Mentone Court, Units #107 and #208
We have two condos in Mentone Court in the Rosemary District. Both are in the same small boutique building, one on first floor and the other on the second floor. Both are newly renovated and one is completely furnished.
Our Two Downtown Sarasota Condos
Click on #208 & #107 for the listings & prices!
This website offers much general information about the new Milestone law, flood zones, insurance, etc. using our two condos as examples of what to look for, as well as what to avoid!
Common to Both Units:
Both units have two bedrooms and two full baths and are the same size, but one is on the first floor and one on the second. Both have stacked washer/dryers and covered assigned parking – essential to leave a car unattended if you don’t live in the condo full-time. Neither is in a flood zone and they have probably the lowest HOA fee in the city for a 2BD/2BA unit, which includes commercial-grade insurance on the structure.
Mentone Court is not in a flood zone. Making it easy to get additional homeowners and flood insurance. Insurance details are addressed in detail under the Pros & Cons to Know section below.
Milestone Inspections
In 2025 new Florida statutes were passed in response to the horrific condo building collapse in Surfside, FL. Called the Milestone Inspection Law (SB 4-D and SB 154) structural inspections for condominium buildings 3+ stories tall are now mandatory. Inspections must occur when a building turns 25 if within three miles of the coastline and every 10 years thereafter. An independent engineer must be hired by the condo association, who determines any risk to structural integrity and safety.
Any problems must be fixed (and paid for by the condo owners) within 365 days, they cannot be delayed no matter the cost. Any future issues found (eventual roof repairs, windows/doors, painting, concrete –spalling–patching, structural bracing) must be “fully” funded by the reserves within two years by the condo association having a longer-term financing deal in place (rare), or getting the cash from owners via special assessments.
This is why you read about condo owners in 25+-year-old buildings getting hit with $30,000, or even $100,000, special assessment due in a year or two. There is no reprieve to the law, and not complying with it would make getting insurance impossible. They usually let you spread it out over a year or two, increasing your monthly HOA by a horrendous amount, and you have no choice.
The result: If you are looking for an “affordable” condo, don’t even bother looking at newer buildings less than 20 years old – they will be too expensive right off the bat. Instead look for a two-story building, as they are exempt from the Milestone Law (like Mentone Court) that is well maintained.
Mentone Ct’s two 8-unit buildings are block construction, have been freshly painted and even have new tile roofs. Within the last five years, both were tented and fumigated for insect control. Finally Mentone Ct is above the flood plain (Zone X low-moderate risk), unlike 38% of the city which is in the high risk zone. All the condos within two-to-three blocks of the water are in the high risk zone, so check the map in the section here on Hurricanes before you buy.
Hurricane and flood risk is addressed in detail in the Pros & Cons to Know section of this website.
Hurricane Shields
Both units have electric Kevlar hurricane screens with battery backups so they can be used in a power failure. They are rated up to a Category 5 hurricane, and people with these screens have left their deck furniture out on the patio during hurricanes as wind does not permeate the Kevlar. The screens double as shade screens allowing the patio to be used during the summer sun, and they offer privacy as well as protection from break-ins. Living in the city does have some downsides, but anyone trying to break in will move on to another home once they see these Kevlar screens.
The Details: We left our old windows in place and installed heavy hurricane film on the inside that prevents wind-driven objects from penetrating into the condo. We had a 12’ by 8’ motorized roll-down Kevlar hurricane screen installed just inside our insect screening on both condos’ patios. For the first floor unit, when the screen is rolled up there is complete access to the screen door leading to the front yard.
Get a high quality screen, ours are Sun & Storm, with heavy magnets along the tracks to keep it taut when deployed. Nothing looks worse from the outside than a saggy wind screen across the entirety of your porch/patio. They all sag eventually unless they have a magnet tautening system. Keep it down when you are away for break-in protection and it will nearly eliminate the yearly soot problem (“black snow”) across southern Florida when they burn the sugar cane fields. It will sift right through an insect screen and coat every inch of your patio and furniture.
Rolled part-way down we gain 95% solar protection, cooling, wind and rain protection and a privacy screen. While expensive at $7000, it was about one-third the cost of replacing the slider with heavy impact glass. Something you’ll have to do if you buy an older condo without screens or impact glass. The screen reduces home owners’ insurance (which is already cheap at Mentone Ct.) a bit.
As it is almost completely water/wind proof, and folks do not even remove their porch furniture cushions, in storms. You have to see this YouTube of a patio protected by Sun & Storm screens below of when Hurricane Ida (a cat. 4) hit Louisiana.
Our first condo, Unit #107, has new large-format modern floor tile, two new bathrooms, a brand new kitchen and HVAC system as of 11/2024. There is a comfortably sized tiled screened lanai (patio) leading directly out to a private, spacious outdoor planted area (see the Subject pictured below). There is an assigned covered parking spot 75 feet away with no steps, just a two-inch door stoop. The washer/dryer is a new ventless LG.
The second floor condo, Unit #208 was fully renovated in 2025 and has never been lived in since. It has the same over-size screened lanai looking North. New appliances, new HVAC system and plumbing, with a refinished cast iron tub in one bath, and tile in the oversized shower. Assigned covered parking is 60 feet away.
