Top Dog-Friendly neighborhoods in Port St. Lucie

Other Canine-related Resources

Parks & Beaches: The city of Port St. Lucie boasts 40 unique parks and recreational facilities. Take your dog on a nice hike at the Savanna Preserve State Park where you’ll witness sandy paths, bridge overlooks, and water at the canoe launch.
Walton Rocks beach on Hutchinson Island offers 24 acres of dog-friendly beach access.

Dogs & Cats Forever: on Bayshore Blvd in Port St. Lucie has a donation drop-off (similar to Goodwill) where your un-needed household items are sold with proceeds benefiting this no-kill shelter. Pets can also be adopted at our local PetsMart in Tradition and Petco in St. Lucie West.

Restaurants with Outside Dining:
St. Lucie West: Panera Bread, Spiro’s Greek Taverna, Chipotle, and Berry Fresh.
Tradition: Hurricane Grill, Johnny V’s Pizza, and Tin Fish.

Dog Days at the Met’s Spring Training: Every year the Mets spring training hosts certain nights where dogs can bring their owners to the stadium for a night on the grassy knoll and a gander at the game.

This page is dedicated to our dear Weimaraner, Willa. She passed in 2012 from bone cancer after 11 years of frolicking in Port St. Lucie along trails and beaches. My parents adopted Willa from a puppy mill when she was 7 months old and she was their faithful “stead” (as my mom called her). I know how important finding pet-friendly locations are where you live as my family was always looking to include Willa in our adventures.

TOP Retirement Communities in Port St. Lucie

Active Living in Port St. Lucie

Theatre: Movies or performing arts? – your choice because we offer both. Check out the latest box office hit at Rave Motion Theatre in St. Lucie West and then enjoy dinner nearby. Or make it a night out in the downtown Fort Pierce district at the historic Sunrise Theatre that offers national music and comedy touring acts, Broadway shows, and ballet and opera companies with full orchestras. For $5 enjoy the Jazz and Blues society’s live jams ever Tuesday night at their Black Box Theatre.

Healthy Diet: Port St. Lucie is home to Nutrition Smart which is an organic and natural grocery store similar to Whole Foods (just not as big). The store offers monthly classes on various topics and is also a great way to find other green businesses within our area.
My favorite restaurant for fresh food is Berry Fresh Cafe in St. Lucie West. The menu changes seasonally and the owner continually surprises and delights his loyal customers.

Transportation. Since 1990 the Treasure Coast Connector has been providing transportation to St. Lucie and Martin County residents with two modes of service: demand and fixed route.

Environment Tours: The River Lilly or River Princess eco-tours are a great way to learn about the diverse habitat within our county while cruising along the St. Lucie waterways.

Gardeners: The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) partners with our County to offer the Master Gardeners program which provides info about native plantings, gardening, and residential landscaping.
Also, be sure to check out the PSL Botanical Gardens which is a fairly new community garden that boasts gardens such that are native, roses, orchids, bromeliads, succulents, and a butterfly garden to name a few. There is a Jazz & Blues Fest every other Wednesday night in the gardens.

Farmer’s Market: The downtown Fort Pierce Farmer’s Market is the place to be on Saturday mornings. Fresh produce, live jazz, and craft vendors overwhelm the senses. Come hungry and stay for a good portion of the day. The breezes from the water tantalize as you leisurely stroll from booth to booth.

Top Naturistic Neighborhoods in Port St. Lucie

Green Living in Port St. Lucie

Parks & Rec: The city of Port St. Lucie boasts 40 unique parks and recreational facilities. One of my favorites is Oxbow Eco-Center which will get you quickly acquainted with the diverse eco systems within our county.

Healthy Diet: Port St. Lucie is home to Nutrition Smart which is an organic and natural grocery store similar to Whole Foods (just not as big). The store offers monthly classes on various topics and is also a great way to find other green businesses within our area.
My favorite restaurant for fresh food is Berry Fresh Cafe in St. Lucie West. The menu changes seasonally and the owner continually surprises and delights his loyal customers.

Recycling is available to PSL residents through Waste Pro which provides free green and blue bins. Click here for details.

Environment Tours: The River Lilly or River Princess eco-tours are a great way to learn about the diverse habitat within our county while cruising along the St. Lucie waterways.

Gardeners: The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) partners with our County to offer the Master Gardeners program which provides info about native plantings, gardening, and residential landscaping.
Also, be sure to check out the PSL Botanical Gardens which is a fairly new community garden that boasts gardens such that are native, roses, orchids, bromeliads, succulents, and a butterfly garden to name a few. There is a Jazz & Blues Fest every other Wednesday night in the gardens.

Farmer’s Market: The downtown Fort Pierce Farmer’s Market is the place to be on Saturday mornings. Fresh produce, live jazz, and craft vendors overwhelm the senses. Come hungry and stay for a good portion of the day. The breezes from the water tantalize as you leisurely stroll from booth to booth.

Keep Port St. Lucie Beautiful: As a committee member I work with the City to help host annual events such as the tree giveaway and the Adopt-A-Street program.

Neighborhoods and nearby information coming within a few days!

Neighborhoods and nearby information coming within a few days!

Throughout the home-buying process I answer a lot of questions about real estate taxes. Here’s a culmination of answers to the most frequently asked questions about property tax.

What is Homestead Exemption?

A reduction from the assessed value of your property by up to $50,000 if you live in the house as your primary residence.

Are the taxes on real estate listings correct?

I wouldn’t trust them to be accurate. When agents input their listings some of the data can be automatically imported and if they don’t check against the actual bill then it may not be accurate.

What are special assessments?

There are a few different kinds and most of them have to do with being in gated neighborhoods or within master-planned communities. You’ll see flat-fee assessments on tax bills for any property in St. Lucie West or in Tradition. Some of the fees stay with the property forever and some are a bond that will be paid off in a predetermined amount of time.

My best advice: Become savvy in looking up the taxes on a property.
Watch this video to learn how:

And this video explains the two different portions of the tax bill:

Here are a few things to discuss:

Closing Documents and Funds

The title company will have made sure that the property has clear title and will prepare the documents for all parties to sign. If you’re purchasing with a mortgage then your lender will have their closing documents sent to the title company to prepare.

If the title company is local then we will most likely close at their office. If they are from another area then they will probably send a notary with the documents. If you’re not local then the title company can email you the documents to have signed and/or notarized from your location.

Included in the closing package is the settlement statement which will detail all of the final costs. I do my best to obtain a copy for you to review at least 24 hours prior to closing. I review to make sure all costs are as expected and then pass on to you.

Paying cash? You can wire transfer the funds to the title company or bring a cashier’s check to closing.

If you’re purchasing with a mortgage then your mortgage lender will wire transfer their funds to the title company. You will have to bring a cashier’s check to closing with the remainder of your down payment and closing costs.

Final Walk Through

This is your option if you would like a final walk-through prior to closing. If the seller has recently moved out and you have not toured the property since it’s been vacant then I would suggest doing a final walk-through … maybe even a few days before closing just to be safe should we find a discrepancy.

Photo Op!

My favorite part is taking your photo in front of the house before closing. Check out the slideshow below of my past, happy buyers or visit this section to read their individual stories.

Communication is key! If you feel that you are uncertain about a process during the purchase transaction please call, text, or email with your questions.

Curious about the process of how to make an offer? Click here for a related article.

You’re welcome to review a the AS-IS Residential Contract For Sale and Purchase before we actually sit down to sign the dotted line.

Click below to view the offer and two common addenda.

Take it one step further and watch a tutorial I created for those with whom I’ve already made an offer.

Questions, give me a call at 772-485-3214 or contact me here.