,
Courtney (14:55):
they tend to feel like, oh my God.
Like they're moving into acommunity that is assisted
living when it's not reallyassisted living.
These are for active adults.
And I think we get a lot ofreferrals from other homeowners
that live in other Crestwoodcommunities and other parts of
the states because of the factthat we are a lifestyle driven
(15:15):
community.
The concerts, the full-timeactivities directors.
So I would say that what peoplereally want when they are
looking for a 55 and oldercommunity, or 55 and better,
that's how we like to call it.
That you are going to alwayshave something to do and you're
gonna be living amongstlike-minded people that are
looking for the same exactthings that you're looking for.
(15:36):
So I think that's what sets usapart and that's why people look
for the Crest Wind brand.
And we have customers that gothrough every single Crest
community in the US just so theycan decide which one they wanna
move into.
What do you think about that?
Jim (15:50):
You're positioned perfect as far as location.
We are, inland a little bit, soyou're not worried about any of
the issues from storms, butyou're close enough to go visit
the beaches.
You've got Tampa, you'veairport, you've got SRQ that are
probably 30 to 45 minutes awayand in the ability to hit
Lakewood Ranch, downtown MainStreet as the area grows north
and south.
(16:11):
In Park and North River Ranch,you have access to all those
areas and then everything isright there.
Yeah.
Courtney (16:16):
Yeah.
Jim (16:17):
With a hundred clubs in the amenity center and all those
things, you can enjoy lifewithout having to deal with the
traffic and the other stuff, butit's all there.
Courtney (16:24):
Exactly.
That's right.
Yeah.
And I think we just recentlyshared that there's an aquatic
center that's coming up.
Like walking distance and Ibelieve that they have a 50
meter pool coming.
So there's a lot of other stuffthat make it attractive for a
lot of the people that come overhere.
Just having those amenities thatare nearby and having all the
walking and jogging trails andbike trails of Lakewood Ranch,
(16:46):
it's a win-win.
Jim (16:47):
And I think that's why you moved to Florida and then
hanging out with people thatwanna do the same thing.
You do it, it's tough to beatthat.
Melissa (16:54):
Exactly.
That's right.
Jim (16:55):
Ladies, thank you so much for joining me today.
Glad we had an opportunity totalk about Crest Wind.
I think it's a fantasticcommunity.
If you've ever driven by andseen the entrance, it's
phenomenal.
It makes you wanna walk in andcheck it out, so we'll make sure
we have the contact informationin there for anybody who's
interested.
Reach out and hopefully we'retalking to them soon.
Courtney (17:12):
Thank you so much for having us.
Thank you, Jim.
We appreciate it.
Yeah, bye.
welcome to, Jim Sells the sunco Today I am thrilled to
(00:03):
have Courtney Jeffries andMelissa Maldonado here from
Crest.
They've been in the business fora little bit Melissa 20 years
and.
Eight years.
You guys have just finishing upover there.
CREs wind.
I say welcome and thanks forcoming on.
Courtney (00:18):
Thank you for having us.
Jim (00:21):
So tell me a little bit about the background of what
we've got going on there.
Melissa (00:26):
So Crest Wind is a 55 plus active adult community.
We are one of two in theLakewood Ranch area, so that's
something that's unique aboutCrest wind.
We're highly amenitized, so wehave all of the lifestyle that
you can imagine.
Full-time lifestyle director onstaff, tons of clubs.
(00:46):
There's like over a hundredclubs.
So there's something foreverybody.
Jim (00:52):
We won't ask you to name all hundred clubs, but what are
some of the big ones or, what'sthe draw?
What are people doing out therethat is enticing the other
people around us?
Melissa (01:00):
I would say pickle ball's huge.
And specifically within all ofour Crest wind communities, we
do something called the CrestWind Cup.
So once a year, all the crestones get together.
They meet at one of thelocations and they compete in a
big pickleball tournament.
Jim (01:17):
I be That's highly cut through.
Melissa (01:18):
Yes.
Courtney (01:20):
It's pretty serious business.
Jim (01:22):
Yeah.
So tell me, how big is thecommunity?
How many homes and where are wein build.
Courtney (01:27):
So we're gonna have a total of 649 homes, which is
another thing that sets us apartfrom other, builders in the
area.
We have a boutique stylecommunity, and we're actually up
to about 500 sold right now.
So we have about 150opportunities for someone to
still either come and purchase amove in ready home, or if they
wanna personalize, we still havethat opportunity for at least a
(01:51):
hundred people.
Jim (01:52):
Oh, fantastic.
So 150 homes left, so that'llbuild it out.
What kind of timeline do youthink that is?
Is that about a year and a half,two years?
Courtney (02:01):
That's about right.
We think about a year and ahalf, two years for being sold
out and then probably closed outmaybe about two to three years
by the time that they finishedbuilding the last home and
closing out the entirecommunity.
So they still have a chance.
Jim (02:15):
Yeah.
So how many, tell me about thedifferent homes in there.
What kind of style?
How big.
Let's run the gamut from theentry level size and price to
maxing everything out.
Melissa (02:25):
So we're all single family homes in here.
Square footage is gonna start alittle over 1500 and price
points gonna be in the highfourths.
Courtney (02:35):
Okay?
And
Melissa (02:35):
then we can go up to a little over 3,500 with kind of a
bonus room, second story, andpricing could go into the
million dollar price point Iwould say.
Jim (02:47):
Oh, okay.
So there's a huge span ofeverything.
So really you're looking atsomething for everybody, whether
it's that second home comingdown and they just want a nice
little place to stay whilethey're here to somebody living
full on right there in theirhome.
Melissa (02:59):
Yep, that's right.
Over 20 floor plans to choosefrom.
Jim (03:04):
Okay.
That's pretty expansive.
Are all the lot footprints.
Courtney (03:11):
So we actually have three different collections and
okay.
colter's pretty unique in that,in our price sheets.
And also on our website and oursite plan, you're gonna see
different colored shaded homesites, which basically those are
going to specify what home orwhat collection from each home
can be built on those homesites.
(03:31):
Okay.
So we've got some home sitesthat are gonna be the smaller
ones 40 feet wide and maybeabout 130 feet long.
And then our largest home site,I think we've sold a few of the
larger home sites right now, butthey can go from.
Maybe 15,000 square feet.
14,000 square feet.
11,000 square feet, some of thelarger ones.
But for the collections, thehome will be 50 feet wide, so
(03:54):
the home site will have to be aminimum of 60 feet wide and then
130 feet long.
So that allows for people to beable to build pools and have at
least a decent sized backyard.
Jim (04:05):
That's gonna be my next question You're in Florida.
Are you really in Florida atthat point?
Melissa (04:11):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
We love pools.
So the only floor plan, we onlyhave one that's just a little
too deep to accommodate a poolon our home sites.
But besides that, they can allhave a pool.
Jim (04:24):
Can you offer the pool installation with their build,
or is that something they doseparate?
Melissa (04:29):
We do.
Yeah, they have the optioneither or.
So we work with Coast to Coastas our partner pool company.
They can build a pool along withthe build of their home, or we
can always prep for a futurepool and then after they close,
they can work with whoever theylike.
Jim (04:45):
Great.
I love the options.
Go on with that.
So let's go back.
The smaller home, 1500 is thattwo bedroom, two bath.
And then when we get to thelargest, what's the how many are
in.
Courtney (04:56):
So that's a great question.
So our smallest floor plan,which is in the 1500 square foot
range features two bedrooms withtwo baths, two car garage.
And then you have a a flex room,which can be like a little
office, a little den.
that collection three homes thelargest home in that collection
is approximately 1800 squarefeet.
it's also two bedrooms two bathwith a den, but that den can be
(05:20):
converted into a third bedroom.
some of our floor plans you to,personalize and convert that den
into a third bedroom.
when it comes to the largerhomes, those are at least three
bedrooms with three baths andalso a den.
when you add a bonus room, whatreally sets our bonus rooms
apart is that you have a bonusroom with a bonus bedroom and a
(05:45):
bonus bath.
It could be like a littleapartment for an older child, or
if you need to have someone,like a living nurse Or when you
have guests, you can just send'em upstairs.
Jim (05:56):
That's right.
That way you guys stay friends.
Courtney (05:59):
Yes.
Jim (05:59):
Beyond the home purchase, what where are the additional
costs?
What's the HOA and CD, and thenwhat does that, what is that
encompassing?
Melissa (06:07):
Yep.
So your HOA is four 50 a month.
Okay.
That's gonna include the highspeed internet, cable tv, all
the lawn maintenance, includingthe irrigation and the pest
control.
And then use of everything atthe clubhouse,
Courtney (06:21):
right?
And
Melissa (06:21):
then your CDB is gonna vary.
We do have the three collectionsof homes, so it's between 1500
to 1700 annually with yourtaxes.
Jim (06:30):
Okay?
So it is paid with the taxes.
Nice.
It's outta sight out of mind.
It's paid.
You don't have to worry abouttrying to write something
separate for it.
Courtney (06:37):
Exactly.
Jim (06:39):
Okay.
And then four 50 is not bad atall.
Especially when like you alludedto earlier, you look at the
number of clubs and amenitiesgoing on.
Let's talk about the amenities.
I'm assuming clubhouse pool.
What else do we have goingthere?
Melissa (06:52):
Oh yeah, so pickleball, we have eight courts, two tennis
courts.
Courtney (06:57):
We've got bocce, we've got horseshoe, there's a dog
park for dog lovers.
We are dog friendly.
We also have the resistancepool, which is actually a very
unique feature.
'cause when you have, peoplethat have maybe issues with
their hips or, lowerextremities, it gives them a
great exercise to walk or swimagainst the current and not have
(07:18):
to do a high impact exercise.
And we also have ourstate-of-the-art agent, which is
like a circuit.
You don't need a personaltrainer.
You can literally have a fullbody workout in 23 minutes
without the need of a, personaltrainer.
We have an arts and crafts roomwith a kiln, so people love
that.
And then our full-time lifestyledirector also plans events.
(07:42):
And that's another plus, likealso culture likes to entertain
and we actually have cover bandsthat come around every three
months or so and they go todifferent culture communities,
like the Liverpool Legends, justto name a few.
And we have a great concertseries for all of our residents.
We just had one on May 24th.
It was amazing.
(08:02):
We went there to see how ourlifestyle really impacts our
residents.
And I actually had a great time.
Jim (08:09):
I think that's, when you look at the price for$50 that's
a lot.
Having a kiln or a personaltrainer or doing a law is gonna
cover that just in itself.
are there any plans for future.
Is it one amenity center?
Is it spread out?
Where is that in relation towhere the homes are being built
in
Melissa (08:28):
Yeah.
So since we're a little smallerboutique community we find that
the clubhouse that we have is,it's plenty, it's 16,000 square
feet.
You don't run into overcrowdingup there having less residents
on site.
That's one nice thing they'regonna have access to being able
to participate in the fitnessclasses and not have a wait list
(08:49):
for all those things.
Jim (08:50):
Okay.
Expansive as far as acreage.
Do you know how big thecommunity is?
I know you said 649 homes whenit's completely built out.
And what's the percentage ofmaybe green areas and walking
ways.
Melissa (09:05):
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a good question.
We do have lots of naturalwetlands and lakes.
there's walking trails allaround the community that they
can take advantage of.
And then within the community,you can go three miles front to
back without ever having toleave.
Oh.
Jim (09:20):
Yeah.
That's plenty big.
Three walk in this weathersometimes be all you're doing
that day.
What kind of outline forconstruction is?
What's the timeline?
If somebody wanted to build apersonalized house from ground
up and pick everything, whatkind of timeframe are.
Courtney (09:36):
Great question.
So once somebody puts their 10%deposit you can anticipate
getting the start package inabout 90 days or so.
And then the time, depending onobviously weather and the size
of the home, I would say aboutsix to seven months.
So our average build time, weusually.
Tell our buyers that we put ausually a 10 month window.
(09:58):
It could be, anywhere betweennine to 11 months.
And, fortunately during weather,we always wanna protect
ourselves, right?
We give them a three monthwindow.
But we're usually about 10months.
Jim (10:09):
Yeah.
That's not crazy.
And then if somebody's saying,Hey, I need a house.
Next month or two months orthree months, you've got some
that are already built that theycould step in, decide the one
they like.
and those are free set onspecific lots.
Melissa (10:22):
Exactly.
Yep.
We do, it's a smaller part ofour business plan, but we do
have about 15 kind of go in at atime.
So lots of options for peoplethat need something quick.
Jim (10:33):
Yeah, that's nice.
So they can come in, Hey, Iwanna, I can wait a year so I
can do the whole thing.
Or, we're moving down here nextmonth.
What do you have?
Courtney (10:40):
We like those.
Yeah.
Jim (10:45):
What kind of support does Kohler have for the home buyer?
What's the warranty and followup on that?
Melissa (10:50):
Yeah, so we have a two 10 warranty in place.
They're gonna get all thedocuments, to read that over.
And then we have, after theyclose, they're gonna get a
walkthrough at about 60 days,and then they're gonna get
another one at the 11 month kindof mark.
Jim (11:07):
Okay, and is there, are you vertically integrated?
By that a mortgage company or amortgage availability, or
preferred lender titleinsurance.
Is there the ability to come inand take care of all of that at
one stop.
Courtney (11:23):
Absolutely.
We do have our CTC mortgage,which stands for Clear to Close.
And then we have K title, it'sColter title.
And when the buyers use ourpreferred lender and title
agency, then there are someincentives that are tied to
using them.
Not only are the incentivesgood, we have communications
with our, partners to talk aboutour backlog so that way our
(11:47):
buyers can anticipate or we cananticipate any challenges,
hiccups, or delays.
And that way it's not a surpriseto the buyer when they go with
an outside lender that doesn'tnormally communicate with the
builder.
So we do help our buyers willstreamline that process and
basically just creates lessheadaches.
Jim (12:04):
Okay.
What kind of ongoing maintenancecommon areas is going on?
I can say as it goes forwardwhen they're gonna close that
out and then that passes over tothe residents.
Melissa (12:17):
Yeah part of the HOA is taking care of all of that
community maintenance.
And then in addition to that,the CDD being a part of Lakewood
Ranch, your CDD fee is takingcare of kind of maintaining all
of Lakewood Ranch so thateverything looks beautiful.
And that's for about 30 years.
So that's gonna be wellmaintained.
Jim (12:36):
That'll be that underlying infrastructure.
Yeah, absolutely.
What are any specific guidelinesor restrictions you should be
aware of as far as pets rental,any of those kind of things that
might stand out?
Courtney (12:49):
Our HOA guidelines basically you can't have any
short-term rentals in here.
But being that we have a lot ofI would say maybe second home
buyers or maybe some snowbirds,sometimes when they can't make
it down, they.
List property for rent.
But we don't really manage thatpart of it, so it's hard to
pinpoint how many, second homeswe have here.
(13:09):
But definitely we do have an HOAand they basically stipulate no
short-term rentals, one yearminimum lease, if I'm not
mistaken.
Yep.
And they're pretty active.
So I think, that's actuallygood.
It helps maintain the communityvalue.
A lot of people Sure, sure have,yeah.
Rentals and not knowing who'sright, who's your neighbor, you
don't
Jim (13:28):
have the in and out of it going.
Yeah, absolutely.
Are there any pet restrictionsor what about fencing?
Melissa (13:34):
No pet restrictions.
We do allow a fence.
It's like a wrought iron style,the black fence, four feet.
We allow that.
And then I also wanted tomention too that the only real
restriction in an active adultcommunity 18 and under cannot
live in the home, but they canvisit for up to three months in
a year, and then 19 and oldercould actually move back in if
(13:56):
they ever needed to.
Jim (13:57):
Okay.
Fantastic.
Tell me about any stories ortestimonials of anybody that's
come in and I love hearing whensomebody has that winning story.
Melissa (14:08):
Yeah, something.
Jim (14:10):
Somebody's moved in
Melissa (14:11):
on our website.
We actually have a greattestimonial section.
They have a whole video on therewhere they're interviewing
residents.
So go to crestman liquidranch.com and you'll be able to
find a whole video on interviewsand everything.
Jim (14:26):
Fantastic.
So let me ask you as we'rewrapping up here, what is it
that you wanna say that whywould somebody wanna come here
to cresting?
What's the draw and what arethey gonna find?
Courtney (14:36):
I think we hear that the draw is the brand and then
the brand is, usually activeadult communities have a stigma
that, oh my goodness, I don'twanna live in a 55 plus
community.
I don't wanna live a buncharound a bunch of older folks.
Jim (14:51):
Florida from like the 1960s is very,
Courtney (14:55):
they tend to feel like, oh my God.
Like they're moving into acommunity that is assisted
living when it's not reallyassisted living.
These are for active adults.
And I think we get a lot ofreferrals from other homeowners
that live in other Crestwoodcommunities and other parts of
the states because of the factthat we are a lifestyle driven
(15:15):
community.
The concerts, the full-timeactivities directors.
So I would say that what peoplereally want when they are
looking for a 55 and oldercommunity, or 55 and better,
that's how we like to call it.
That you are going to alwayshave something to do and you're
gonna be living amongstlike-minded people that are
looking for the same exactthings that you're looking for.
(15:36):
So I think that's what sets usapart and that's why people look
for the Crest Wind brand.
And we have customers that gothrough every single Crest
community in the US just so theycan decide which one they wanna
move into.
What do you think about that?
Jim (15:50):
You're positioned perfect as far as location.
We are, inland a little bit, soyou're not worried about any of
the issues from storms, butyou're close enough to go visit
the beaches.
You've got Tampa, you'veairport, you've got SRQ that are
probably 30 to 45 minutes awayand in the ability to hit
Lakewood Ranch, downtown MainStreet as the area grows north
and south.
(16:11):
In Park and North River Ranch,you have access to all those
areas and then everything isright there.
Yeah.
Courtney (16:16):
Yeah.
Jim (16:17):
With a hundred clubs in the amenity center and all those
things, you can enjoy lifewithout having to deal with the
traffic and the other stuff, butit's all there.
Courtney (16:24):
Exactly.
That's right.
Yeah.
And I think we just recentlyshared that there's an aquatic
center that's coming up.
Like walking distance and Ibelieve that they have a 50
meter pool coming.
So there's a lot of other stuffthat make it attractive for a
lot of the people that come overhere.
Just having those amenities thatare nearby and having all the
walking and jogging trails andbike trails of Lakewood Ranch,
(16:46):
it's a win-win.
Jim (16:47):
And I think that's why you moved to Florida and then
hanging out with people thatwanna do the same thing.
You do it, it's tough to beatthat.
Melissa (16:54):
Exactly.
That's right.
Jim (16:55):
Ladies, thank you so much for joining me today.
Glad we had an opportunity totalk about Crest Wind.
I think it's a fantasticcommunity.
If you've ever driven by andseen the entrance, it's
phenomenal.
It makes you wanna walk in andcheck it out, so we'll make sure
we have the contact informationin there for anybody who's
interested.
Reach out and hopefully we'retalking to them soon.
Courtney (17:12):
Thank you so much for having us.
Thank you, Jim.
We appreciate it.
Yeah, bye.
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