How we Found Mentone Court
Seeking to replace our live-aboard boat (too big to pull our in a hurricane) with a smaller craft, we looked for a small condo or house with room for guests (a Murphy bed in a one-bedroom unit would suffice) and some form of outside space like a patio, deck or porch. After living on a 400 square foot boat, we didn’t need a giant place, but outdoor space and access was important, just like the deck and docks were for the boat.
A pool would be nice, but neither Gail nor I would ever use it and it would drive up condo fees. Monthly carrying costs were important because I also had to maintain Alto in the marina which even for the new smaller boat is around $1700/month.
The Search
For 3–4 years I looked at everything on Zillow.com listed for ≤ $650k (especially multi-units) on a weekly basis hoping to find something affordable, maybe a multi-family situation with extra units that could be rented to help pay for itself. I even looked at commercial real estate for something like a shop with an attached small apartment.
HINT: Also set your RE search engine like Zillow to show you commercial properties as well as multi-family (you might find two cottages near each other–perfect!). You “might” find a small downtown beauty parlor with an apartment above it, which no one looking at only residential properties would ever find.
See the Zillow map screen shot below of what was listed for under $600k in Sarasota in early 2024. There were only six condos for sale within 2000 feet of downtown’s center, and most were one-bedroom or efficiencies. As time went on the situation seemed to get worse; i.e. condos were more expensive with little available for under $1,000,000.
A pool would be nice, but neither Gail nor I would ever use it and it would drive up condo fees. Monthly carrying costs were important because I also had to maintain Alto in the marina which even for the new smaller boat is around $1700/month.
The Search
For 3–4 years I looked at everything on Zillow.com listed for ≤ $650k (especially multi-units) on a weekly basis hoping to find something affordable, maybe a multi-family situation with extra units that could be rented to help pay for itself. I even looked at commercial real estate for something like a shop with an attached small apartment.
HINT: Also set your RE search engine like Zillow to show you commercial properties as well as multi-family (you might find two cottages near each other–perfect!). You “might” find a small downtown beauty parlor with an apartment above it, which no one looking at only residential properties would ever find.
See the Zillow map screen shot below of what was listed for under $600k in Sarasota in early 2024. There were only six condos for sale within 2000 feet of downtown’s center, and most were one-bedroom or efficiencies. As time went on the situation seemed to get worse; i.e. condos were more expensive with little available for under $1,000,000.
So I raised my price limit. As of December 1st, 2024, there were only eight homes for sale at ≤ $800k in the downtown area, within a radius of 2000 feet around the center, oval on the map above. There are high rise buildings everywhere downtown with thousands of condos, yet only eight were for sale for ≤ $800,000!
Of the eight, most were efficiencies or one-bedroom units and a few had no patio at all. Some had no elevator and were up stairs which would not work for Gail. All had high HOA fees and taxes adding up to at least $800/month and more like $1200 plus electric and insurance.
There were zero single family houses within our price range walkable to downtown. So I did what everyone does. I set Zillow to send me updates on any new properties under $600k listings, daily. If a deal comes up you have to move fast, as everyone is watching for it. This was all crazy! But I persisted, maybe foolishly…
The Mentone Court Condos
But then, one unit did come up for sale in the Rosemary District on the edge of Gillespie Park, which is marked with with the
Of the eight, most were efficiencies or one-bedroom units and a few had no patio at all. Some had no elevator and were up stairs which would not work for Gail. All had high HOA fees and taxes adding up to at least $800/month and more like $1200 plus electric and insurance.
There were zero single family houses within our price range walkable to downtown. So I did what everyone does. I set Zillow to send me updates on any new properties under $600k listings, daily. If a deal comes up you have to move fast, as everyone is watching for it. This was all crazy! But I persisted, maybe foolishly…
The Mentone Court Condos
But then, one unit did come up for sale in the Rosemary District on the edge of Gillespie Park, which is marked with with the
There were five closets, one a walk-in. Down the street were four restaurants, and covered parking could be bought as as an addition. It had astacked and it is NOT in a flood zone.
It had the least likely to be called evacuation level rating (D). The stuccoed block building and almost-new tile roof was more hurricane resistant and cheaper to insure. It had a stable association board with long-standing services, and the monthly HOA fee (half the typical at $522) covered water, building insurance, professional management, gardening, all exterior maintenance, septic etc. Short-term rentals were allowed for ≥1 week, avoiding daily Airbnb renters coming and going.
The HOA of $522 was affordable and there were adequate reserves. Being under three stories meant no periodic Milestone engineering reviews, nor was it required to have large HOA reserves decided by engineers, not the condo association. All 16 units in Mentone Court are identical. The HOA fee is $522, taxes $226, home insurance $150 for a total of $900 per month in carrying costs, about half the typical HOA fee (without insurance or taxes) for most Sarasota condos!
Our Personal Use Unit, #107
So we bought the unit for $375,000. At that price we negotiated an included covered parking spot–essential if you leave a car in Florida through the summer months. It is small, but well laid out with lots of closet space. There is no swimming pool, which saves at least $400/month on HOA fees. Saving $400/mo in HOA fees is worth $64,000 of financed condo.
It needed updating and we did a complete renovation, spending $75,000 on new tile floors throughout, two new bathrooms, a new HVAC system, and new solid-wood kitchen cabinets with new top-end appliances. We added a kitchen island, and Zellige hand-made Moroccan tile on the back splash and fronting the island. On the lanai we added a motorized cat. 5 roll-down hurricane screen which also provides sun and privacy protection. We even installed a battery back-up so it could work during a power outage, as expected in a hurricane.
Now we are up to $445,000. We planned to keep it for our own use and to loan it to friends if we can’t be there. However, Gail’s increasing mobility issues recently forced us to put #107 on the market for less than we have invested in it, at $419,900. #107 is among the only five 2BR/2BA units in the entire greater downtown for sale under $500,000. And, it’s is the closest to the downtown, with covered parking, not in the flood plain, with the cheapest HOA fees, no Milestone Inspection issues, completely renovated and never lived in beyond a few days and it comes fully furnished with a leather couch, new model 75” Samsung Frame TV and so on.
Second Floor Unit, #208
Doing the renovations on the first floor unit, we met excellent HVAC people, tile workers and carpenters. We were confident we could fix up another unit. So when we were offered another 2nd floor unit with a covered car port in a private sale at a reasonable cost that needed little renovation and came with a brand new HVAC system, we bought it. We hoped to rent or sell it to offset the costs of our first floor unit. We put $35,000 into new plumbing, new paint, another roll down hurricane screen, refinishing the tub, steam cleaning the tile/grout in the shower, new fans, and all new kitchen appliances and sink, and more. Gail is unable to travel these days, so this unit is also on the market for sale. As of February, 2026 listed at #369,000 #208 is the least expensive 2Br/2BA condo in the city and the only one priced under $399,000.
