[Photo: John Cannon Homes]
In the Portmarnock section of Lakewood Ranch, palatial homes are royally furnished, with double-wide refrigerators and enormous freestanding bathtubs. And coming soon at the more modest GreyHawk Landing: its own water park, a new wave in community accouterments. Story

Home Front
Briefs and news of note

So close, and yet (it feels) so far
Owning your own condo on the Gulf beaches makes taking a vacation an everyday escape.

A reserve fund has limited use by board
Question: Can the board establish a reserve account without a vote of association members? Can the board change the use of a reserve account without unit owner approval?

House Values
St. Petersburg

Furniture to cocoon with
Trendspotter Faith Popcorn introduces a line of home office furniture made especially for women.

St. Petersburg Times real estate classified ads:

Regional real estate links:
Tampa Bay Homes - Search local MLS listings, a service of Tampabay.com.
Florida Home Builders - features Florida developers with Web sites.

Other real estate links:
Cost of Living calculator: compares the cost of living in any two cities. Also includes links to Salary Calculator and Moving Calculator among other tools.
Home Buyer and Renter Consumer Information: From the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Home Buying Tips: from the U.S. Government General Services Administration.
Realtor.com: includes info on buying and selling real estate, allows you to browse property ads in the U.S. and locate realtors.