CASTLES IN THE SAND

THE SUN REAL ESTATE

DECEMBER 9, 2020

Is your dream a vacation home?

Owning a dream vacation home is kind of like owning a dream boat, until you actually own one. The idea of it is so exciting that you spend hours every day looking at what’s available to buy. You imagine yourself lounging away the day with little to do but enjoy the best decision you ever made. Well, guess what – it’s not that easy when stuff happens.

There are 7.5 million second homes in the United States, and for many of those millions of homeowners, their second homes have been an escape during the COVID-19 pandemic. But during normal times, owning a second home can become a burden as much as an escape.

Anna Maria Island (and the surrounding waterfront property in Manatee County) is one of the most popular regions in the state of Florida to buy a second home. Our beautiful beaches, pristine water and island charm have been attracting people from around the world for decades. However, owning a vacation property also comes

Castles in the Sand

LOUISE BOLGER

with a litany of problems, especially if yours is set up as a rental property as well.

If you’re renting your property when you’re not using it or are just having someone oversee it while you’re not there, get ready for phone calls. Broken and leaking appliances, roof leaks, mold, air and heating equipment malfunctions, termites and who knows what other critters who may decide to invade your nice, quiet home while no one is there are just a few of the potential issues. And, of course, the Florida curse of hurricane season, where for almost half a year you will hold your breath and stay glued to the Bay News 9 weather cones.

Owning a vacation property has as much to do with your financial ability as it has to do with your personality. If you like being free and exploring different and varied places around the world, going back to the same beach house every year can make you feel stifled and unimaginative.

If your personality is one where you want everything working properly all the time with nothing out of place when you arrive, better rethink your decision. No matter how hard you try, something will go wrong, whether you’re renting your property or not, so maybe you’re better off being the one who rents, keeping your stress level down.

If, however, you’re pretty easygoing and want to find a second home for your family to return to every year and create memories, then a second home will fit your personality and lifestyle better. Getting involved in the community and making friends with local shop owners and restaurant owners will not only enhance your second home experience, it will also give you someone to fall back on if you have a problem getting local repair people, landscapers and housekeepers. Make it more than just your second home, make it part of your life.

If renting your second home is part of your plan in order to offset expenses, consult with your financial and tax advisor. As we know, tax laws have changed in the last couple of years and some of that may affect your personal tax position and frequency of personal use. Unless you live near your second home, hiring a property manager to handle rentals as well as maintenance will make ownership a lot less stressful. Many homeowners successfully use websites like VRBO and Airbnb for their rentals, but that requires being more hands on than you may want to be.

So, should you buy a second home for Christmas? There is a multitude of pros and cons involving finance and personality. Be honest with yourself, because, like owning a boat, owning a second home may not be that exciting once you get off the lounge chair. Stay safe.

BEACH BEAT

BRADENTON BEACH 11/12, grand theft auto, 2100 Ave. B. The victim called police to report his gray 2016 Toyota Forerunner had been stolen with a large number of keys and tools inside. A neighbor provided a surveillance video that showed two white males who looked at the neighbor’s vehicle first, then went to the victim’s vehicle. The victim said he didn’t recognize the subjects. On 11/15, the vehicle was spotted by a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy, parked in a Palma Sola apartment complex parking lot. The vehicle was not damaged but the keys and tools were missing. 11/29, 10:02 p.m., warrant arrest, Beach House restaurant, 200 Gulf Drive N. The restaurant staff called police because a female entered the Gulf fully clothed and they were concerned for her safety. They found her on the beach and nothing was wrong. She just wanted to take a dip. The officer checked her identification and found out she had two warrants from Manatee County for failure to appear on traffic offenses. They arrested her. 12/1, 2:57 p.m., trespassing, Bradenton Beach Pier, 200 Bridge St. The officer was dispatched to the pier on a report of a male sleeping on a bench. He located the person behind the bait shop. It was a local homeless person, known to police, who issued a trespass warning.

HOLMES BEACH 11/24, 12:25 p.m., petit theft, Jessie’s Island Store, 5424 Marina Drive. The store manager caught a female juvenile stealing alcohol. She and her two female juvenile friends were trespassed from the store for a year. 11/25, information, Palm Harbor Drive. A woman approach two officers getting fuel and said she thinks somebody had been trying to break into her car, showing them scratches around the car’s passenger side window. Later, she notified them somebody had been trying to get into her condo and a bar that blocks a sliding glass door had been removed. They reinstalled it and tried to disarm it from outside but couldn’t. They told her they would patrol her location more often and suggested she get security cameras. 11/27, 9:28 a.m., driving with a suspended license, no proof of insurance, 4000 Sixth Ave. The license plate reader alerted officers to the driver and he was stopped and ticketed. 11/27, 9:10 p.m., trespass warning, Manatee Beach, 4000 Gulf Drive. The officer was dispatched to the scene of a disturbance on a trolley between an elderly homeless man and the trolley driver. He was trespassed. 11/28, 12:48 a.m., speeding, 600 Manatee Ave. The officer observed the subject speed up to 65 mph while traveling east on Gulf Drive. He got a ticket. 11/29, 2 a.m., illegal camping, Goodwill, 612 East Bay Drive. The officer on patrol found the subject, a homeless male from Bradenton, sleeping on a mattress near a dumpster. 11/29, 7 p.m., Marchman Act, CVS Pharmacy. The officer was dispatched to the scene where a male was asleep and unresponsive in front of the store. EMS was unable to awaken him. The officer was able to roust him and recognized him as a drug user. He was mad and aggressive and EMS refused to take him so the officer took him to Centerstone for treatment. 11/29, 7:27 p.m., suspicious circumstance, Bali Hai Beach Resort, 6900 Gulf Drive. The complainant said she was in the living room of their unit with various family members when an unknown male entered their room and sat down on the sofa and started asking them for their social media accounts and offered to let them use his cellular hot spot. When one of the vacationers asked the subject how he got into their room, he said the door to the beach was unlocked. He refused to identify himself and left when told to do so. One of the family members got a cell phone picture of him, but nobody at the resort could identify him. The group was relocated to other rooms. 11/29, 11:39 p.m., trespass warning, D Coy Ducks, 5410 Marina Drive. A male was upset because he said the trespass warning the bar had against him had expired and they still would not serve him. The officer checked the files and the order had expired but the bartender asked the officer to issue another one, which he did. 11/30, environmental damage of sea grapes, 102 48th St. The officer was dispatched to assist the code enforcement officer in the enforcement of the law against cutting sea grapes on the rental property. The rental agency, AMI Locals, said they did not know who did it. Code enforcement is investigating.

October 2020 tourist tax collections

compared to October 2019

Anna Maria 40% Bradenton Beach 1% Holmes Beach 40% Manatee County Total* 18%

*(Anna Maria Island, Bradenton, Longboat Key, unincorporated Manatee County, Palmetto)

Manatee County’s 5% resort tax, or tourist tax, is collected from owners of accommodations rented for six months or less who charge the tax to their renters, in most cases, tourists. About 50% of the tax proceeds are allocated to Bradenton Area Convention and Visitors Bureau tourism marketing efforts, with 20% allocated to beach renourishment. The tax also partially funds tourism-related attractions such as the Bradenton Beach and Anna Maria piers. Amounts shown were collected in October and paid to the Manatee County Tax Collector’s Office in November. Manatee County totals include Anna Maria Island cities, Bradenton, the portion of Longboat Key within Manatee County, unincorporated Manatee County and Palmetto. To anonymously report a rental owner who may not be paying the tax, call 941-741-4809 or visit http://www.taxcollector.com/tdt-evader.cfm.

Source: Manatee County Tax Collector

FROM PAGE 1 with 11 cases reported, and the Manatee County portion of Longboat Key, with 88 cases reported.

According to the Florida Department of Health (FDOH) COVID-19 Dashboard as of early Monday afternoon, 17,474 Manatee County residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since March, in addition to 239 non-county residents.

Between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5, an additional 984 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Manatee County.

As of Monday, 995 people in Manatee County had been hospitalized with COVID-19 to date and there had been 391 reported COVID-19-related deaths.

According to FDOH, 64 patients were currently hospitalized in Manatee County with a primary diagnosis of COVID-19 as of Monday. Statewide, 1,040,727 residents and 17,347 non-residents had tested positive since March, with 56,547 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 19,423 COVID-19-related deaths.

A positive COVID-19 test is reported and attributed to the person’s home address and zip code; for example, a person who works on Anna Maria Island but lives in Bradenton is reported as a Bradenton case. An out-of-county visitor is reported as a non-resident.

Water quality report Bayfront Park North Bradenton Beach Coquina Beach North Coquina Beach South Manatee Beach North Palma Sola Bay South

Source: Florida Department of Heath

RED TIDE REPORT

High (respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, fish kills, water discoloration) Very low (possible respiratory irritation)

Medium (probable respiratory irritation, shellfish harvesting closures, fish kills) Background (no effects)

Low (possible respiratory irritation, shellfish None (no red tide present) harvesting closures, fish kills) Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission