Fresh Floor Plans & Venice Vibes at Brighton by Ryan Homes: Featuring Carol & Ginger

In this episode of Jim Sells the Suncoast, Jim sits down with Carol Hayward and Ginger Astle from Ryan Homes to spotlight Brighton, a charming new community bringing fresh designs and affordable single-family living to the Venice market.

Whether you’re a first-time buyer, moving up, or seeking a laid-back Florida lifestyle close to beaches, golf, and downtown, Brighton might just be your perfect match — with NO CDD fees and smart floor plans crafted for modern living.

🗝️ Key Highlights

🏡 Community Snapshot

• Total Homes: 84 Ryan Homes sites (plus 84 by another builder)
• Size: Cozy, boutique community — means less construction noise and quicker build-out.
• Location: Right off Jacaranda Blvd & I-75 — minutes to downtown Venice, Venice Beach, Publix, Sprouts, YMCA, and new local coffee shops.
• No CDD Fees: Rare for Venice — saves you thousands compared to larger master-planned neighborhoods.

📐 New Florida-Designed Floor Plans

• 5 Plans: Fully redesigned specifically for Florida living — Brighton is the FIRST community in the state to offer them!
• Sizes:
  • Smallest — Aurora: ~1,590 sq ft, 3 bed / 2 bath.
  • Largest — Serena: ~2,850 sq ft, 4 bed with loft & study.
  • All include a 2-car garage.
• Pricing: Starts at $399,000 — a great entry point for the Venice area.
• Lot Sizes: 52’ x 122’ — every lot is pool-friendly.
• Customization: Semi-custom options — choose exterior colors, stone, cabinets, flooring, backsplashes & more. NO surprise design-center sticker shock — pick it all with your sales team and lock it in.

🏘️ Amenities & Community Feel

• Low HOA: Only $134/month — covers maintenance of dog park, community gazebo, and common areas.
• Private Pools: No big resort amenities means lower fees — spend your savings on your own backyard oasis.
• Green Space: Unique island feature with pond and nature views — plus walking paths and wildlife.

🚀 Fast, Flexible Building

• Fully Custom Builds: Pick your plan, your lot, and personalize.
• Model Home: The Brooks is open daily to tour. More show homes for other floor plans coming soon.
• Build Time: ~6 months — buy now and be in before the holidays!

🌞 Why Choose Brighton?

✨ New floor plans, great location, low fees, quick build times, and a friendly neighborhood vibe — all just 12 minutes from Venice Beach and charming downtown. Plus, top local schools, Saturday farmers markets, and that island vibe that makes Venice one-of-a-kind.

📬 Ready to Explore?

Schedule your visit to tour the model, pick your lot, and chat with Carol & Ginger about how to build your new Florida home.

👉 Reach out to Jim at jim.ahearn@gmail.com or visit Jim Sells the Suncoast to connect today.

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: 0:52

All right, and welcome to Jim Sells the Suncoast Today I'm really excited to have Carol Haywood with me and Ginger Astel with me. Both have been in the industry for a couple of years so we'll just leave it at that. But they've been working in the area and we're talking about Brighton joining the Venice market. Carol's been with the company with Ryan for 11 years. So welcome and thanks for being here.

Ginger: 1:16

Thank you.

Jim: 1:16

So a big development, really getting into the Venice area. What kind of brought the team down to Venice and with what you're doing and growing with Bright,

Ginger (2): 1:24

We were in Port Charlotte which isn't too far away. And I know that this an area that they were very much interested in. This is the furthest south that we are. I was super excited'cause I live up the street, so I've been waiting for this community for over two and a half years. Yeah. It's a great opportunity. I think they were excited to try this market. We're close to the beach, close to everything. We wouldn't wanna live in Venice, so that's why we're super excited about it.

Jim: 1:51

Fantastic. So when did they break ground for Brighton? how long has it been started?

Carol: 1:56

We had our ribbon cutting ceremony on April 30th. Okay. And we built the model. ginger and I are sitting and ginger's in the office right now in the Brighton model, which is called the Brooks. And that model is a fully decorated model. It's a three bedroom with an office, very open concept, volume ceilings, lots of natural light and on the water view. And that model was built and ready to go when we opened.

Jim: 2:26

Nice. So as we go into Brighton, how big a community is this? What's our build out gonna be? How many homes.

Ginger (2): 2:32

Yeah, so we have 84 home sites here in Brighton, and then we share with another builder in here as well. And they have 84 home sites. So it's a relatively small community, which is amazing. So it's going to be done, it's not gonna be under construction for years. Yeah. So that's exciting. And it's a nice small little community close to everything. No CBD fee, which is amazing in Venice because most of our communities here are large and have huge CBDs and a really low HOA fee. So it's a great spot.

Jim: 3:05

Nice. How many different floor plans are available? When we're looking in this and it, is it all single family home?

Ginger (2): 3:11

All single family, yep. And we just revamped all of our floor plans. So we are the first community in the state to have these new floor

Jim: 3:20

plans.

Ginger (2): 3:21

Yeah, so we're super excited about, so people have not seen them before, so this is it. Yeah.

Carol: 3:25

That's right. In fact, they've been working on that five years to design brand new floor plans for the state of Florida. And Brighton in Venice is the first rollout. So it's really nice floor plans.

Jim: 3:40

So how many different plans are available and what sizes do they run? Is it three one, the smallest?

Ginger (2): 3:46

It's three bedroom, two bath, yeah. The Aurora model.

Jim: 3:51

And how big do they get? What's the largest you can go to?

Carol: 3:54

2,850. Yeah. Two story.

Ginger (2): 3:58

I know. I was like, I dunno if you wanna say something, right? Yeah.

Carol: 4:01

Ginger, you go ahead and talk about all the floor plans. Are you sure? Because you probably got'em all right there. So let's have Jim ask all the questions and you answer'em all. Okay? Okay.

Jim: 4:12

So then tell me about the floor plans. What's available from the smallest to the largest and how many different ones are available?

Ginger (2): 4:18

Hi. So yes, we have five different floor plans here. Our smallest is our Aurora model, which is 1590 square feet, three bedrooms, two baths open concept. It's very nice. And then our largest is our Serena, which is 28 50. It's a two story, so it's great. A family home, for sure. Four bedrooms with a loft and a study, and two and a half bath.

Jim: 4:40

Okay. And all two car garage.

Ginger (2): 4:42

All two car garages. Yep. And we sit in our Brooks model, which is about 1833 square feet. And it's three bedrooms. With an office or can be four bedrooms.

Jim: 4:53

Okay. And what's the price point?

Ginger (2): 4:56

The Aurora starts at 3 99.

Jim: 4:58

Oh, okay. That's great. That's a great level, entry level families moving into the area. Perfect. Tell me a little bit about what are the other costs associated with it? You mentioned earlier the HOA, what is the HOA and what does that cover?

Ginger (2): 5:13

So the HOA in here is only$134, and it covers, we have a little dog park, which has just been put in, which is really cute. And a gazebo. It's low amenities, but people can put their own pools in our home sites. Any of our home sites will fit a pool. So people are looking, to get out of these bigger communities and get into something that they're not gonna have to worry about the fees going up or amenities that they don't use. it's a great spot if you want your fees to be low.

Jim: 5:40

Yeah, I think that's a big deal because some of these communities have a hundred different amenities, but if you don't use them. You don't wanna pay for'em, so you're still paying for'em. Everybody loves a dog park.

Ginger: 5:50

Yeah.

Jim: 5:50

So how big are the lots? You said you could put a pool on each one. How big are the lots So that people can mentally picture what it is

Carol: 5:57

the home sites are. You're looking at 52 feet wide by 122 feet long or deep. Okay.

Jim: 6:08

Yeah.

Carol: 6:10

Nice size.

Jim: 6:11

Oh, go ahead. Nice size.

Carol: 6:13

Yeah. And I think Ginger mentioned, how you can have your own pool, by the time A home buyer pays into a CDD, especially the CDD cost in the Venice, Sarasota County area, within four or five years they could have already had their own private pool right out their sighting glass doors and be owning it.

Ginger (2): 6:32

And not worry about, a new assessment or, fees going up right. In the next years. Can we see a lot of that, different communities around us that people are running out of them because they just can't

Ginger: 6:42

control the

Ginger (2): 6:42

fees.

Jim: 6:46

Any plans for future amenities other than the dog park gazebo area? Or that's really the center location really for the people. That's where they'll be able to have group activities and do those kind of things,

Ginger (2): 6:57

right? Yeah. Then that's it. And we are fortunate. There's a really nice YMCA around the corner, so people really wanna use a pool or get involved with activity, work out or gyms or whatever. It's just literally around the corner from us. So that's a big plus here.

Jim: 7:11

Yeah, and I think when you mentioned your location by Venice, you also have Venice Beach. You got the keys, you've got downtown Venice. There's tons of areas to go and enjoy the lifestyle that's out there.

Ginger (2): 7:22

We're only 10 minutes from the beach in downtown.

Carol: 7:25

And nice. The other thing that's really unique is that this is located right off Exit 1 9 3, right onto Jacaranda Boulevard, so it's easy access onto I 75, like you said, to be able to go, whether you're going to the Sarasota. The UTC Mall Tampa, or you're going the other way towards the Keys. It's very easy access. Not to mention, you also have a brand new Publix in that area, restaurants and shops that you can even walk to. And ginger identified not too long ago that they're putting in a brand new coffee shop adjacent to the community as well as the sprouts. And you can take the golf cart over

Ginger (2): 8:04

there. We have a golf cart in here and we, Carol and I drove over to check out the sprouts Yeah. What is nice. If you can, that's the way to do it.

Jim: 8:14

Absolutely. And I think too, you're located right between SRQ airport and Southwest Florida. Equal travel distance and it gives you the access to get around anywhere you want to go in the country.

Ginger (2): 8:23

And even Pan Gorda is not far the airport Panag, Goda.'cause we're right off of 41 as well. So we're in a great location.

Jim: 8:30

Nice. So you said there gonna be 84 homes that you're putting in with another builder. How big is the area as far as acreage and what kind of Greenway does it have?

Carol: 8:40

I think Shore can share a little bit more about this. It's the only community that we've ever seen that has its own unique. Island. So you wanna talk about that Ginger?

Ginger (2): 8:51

I had my computer over by the window. I can send you some pictures, but it does, it's really cool. It has a little island in the middle. It's like a land bridge they have that you can, so we have some really nice home sites for, for pond views. All the nature, all the wildlife. It's been really fun just to see all the birds and the, you got a little alligator.

Jim: 9:12

You know what, if it's a body of water in Florida, there's an Alligator. That's right. And so tell me a little bit about the building and construction process. How much can a potential buyer. Personalize it. Is there room for them to come in and decide different fixtures or different finishes? How much leeway are they given when looking at a home?

Carol: 9:29

Yeah, I can share a little bit. So the uniqueness of this community is that you are able to do customization everything from picking out your. Color palette, which allows you to decide. Do you want granite or would you like a white quartz. And then there's several different kinds of quartz and flooring. Everything from tile to luxury vinyl plank. In addition, we also have tile that looks like hardwood, and many different design colors. Ginger and I were excited about the many different cabinet choices. We even have a two-one option where there's white cabinets on the one area and navy cabinets, which is perfect for the beaches. So we're beautiful. Some of that color.

Ginger (2): 10:18

And we have some brand new backsplashes that, compliment beautifully with the cabinets, especially the Navy is like one of my favorite ones.

Carol: 10:25

Yes, for sure. And all with affordability because at this community you don't have to go to a design center. You get to pick everything out with ginger and being able she will do the semi customization. Be able to put everything together and you'll be able to walk out the door knowing what your cost is, and not hoping, oh gosh, I gotta go to a design center and come out$50,000 later, you're gonna actually be able to know your cost. Ginger can do an estimate and be able to tell you what your taxes, insurance, and everything are as well.

Ginger (2): 10:58

Nice. And the nice thing in here too is the exterior color choices. We have some really pretty exterior color choices, which is different than a lot of builders. A lot of builders, it's just brown or tan or ours are really pretty, right? You can choose and you can add stone to any of our homes now as well.

Jim: 11:15

Okay potential buyers coming in, they're gonna sit down with you, they're gonna talk about the lot, and can you put any floor plan on any lot?

Ginger (2): 11:22

You can, that's the, yeah. The beauty of it. Okay. Nice. Yeah.

Jim: 11:25

And then do you have any that are inventory ready or any that will be, or is everything gonna be custom from initial spot on?

Ginger (2): 11:32

We do all of ours. Custom. We let you choose what you want.

Jim: 11:35

Okay.

Carol: 11:36

Yes. Except for we will be having, and this will be something that the listeners will wanna know about, we will be building. So when we have five floor plans, we have a decorated model. The Brooks, you can come through right now we're open. Our hours, our Mondays from one to six. Tuesdays through Saturday, 11 to six and Sundays 12 to five. So you can come see our Brooks model right now, fully decorated. And then we're building the decorated model of the Caledonia, which is a one story home with a suite. As a second story. So you've got a, like a loft, a bedroom, and a full bathroom on the second story. And that will be completed in the next three to four months. In addition to that, Ginger's gonna be showcasing and highlighting, and she's been working on this with our construction team to bring out the other three floor plans. And those other three floor plans are the Aurora. The Patterson and the Serena. So we're gonna build what we call a white model and it, we're just gonna build the home. It's not gonna be furnished, but we are going to be able to show it for six months. And so whoever has the opportunity to buy these beautiful white models, they'll be able to get that at special pricing and then we'll sell it to them at a delayed closing. So that way we have one of every floor plan to show,

Jim: 13:01

Nice. Sometimes it's hard to picture exactly how it's gonna flow, so being able to walk through and see it can really help.

Ginger (2): 13:07

Yeah. It's nice to be able to look through them and they sell themselves. Once you can walk through it and see how

Ginger: 13:11

we've

Ginger (2): 13:12

done all of our models, they're beautiful. Everything that everybody wanted, we've changed and now this is where we are with them here in this community. So we're super excited. Tell us more about

Carol: 13:22

that teacher. What do you mean by that?

Ginger (2): 13:24

Probably what I say, we'll have to take this out, Jim, but probably what I say is, like with the Brooks model, it used to be the Baymont people wanted, the windows to be raised up. They wanted, actually closets, that kind of stuff.

Jim: 13:35

taking the feedback from people that have come through and said, Hey, here's really what we want, as opposed to. This is what you get. We're just gonna build it and you don't have a choice.

Ginger (2): 13:44

We've done double sliders, we've done bigger Lan

Carol: 13:46

eyes, we've done and volume ceilings. We have the Patterson. The Patterson has 11. It's a one story home, four bedroom, two bath, two car. But it has 11 foot four ceilings in the great room with two beautiful sets of sliding glass doors that open up to an oversized lanid that you can put your own pool on.

Jim: 14:07

Nice. What's the build time then? So somebody comes in and says, Hey, I wanna buy a house. How long till they're walking through that front door.

Ginger (2): 14:15

We, our build time is about six months from sign. When you sign the contract.

Jim: 14:18

Wow, okay.

Ginger (2): 14:18

Yep. You'll be in for the holiday. That's pretty quick. Buy something now.

Jim: 14:21

that's right.

Carol: 14:22

Yes. Purchase in the month of June and be living in your home at the end of November and enjoy all your family and friends for the holidays.

Jim: 14:30

What kind of warranty is coming with the homes?

Carol: 14:34

Ryan Holmes offers a one year warranty on everything except for Asad, two years behind the walls, your plumbing, your air conditioning, your wiring, a 10 year structural warranty as well as manufacturer warranties. For the home and one of the things that make Ryan Homes different is that Ryan Homes, we go above the county code. Like for example, the county code is our 30 in installation for the county. We know to be able to get it above Energy star into the hers rating, the Home Energy Rating index, we need to blow in R 38 insulation. Into the ceiling. So we're going to do that. We have every single window tested for air leakage making the home a very energy efficient home. And that's something that our home buyers over the years have enjoyed.

Ginger (2): 15:30

We're also offering impact windows in this community. Some people like the impact windows or want impact windows. So that is something that is an option now for us in here.

Jim: 15:40

Yeah, that's a big option in down here. And I think to your point with the energy efficiency, we're in Florida where you're gonna run that air conditioner and if it can keep it cool, you can do it at a reasonable cost. That's a big deal going forward.

Carol: 15:52

That's right. The other thing, Jim, that we wanted to share with you and your listeners is that we are probably one of the only communities in that area that have a floor plan for families and this particular floor plan called the SER has put the owner's bedroom downstairs. So instead of having to have. It upstairs, like so many floor plans. This has the owner's bedroom downstairs plus another bedroom. this floor plan is very special. It offers a gourmet kitchen upgrade which if the home buyer takes, it even has a wine refrigerator included in that.

Jim: 16:36

It's hard to get through a summer without the wine refrigerator. I'll be honest with

Ginger: 16:39

you. Especially with all the kids.

Jim: 16:43

So tell me a little bit, does Ryan have a preferred lender title? Is it vertically integrated through that way?

Carol: 16:49

We did. So Ryan is owned by NVR, Northern Virginia Ryan. We are on the New York Stock Exchange, and NVR has owned their own in-house lender for over 73 years.

Jim: 17:04

So it can really set up for a nice, easy one. Stop shop, come in, work through everything, and then you can step out without having to worry about calling somebody else and making whole new arrangements. Plus the communication can be a positive fun outside.

Carol: 17:17

That's

Ginger (2): 17:17

right. Absolutely. It's a smooth transition for sure.

Carol: 17:21

Yes. And in addition to that, it's a real big win for the home buyer because not only are they gonna get an amazing home, beautiful home with design finishes and be able to semi-custom and pick all these things out and do it at an affordable price, but they're also going to get from our in-house lender a nice closing contribution to help them pay all their closing costs by down the rate.

Jim: 17:46

Fabulous. Are there any particular restrictions homeowners should be aware of, such as pet policies or rental regulations?

Ginger (2): 17:55

I. The rental policy is yearly, which is nice. So it keeps the Airbnbs out and all the

Carol: 18:01

All

Ginger: 18:02

the

Ginger (2): 18:02

And then no pet policy. And you're allowed to have fences in here as well. Now if you're on the water or the pond, it's a rat iron fence, but you definitely can have

Carol: 18:10

fence.

Jim: 18:12

Fantastic. Lady, tell me, if somebody's moving down to the Venice area, why do they need to come to Brighton?

Carol: 18:22

the reason you'd want to look at Brighton is it's a community that you're not gonna have to be living around construction forever. It's got the best location. You're 12 minutes from the beach, 10 minutes from Venice downtown. You can walk. To the grocery store, to the restaurants it's location for affordable living as well as being able to have a big, beautiful home in five different design choices and floor plans.

Ginger (2): 18:55

we also have wonderful schools here too. So a lot of people like this area for the school system

Jim: 19:00

Absolutely. I know Venice was state champs last year, so I

Ginger (2): 19:03

know they're very good. Their high school team is really good in sports for sure. It's fun to follow.

Ginger: 19:09

Yep.

Carol: 19:09

And it's very community oriented. I think Venice is a special place, right? You've got people that come from all over the United States to move to Venice and what's their not to love about Venice. I haven't found anything not to love about it. No flood zone, close to the beach, close to, golf courses and easy access, like you said, Jim, to the Keys and to Tampa. What's their not to love? And the downtown is

Jim: 19:37

right. You know what,

Carol: 19:38

Sorry.

Jim: 19:38

absolutely. The architecture and the things going on downtown, so you're a little bit removed from the traffic and crowds, but close enough to hit everything.

Carol: 19:47

Yeah.

Jim: 19:47

You're right. What's not to love about it?

Ginger (2): 19:49

Yes, we do love

Carol: 19:50

Venice, and I think we should, we, one of the things we didn't mention, just I think Ginger. Why don't you tell us a little bit about that farmer's market?

Ginger (2): 19:58

market, so every Saturday morning there's a huge farmer's market downtown and they do a lot of arts festivals down there as well. But every Saturday is the farmer's market and they bring in fresh produce. Everyone shows their arts and crafts. They have, different restaurants, have their food. Yeah. It is very community oriented and it's fun. Everybody brings their dog and it's just a fun little event. Music always playing, all sorts of food being prepared. It's just it's a really fun community event. We loved it even before we started coming here. That was one thing that really drew us to it, is we're beachy people and we love the beach and downtown vibe and it's just, it's really got like an island vibe. It's definitely a fun little spot.

Jim: 20:38

That's the one where they just block off the street and it's just The farmer's market all the way through.

Carol: 20:42

And Ryan Homes at Brighton. We, it's very important to us to be part of that community and be able to give back as well. we've done a lot of grassroots marketing and we really care about the community. So we've done quite a bit in that community and we'll continue to do I know Ginger works real closely with the Chamber. We've also partnered up with big Mike's Pizza. There's just so many businesses that have shared their patronage. We've really enjoyed the different opportunities to get to know Venice and the different patronage and vendors.

Ginger (2): 21:18

And it's fun. And everybody, works together, which is really nice. And you can tell people love living here, it definitely shows.

Jim: 21:22

That's awesome. Thank you ladies so much. Anybody listening needs to come down and check out the Brighton by Ryan Holmes down in Venice. And we'll have the information linked in the notes.

Ginger (2): 21:35

Thank you

Carol: 21:35

so much. Thanks for your time. Thank you. Thank you guys. Bye-bye.