The Heron at The Forest, South Fort Myers
Sixty-three coach houses and one-story villas, three association layers and fees no one publishes. We match your budget to a condominium and a plan, order all three estoppels on day one and read the flood and insurance file with you. Call Marc at (239) 287-5873.
Updated September 2026 · By Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar, Domain Realty
Buying a home in The Heron at The Forest means buying one of 63 condominium homes on one private street inside The Forest, the gated golf community in south Fort Myers: a coach house in one of six buildings or a one-story villa, under three association layers that publish no fee. Six homes sold in the last 12 months, so preparation decides the purchase.
The full record of the neighborhood, its two condominiums, its history, its associations, its flood map and every sale of the last four years, is on our guide to The Heron at The Forest, which this buyer page sits beside. The wider community, its two golf courses, its gates and its 19 neighborhoods, is covered in our complete guide to The Forest, and the community-wide purchase path is on buying a home in The Forest. This page is about the Heron purchase itself: what to check, in what order, and what it costs to own. Owners on the other side of the table should read how we sell homes at The Heron at The Forest or start with a free Heron home valuation. Call Marc Comisar at (239) 287-5873 to talk through a specific home.
If you are searching for the best buyer’s agent for The Heron at The Forest in Fort Myers, Florida, McGreevy and Comisar represents homebuyers across Fort Myers, Estero, Bonita Springs, Naples, Lee County and Collier County. Whether you are relocating, buying a seasonal home or trading a house for a lock-and-leave coach house or villa, including in The Forest, its neighboring golf communities and the US 41 corridor of south Fort Myers, our team provides honest market guidance, pre-market awareness, partner-level negotiation and a clear plan to help you buy confidently.
The Heron is two condominiums built as one development by Forest Joint Venture. The Heron Coach Houses are 48 homes in six buildings of eight, finished from 1990 to 1992. The Heron Coach House Villas are 15 one-story villas held as a land condominium, finished from 1994 to 1996, which makes them the only condominium buildings in The Forest completed after 1993. Every home is on Heron Coach Way, ZIP 33908, and every one is recorded with a garage.
Every Heron owner belongs to a unit association (the Coach Houses or the Villas), to The Heron Master Association, Inc., which holds the shared road, utility easements and pool, and to The Forest Property Owners’ Association, the community master association. It is the only three-tier structure inside The Forest’s gates, and it means three budgets and three estoppel certificates on every purchase. The Forest is non-bundled, so club membership is optional and separate.
The Heron has no building above two stories, no building finished after 1996, no published fee at any association layer and no home outside FEMA flood Zone AE, and its ground sits among the lowest inside the gates. A buyer who wants more floor area for the money or higher ground should also look at Fairway Woods at The Forest, and a buyer who wants a fee-simple villa should look at Eagle’s Landing at The Forest. We cover all three.
Heron buyers work with McGreevy and Comisar because a Heron purchase turns on records a general agent rarely reads: which of two condominiums a home is in, three estoppel certificates, three unpublished budgets, the county’s floor plans and story counts, a unit number that names a building, and two FEMA panels. Jesse McGreevy and Marc Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008.
Those are career numbers across Lee and Collier County. As the leaders of Domain Realty Group, the #1 real estate team in Southwest Florida since 2012, our team has closed over $2.5 billion in real estate; learn more at DomainRealtyGroup.com. If you are comparing teams, our guide to the best real estate agents in Fort Myers sets them side by side on the public record.
Your agent should tell you whether the home you like is a Coach House or a Villa, which plan’s sales your offer is really competing with, and what the unit association’s and the Heron Master’s budgets, reserves and insurance say before your inspection period ends. Your agent should order all three estoppel certificates the day you sign and read both sets of governing documents with you. That is the job, and it is the job we do.
Marc Comisar runs the buy side in the field: gate access, tours, inspections, contractor quotes and the walk-through. Jesse McGreevy runs the data, the documents and the association paperwork. Reach Marc at (239) 287-5873 or Jesse at (239) 898-6072, and read more on our about McGreevy and Comisar page.
We track the Heron market for a buyer from two independent records: every closed and active Heron listing in the Southwest Florida MLS over the last four years, and Lee County’s parcel roll, which places each sale in its condominium and building and records each home’s plan. Each figure on this page names its window and its count.
Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026; Lee County parcel roll, queried September 2026)
In the last 12 months we tracked 6 Heron closings in the Southwest Florida MLS, $2,432,000 in closed volume, covering closings dated September 24, 2025 to September 23, 2026: 2 Coach Houses and 4 Villas. We tracked all 16 closings of the last 48 months as well, and matched each one by address to its condominium, because the MLS carries both Heron condominiums under the single name “Heron Coach Houses,” and one older listing as “Heron at the Forest.”
Domain Realty, our brokerage, closed 856 transaction sides in Fort Myers in the 60 months to October 5, 2026, $443.4 million in volume counted by side, per the Southwest Florida MLS pulled that day. McGreevy and Comisar are the #5 real estate team in Florida in the 2026 RealTrends rankings. A buyer needs the whole neighborhood’s record to judge a price, and the whole record is what follows. These are market figures we tracked.
The same-plan sales, the live competition, the condominium and building for the home, the flood panel and ground elevation, and the list of documents to request from three associations, assembled before you tour, so that when the right home comes up you can write a clean offer inside days rather than weeks.
The Heron market is thin and negotiable: the Southwest Florida MLS counts 6 closings in the 12 months to September 23, 2026, at a median of $389,500, 36.5 median days on market and 93.03 percent of list, with none at full price, and two Coach Houses were listed that day, about 4.0 months of supply in a 63-home neighborhood.
Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026)
Closed | Condominium | Home | Beds / baths (MLS) | Living sq ft (MLS) | Sold | Price per sq ft | Sold-to-list | Days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
June 2026 | Coach Houses | 16561 #101 (building 1) | 2 / 2 | 1,714 | $308,000 | $179.70 | 90.61% | 12 |
April 2026 | Villas | 16536 | 3 + den / 2 | 2,120 | $375,000 | $176.89 | 93.98% | 535 |
March 2026 | Villas | 16506 | 2 + den / 3 | 1,993 | $400,000 | $200.70 | 98.77% | 5 |
February 2026 | Villas | 16529 | 4 / 2.5 | 3,005 | $570,000 | $189.68 | 92.08% | 61 |
February 2026 | Coach Houses | 16551 #308 (building 3) | 3 / 2 | 1,956 | $385,000 | $196.83 | 90.59% | 132 |
December 2025 | Villas | 16526 | 2 + den / 3 | 1,993 | $394,000 | $197.69 | 98.75% | 1 |
Window: September 24, 2025 to September 23, 2026. Six closings, $2,432,000 in volume. The median of $389,500 is the mean of the middle pair, $385,000 and $394,000 (n=6, even); the median price per square foot is $193.26 (the mean of $189.68 and $196.83), the median sold-to-list ratio 93.03 percent (the mean of 92.08 and 93.98 percent) and the median time on market 36.5 days (the mean of 12 and 61). None of the six closed at or above its asking price. Every address is on Heron Coach Way.
On September 23, 2026 the MLS showed two active Heron listings and no pending sale, both Coach Houses at 16540 Heron Coach Way, building 4.
Home | Beds / baths (MLS) | Living sq ft (MLS) | Asking | Days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
16540 #402 (building 4) | 2 / 2 | 1,499 | $318,000 | 202 |
16540 #406 (building 4) | 3 / 2 | 1,946 | $199,000 | 196 |
Both have been listed for more than six months. Unit 402 last closed in November 2023 at $332,500 and now asks $318,000. Unit 406 asks $199,000 for a three-bedroom Coach House, far below every Coach House closing in the 48-month record; the MLS record alone does not explain the gap, so we find out why, in writing, before a buyer reads it as a market price. No Villa was listed that day. Listings change weekly; your search is set up to catch the next one the day it appears.
The median Heron sale in the last 12 months closed at 93.03 percent of its list price, and none of the six closed at full price. Over the full 48 months the median was 95.84 percent (the mean of 95.27 and 96.40 percent), and 4 of 16 sales closed at or above asking, three of them Villas. Heron buyers negotiate, and they negotiate best with the same condominium’s and the same plan’s sales in hand.
Two listings against 6 closings in the last 12 months is about 4.0 months of supply, by our arithmetic. By the usual rule of thumb, under six months leans toward sellers, but at this volume one listing or one sale moves the ratio a long way, and the sale-to-list record says Heron buyers have had room to negotiate. The Forest as a whole carried about 7.7 months of supply on the same date.
Six closings is a thin sample, so we widen the window until it holds ten. The 24 months from September 24, 2024 held 8 closings at a median of $396,500 (n=8, even, the mean of the middle pair $394,000 and $399,000), a median $197.26 per square foot (the mean of $196.83 and $197.69) and 95.65 percent of list (the mean of 93.98 and 97.32 percent). The 36 months from September 24, 2023 are the first window with ten or more: 13 closings at a median of $375,000, an observed sale (n=13, odd), $197.69 per square foot, 95.27 percent of list and 40 days on market, $4,883,500 in volume, with 2 of 13 at or above asking.
With two listings and about six sales a year, the buyer who is ready when the right plan lists gets it. McGreevy and Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008; call Marc at (239) 287-5873 or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida. Selling a home to buy here? Get a free Heron home valuation or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
Heron homes have cost $290,000 to $570,000 over the last 48 months, a median of $380,000 on 16 MLS closings, and the condominium and plan explain most of the spread: Coach Houses sold at a median $336,250 and Villas at $400,000, while both traded at about $198 to $200 per square foot of living area.
Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026; closed sales September 24, 2022 to September 23, 2026)
Condominium, 48 months | Homes | Closings | Median sold | Median price per sq ft (MLS living area) | Median sold-to-list | Median days on market | Range |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Heron Coach Houses | 48 | 8 | $336,250 (middle pair $332,500 and $340,000) | $197.60 (middle pair $196.83 and $198.37) | 94.15% | 25 | $290,000 to $385,000 |
Heron Coach House Villas | 15 | 8 | $400,000 (middle pair $400,000 and $400,000) | $200.45 (middle pair $200.20 and $200.70) | 98.76% | 22.5 | $375,000 to $570,000 |
Price per square foot is each sale’s sold price divided by its MLS living area, and the median of those per-sale ratios, never total dollars over total feet. Where n is even the median is the mean of the middle pair, named beside it. One Coach House and three Villas closed at or above asking in the 48 months.
Plan (Lee County roll) | Homes | MLS closings, 48 months | Median sold | Median price per sq ft (MLS living area) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Coach House, 1,499 sq ft, one story, units ending 1 to 4 | 24 | 6 | $320,250 (middle pair $308,000 and $332,500) | $200.92 (middle pair $198.37 and $203.47) |
Coach House, 1,859 sq ft, two stories, units ending 5 to 8 | 24 | 2 | $367,500 (the mean of $350,000 and $385,000) | $188.35 (the mean of $179.86 and $196.83) |
Villa, 1,993 sq ft, one story | 11 | 7 | $400,000 | $200.70 |
Villa, 2,718 sq ft, one story, four bedrooms | 4 | 1 | $570,000 | $189.68 |
Plans are matched from each sale’s address and unit to the county roll. Two sales of the larger Coach House plan and one of the larger Villa plan are not a market; they are single data points, and we treat them that way when we price.
The real question at the Heron is not which plan is cheapest per foot, because both condominiums sell near $200 a foot; it is how much space and which layout your budget buys. Two-bedroom Coach Houses of the 1,499 plan have sold from $290,000 to $375,000, a median $320,250. The larger Coach House plan sold at $350,000 and $385,000, and the 1,993-square-foot Villas from $375,000 to $485,000, a median $400,000, closer to asking than the Coach Houses: a median 98.76 percent of list for the Villas against 94.15 percent. Above that sits the four-bedroom Villa, which sold once on the MLS in 48 months, at $570,000.
Calendar year | Closings | Median sold | Median price per sq ft | Median days on market |
|---|---|---|---|---|
2022, from September 24 | 2 | $485,000 (middle pair $485,000 and $485,000) | $243.35 | 0.5 |
2023 | 2 | $336,250 (middle pair $332,500 and $340,000) | $210.09 (middle pair $198.37 and $221.81) | 22.5 |
2024 | 4 | $327,500 (middle pair $305,000 and $350,000) | $191.67 (middle pair $179.86 and $203.47) | 28.5 |
2025 | 3 | $399,000 | $200.20 | 40 |
2026, to September 23 | 5 | $385,000 | $189.68 | 61 |
Both 2022 sales were Villas that closed at full price within a day of listing, and both 2023 sales were Coach Houses, so the year-to-year medians track which condominium sold more than any change in the market. Since the start of 2025 the Villas at 1,993 square feet have closed between $375,000 and $400,000, and the 2022 Villa closings at $485,000 remain the highest 1,993-square-foot prices in the record.
The county roll records every Coach House at 1,499 or 1,859 heated square feet and every Villa at 1,993 or 2,718. MLS living area is entered by the listing agent, and Heron listings have reported 1,707, 1,714, 1,946, 1,956, 2,120 and 3,005 square feet for homes the county records at one of the four plans. Every price per foot on this page uses MLS living area, because that is what an appraiser sees on the listing; compare plans on the county figure, and ask what each number counts.
Lee County’s roll records two qualified Heron sales inside the 48-month window that are not in the MLS pull: a Coach House at 16540 Heron Coach Way #403, recorded August 27, 2025 at $250,000, and a four-bedroom Villa at 16527 Heron Coach Way, recorded May 30, 2024 at $599,000, per the parcel roll’s sale fields. They carry no list price or days on market, so they stay out of the medians above, but an appraiser can find them and so should you.
Lee County’s 2026 just values, a mass-appraisal figure for taxation and not a market price, run $212,167 to $241,745 for the 1,499-square-foot Coach Houses, $251,252 to $261,246 for the 1,859 plan, $325,929 to $350,306 for the 1,993-square-foot Villas and $406,700 to $428,558 for the 2,718 plan. The medians are $246,498 at the Coach Houses and $334,217 at the Villas. Closed prices sit well above them, which is why an assessment is not a price.
You choose a Heron home by deciding first between the two condominiums, a Coach House in one of six buildings of eight or a one-story Villa with its own street number, because that decision sets your association, your declaration, your budget and your resale package. Then read the unit number for the building, and match the plan to your budget.
At the Coach Houses the first digit of a unit number is the building, never the floor. Unit 402 is in building 4 at 16540 Heron Coach Way, not a fourth-floor apartment, and unit 701 is in building 7. Lee County records every Coach House building at one and two stories, and Sparrowood’s three buildings on Cougar Run are the only three-story residential buildings in The Forest, so no Heron unit number implies an elevator or a high floor.
Building | Street address, Heron Coach Way | Unit numbers | Plans (county heated sq ft) | First year built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 16561 | 101 to 108 | 1,499 (101 to 104), 1,859 (105 to 108) | 1990 |
2 | 16550 | 201 to 208 | 1,499 (201 to 204), 1,859 (205 to 208) | 1991 |
3 | 16551 | 301 to 308 | 1,499 (301 to 304), 1,859 (305 to 308) | 1990 |
4 | 16540 | 401 to 408 | 1,499 (401 to 404), 1,859 (405 to 408) | 1992 |
5 | 16541 | 501 to 508 | 1,499 (501 to 504), 1,859 (505 to 508) | 1991 |
7 | 16531 | 701 to 708 | 1,499 (701 to 704), 1,859 (705 to 708) | 1992 |
Source: Lee County parcel roll, site address and unit on each condominium parcel, queried September 2026. There is no building 6; the numbering skips from 5 to 7.
The county roll records the 1,499-square-foot Coach Houses at one story with two bedrooms and two baths, and the 1,859-square-foot Coach Houses at two stories with three bedrooms and two baths. The roll does not say which level of a building a one-story Coach House occupies, so we report the county’s attribute exactly as recorded and draw no conclusion from it about stairs. Walk the home and confirm it in person and in the condominium plat.
The 15 Villas are addressed by their own street numbers between 16506 and 16536 Heron Coach Way, with no unit suffix, and all are recorded at one story. Ten carry paired A and B parcel numbers and measure 1,993 heated square feet with three bedrooms and three baths; four carry single parcel numbers at 2,718 square feet with four bedrooms and two and a half baths (16523, 16525, 16527 and 16529); and one, 16536, is a single parcel of 1,993 square feet.
Lee County’s recorded subdivisions and condominiums layer describes the Villas as a land condominium, a form in which each unit is defined by a parcel of land rather than the air space inside a shared building. The Villas’ restated articles still organize the association under the Florida Condominium Act. What a Villa buyer needs the declaration to answer is who maintains and insures each villa’s roof and exterior, because a land condominium can allocate that differently from a conventional one.
Both Heron condominiums share one pool: a 0.459-acre recreation parcel at 16502 Heron Coach Way, owned by The Heron Master Association, Inc., flagged with a pool on the county roll and carrying a 308-square-foot heated structure first built in 1989. It is used without a club membership, because the club does not list a pool among its amenities. Pool hours and guest rules are set by the Heron Master and are not published.
The Heron at the Forest Condominium Association, Inc. was filed in 1988 and administratively dissolved in 1991, per its Division of Corporations record. It governs nothing today, but one Villa sold in October 2022 under that MLS name, so records and listings may use it. The associations that matter to a buyer are the three named on this page.
The steps to buy a home at The Heron are: choose the condominium and plan, collect the fee layers, check the flood file, write the offer with the documents in the calendar, order all three estoppels on day one, read both sets of governing documents, clear inspection and insurance, confirm the tax reset, and close and register at the gate.
Decide between a Coach House and a Villa, then between the plans, against their own sales. The condominium decides which declaration, budget and association you join; the plan decides what you pay.
List the unit association fee, the Heron Master dues, the master assessment, the tax bill with the San Carlos Park fire levy and the solid waste line, insurance, sewer, water and fiber, and the club only if you join. The unpublished lines stay blank until the estoppels arrive, and your contract calendar should give three associations time to answer.
Every home is in Zone AE at 11 feet; the Villas and most Coach House parcels are on FEMA panel 12071C0438H and 16 Coach House parcels on 12071C0576H. Ask for the building’s elevation certificate with the first disclosures, and quote flood insurance early if you are financing.
Build the inspection period around the documents: three estoppels, the unit association’s resale package, the Heron Master’s declaration and budget and, where a declaration requires it, the association’s approval of your purchase. Both Heron condominium associations’ restated articles give them the power to approve or disapprove transfers as the declaration provides.
One estoppel certificate comes from your unit association, the Coach Houses or the Villas, one from The Heron Master Association and one from the master association, ordered through FirstService Residential’s resale and lender documents page. We order all three the day you sign.
The unit association’s declaration with every amendment, its articles, bylaws and rules, budget, reserve schedule, insurance declarations and the last year of minutes, and the Heron Master’s Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions, budget and minutes. This is where the leasing terms, the pet rule, any special assessment and the roof history live.
A general inspection and a wind-mitigation report on the home’s openings, then bind the right owner’s policy against the association’s master policy and deductible, and flood coverage if your lender requires it. At a Villa, read the declaration first to learn what you, not the association, must insure.
Budget the tax bill from your price, not the seller’s bill, and if the home will be your permanent residence, plan the homestead application for March 1 of the next tax year.
At closing the estoppel figures are paid or prorated. Afterward you request vehicle barcodes through the master association’s barcode request form and set up guest access through the DwellingLive visitor system. If you are joining the club, the membership is its own transaction with the club.
A Heron owner pays three association bills, the unit association (Coach Houses or Villas), The Heron Master Association and The Forest’s master association, none of which is published, plus the Lee County tax bill with the San Carlos Park fire levy and a solid waste line, private sewer, county water, and club dues only if you join.
Data updated: September 2026 (San Carlos Park Fire District FY2025/26 final budget, adopted September 15, 2025; Lee County adopted solid waste rates, FY2026; Lee County special districts roster and MSTBU layer, queried September 2026)
Layer | Amount | What it covers | Where the amount lives |
|---|---|---|---|
Heron Coach Houses or Heron Coach House Villas condominium association | Not published | building exteriors and roofs as the declaration assigns them, master insurance, reserves | association budget and estoppel certificate |
The Heron Master Association | Not published | the Heron’s common areas, roadway and utility easements, recreation parcel and pool | Heron Master budget and estoppel; dues set by its board under its restated articles |
The Forest Property Owners’ Association (master) | Not published | private streets, two gates and a nightly patrol, lighting, landscaping, drainage | master budget and estoppel, through the manager’s resale documents page |
Community development district | $0: none exists | n/a | |
County MSTBU | $0: none exists | n/a | |
San Carlos Park Fire Protection and Rescue Service District | 2.3590 mills, fiscal year 2025/26 | fire and rescue | |
Lee County solid waste, Service Area 2 | $348.75 per unit plus a $2.55 administrative charge, less a 4 percent early-payment discount, FY2026 | collection, disposal, recycling | |
Sewer (Forest Utilities, Inc., private) | Not published | wastewater | seller’s bills |
Bulk fiber (Hotwire) | Not published | internet and television | association or Hotwire bill |
Club dues and initiation | Not published; only if you join | club membership |
“Not published” means no public source states the figure, and we do not estimate it.
Each Heron condominium association sets its own fee, which is not published; it appears in that association’s budget and resale estoppel certificate. The Coach Houses and the Villas set separate budgets under separate declarations, so a Coach House and a Villa can carry very different fees, and at the Villas the fee depends on what the land-condominium declaration makes the association maintain and insure. In a condominium this is usually the largest association line.
The Heron Master’s restated articles state that “The amount of the dues payable by members shall be such amount as may be determined from time to time by the Board of Directors.” It publishes no budget, no dues amount, no billing frequency and no website. The amount appears in its budget and on the estoppel certificate it issues at resale. What it pays for is set out in its articles: the common areas, roadway and utility easements of the development, and it owns the pool parcel.
The Forest’s master association does not publish its assessment either. The amount appears in its annual budget and on the estoppel certificate issued with every resale. What it pays for is not in doubt: the private streets, a Main Gate staffed 24 hours a day, an Island Park Gate staffed from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, a nightly patrol and, because The Forest sits in no county MSTU, street lighting, landscaping and drainage inside the gates.
The San Carlos Park fire district levies 2.3590 mills for fiscal year 2025/26. As an illustration only, $250,000 of taxable value owes $589.75 to the fire district, by our arithmetic. Lee County bills solid waste as a non-ad-valorem assessment in Service Area 2, and every Heron parcel carries that district code.
Lee County’s utility franchise maps place The Forest in Lee County Utilities’ water service area. Sewer service is provided by Forest Utilities, Inc., a private utility; its rates are not published online. The community has a Hotwire fiber arrangement; whether it is billed through an association is not published. Ask the seller for twelve months of water and sewer bills, and whether Hotwire appears on an association bill.
Each layer is a disclosure from a different party on a different billing cycle, and none of the three association layers publishes a figure. The state’s key financial indicators extract, which lists operating and reserve figures for about 1,875 associations statewide, carries no row for any Heron or Forest association as of September 2026. A single total assembled from guesses would look precise and be wrong for someone. We put all three estoppels, the budgets and the seller’s utility bills side by side for the specific home before your inspection period ends.
A Heron seller must give you, under Florida Statutes 718.503, the declaration, articles of incorporation, bylaws and rules, the association’s most recent year-end financial information and the frequently asked questions and answers document, and you will also need three estoppel certificates: one from your unit association, one from The Heron Master Association and one from the master association.
Data updated: September 2026 (Florida Statutes 718.503, 718.116, 718.111 and 720.30851; Florida Division of Corporations filings, retrieved September 2026)
Because no Heron association publishes a fee, the budgets are the first pages that state your numbers. Read what each funds, the unit association’s reserve schedule against 1990s buildings, the insurance line and whether any special assessment is levied or proposed. Neighborhood associations’ special assessments are not published; buyers can find them in the association’s estoppel certificate and meeting minutes.
The Coach Houses’ declaration of condominium is recorded at Official Records Book 2140, Page 1789, with its plat at Condominium Plat Book 17, Page 72; the Villas’ declaration at Official Records Book 2598, Page 1964, with its plat at Condominium Plat Book 21, Page 83. The Heron Master’s Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions covers both. None is posted online; all are held in the Lee County Clerk’s official records. They hold the leasing terms, the pet rule, occupancy, alterations and any approval procedure, so read every amendment before you rely on an answer.
The Coach Houses’ Amended and Restated Articles, adopted January 20, 2004, and the Villas’ Amended and Restated Articles, adopted November 10, 2003, give each association the power “To approve or disapprove the leasing, transfer, mortgaging, ownership, and possession of Units as may be provided by the Declaration.” Each board has at least three directors, each a member or a member’s spouse, and each unit carries one vote.
The condominium estoppel under section 718.116 states the fee, any special assessment and the account status; the master estoppel under section 720.30851 does the same for the master assessment. Florida caps the fee at $250 when nothing is delinquent, plus $100 for delivery within three business days, and up to $150 more if an account is delinquent. The Heron Master is organized as a corporation not for profit over a development of separate condominiums, so ask at the start which statute its estoppel follows. Who pays for each certificate is a term of the contract.
Florida requires a condominium association of 25 or more units to post its official records online, under section 718.111. The Coach Houses association, with 48 units, is above that line; the Villas association, with 15, is below it, so a Villa buyer should expect to receive the records from the seller or the manager rather than a website.
For a buyer, The Heron Master Association means a third budget, a third estoppel and a third set of covenants. Its restated articles make it “the enforcement entity responsible for the common areas, roadway and utility easements” of the Heron, under a Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions covering both condominiums, and it owns the Heron’s pool parcel.
Article II of the Heron Master’s restated articles, adopted by its members January 20, 2004 and filed February 20, 2004, makes it responsible “not only for enforcement but for maintenance and improvements,” under “the Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions for The Heron Coach Houses, a Development consisting of Separate Condominiums, specifically The Heron Coach Houses Condominium and Heron Coach House Villas Condominium.” That sentence explains the three tiers: the two condominiums were built as parts of one development, and the Heron Master holds what they share.
The articles make “the owners of any unit in the Development” members, provide for five directors unless the bylaws change the number, and require directors to be members. The board sets the dues. A 2020 amendment added indemnification for directors, officers and committee members, per the 2020 filing.
The county roll lists The Heron Master Association, Inc. as owner of the 0.459-acre recreation parcel at 16502 Heron Coach Way, described as Tract Z of the Heron Coach Houses plat (Plat Book 43, Page 85). The 0.82-acre right-of-way parcel for Heron Coach Way is recorded as a Heron Coach Houses common element; the articles make the Heron Master responsible for the roadway either way.
The public record on management is not fully consistent. The master association’s 2022 contact list named D&D Association Services for the Heron Master and the Coach House association and Sentry Management for the Villas; the Villas association has since named D&D Association Services as its registered agent, in March 2025, and the Coach Houses association lists Paragon Financial Services as its registered agent. A buyer’s first request should go to the manager named on the current estoppel request instructions, and we confirm that before we send it.
No. Florida’s milestone structural inspections and structural integrity reserve studies apply to condominium buildings three or more stories in height, and Lee County records every Heron building at one and two stories. In The Forest only Sparrowood’s three buildings reach three stories, so the Heron is outside both requirements.
Section 553.899 requires milestone inspections of condominium buildings three habitable stories or more in height, and section 718.112(2)(g) requires a structural integrity reserve study for the same class of building and states that it does not apply to buildings less than three stories in height.
Being outside the statutes means no milestone inspection report and no structural integrity reserve study to read at the Heron, and it answers a question a lender or insurer who misreads a unit number may ask. It does not make reserves optional: the ordinary reserve rules still apply, and a 1990s building’s roof, paint, paving and the shared pool still have to be paid for.
The Coach Houses were finished from 1990 to 1992 and the Villas from 1994 to 1996, before the first statewide Florida Building Code took effect on March 1, 2002, per the Florida Building Commission. A roof, windows or shutters replaced since then were permitted under the code in force when the work was done, so ask for the roof permit date and a wind-mitigation report on the specific home.
You check flood zone and insurance for a Heron home against FEMA panels 12071C0438H and 12071C0576H, effective November 17, 2022, where every home is in Zone AE with a base flood elevation of 11 feet NAVD88, then price the association’s master policy, your own policy and, if you finance, flood coverage before you go firm.
Data updated: September 2026 (FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer; Lee County 2018 LiDAR spot elevations; FEMA CRS eligible communities list, April 2025)
Every Heron parcel reads Zone AE, inside the Special Flood Hazard Area, on FEMA’s National Flood Hazard Layer. The Villas and most Coach House parcels are on panel 12071C0438H, and 16 Coach House parcels are on panel 12071C0576H. The November 2022 map revision raised the base flood elevation across The Forest by one foot, from 10 to 11 feet, so older documents citing 10 feet predate the current map. For flood insurance the Heron is in NFIP community 125124, Lee County Unincorporated Areas.
Heron condominium | FIRM panel(s) | Median ground, ft NAVD88 (range) | Base flood elevation minus median ground, ft (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|---|
Heron Coach Houses | 0438H and 0576H | 6.2 (5.9 to 6.6) | 4.8 |
Heron Coach House Villas | 0438H | 6.6 (6.2 to 7.6) | 4.4 |
Source: nearest 2018 LiDAR ground point to each parcel in Lee County’s spot elevations layer, stated vertical accuracy plus or minus 0.57 feet. The Coach Houses sit on some of the lowest ground in The Forest. That is ground, not a finished floor; only an elevation certificate states a building’s lowest floor for rating.
Under section 718.111(11), the association insures the condominium property under its master policy, and the unit owner insures the interior, contents and improvements under a unit-owners policy. At the Villas, read the declaration for exactly what the association insures, because a land condominium can allocate the villa structure differently. We do not publish premiums, because a premium quoted without the elevation certificate, the roof’s age and the master policy is a guess.
A mortgage from a federally regulated or insured lender on a home in the Special Flood Hazard Area requires flood coverage, per FEMA’s Risk Rating 2.0 page, and most NFIP rates may not rise more than 18 percent a year. Unincorporated Lee County is a Class 5 community in FEMA’s Community Rating System, worth 25 percent off NFIP premiums inside the flood zone, per the April 2025 CRS list. The Heron has a Fort Myers mailing address but is not in the City of Fort Myers, so make sure any quote uses the county’s class.
Florida makes flood coverage mandatory for Citizens personal-lines policies inside the Special Flood Hazard Area under section 627.351(6), and exempts policies written on a condominium unit-owners form; whether a Villa owner’s policy is written on that form depends on what the declaration makes the owner insure. Under section 627.0629(1), rate filings must include discounts for wind-resistive features, so a wind-mitigation report is worth ordering.
Lee County applies FEMA’s substantial improvement and substantial damage rule in unincorporated Lee County: work or damage costing 50 percent or more of a building’s market value brings the structure under current flood rules, and new or substantially improved buildings must sit one foot above the base flood elevation. At the Heron that line is 12 feet NAVD88, about 5.4 to 5.8 feet above median ground, by our arithmetic, which is one more reason to read the association’s insurance and reserve documents.
The Hurricane Ian record for The Heron is measured, not anecdotal: U.S. Geological Survey crews surveyed a high-water mark about 2.9 feet above ground at a Waters Edge building inside The Forest, no mark was surveyed at the Heron, and no public record we reached says whether water entered any Heron home.
The Waters Edge mark reads 9.5 feet NAVD88, per the USGS Short-Term Network record for Ian. The Heron’s median ground is 6.2 feet at the Coach Houses and 6.6 feet at the Villas, so by our arithmetic, if the water surface stood at the Heron where it was measured at Waters Edge, it would have been about 3.3 feet above Coach House median ground and 2.9 feet above Villa median ground. That is arithmetic on two public figures, not a measurement taken at the Heron.
Interior flooding depends on each building’s finished-floor elevation, which only an elevation certificate records. Lee County publishes no bulk layer of re-roof permits, and its public damage-assessment layers return no features inside The Forest, so a Heron roof or repair date has to come from the association or the seller. Ask the seller for the flood disclosure Florida law requires under section 689.302 and each association for its insurance claims history.
The Heron, like all of The Forest, is in Lee County Evacuation Zone A, the first zone told to leave. The master association’s re-entry rules admit contractors with a prior pass or barcode after a storm. Seasonal owners should register a key holder with their unit association before leaving for the summer.
For a Heron buyer, the non-bundled club means the home and the golf are two separate decisions and two separate costs. Buying at the Heron does not make you a member of The Forest Country Club, you pay no club dues or member assessments unless you join, and a seller’s membership should not be assumed to transfer.
Data updated: September 2026 (The Forest Country Club membership page, retrieved September 23, 2026; club Form 990 filings for 2022 to 2024)
The club’s membership page calls The Forest “a non bundled gated community offering resident and non resident memberships,” and the master association’s resident portal says, independently, “The Forest is a non-bundled gated community.” When two separately governed bodies say the same thing on their own sites, a buyer can rely on it as the community-wide rule.
A Heron owner who never joins still gets the staffed gates and nightly patrol, the private streets and sidewalks, Ruthie’s Park and the Heron’s own pool on Heron Coach Way. A non-member does not play either course, use the club’s courts or fitness center, or dine at the clubhouse as a matter of right.
The Forest Country Club, at 6100 Club Boulevard about 1.7 road miles and 7 minutes from the Heron, runs two courses. From the back tees the Bear plays 7,010 yards (rating 75.1, slope 144) and the Bobcat 6,607 yards (rating 71.8, slope 125), per the club’s December 2025 scorecard; the Bear reopened on December 1, 2025 after a full renovation. The club lists six Har-Tru Hydro clay tennis courts, three lighted, plus pickleball, bocce and a fitness center.
The club describes itself in its federal tax filings as a private, member-owned club, and its filings show special assessments on members in 2022, 2023 and 2024, per its Form 990 filings. Those assessments fall on members only; a Heron owner who does not join pays none of them.
The club does not publish its dues or initiation schedule; figures are provided to prospective members on inquiry through its inquiry form. If you plan to join, get the category’s initiation, dues, any food and beverage minimum and any pending assessment in writing before you are bound on the home.
Property taxes after you buy at The Heron start from your purchase, not the seller’s bill: Florida’s Save Our Homes cap follows the owner, so a homesteaded seller’s bill can sit well below yours. The bill adds the San Carlos Park fire levy of 2.3590 mills and a county solid waste line, and there is no CDD or MSTU line.
Data updated: September 2026 (Lee County parcel roll, queried September 2026; San Carlos Park Fire District FY2025/26 final budget)
The Save Our Homes cap limits annual increases in a homesteaded home’s assessed value to 3 percent or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is lower, under section 193.155, and after a sale the home is reassessed at just value. Twenty-two of the Heron’s 63 homes carry a homestead exemption on the 2026 county roll, 18 of the 48 Coach Houses and 4 of the 15 Villas, so many sellers’ bills understate what a new owner pays.
If the home becomes your permanent Florida residence on January 1, the exemption removes up to $50,000 of assessed value, the second $25,000 from non-school taxes only, under section 196.031, and starts the Save Our Homes cap. Apply with the Lee County Property Appraiser by March 1 of the tax year; the seller’s exemption does not carry over to you.
The Forest does not appear on Lee County’s official roster of special districts, and the county’s MSTBU layer returns no taxing unit inside the community. The only independent special district that reaches the Heron is the San Carlos Park fire district. Compare total tax bills, not millage alone, when you weigh the Heron against a newer community that carries a CDD.
The Heron rules that decide fit, leasing terms, pet limits, alterations and parking, are written in each condominium’s declaration and rules and in the Heron Master’s covenants, none of which is published online. Both condominium associations’ restated articles confirm an approval power over transfers and leases as the declaration provides, so read the rules before your review period ends.
Minimum lease terms and rental frequency are not published. Under section 718.110(13), an amendment prohibiting rentals or changing the rental term or frequency applies only to owners who consent and to owners who acquire title after it takes effect, so the date of any leasing amendment matters as much as its text. Rentals of six months or less are also subject to Lee County’s tourist development tax under section 125.0104. If rental income is part of your plan, ask for the declaration, every leasing amendment and the lease application before you sign.
Pet rules at the Heron are set in each condominium’s declaration and rules, which are not published online, so we do not state a pet limit. Ask in writing how many pets and of what size a home may keep, whether tenants may keep pets and whether the rule has changed. Florida’s rules on emotional support animals in housing are in section 760.27.
No public record we reached establishes an age restriction at the Heron, and this page makes no claim either way. Housing for older persons must meet the statutory tests in section 760.29, and none of the three Heron associations’ filed articles mentions one. Read the declarations before you rely on an answer.
Alterations that touch the building, windows, doors, shutters, screen enclosures or the exterior normally need association approval under the declaration and rules. Ask for the written alteration procedure before you plan a renovation, and ask the seller for any approval letters for work already done, because a buyer inherits an unapproved alteration.
Guest parking, vehicle, boat and golf-cart rules on Heron Coach Way are set by the Heron associations, and on The Forest’s streets by the master association; none is published. Every Heron home is recorded with a garage. Guests are pre-registered by residents through the DwellingLive visitor system.
The Heron and Waters Edge at The Forest are the two top-priced condominium neighborhoods inside the gates, and both offer one-story attached homes. Buy at the Heron for the newest condominium buildings in The Forest, a Villa at about $400,000, a garage on every home and two listings to choose from today; buy at Waters Edge for a single association layer under the master, 2023 roofs on every building and a market that has sold closer to asking.
Data updated: September 2026 (Southwest Florida MLS Matrix, pulled September 23, 2026; Lee County parcel roll, spot elevations layer and permit index, queried September 2026; FEMA National Flood Hazard Layer)
Question | The Heron at The Forest | Waters Edge at The Forest |
|---|---|---|
What you own | A Coach House in a one- and two-story building of eight, or a one-story Villa in a land condominium | A unit in a two-story fourplex, a one-story duplex or a one-story attached villa |
Homes | 63, in two condominiums | 36, in one condominium |
Built (county roll) | 1990 to 1996 | 1984 and 1985; villas added in 1991 |
County plans | 1,499 and 1,859 sq ft Coach Houses; 1,993 and 2,718 sq ft Villas | 1,693 and 1,991 sq ft fourplex units; 2,334 sq ft duplex units; 1,989 sq ft villas |
Association layers | Three: unit association, Heron Master, master association | Two: Waters Edge of Lee Condominium Association, plus the master |
Estoppel certificates on a purchase | Three | Two |
Pool | The Heron Master’s pool parcel, shared by both condominiums | The association’s own pool, spa and pool house |
Closings, 48 months to September 23, 2026 | 16 | 11 |
Median sold, 48 months | $380,000 (middle pair $375,000 and $385,000) | $425,000 |
Median sold-to-list, 48 months | 95.84% | 97.94% |
Median days on market, 48 months | 25 | 11 |
Sold price range, 48 months | $290,000 to $570,000 | $280,000 to $520,000 |
One-story villas, 48 months | 1,993 sq ft Villas: 7 closings, median $400,000, $200.70 a sq ft | 6 closings, median $500,000 (middle pair $490,000 and $510,000), $245.15 a sq ft |
Entry product, 48 months | Coach Houses: 8 closings, median $336,250, $197.60 a sq ft | Fourplex units: 5 closings, median $325,000, $184.87 a sq ft |
Last 12 months | 6 closings, median $389,500, $193.26 a sq ft, 93.03% of list | 3 closings, median $425,000, $191.27 a sq ft, 99.05% of list |
Listings on September 23, 2026 | 2, asking $199,000 and $318,000 | 1, asking $325,000 |
Months of supply (our arithmetic) | About 4.0 | About 4.0 |
Median ground, ft NAVD88 | 6.2 (Coach Houses) and 6.6 (Villas) | 6.6 (6.2 to 7.7) |
Flood map | Zone AE, 11 ft, panels 0438H and 0576H | Zone AE, 11 ft, panels 0438H and 0576H |
Hurricane Ian | No surveyed high-water mark | USGS mark about 2.9 ft above ground at building K |
Roofs on the county record | No public re-roof record we reached; ask the association | 2023 re-roof permits for every residential building and the pool house, recorded as Ian damage |
Homestead share, 2026 roll | 22 of 63 | 12 of 36 |
2026 median just value (county, not a price) | $246,498 (Coach Houses); $334,217 (Villas) | $300,820 |
Milestone and reserve-study statutes | Outside both (one and two stories) | Outside both (one and two stories) |
Club membership | Optional | Optional |
Source: Southwest Florida MLS Matrix closed and active records, pulled September 23, 2026, each sale resolved by address; median price per square foot is the median of each sale’s own ratio on MLS living area, and even-n medians are the mean of the middle pair. Lee County parcel roll, spot elevations layer and permit index; FEMA panels effective November 17, 2022; USGS Ian high-water marks.
Choose the Heron if you want a one-story Villa for about $400,000 rather than about $500,000, the newest condominium buildings in The Forest, a garage on every home and a Coach House entry point around $320,000, and you are comfortable budgeting for three association layers and collecting three estoppels. Choose Waters Edge at The Forest if you want a single condominium association under the master, a villa or duplex with 2023 roof permits on the record and a pool the association resurfaced in 2026, and you accept a higher price per foot for its villas and a single listing to choose from today.
The Heron’s 1,993-square-foot Villas have closed from $375,000 to $485,000, and Waters Edge’s fourplex units from $280,000 to $404,000, so a buyer with about $400,000 can have either a one-story Heron Villa or a two-story Waters Edge fourplex unit of about 1,991 heated square feet. Waters Edge’s one-story villas have closed from $425,000 to $520,000. The decision is layout and age against roofs and one fewer association.
Over the same 48 months Fairway Woods closed 31 sales at a median of $350,000 for units of up to 2,962 heated square feet at $143.48 a square foot, the most space for the money inside the gates, and Eagle’s Landing, a fee-simple villa neighborhood, closed 4 sales at a median of $347,500 (the mean of $325,000 and $370,000) at $167.59 a square foot. The Heron’s condominiums, at $197.60 and $200.45, sit near the top of the per-foot range with Waters Edge.
We find you the right Heron home by matching your budget to a condominium and a plan, watching a neighborhood of about six sales a year so you hear about a listing the day it appears, clearing gate access before every showing, and touring with the questions a listing does not answer.
A Heron median mixes a 1,499-square-foot Coach House with a 2,718-square-foot Villa, so it tells a buyer very little. We show you what your plan has actually sold for, in which building, so you know whether your number buys an updated Coach House or a Villa that needs work.
Three of the Heron’s six closings in the last 12 months came in February and March 2026, and the master association estimates The Forest’s population at about 1,000 year-round and about 2,000 in peak season. Seasonal owners often decide while they are here in winter, so we keep your criteria on file and alert you when a Heron home comes to market, and when a Waters Edge or Fairway Woods home does, because many Heron buyers weigh them together.
Some Heron owners prefer a quiet sale, and the county roll shows two qualified Heron sales in four years that never reached the MLS. When we learn of a home before it is listed, we will tell you whether it fits your plan and budget, and we will price it against the same recorded sales as any listed home.
Every visitor enters through a staffed gate, and guests are pre-registered through the association’s DwellingLive system, so we arrange access before we schedule. On tour, check the stairs and the level, the garage, the windows, doors and shutters, the air conditioning and water heater dates, and at a Villa, which parts of the structure the declaration makes yours to maintain.
Ask Marc at (239) 287-5873 to set up a saved search for the Heron by condominium, plan and budget, browse current homes for sale in The Forest on DomainRealtyGroup.com, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida and use the buyer form on this page. Alerts route to us directly, so a new listing reaches both you and us the same day.
We negotiate for you at The Heron at partner level, with the same plan’s sales in hand, the listing’s days on market and price history, the three associations’ budgets, reserves and insurance as leverage, and a contract calendar that gives three estoppels and two sets of documents time to arrive before your deposit is at risk.
A list price above the plan’s recorded sales has to show why, with updates, a better building or a better position. If it cannot, we write to the sales. In the last 12 months two Coach Houses closed at 90.59 and 90.61 percent of list, a Villa that waited 535 days closed at 93.98 percent, and both current listings had passed 190 days on September 23, 2026. That is the market’s own evidence of how the Heron treats a price above its sales.
A roof or paint project at the unit association, a pool project at the Heron Master, a missing wind-mitigation report, an unapproved alteration or aging air conditioning are all facts that move a price. We put them in writing, tie them to a quote or a document, and use them to negotiate a price, a credit or a repair rather than a vague discount.
The review right under section 718.503, the inspection period and any association approval period give you defined exits. We track every deadline, deliver every notice in writing and on time, and sequence them so your deposit is not at risk before you have read the budgets and all three estoppels.
Where a declaration requires the association to approve a purchase, we set a closing date that leaves room for it and file the application the week you sign. No Heron association publishes its approval timeline or its estoppel turnaround, so we ask for both in writing on day one.
Closing costs when you buy at The Heron include ordinary Florida buyer costs plus condominium items: the estoppel fees the contract assigns to you on three certificates, prorated unit association, Heron Master and master assessments, prorated taxes including the San Carlos Park fire levy, and on a financed purchase the documentary stamp tax on the note and the intangible tax on the mortgage.
Data updated: September 2026 (Florida Statutes 201.08, 199.133 and 201.02; Florida Administrative Code Rule 69O-186.003)
Florida sets the title premium by rule, Rule 69O-186.003, at $5.75 per $1,000 of coverage up to $100,000 and $5.00 per $1,000 from $100,000 to $1,000,000, so what varies between title companies is the settlement services around it. At the 12-month median of $389,500 the owner’s premium at those rates is $2,022.50, by our arithmetic, before endorsements. Who pays for the owner’s policy and who chooses the title agent is written into the purchase contract.
Documentary stamp tax on the note runs at $0.35 per $100 under section 201.08, and the nonrecurring intangible tax on a new mortgage at 2 mills under section 199.133; neither applies to a cash purchase. As an illustration at $389,500 with an 80 percent loan of $311,600, the note stamps come to $1,090.60 and the intangible tax to $623.20, by our arithmetic.
The unit association fee, the Heron Master dues and the master assessment are prorated to the closing date from the figures on each estoppel certificate, and any special assessment an estoppel shows as due appears as its own line. Property taxes are prorated against the seller’s current bill, which is not a forecast of yours.
The documentary stamp tax on the deed, 70 cents per $100 under section 201.02, is customarily paid by the seller. The contract controls every allocation.
Budget for a general inspection and a wind-mitigation report on the home. If the association has no elevation certificate for the building or villa, ask whether one can be obtained before you bind flood coverage, because it is the document an insurer prices.
Buyer’s agent compensation at The Heron in 2026 follows the National Association of REALTORS practice changes in force since August 17, 2024: you sign a written buyer agreement with your agent before touring, offers of compensation no longer appear on the MLS, and every commission is negotiable and not set by law.
The agreement must be signed before the tour, in person or by live virtual tour, per the NAR settlement FAQs and its guide to written buyer agreements. It must state the amount or rate of compensation, prohibit the agent from receiving more than that from any source, and state conspicuously that broker fees are not set by law and are fully negotiable. You need no agreement to talk to us or ask which building a unit number names.
A seller may offer to contribute toward your agent’s compensation, you may ask for it in your offer, or you may pay it yourself. Florida’s brokerage relationship law, section 475.278, sets out the duties owed to you under each form of representation. We tell you plainly which approach fits the home and the seller before you write.
The same-plan sales, all three estoppels ordered on day one, the budgets and both sets of governing documents read inside your review period, any approval step built into the calendar, the flood and insurance file assembled before you bind, and a closing that lands on time.
Daily life around The Heron runs through The Forest’s staffed gates and the US 41 corridor of south Fort Myers: the clubhouse about 1.7 road miles and 7 minutes away, and from the clubhouse a Publix about 1.4 miles, Gulf Coast Medical Center about 9 minutes and Southwest Florida International Airport about 16 minutes, as free-flow drives.
Data updated: September 2026 (routes computed September 23 and 24, 2026; Florida Department of Education 2026 school grades file)
The Main Gate on Forest Boulevard at Tamiami Trail is staffed 24 hours a day and the Island Park Gate from 7:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with a nightly patrol, per the master association’s 2022 Emergency Preparedness Plan. Residents request vehicle barcodes through the association’s barcode request form.
Destination, from the clubhouse | Road miles | Minutes (free-flow) |
|---|---|---|
Publix, Alico Mission Way | 1.4 | 4 |
Lakes Regional Park | 2.3 | 5 |
Bell Tower Shops | 3.9 | 8 |
Gulf Coast Medical Center | 4.5 | 9 |
Southwest Florida International Airport terminal | 8.6 | 16 |
Coconut Point, Estero | 8.4 | 15 |
Bunche Beach Preserve | 10.0 | 19 |
Downtown Fort Myers River District | 10.3 | 21 |
Fort Myers Beach, Times Square | 10.7 | 21 |
Routes were computed from The Forest Country Club’s address at 6100 Club Boulevard on the OpenStreetMap road network with no traffic model; from the Heron, add the 1.7 road miles and about 7 minutes it takes to reach the clubhouse. January to April traffic on US 41 runs longer.
Lee County assigns students through zones of school choices, not a single school per address. The Heron, like every neighborhood in The Forest, sits in Elementary Zone O, Middle School Zone MM and High School South Zone 2, per the district-linked 2026-27 zone map.
Zone choice | School | 2026 grade |
|---|---|---|
Elementary Zone O | Rayma C. Page Elementary | A |
Elementary Zone O | Heights Elementary | A |
Elementary Zone O | Villas Elementary | B |
Elementary Zone O | Tanglewood Elementary | B |
Middle School Zone MM | Cypress Lake Middle | A |
Middle School Zone MM | Lexington Middle | B |
High School South Zone 2 | South Fort Myers High | C |
High School South Zone 2 | Cypress Lake High | A |
High School South Zone 2 | Estero High | B |
High School South Zone 2 | Fort Myers High | A |
High School South Zone 2 | Bonita Springs High | B |
High School South Zone 2 | Dunbar High | C |
Grades are from the Florida Department of Education’s 2026 school grades file. The district’s 2026-27 transportation plan does not provide Dunbar bus service to The Forest’s subzone. Confirm choices for a specific address through the district’s student enrollment page.
Gulf Coast Medical Center, 13681 Doctors Way, is Lee County’s state-designated Level II trauma center, per the Florida Department of Health’s trauma center list. HealthPark Medical Center and Golisano Children’s Hospital share a campus about 5.8 miles from the club.
You get a personalized Heron buyer consultation by using the buyer form on this page or calling Marc Comisar at (239) 287-5873. We review your budget against each condominium’s and each plan’s sales, walk through the three association layers and the documents to request, and set up alerts for the Heron and the other condominiums inside The Forest.
Your budget against the same-plan sales, whether a Coach House or a Villa fits how you will use the home, the association layers and what each estoppel will state, the flood and insurance picture, the rules to read, the club decision and a timeline that fits the season.
Call Marc Comisar at (239) 287-5873 or Jesse McGreevy at (239) 898-6072, or email [email protected]. The office of McGreevy and Comisar is at 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134, south of The Forest on the same US 41. Read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida.
If you are selling in Southwest Florida to buy at the Heron, we sequence both sides with one calendar. Owners inside The Forest can read how we sell homes in The Forest, and Heron owners moving within the neighborhood can start with how we sell homes at The Heron at The Forest, get a free Heron home valuation or call Jesse direct at (239) 898-6072.
McGreevy and Comisar are a top-reviewed buyer’s team on Google, and the quotes below are genuine five-star client reviews reproduced in each reviewer’s own words. We publish no aggregate score and no star-rating widget. Read the full set on the McGreevy and Comisar Google reviews profile.
★★★★★ “Jesse is the best Realtor I have used. He found us our dream home even though it took months as we were not the easiest to please.” Tim Goff, verified Google review
★★★★★ “Marc was extremely helpful in the sale of our old home and getting our new home to the condition that we wanted it to make it ours. He has been available to us for every step of our journey, even after the transaction closed.” Leslie Foster, verified Google review
★★★★★ “Jesse and his team at Domain have taken care of me, my family and my friends for many years. They have listed and sold our properties, facilitated the purchase of our properties and arranged for rentals.” Raoul Grossi, verified Google review
A Heron specialist matters when you buy because the price turns on the condominium and the plan rather than the neighborhood median, the unit number names a building rather than a floor, the home sits under three associations that publish no fee, a Villa’s declaration decides who insures the roof, and every home sits on low ground in a FEMA flood zone.
Jesse McGreevy is a licensed Florida REALTOR and Sales Associate with Domain Realty and one half of McGreevy and Comisar, Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008. He runs the documents and data. Reach him at (239) 898-6072, and read his profile on the Jesse McGreevy agent page.
Marc Comisar is a licensed Florida REALTOR and Broker Associate with Domain Realty and the other half of McGreevy and Comisar. He runs tours, inspections and the negotiation in the field. Reach him at (239) 287-5873, and read his profile on the Marc Comisar agent page.
A general agent may price a Heron Villa off a median that includes Coach Houses, read unit 402 as a fourth floor, order two estoppels instead of three, miss that the Heron Master exists at all, assume a Villa owner insures only the interior, or treat a Fort Myers mailing address as a City of Fort Myers flood rating. Each one costs a buyer money or a closing date.
For the whole community, our guide to The Forest covers all 19 neighborhoods, and our Fort Myers guide covers the city around it. Neighboring guides cover Waters Edge, Fairway Woods and Eagle’s Landing.
These are the questions buyers ask most about The Heron at The Forest, answered from the associations’ state filings, Lee County’s parcel, flood and tax records, FEMA’s map, Florida statute and the Southwest Florida MLS, each with its window and source. Where the record is silent, the answer says so and names the document that holds it.
A 63-home condominium neighborhood inside The Forest, the gated golf community in south Fort Myers: the Heron Coach Houses (48 homes in six buildings, 1990 to 1992) and the Heron Coach House Villas (15 one-story villas, a land condominium, 1994 to 1996), both developed by Forest Joint Venture.
Inside the gates of The Forest, in unincorporated Lee County between US 41 and Island Park Road, ZIP 33908. Every address is on Heron Coach Way, about 1.7 road miles from The Forest Country Club’s clubhouse.
Six MLS closings in the 12 months to September 23, 2026 ran $308,000 to $570,000, a median of $389,500; 16 closings in 48 months ran $290,000 to $570,000, a median of $380,000.
Over 48 months the Coach Houses sold at a median $336,250 and the Villas at $400,000, per the Southwest Florida MLS, at about $198 and $200 per square foot of living area.
On September 23, 2026 the MLS showed two, both Coach Houses in building 4, asking $318,000 and $199,000, with no Villa listed and no pending sale. Listings change weekly.
Two listings against six sales a year is about 4.0 months of supply, but the median sale in the last 12 months closed at 93.03 percent of list and none closed at full price, so buyers have had room to negotiate.
Lee County records Coach Houses at 1,499 heated square feet (two bedrooms) and 1,859 (three bedrooms), 24 of each, and Villas at 1,993 (three bedrooms, 11 homes) and 2,718 (four bedrooms, 4 homes).
A median $193.26 per square foot of living area in the last 12 months (the mean of $189.68 and $196.83); over 48 months $197.60 at the Coach Houses and $200.45 at the Villas, the median of each sale’s own ratio.
All 15 Villas, and the 24 Coach Houses whose unit numbers end in 1 to 4, are recorded at one story; the Coach Houses ending in 5 to 8 are recorded at two. Confirm stairs in person.
Yes. The Lee County parcel roll records a garage at every Coach House and every Villa. Garage size and any rule on its use are not in the county record.
No. The first digit is the building: unit 402 is in building 4 at 16540 Heron Coach Way. Every Coach House building is recorded at one and two stories.
Because the Heron was built as one development of two separate condominiums. Each condominium has its own association, The Heron Master Association holds the shared road, easements and pool, and The Forest’s master association runs the gates and streets.
Not published at any layer. The unit association, the Heron Master and the master association each state their amount only in a budget and on the estoppel certificate issued at resale.
Three: one from your unit association, one from The Heron Master Association and one from the master association. Florida caps a condominium or homeowners’ association estoppel fee at $250 when nothing is delinquent, plus $100 for delivery within three business days.
Its restated articles make it responsible for “the common areas, roadway and utility easements” of the Heron, for maintenance and improvements as well as enforcement, and it owns the 0.459-acre pool parcel at 16502 Heron Coach Way.
A condominium whose units are defined by parcels of land rather than air space in a shared building. The Villas are still governed by Florida’s Condominium Act; the declaration decides who maintains and insures each villa’s roof and exterior.
No. The Forest is non-bundled, per the club’s membership page and the master association’s resident portal. You join only if you choose to.
The club does not publish its dues or initiation schedule; figures are provided to prospective members on inquiry. Get them in writing before you rely on them.
Because membership is separate from home ownership, a club membership should not be assumed to transfer with a home. Treat the club’s written answer as the authority.
Yes. The Heron Master Association owns a recreation parcel with a pool at 16502 Heron Coach Way, shared by both condominiums. Pool hours and guest rules are not published.
Yes. Every home is in FEMA Zone AE, base flood elevation 11 feet NAVD88, on panels 12071C0438H and 12071C0576H, effective November 17, 2022.
With a federally regulated or insured mortgage, yes. Ask whether the association’s master policy includes flood coverage on the buildings. Unincorporated Lee County’s Class 5 rating cuts NFIP premiums 25 percent.
No public record we reached says whether water entered any Heron home. USGS surveyed a mark about 2.9 feet above ground at a Waters Edge building; no mark was surveyed at the Heron, whose median ground is similar or lower.
No. Those requirements apply to condominium buildings three or more stories in height, and Lee County records every Heron building at one and two stories.
It depends on the declaration, which is not published online. Both condominium associations’ restated articles give them the power to approve or disapprove leasing as the declaration provides, so expect a possible approval step.
Pet rules are set in each condominium’s declaration and rules, which are not published online, so we do not state a limit. Ask for the pet rule in writing before you sign.
No public record we reached establishes an age restriction at the Heron, and this page makes no claim either way. Read the declarations before you rely on an answer.
Budget from your purchase price, not the seller’s bill, because the Save Our Homes cap follows the owner. Add the San Carlos Park fire levy of 2.3590 mills and the solid waste line; there is no CDD.
If the home is your permanent residence on January 1, the exemption removes up to $50,000 of assessed value and starts the Save Our Homes cap. Apply by March 1; 22 of the 63 Heron homes carry one today.
No. The Heron has a Fort Myers mailing address, but every parcel is in unincorporated Lee County, which handles zoning, permits and flood-plain rules.
Lee County Utilities’ water service area covers The Forest, and sewer comes from Forest Utilities, Inc., a private utility whose rates are not published online.
The Heron sits in Lee County’s Elementary Zone O, Middle School Zone MM and High School South Zone 2. Confirm choices for a specific address with the district.
About 1.7 road miles and 7 minutes to the clubhouse, and from the clubhouse about 8.6 miles and 16 minutes to the Southwest Florida International Airport terminal, free-flow.
Guests, including buyers and agents, are pre-registered through the DwellingLive visitor system. We arrange access before we schedule a showing.
The purchase contract decides who pays for the owner’s policy and who chooses the title agent. The premium itself is set by the state’s promulgated rates.
Yes, with an MLS agent. Since August 17, 2024, a written buyer agreement stating the agent’s compensation must be in place before a tour, and compensation is negotiable.
The Heron’s 1,993-square-foot Villas sold at a median $400,000 over 48 months against $500,000 for Waters Edge’s villas; Waters Edge has one fewer association layer, 2023 roof permits and sold closer to asking.
Choose between a Coach House and a Villa against the same-plan sales, decide whether you want the club, and set up alerts. Call Marc Comisar at (239) 287-5873.
Every Heron figure on this page traces to a primary source below, listed as of September 26, 2026: the associations’ filings with the Florida Division of Corporations and the state condominium registry, Lee County’s parcel, flood, tax and development records, Florida Statutes and state agencies, federal flood and storm records, the master association’s and the club’s own pages, and the Southwest Florida MLS. No listing portal or competing brokerage is cited.
Every row below links the authority that publishes the document, so a Heron buyer always opens the official, current copy. We host nothing ourselves. The two declarations of condominium, the Heron Master’s Declaration of Covenants and Restrictions, each association’s bylaws, rules, budget and reserve schedule, and the master association’s homeowner documents are not posted publicly; they come with the resale package.
Document | What it tells a Heron buyer | Official authority |
|---|---|---|
The Heron Coach Houses Amended and Restated Articles (filed February 20, 2004) | The Coach Houses association’s powers, including approval of transfers and leases as the declaration provides | |
The Heron Coach House Villas Amended and Restated Articles (filed December 29, 2003) | The Villas association’s powers, voting and amendment rules | |
The Heron Master Association Amended and Restated Articles (filed February 20, 2004) | What the Heron Master is responsible for, who its members are and who sets its dues | |
The Heron Master Association 2020 amendment | Indemnification of directors, officers and committee members | |
The Forest Property Owners’ Association Emergency Preparedness Plan (2022) | Gate staffing, the Heron’s seats on the master board, re-entry rules | |
FEMA FIRM panel 12071C0438H (effective November 17, 2022) | The flood map panel for the Villas and most Coach House parcels | |
FEMA FIRM panel 12071C0576H (effective November 17, 2022) | The flood map panel for 16 Coach House parcels | |
Lee County Evacuation Zone A map | The evacuation zone that covers all of The Forest | |
FEMA Community Rating System eligible communities (April 2025) | Unincorporated Lee County’s Class 5, a 25 percent NFIP discount | |
San Carlos Park Fire District FY2025/2026 Final Budget | The 2.3590-mill fire levy on every Heron tax bill | |
The Forest Country Club scorecard (December 2025) | Both courses’ tees, yardage, rating and slope | |
Florida Statutes 718.503, disclosure prior to sale | The documents a condominium seller must give you | |
Florida Statutes 718.116, assessments and estoppel certificates | What the condominium estoppel states, and its fee cap |
McGreevy and Comisar represent buyers across Southwest Florida from an office in Bonita Springs on US 41, south of The Forest on the same highway, and the Heron sits inside the south Fort Myers market we work every week. The first conversation costs nothing, and it usually saves a buyer more than any negotiation later.
Marc Comisar: (239) 287-5873. Jesse McGreevy: (239) 898-6072, [email protected]. Office: 24031 S Tamiami Trl #101, Bonita Springs, FL 34134. Use the buyer form on this page, return to the buyer consultation section, or read how we represent buyers in Southwest Florida. Video walkthroughs are on McGreevy and Comisar on YouTube, and the team keeps a company page at McGreevy and Comisar on LinkedIn.
Jesse McGreevy (Sales Associate, Florida license SL3101296) and Marc Comisar (Broker Associate, Florida license BK3060671) are licensed Florida REALTORS with Domain Realty; Florida real estate licensure is regulated by the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC).
McGreevy and Comisar lead Domain Realty Group, a full-service Southwest Florida real estate team; learn more at DomainRealtyGroup.com. McGreevy and Comisar are Top 1% Real Estate Agents Nationally Since 2008. Nothing on this page is legal, tax or insurance advice.
Market data from Southwest Florida MLS, pulled September 23, 2026, through the Southwest Florida MLS Matrix. Brokered by Domain Realty.