Places in this guide Esplanade at Azario Monterey at Lakewood Ranch The Founders Club Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch Sarasota Lakewood Ranch
Last updated October 2026
The best evidence of how I work is what happens in a real transaction, so this page walks through three situations I handle often: buying from another state, buying a new construction home, and buying or selling in a golf, gated, or association community. Each story pairs the facts of my sales record with the words of clients who wrote about the experience, and none of it compares me with another agent.
As of October 20, 2026, my sold homes page lists 168 closed sales since 2015, with more than $157 million in total sales volume. Clients are not named here unless they have posted a public review, and every review quoted below links to the platform where it appears.
Buying a Sarasota home from another state
A buyer who lives elsewhere cannot walk through a home on a free afternoon, so my job is to be that buyer’s eyes. I visit the homes on the short list, record video of every room, the street, and the surroundings, and tell you honestly what the photographs leave out. You decide which homes deserve a flight, and which can be crossed off from your kitchen table.
One buyer described it this way:
I was buying from across the country and she went to view homes I was interested in and took pictures and videos to make sure I was able to see the homes myself as much as possible.
Terry Scholl on Zillow, December 26, 2022
That buyer, who bought a home in Bradenton in 2022, was searching from across the country, so I went to see the homes on the list and sent back pictures and videos of each one. I also helped choose the locations worth considering, and together we found homes that met both the needs and the budget.
Buyers who traveled from out of state in search of their Sarasota home wrote on Zillow in July 2019 that I “quickly found exactly what we were looking for.” They also wrote that I “personally checked on the progress of our new home and sent us updated photos,” and that I continued to stay in touch after closing.
If you are buying from out of state, my advice is to narrow your search to two or three areas before the videos start, so that every home I walk through for you is one you could truly picture yourself living in. Call or text me whenever it suits you, and I will tell you how I would set up your search.
My relocation guide covers the planning side of a long-distance move, and my military relocation page explains how I work with families on orders.
Buying new construction with someone who knows the builder’s side
Before I represented buyers and sellers directly, I sold new homes for a Fortune 500 builder and then oversaw sales and marketing for several of the region’s custom home builders. A new home contract is written to protect the builder, so I read it with you before you sign, and I explain the deposits, the completion estimate, and what each incentive asks of you.
My recent record includes new construction communities across Lakewood Ranch. In July 2026 I represented the buyer of a home in Esplanade at Azario, and in June 2026 I represented the buyer of a home in Monterey at Lakewood Ranch. A client who built with me wrote:
Not only did she spend hours and hours showing us around (multiple days) but she spent months helping us build a new house step by step.
Helene Zukas on Zillow, December 27, 2022
Incentives are one place where that background shows. A buyer who wrote on Google in February 2024 ended up with “a beautiful new home in a great community in Bradenton, with all of the incentives she worked so hard to get us,” and added that I do “not try to over sell.” Because I spent years on the builder’s side of the sales desk, I know how a builder presents its incentives, and I work to make sure my buyers receive the ones available to them.
My advice to anyone buying new construction is to weigh each incentive for what it is worth to you and what it asks in return, such as using the builder’s preferred lender, before you choose between homes or communities. An incentive that looks generous on the price sheet is only a good one if it fits your plans.
Please call me before your first visit to a model, since most builders recognize a buyer’s agent only from the first visit. My guide to registering your agent before a builder visit explains why.
Selling or buying in a golf, gated, or association community
Gated and golf communities each have their own rules, fees, and buyer pools, so I price and prepare a home with the community’s recent sales in front of us. I have closed 35 MLS sales at The Founders Club, and I have closed sales at Del Webb at Lakewood Ranch in 2024, 2025, and 2026.
My three highest MLS sales closed between $3.1 million and $3.7 million. At the other end, 56 of my closed sales were under $500,000, so the same preparation goes to every client, whatever the price. A client who bought with my help remembered the part that mattered to him:
She didn’t hesitate to tell me when a property wasn’t a good fit, and was very diligent in finding me the perfect house for me.
Bob Dorfman on Zillow, August 30, 2020
Buyers who purchased their retirement home at The Founders Club wrote on Zillow in May 2018 that I was their agent twice: first for the home itself, and then for a condominium they rented while the home was under construction. They wrote that I was “very attentive to match the property with the issues of concern and importance to us,” offered suggestions and alternatives, and “always took great notes,” so I could answer their questions or quickly get back to them.
Selling in a community with its own association calls for the same depth of understanding. A seller who wrote on Realtor.com in August 2019 described a seven-figure home in what the seller called a troubled community, which I sold “in a relatively short period of time for full price,” with a closing in fourteen days. To get there, I held numerous open houses, created a detailed advertising plan, and attended the association’s board meetings so that I understood the community in depth.
My advice if you are selling in a community with a club, a gate, or an active association is to have the rules, fees, and membership details ready before the first showing, because those are among the first questions a serious buyer asks. If you are weighing a sale or purchase in one of these communities, call or text me, and I will pull its recent sales and walk you through what they mean for you.
What these stories do not claim
I do not publish a sale-to-list ratio or say that I outperform other agents, because a fair comparison needs data that no one outside a transaction can see. What I can show you is my full sales record, the reviews clients chose to write, and the process I follow. My reviews page has every review in full, and the sold homes page lists each closing.
The stories above use only what my sales record and my clients’ reviews state. Where a review does not mention days on market, a price, or how long a search took, I have not added one. The full-price sale and the fourteen-day closing come from that seller’s own review, which does not say whether the community had a golf course or a gate.
Sources, checked October 20, 2026: the sold homes page on this site (closed MLS sales, listed by address), and the Zillow, Google, and Realtor.com reviews linked beside each quotation.
Thinking about a move like one of these?
If one of these three situations sounds like yours, a short note is the best place to start. Tell me where you are moving from, the areas or communities you are considering, your price range, and if you plan to buy, sell, or do both.
I will send you the recent sales in the communities you name and tell you honestly whether I am the right agent for your move. If you are buying from away, I will explain how I would set up the showings, pictures, and videos; if you are looking at new construction, I will help you before your first builder visit; and if you are selling, I will walk you through how I would prepare and market your home.
Please call or text me at (813) 394-3313 or send me a note whenever it suits you. I would be glad to help.
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Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Janelle Mertins is a licensed real estate agent with Compass.
