Hey everybody!

There’s been a lot of buzz for awhile now promoting sustainable “green” living on Sanibel and Captiva, but no action was really being taken.

Well, it seems that two groups, Benchmark General Contractors and the University of Florida’s School of Architecture, have decided to make this buzz a reality by creating the first sustainable community for coastal living on Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

This 10-acre community of 12 eco-friendly homes, of up to 3,200 sq ft. each, will be known as the “Sea Glass of Sanibel” and will be located just off Periwinkle Way.  You can expect that these homes will have as many of the high-tech amenities that go with green living as possible.

Sea Glass of Sanibel broke ground on January 11 of this year (1-11-2011 at 11:11am) and is scheduled to be completed in early 2012.

You can read a LOT more about it at Sea Glass of Sanibel and they even have a Facebook page where you can follow their progress.

This is a great project for Sanibel and Rob and I are really looking forward to seeing it come to fruition!

That’s it for this week, have a great one,

Sandy and Rob

p.s. SanCap One Source Realty Rocks! Check us out!

This is a "Virtual" image, not a photo! Pretty amazing!! Image Courtesy of www.News-Press.com and www.TundraHomes.com

Hey all,

As the summer starts to heat up, not so surprisingly, so are home sales, as more and more tourists come down to our beautiful enclave and want to “stay forever”.

With inventory at an all-time high, meaning a great selection of homes to choose from, and home prices and interest rates at an all-time low, it’s pretty hard for an investor or someone looking for a second home to pass up these opportunities.

Enter… Rob and I, at SanCap One Source Realty over at 695 Tarpon Bay Road, who can not only show you all the perfect homes to match your specific homebuying checklist, but we can also give you the full “monty”, so to speak, as far as what it’s like to live on these gorgeous islands.  No one knows Sanibel and Captiva like Rob Coscia, that is for sure, having lived here for more than 30 years!

The other option that we are hearing some buzz about is tourists wanting to come down and build… hmmm… interesting.

Our best suggestion for those folks is to bee-line it over to our friends, David and Heidi, at Tundra Homes in Cape Coral, where they can put together a virtual model of the home that you are thinking about and let them show you exactly how to save time and construction costs by viewing it on the computer first in vivid 3D color.  Pretty cool, to say the least!

Whatever you or your friends and family decide when it comes to living on these islands, don’t hesitate for a second in contacting us about any little thing on your mind regarding a move, the type of home you are looking for or any of the community activities available to you here as a new resident… we LOVE to share our experience in living on these islands with new people!

We hope you have a great week!

Sandy and Rob

Photo Courtesy of MySanibel.com

OK, it’s time we pay tribute to a special group of volunteers right here on Sanibel Island called The Hammerheads!

The Hammerheads are a small group of men consisting of Harry Bertossa, Demo Scutakes, George McKinnell, Wally Kain, Sandy Montclar, Les Forney, Sam Bailey and Dean Skaugstad that volunteer over at the Sanibel Historical Museum and Village. These steady-handed, clear-minded, open-hearted (shall I go on…  :) ) men should make us all proud!

Because it is through their efforts that ALL of the boardwalks at the Museum and Village have been replaced with environmentally-friendly Trex Lumber for the safety of all who visit our beautiful historical site…

Needless to say, you must get out there to 950 Dunlop Road and see their handywork, it’s really somethin’!!

You can read more about Sanibel Historical Museum and Village right here or, of course, you can always refer back to the post I wrote to you on April 16th called “A Walk Down Memory Lane” right here in this blog…

Thanks Hammerheads!  We love you!

Have a great weekend,

Sandy and Rob

p.s. Sanibel Island Beach Homes – Come and get ‘em!

Today I thought I’d touch on the exterior of the homes here on Sanibel and Captiva.  As one would expect, the construction of homes anywhere along the coast of Southern Florida needs to be pretty darn sturdy to stand up against the tropical storms (and the very occasional hurricane).

The materials used to build homes here are typically acquired from the region itself in keeping with the natural balance and appearance of the islands.  “Green”, meaning ecological, construction and architecture is also on the upswing, which is great to see!

What’s important for you as a home buyer on the islands is to evaluate several factors in the construction and architecture of the home you want to purchase.  Window or porch orientation (having your house face north, south, east or west) is one such factor. For example, if you prefer a sunrise or sunset view (Sanibel and Captiva have both due to the island’s orientation itself), or as another example, if you require trees surrounding the house on one side to block the coastal breezes.  There are many things to consider. This is just one of the long checklists that we go through with you when narrowing down exactly what you are looking for.

Lastly, one thing is for sure and that is, if you are planning to live on Sanibel or Captiva, you need to be comfortable with COLOR!  The folks here are very creative and enthusiastic about the bright color(s) of their home.  You will see mostly bright pastels, mixed and matched, you name it.  I guess it comes from seeing all of those colorful seashells and wanting our homes to blend in with the natural surroundings.  The photo above says it all.

Welcome home to colorful and cheery Sanibal and Captiva!

Have a great weekend…

Until next post,

Sandy and Robert

p.s.  Don’t forget to make your way through our entire website for all of your Sanibel and Captiva Island Real Estate needs.  Enjoy!