Slip Seekers

>>Southwest Florida bills itself as a boater's paradise, but housing a boat can be a hellish situation.

All along the coast, marinas are vanishing as condo developers make offers too good to refuse. That has narrowed options for boaters and boosted boat-sheltering communities into a crow's nest position.

At Port of the Islands, a long-belea­guered property at the hem of the Everglades, home-dock packages have spawned a thriving residential community.

According to Tom Barnard, who's been selling real estate there since 1991, the mid-1960s development went through a series of piecemeal sales and bankruptcies. But Naples developer Bob Hardy put Port of the Islands on the map in 1995 by launching what is now an enclave of about 100 single-family homes, most with docks, and about 700 multifamily homes, most with slips.

In an area more accustomed to fishing camps and mobile homes, single-family houses go for $800,000 to $1.3 million; garden condos and courtyard homes are slip-equipped and priced from $265,000 to $650,000.

Barnard, owner of Port of the Islands Realty, says, "Having access to the Ten Thousand Islands for boating and fishing is our strongest sales tool."

Some boaters want homes with as little real estate attached as possible, Steve Suddeth confides. The quest gets really challenging, price-wise and site-wise, when the boater wants the wet slip to be home.

It isn't easy moving in, because owners of watery homes, either through fee-simple deeds or land leases, resist moving out. Suddeth, a partner in Downing-Frye affiliate Gulf-to-Golf Properties in Naples, reports only 26 wet slips were sold in the past nine years at The Cove Inn and Old Naples Seaport. In 1997, Suddeth says the three slip sales at those two properties were $150,000, $175,000 and $180,000. In 2005, two of the four sales were for $512,000; the others were $525,000 and $280,000.

Some slip sales are made within the framework of a condominium association and are subject to ongoing fees.

Who's shelling out the big bucks?

Many are local residents desirous of getaway weekends close to home, Suddeth notes. Large-boat owners in Naples like homes in Port Royal and Royal Harbor, so they can moor their seacraft in backyard canals, he continues. Ditto Connor's Vanderbilt Estates, where a modest home sold for $1.3 million last year.

Beau Rivage, a 454-unit condominium in downtown Fort Myers along the Caloosahatchee, will have 47 wet slips for sale to unit owners paying $400,000 to $500,000 for homes. Although slip prices aren't set yet, Will Cohill of Keller Williams Realty, marketing agent for the project, anticipates their prices will escalate faster than the units', due to the scarcity.

Slips are appreciating at Gulf Harbour Yacht & Country Club in Fort Myers, says Greg Callaway. "Of course, price varies with size," he notes, "but you could buy a slip in 2001 for $140,000. Now the range is $280,000 to $320,000."

Callaway and his wife, Jo, who recently renamed their Callaway and Co. firm Gulf Harbour Properties LLC, say all the marina's 186 slips are now resales.

The Callaways sold one to Ron Hamel, a citrus industry representative and former live-aboard sailor who admits a home for his 29-foot Hunter sailboat was his first priority.

"I was not only looking for good protection, but a slip that would accommodate a larger sailboat when I retire," he says. "I liked the value and the quality of construction. The slip came first; the condo came next."

Sometimes a wet slip near the doorstep is an ambiance enhancer.

Lisa Schleiger of South Bay Realty observes that at Bayfront, Naples, slips boost the Venetian flavor of a project that includes Italian sculpture fountains, cobbled streets and Mediterranean architecture. Owners of the 256 condominium units have access to 41 slips ranging from $140,000 to $175,000.

With units priced from the high $500,000s to $1.5 million, Schleiger says she always urges clients to make sure they're happy with their slip choice.

"But I shouldn't worry," she admits. "By the time they come to talk, they've already checked out their 'parking spaces.'"

Wendy and Steve Jess did some checking before they chose Bonita Bay as their retirement destination in 1998. The fishing enthusiasts keep their 26-foot Glacier Bay at the Bonita Bay Marina Club on the Imperial River.

"The prospect of having golf and boating in one community was irresistible," says Steve Jess, who says the amenity choice came before the home selection.

Randy Mote, the marina manager, says 91 wet slips and 340 dry storage spaces are available to Bonita Bay residents. Boat owners pay a membership fee in the marina club and monthly fees based on the size of their boats.

Vice president of operations Joey Garon reports that The Bonita Bay Group also owns a marina near its Verandah community, which might some day be the site of a new residential project.

"Housing and boating together," he muses, "is always a great combination."