2b/2b in new luxury bldg; 3 balconies overlooking the gulf,
professionally decorated; pool, spa, fitness; dock access.
$1100/m or $208K (cost price) for sale.
Always an optimist, I call and make an appointment with Dolly DeCoy (not her real name) to view this miracle. Trust me: we've seen such a variety of good and bad that our expectations are well-contained.
The building is as promised: brand, spanking new, painted floridian colours coral and turquoise (I know; sounds garish but in the Florida sun, it's quite attractive), and we note from the apartment listing, only minimally occupied. At the 2-story atrium-style entry, while we wait for Dolly to buzz us in, we admire an imposing bronze sculpture of a nymph riding two dolphins amidst a spray of water.
Dolly welcomes us; she's an older woman, blonde, very well-groomed with a very intense manner. Vivacious. Verbal diarhhea. The apartment is lovely, has a welcoming entrance, large open kitchen with a bar overlooking the dining room combo living room. One bedroom is off the living room and it is large with its own balcony and large bath including a large whirlpool tub. It's beautifully decorated. The 2nd bedroom is as large as the first; it too is impressive with a very large bath and its own balcony and spectacular view. The large screen TV dominated the living room. Dolly offers us freshly squeezed grapefruit juice in balloon wine glasses, which we sip as we wander the rooms, gape over the views from the balconies and are seduced by the rental price, the wonderfully tasteful yet upscale decor and Dolly's sparkling personality. She's selling her place at cost price altho the same one on any other floor will cost you an additional $100,000, she says.
But that's not all. She then takes us up one floor to show her "friend's" empty apartment so we "can appreciate the size." Next comes the tour of the fitness room where there is the latest equipment including TVs over the treadmills and ellipticals, and there's a sauna in both the men's and women's washrooms. She says the building is so new, she's the only one to have used it to her knowledge. We ooh and ahh then obediently follow Dolly down the hall (all the while admiring the creamy buttercup paint and crown mouldings) to the business centre, a room with a nice-sized conference room, fax, library, washroom/kitchen plus a view. We ooh and ahh and again follow Dolly into the office.
The office? Well, yes, we are trying to sell these apartments and I'd like to show you a 3 bedroom, she says, introducing us to one of the office staff who hands us a package. Our internal alarm bells are firing - have we inadvertently walked into a darn old timeshare presentation again? Will we never learn? The two ladies, Dolly and the office staffer, lead us to the 3 bedroom. It too is perfectly lovely with an even better series of view than the others as it directly faces the gulf and the harbour. The furniture and decor are beautiful. All of us can easily envisage ourselves living there. I note the most expensive of the apartments is in the $750K range!
But wait, there's more. Let me show you the pool, the hot tub, the bar-b-que's (or as she describes it: poolside cabanas with separate grills). Then the multi-purpose club room - is it possible to be more ga-ga than we already are? - with its soaring ceiling, imposing columns, baby grand player piano, media centre, bar, serving kitchen, incredible couches, chairs and heavy oak tables and plush chairs where we could easily envisage ourselves playing cards. The club room is gi-normous and leads out to a large terrace overlooking a conservation area (Dolly: I watch a cute little raccoon make his rounds every morning! So much fun, idn't it? I notice Dolly replaces her s's for d's in certain words.)
Each floor has a central gathering area beautifully furnished where residents can simply sit and chat or read the newspaper, and overlook the atrium entrance. There's lots of places where you can get away from each other, Dolly says, noting her husband likes to take off when she's vacuuming. (Funny, I can't imaging Dolly vacuuming.) She regales us with her persuasive personality, and stories from what is obviously an interesting, rich and diverse lifestyle. As I listen, my little brain is scuttling about trying to figure out at what point we can cut to the chase and either settle the matter of renting or just get the Hell out. I've had enough; we've been here 2 hours already and she's not asking the typical landlady-type questions. I find my opening; state our interest and we manage to exit with Dolly promising to call us on Sunday, as she has an interested party wanting to rent it over the summer and we could possibly have it next fall.
We discuss what we've seen. All of us are bowled over and cannot believe that anyone would rent a place like that for $11oo/month! My opinion is it's a come-on, a means for the owner to find new buyers although I'd stated from our very first contact that not only had I no interest in buying, I had not the means. My husband bluntly says he doesn't like it. We'd be out of our social element there - too many rich people. Our friends agree. Might be hard to keep up with the Joneses there, they say. But who says you have to keep up with the Joneses? I can easily envisage us in that place, no matter the social strata around us. But I can't calm those alarm bells that are shouting "Too good to be true! Too good to be true!" And you know what that means.
Stay tuned for the next phase of this particular adventure.
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