Active Adult Living with Energy & Elegance: Inside Crestwind Lakewood Ranch

In this episode of Jim Sells the Suncoast, Jim is joined by Courtney Jeffries and Melissa Maldonado of Crestwind Lakewood Ranch, an upscale 55+ active adult community offering a vibrant lifestyle and elegant single-family homes. With 500+ homes sold and just 150 opportunities remaining, now’s the time to discover why Crestwind is one of the most desirable boutique neighborhoods in Lakewood Ranch.

From pickleball tournaments and resistance pools to a calendar full of live concerts and clubs, Courtney and Melissa share what makes Crestwind more than just a place to live—it’s a place to thrive.

🔑 Key Highlights

🏡 Community Overview

• 649 Total Homes: Boutique-style layout with ~150 homes remaining for sale.
• Flexible Options: Mix of move-in-ready inventory and customizable builds still available.
• Buildout Timeline: Expected sell-out within 18–24 months; full completion within 2–3 years.

📐 Floor Plans & Price Ranges

• Single-Family Homes Only: Over 20 floorplans from 1,500 to 3,500+ sq ft.
• Home Features: 2–5 bedrooms, flex spaces, optional upstairs suites with bonus bed and bath.
• Prices: Starting in the high $400s and reaching over $1M for large luxury builds.
• Pools: Most floorplans allow for private pools; partner-installed or prepped for future builds.

📍 Lakewood Ranch Location

• Conveniently Situated: Inland for peace of mind, yet minutes from beaches, SRQ, Tampa, and downtown Lakewood Ranch.
• Walkable & Bike-Friendly: On-site trails span 3+ miles with wetlands, lakes, and nature views.

🏊‍♂️ Amenities & Clubs Galore

• 8 Pickleball Courts + annual Crestwind Cup tournament
• Tennis, Bocce, Horseshoe, Dog Park, and Resistance Pool
• 16,000 Sq Ft Clubhouse: Fitness center (with circuit training system), yoga studio, arts & crafts room (with kiln!)
• 100+ Clubs & Full-Time Lifestyle Director: Events, cover bands, concerts, and social opportunities galore

💰 HOA & CDD

• HOA: $450/month – Includes lawn care, irrigation, pest control, high-speed internet, cable, and amenity access
• CDD: Varies by lot/collection – $1,500 to $1,700 annually, paid with property taxes

🛠️ Build Timeline & Warranty

• Build Time: 9–11 months for personalized builds; ~15 move-in-ready homes available at any time
• Warranty: 2-10 coverage with builder check-ins at 60 days and 11 months post-close

💼 One-Stop-Shop Service

• Preferred Lender & Title: CTC Mortgage and K Title streamline the closing process
• Incentives Available: For buyers using in-house financing and title services

🐾 Community Guidelines

• Pet-Friendly: No breed or weight restrictions; fencing permitted (4’ wrought iron style)
• Rental Rules: No short-term rentals; 12-month minimum lease
• Age Restrictions: 55+ community with flexibility for adult children and seasonal guests

A Personal Note from Jim:

Hey there, I’m Jim Ahearn, your go-to real estate guide and host of Jim Sells The Suncoast podcast! 🎙️✨ Dreaming of Florida life? I’ve got you covered! As your dedicated buyer's agent, I’ll handle everything from walk-throughs to closing, making your home-buying journey as smooth as a Florida breeze.

Whether you're local or tuning in from afar, I’ll bring the Suncoast to you with virtual tours and expert advice. Let’s chat about your dream home and I'll connect you with all the right people to make it happen.

Ready to move to paradise? Drop me a line – I can’t wait to help! 🌴🏡

Transcript

Jim: 0:51

welcome to, Jim Sells the sunco Today I am thrilled to have Courtney Jeffries and Melissa Maldonado here from Crest. They've been in the business for a little bit Melissa 20 years and. Eight years. You guys have just finishing up over there. CREs wind. I say welcome and thanks for coming on.

Courtney: 1:09

Thank you for having us.

Jim: 1:13

So tell me a little bit about the background of what we've got going on there.

Melissa: 1:18

So Crest Wind is a 55 plus active adult community. We are one of two in the Lakewood Ranch area, so that's something that's unique about Crest wind. We're highly amenitized, so we have all of the lifestyle that you can imagine. Full-time lifestyle director on staff, tons of clubs. There's like over a hundred clubs. So there's something for everybody.

Jim: 1:44

We won't ask you to name all hundred clubs, but what are some of the big ones or, what's the draw? What are people doing out there that is enticing the other people around us?

Melissa: 1:52

I would say pickle ball's huge. And specifically within all of our Crest wind communities, we do something called the Crest Wind Cup. So once a year, all the crest ones get together. They meet at one of the locations and they compete in a big pickleball tournament.

Jim: 2:09

I be That's highly cut through.

Melissa: 2:10

Yes.

Courtney: 2:11

It's pretty serious business.

Jim: 2:14

Yeah. So tell me, how big is the community? How many homes and where are we in build.

Courtney: 2:19

So we're gonna have a total of 649 homes, which is another thing that sets us apart from other, builders in the area. We have a boutique style community, and we're actually up to about 500 sold right now. So we have about 150 opportunities for someone to still either come and purchase a move in ready home, or if they wanna personalize, we still have that opportunity for at least a hundred people.

Jim: 2:44

Oh, fantastic. So 150 homes left, so that'll build it out. What kind of timeline do you think that is? Is that about a year and a half, two years?

Courtney: 2:53

That's about right. We think about a year and a half, two years for being sold out and then probably closed out maybe about two to three years by the time that they finished building the last home and closing out the entire community. So they still have a chance.

Jim: 3:07

Yeah. So how many, tell me about the different homes in there. What kind of style? How big. Let's run the gamut from the entry level size and price to maxing everything out.

Melissa: 3:17

So we're all single family homes in here. Square footage is gonna start a little over 1500 and price points gonna be in the high fourths.

Courtney: 3:27

Okay? And

Melissa: 3:27

then we can go up to a little over 3,500 with kind of a bonus room, second story, and pricing could go into the million dollar price point I would say.

Jim: 3:38

Oh, okay. So there's a huge span of everything. So really you're looking at something for everybody, whether it's that second home coming down and they just want a nice little place to stay while they're here to somebody living full on right there in their home.

Melissa: 3:51

Yep, that's right. Over 20 floor plans to choose from.

Jim: 3:56

Okay. That's pretty expansive. Are all the lot footprints.

Courtney: 4:03

So we actually have three different collections and okay. colter's pretty unique in that, in our price sheets. And also on our website and our site plan, you're gonna see different colored shaded home sites, which basically those are going to specify what home or what collection from each home can be built on those home sites. Okay. So we've got some home sites that are gonna be the smaller ones 40 feet wide and maybe about 130 feet long. And then our largest home site, I think we've sold a few of the larger home sites right now, but they can go from. Maybe 15,000 square feet. 14,000 square feet. 11,000 square feet, some of the larger ones. But for the collections, the home will be 50 feet wide, so the home site will have to be a minimum of 60 feet wide and then 130 feet long. So that allows for people to be able to build pools and have at least a decent sized backyard.

Jim: 4:57

That's gonna be my next question You're in Florida. Are you really in Florida at that point?

Melissa: 5:03

Oh yeah, absolutely. We love pools. So the only floor plan, we only have one that's just a little too deep to accommodate a pool on our home sites. But besides that, they can all have a pool.

Jim: 5:16

Can you offer the pool installation with their build, or is that something they do separate?

Melissa: 5:21

We do. Yeah, they have the option either or. So we work with Coast to Coast as our partner pool company. They can build a pool along with the build of their home, or we can always prep for a future pool and then after they close, they can work with whoever they like.

Jim: 5:37

Great. I love the options. Go on with that. So let's go back. The smaller home, 1500 is that two bedroom, two bath. And then when we get to the largest, what's the how many are in.

Courtney: 5:48

So that's a great question. So our smallest floor plan, which is in the 1500 square foot range features two bedrooms with two baths, two car garage. And then you have a a flex room, which can be like a little office, a little den. that collection three homes the largest home in that collection is approximately 1800 square feet. it's also two bedrooms two bath with a den, but that den can be converted into a third bedroom. some of our floor plans you to, personalize and convert that den into a third bedroom. when it comes to the larger homes, those are at least three bedrooms with three baths and also a den. when you add a bonus room, what really sets our bonus rooms apart is that you have a bonus room with a bonus bedroom and a bonus bath. It could be like a little apartment for an older child, or if you need to have someone, like a living nurse Or when you have guests, you can just send'em upstairs.

Jim: 6:48

That's right. That way you guys stay friends.

Courtney: 6:51

Yes.

Jim: 6:51

Beyond the home purchase, what where are the additional costs? What's the HOA and CD, and then what does that, what is that encompassing?

Melissa: 6:59

Yep. So your HOA is four 50 a month. Okay. That's gonna include the high speed internet, cable tv, all the lawn maintenance, including the irrigation and the pest control. And then use of everything at the clubhouse,

Courtney: 7:13

right? And

Melissa: 7:13

then your CDB is gonna vary. We do have the three collections of homes, so it's between 1500 to 1700 annually with your taxes.

Jim: 7:22

Okay? So it is paid with the taxes. Nice. It's outta sight out of mind. It's paid. You don't have to worry about trying to write something separate for it.

Courtney: 7:29

Exactly.

Jim: 7:31

Okay. And then four 50 is not bad at all. Especially when like you alluded to earlier, you look at the number of clubs and amenities going on. Let's talk about the amenities. I'm assuming clubhouse pool. What else do we have going there?

Melissa: 7:44

Oh yeah, so pickleball, we have eight courts, two tennis courts.

Courtney: 7:49

We've got bocce, we've got horseshoe, there's a dog park for dog lovers. We are dog friendly. We also have the resistance pool, which is actually a very unique feature.'cause when you have, people that have maybe issues with their hips or, lower extremities, it gives them a great exercise to walk or swim against the current and not have to do a high impact exercise. And we also have our state-of-the-art agent, which is like a circuit. You don't need a personal trainer. You can literally have a full body workout in 23 minutes without the need of a, personal trainer. We have an arts and crafts room with a kiln, so people love that. And then our full-time lifestyle director also plans events. And that's another plus, like also culture likes to entertain and we actually have cover bands that come around every three months or so and they go to different culture communities, like the Liverpool Legends, just to name a few. And we have a great concert series for all of our residents. We just had one on May 24th. It was amazing. We went there to see how our lifestyle really impacts our residents. And I actually had a great time.

Jim: 9:01

I think that's, when you look at the price for$50 that's a lot. Having a kiln or a personal trainer or doing a law is gonna cover that just in itself. are there any plans for future. Is it one amenity center? Is it spread out? Where is that in relation to where the homes are being built in

Melissa: 9:20

Yeah. So since we're a little smaller boutique community we find that the clubhouse that we have is, it's plenty, it's 16,000 square feet. You don't run into overcrowding up there having less residents on site. That's one nice thing they're gonna have access to being able to participate in the fitness classes and not have a wait list for all those things.

Jim: 9:42

Okay. Expansive as far as acreage. Do you know how big the community is? I know you said 649 homes when it's completely built out. And what's the percentage of maybe green areas and walking ways.

Melissa: 9:56

Yeah. Yeah, that's a good question. We do have lots of natural wetlands and lakes. there's walking trails all around the community that they can take advantage of. And then within the community, you can go three miles front to back without ever having to leave. Oh.

Jim: 10:12

Yeah. That's plenty big. Three walk in this weather sometimes be all you're doing that day. What kind of outline for construction is? What's the timeline? If somebody wanted to build a personalized house from ground up and pick everything, what kind of timeframe are.

Courtney: 10:28

Great question. So once somebody puts their 10% deposit you can anticipate getting the start package in about 90 days or so. And then the time, depending on obviously weather and the size of the home, I would say about six to seven months. So our average build time, we usually. Tell our buyers that we put a usually a 10 month window. It could be, anywhere between nine to 11 months. And, fortunately during weather, we always wanna protect ourselves, right? We give them a three month window. But we're usually about 10 months.

Jim: 11:01

Yeah. That's not crazy. And then if somebody's saying, Hey, I need a house. Next month or two months or three months, you've got some that are already built that they could step in, decide the one they like. and those are free set on specific lots.

Melissa: 11:14

Exactly. Yep. We do, it's a smaller part of our business plan, but we do have about 15 kind of go in at a time. So lots of options for people that need something quick.

Jim: 11:25

Yeah, that's nice. So they can come in, Hey, I wanna, I can wait a year so I can do the whole thing. Or, we're moving down here next month. What do you have?

Courtney: 11:32

We like those. Yeah.

Jim: 11:37

What kind of support does Kohler have for the home buyer? What's the warranty and follow up on that?

Melissa: 11:42

Yeah, so we have a two 10 warranty in place. They're gonna get all the documents, to read that over. And then we have, after they close, they're gonna get a walkthrough at about 60 days, and then they're gonna get another one at the 11 month kind of mark.

Jim: 11:59

Okay, and is there, are you vertically integrated? By that a mortgage company or a mortgage availability, or preferred lender title insurance. Is there the ability to come in and take care of all of that at one stop.

Courtney: 12:15

Absolutely. We do have our CTC mortgage, which stands for Clear to Close. And then we have K title, it's Colter title. And when the buyers use our preferred lender and title agency, then there are some incentives that are tied to using them. Not only are the incentives good, we have communications with our, partners to talk about our backlog so that way our buyers can anticipate or we can anticipate any challenges, hiccups, or delays. And that way it's not a surprise to the buyer when they go with an outside lender that doesn't normally communicate with the builder. So we do help our buyers will streamline that process and basically just creates less headaches.

Jim: 12:56

Okay. What kind of ongoing maintenance common areas is going on? I can say as it goes forward when they're gonna close that out and then that passes over to the residents.

Melissa: 13:09

Yeah part of the HOA is taking care of all of that community maintenance. And then in addition to that, the CDD being a part of Lakewood Ranch, your CDD fee is taking care of kind of maintaining all of Lakewood Ranch so that everything looks beautiful. And that's for about 30 years. So that's gonna be well maintained.

Jim: 13:28

That'll be that underlying infrastructure. Yeah, absolutely. What are any specific guidelines or restrictions you should be aware of as far as pets rental, any of those kind of things that might stand out?

Courtney: 13:41

Our HOA guidelines basically you can't have any short-term rentals in here. But being that we have a lot of I would say maybe second home buyers or maybe some snowbirds, sometimes when they can't make it down, they. List property for rent. But we don't really manage that part of it, so it's hard to pinpoint how many, second homes we have here. But definitely we do have an HOA and they basically stipulate no short-term rentals, one year minimum lease, if I'm not mistaken. Yep. And they're pretty active. So I think, that's actually good. It helps maintain the community value. A lot of people Sure, sure have, yeah. Rentals and not knowing who's right, who's your neighbor, you don't

Jim: 14:20

have the in and out of it going. Yeah, absolutely. Are there any pet restrictions or what about fencing?

Melissa: 14:26

No pet restrictions. We do allow a fence. It's like a wrought iron style, the black fence, four feet. We allow that. And then I also wanted to mention too that the only real restriction in an active adult community 18 and under cannot live in the home, but they can visit for up to three months in a year, and then 19 and older could actually move back in if they ever needed to.

Jim: 14:49

Okay. Fantastic. Tell me about any stories or testimonials of anybody that's come in and I love hearing when somebody has that winning story.

Melissa: 15:00

Yeah, something.

Jim: 15:02

Somebody's moved in

Melissa: 15:03

on our website. We actually have a great testimonial section. They have a whole video on there where they're interviewing residents. So go to crestman liquid ranch.com and you'll be able to find a whole video on interviews and everything.

Jim: 15:18

Fantastic. So let me ask you as we're wrapping up here, what is it that you wanna say that why would somebody wanna come here to cresting? What's the draw and what are they gonna find?

Courtney: 15:28

I think we hear that the draw is the brand and then the brand is, usually active adult communities have a stigma that, oh my goodness, I don't wanna live in a 55 plus community. I don't wanna live a bunch around a bunch of older folks.

Jim: 15:43

Florida from like the 1960s is very,

Courtney: 15:47

they tend to feel like, oh my God. Like they're moving into a community that is assisted living when it's not really assisted living. These are for active adults. And I think we get a lot of referrals from other homeowners that live in other Crestwood communities and other parts of the states because of the fact that we are a lifestyle driven community. The concerts, the full-time activities directors. So I would say that what people really want when they are looking for a 55 and older community, or 55 and better, that's how we like to call it. That you are going to always have something to do and you're gonna be living amongst like-minded people that are looking for the same exact things that you're looking for. So I think that's what sets us apart and that's why people look for the Crest Wind brand. And we have customers that go through every single Crest community in the US just so they can decide which one they wanna move into. What do you think about that?

Jim: 16:42

You're positioned perfect as far as location. We are, inland a little bit, so you're not worried about any of the issues from storms, but you're close enough to go visit the beaches. You've got Tampa, you've airport, you've got SRQ that are probably 30 to 45 minutes away and in the ability to hit Lakewood Ranch, downtown Main Street as the area grows north and south. In Park and North River Ranch, you have access to all those areas and then everything is right there. Yeah.

Courtney: 17:08

Yeah.

Jim: 17:09

With a hundred clubs in the amenity center and all those things, you can enjoy life without having to deal with the traffic and the other stuff, but it's all there.

Courtney: 17:16

Exactly. That's right. Yeah. And I think we just recently shared that there's an aquatic center that's coming up. Like walking distance and I believe that they have a 50 meter pool coming. So there's a lot of other stuff that make it attractive for a lot of the people that come over here. Just having those amenities that are nearby and having all the walking and jogging trails and bike trails of Lakewood Ranch, it's a win-win.

Jim: 17:39

And I think that's why you moved to Florida and then hanging out with people that wanna do the same thing. You do it, it's tough to beat that.

Melissa: 17:46

Exactly. That's right.

Jim: 17:47

Ladies, thank you so much for joining me today. Glad we had an opportunity to talk about Crest Wind. I think it's a fantastic community. If you've ever driven by and seen the entrance, it's phenomenal. It makes you wanna walk in and check it out, so we'll make sure we have the contact information in there for anybody who's interested. Reach out and hopefully we're talking to them soon.

Courtney: 18:04

Thank you so much for having us. Thank you, Jim. We appreciate it. Yeah, bye.