Jill Kushner - Specializing in The Colony Golf & Bay Club, Bonita Springs, Florida FL - Downing-Frye Realty Inc.

Located in Bonita Springs, Florida, the Colony Golf & Bay Club is a private, gated luxury community. One of the many reasons I enjoy listing exclusively for this community is due to the vast array of amenities The Colony offers its single-family, mid-rise and high-rise residents.

In addition to the 18-hole championship golf course and Country Club, residents here can enjoy tennis, private dining at The Bay Club, as well as a fitness center to help members remain active. There is also a spa available to community members and their guests where they can be pampered, as well as a canoe park and private water taxi to The Colony’s beach park.

However, one of the great perks and an amenity I feel surpasses all other communities in Bonita Springs, Florida, is the concierge service.

The concierge can help with a slew of daily tasks such as housecleaning, home repairs, indoor plant care, pool maintenance, landscaping and pest control.

For those who live here seasonally (aka ‘snowbirds’), the concierge can help organize an absentee home watch, key holding and seasonal arrival and departure preparations. Residents traveling can ask the concierge for assistance with both local and international travel, as well as to help set up an airport shuttle. If you desire, the concierge will also find a personal trainer or in-home masseuse.

Residents at The Colony Golf & Bay Club enjoy the hassle-free lifestyle that enables them to spend their days enjoying the many other activities available in Bonita Springs, Naples and surrounding areas. And yes, the concierge can help organize all those other activities as well!

Contact me today for your tour of The Colony.

Labels: Amenities, Concierge Service, Dining, Golf, High-rise, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Single-Family Homes, The Colony Golf and Bay Club

Naples and Bonita Springs, Florida are rich with gated communities. A well-planned community offers a variety of housing choices, and of course, amenities.

But how do you decide which community is right for you? I always tell clients I work with that price, floor plan and location are important, but so are the community’s amenities.

To help you through the process, here are some of the main benefits you should look for when looking for a second home or seasonal retirement home within a gated community:

Architectural integrity – A planned community incorporates master architectural guidelines for the homes, which ensures that neighborhoods have a unified theme with enough variations to complement one another. In other words, it’s not cookie cutter. The Colony’s high-rise towers, mid-rises and custom single-famil homes were built with the highest standards of design aesthetic and quality.

Amenities to enhance quality of life – Master-planned communities offer homes or high-rise condo’s that don’t require much maintenance coupled with amenities that make it easy to enjoy free time with friends and neighbors. Amenities will vary by community and may include golf, tennis, a Country Club, dining, social events, and canoe park just to name a few.

Sense of community – Many master-planned communities have these on-site amenities to make life’s daily activities easy and convenient. These amenities help to foster a strong sense of community, since fellow residents get to know one another through neighborhood activities and events.

The residents of the Colony Golf & Bay Club have a host of amazing amenities at their fingertips. Best part is, they don’t have to sacrifice space by settling on a smaller floor plan. The high-rises and single-family homes at The Colony offer spacious, open floor plans perfect for guests or entertaining, plus high ceilings, state-of-the-art appliances and custom cabinetry to reflect their individual personality.

Are you looking for a second home or seasonal home? Contact me today!

Labels: Amenities, Bonita Springs, Dining, Fitness, Golf, High-rise, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Retirement, Single-Family Homes, Tennis

For years the trend in real estate sales here in Southwest Florida has been staging. Staging is essentially the modern name for an old technique of decorating the house for the sale rather than for the taste of the current owner.

Why is it so important? Staging your home makes it look its best before you put it on the market.

If you’re considering selling your single-family or high-rise condo, here are some staging tips to help you make your home stand out from the crowd:

Get rid of the clutter: Are you one of those people who have a plethora of small appliances on the kitchen countertop Or have closets filled with clothes from decades past? Perhaps one too many knickknacks used to decorate? Whatever the case, get rid of clutter. The goal is for your house to look roomy, not lived in.
Fresh coat of paint: Whether it be indoors or out, painting is the least expensive way to get the maximum impact. It’s quick and simple plus it helps your home avoid looking boring or dated. Visit paint stores for trendy (but safe) color combinations.
Update your lighting: This is another inexpensive way to make your single family or high-rise home look more modern. Bright brass is now out, and polished nickel is in. Be sure to use the highest safe wattage for each fixture. It makes your home look “bright and cheerful.”
Set the mood by accessorizing: Visit high-rise condominium model homes here at The Colony for ideas from Naples and Bonita Springs best decorators.
Focus on kitchen and bathrooms: Creating a kitchen that “pops” is key. That means it makes a strong and positive first impression. And that certainly means a kitchen and bath that is scrubbed until it sparkles, and may mean new granite counters and fine cabinets.

I always tell my clients who are selling their homes at The Colony Golf & Bay Club that we are trying to stage the home to sell, not to be lived in. You can make your home very attractive to buyers, but you’ll need to “move out” emotionally and look at your house in a new light.

Are you ready to sell or purchase a home here in Southwest Florida? If so, contact me today.

Happy staging!

Labels: Bonita Springs, High-rise, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Selling a Home, The Colony Golf and Bay Club