A 2-story, 6 bedroom, 5 bath home of 5026 sq ft, built in 1934, sits on about 2/3’s of an acre of prestigious and private riverfront property. The house has gone through probate and now must be sold. Listed at $1,300,000, Lee County has assessed it at $1,452,860. The original floor to ceiling cypress lined 2-story great room has wrap around balconies and stunning panoramic river views. A guesthouse is included.
The home is close to the Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Winter Estates and the newly revitalized historic downtown River District. In 1986 both men became friends, and bought properties near each other. Both properties are governed by the non-profit Thomas Edison & Henry Ford Winter Estates, Inc. to protect, preserve and interpret the site and further growth and development, and recently finished a $10-MM restoration project in 2006. Edison’s lush 20-acre botanical garden contains over a thousand plant varieties from around the world. A 15,000 sq ft museum holds hundreds of Edison’s and Ford’s inventions, objects, video theatres and features changing special events. Ford’s car collection is featured on the property. Tours are very popular. Edison built there in 1886 and the Fords often visited, buying their property in 1915. The Ford Estate is on National Register of Historic Places
The area is seeing a dramatic drop in prices, causing buyers to flock to the region. Speculators were buying and flipping these prime waterfront properties in the recent past, and when the market dropped, many walked away and let the banks foreclose, the area had the highest number of real estate foreclosures in the country. Some properties are receiving multiple bids and selling at or above list price within days of being listed.
