My wife and I are researching buying a condo between Clearwater and Ft. Myers for use as a vacation rental. Haven't really narrowed down an exact town yet. Was curious if any members are from around this stretch and could give some insight as far as the powerboating scene. Any full service marinas with lift off service and room to store trailers in the 35-45' range? Boat up bars, public islands and beaches you can boat to? We want to be able to bring our boat down on occasion.

I live in Cape Coral. There are islands and public beaches everywhere that are easier to get to by boat than by car. There are many beaches that are only accessible by boat. There are plenty of boat up bars and restaurants. Not sure on the full service marinas, as I keep my boats at my house and do my own work.

Thoroughly research the condos you are interested in. Most do not allow vacation rentals or leases shorter than a few months at a time, and/or the number per year.

Yeah, we've seen that was the case. We're probably a year out, just doing some research on the areas. I'd really like to see the real estate market or economy take a little hit so we could catch a deal.

Wishful thinking :-) house shortages will keep the prices moving up and bid wars are the norm .. Have talked to folks who chose to build new as no bidding wars and wait time wasn't all that bad ..Good Luck on your search

Do chart plotter research!! I need 6' draft and a lot of the inland water there is inaccessible to me.