Entries Tagged 'Condos' ↓

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You own a condo in Florida and all you want to do is sell it. Take your loss, lick you wounds, and get out of proverbial Dodge. So after months of lowering prices you find a the buyer in the haystack and that same buyer squeaked out and qualified for their mortgage. Time to open the bottle of champagne that you had saved, right?

Not so fast. After years of getting burned by poor paying owners, condo associations in Florida are taking a much tougher look at prospective buyers. The problem is that mortgage companies do not put the ability to pay the condo fees into their equation and the condo associations have been getting beaten up by a growing percentage of owners just not bothering to pay their association fees.

So now the condo associations are rejecting the marginal candidates from purchasing into the association. While frustrating to sellers this is very prudent by associations. When property values were soaring the condo association could place a lien on the property and get their money that way. But in a stagnant market,  there is no equity to attach so now it is in the condo association’s best interest to investigate the ability to pay up front, and reject anyone who could be marginal.

Tough business but smart business. However, we are looking at another layer that is slowing down the market in Florida real estate sales.

Boards statewide have begun toughening their standards because of concerns about applicants’ ability to pay monthly maintenance fees. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, buyers were qualifying for low adjustable-rate mortgages with little or no money down. Unable to pay both their mortgage and association obligations, the new owners ignored their maintenance and special assessment obligations.

Boards were stuck. They couldn’t foreclose because the new owners had no equity. That forced all other owners to pick up the unpaid share of the common expenses, such as water, insurance, pest control, pool maintenance and landscaping. via South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com.

If you are a spa lover but have such a hectic lifestyle that getting to a spa is impossible to do, fear not. As builders search for ways to be unique, the concept of the spadominium is coming to you. A spadominium is a condo complex that also has a full featured spa for it’s residents to partake of as part of the package.

The granddaddy of the spadominiums is Miraval Living on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, The 365 unit facility offers such amenities as an olympic pool, relationship counselors, nutritionists, meditation rooms, and a cafe. Beyond this, they also offer such perks as Quantum Leap, a 25 foot climbing and jumping pole, Equine Experience, teaching you to relax enough to change horse shoes (no, I am not making this up), and sexual education class called Partners, Pleasures, and Passion.

While spa living is not my cup of tea, I can see the appeal of Miraval Living for the stressed out city dweller. The company behind the concept is looking to roll out new communities in Miami and Chicago. And one other tidbit on Miraval, the majority shareholder is Steve Case. You may remember him, he is the guy who brought you AOL. So the Spadominium may not be the flash in the pan that us skeptics think it is, but may be a concept that has long and relaxed legs.

That choice doesn’t come cheap: studios start at $650,000 and the three-bedroom flats cost $3.5 million. The monthly service charge varies between $1,200 and $6,000 and brings an as-yet-unspecified spa entitlement. The block boasts the biggest private garden in New York. Ms Mullins would not disclose how many had been sold but said there are still some available. She says: “This is not about getting a facial and a massage every day. It’s about getting your balance back and giving the luxury of time.  via  Times Online.

If you have the cash, the Penthouse unit at Trinity Place overlooking Copley Square might be your new Boston crash pad. As real estate price for super deluxe properties soar, the timing of this 15 million dollar duplex offering a 360 degree view of Boston is perfect.

This 8 bedroom, 8 bath penthouse is the product of the original two units being combined to create the most expensive apartment in Boston. The elevator is privately keyed and you have a view of the whole city. One drawback, condo fees top 10 thousand dollars.

“If it sold at asking price, it would break a record,” Ford said. “It would raise the bar for Boston and really compete with Manhattan.”

Along with views, the condo offers the kind of sprawling space hard to find in Boston: 7,100 square feet of living space, including a 1,439-square-foot “gallery” connecting the two units. The gallery alone is as large as many single-family homes. via the BostonHerald.com.

Baltimore is an interesting city to watch during the housing slowdown. It is occupying the middle ground, losing some steam but remaining stable. That is why an article in today’s Baltimore Sun talking about condo developers slowing down the pipeline caught my eye.

There are a few large condo highrises on the table, but the developers are either changing the mix, more hotel rooms and less condos, or slowing down the projects until the market shakes out. 

Richard W. Naing of RWN Development Group, which is handling the Guilford Avenue project, said he thinks the time wouldn’t be ripe to start construction until the many condos in the pipeline have had a chance to sell and regional job growth from the military base restructuring revs up. That could be three to four years, he said.

Meanwhile, his key competition - two other companies planning downtown skyscrapers - said yesterday that they’ve pulled back on the number of condos they plan to build. New York-based UrbanAmerica now says its proposed Pratt Street building might have 250 condos and 300 hotel rooms, rather than vice versa. Philadelphia-based ARCWheeler, taking another look at plans for its Light Street skyscraper, thinks it will keep the loft and condo component below 200 units instead of nearly 300.

Richmond S. McCoy, president and chief executive of UrbanAmerica, said he remains optimistic because Baltimore’s housing market is “outperforming most markets.” via  baltimoresun.com.

What happens when you take a inefficient government program, add a dash of corruption, and round it out with a private market? You get governmental programs that are abject failures and the money ends up in the hands of the smarter guys.

Miami dedicated 1.3 million to subsidize affordable housing in a development in the city. All well in good if you are a big government type. But then you are looking at a time when the Miami housing market is white hot. So the people who got the grants, some legitamitely, some as political favors as the campaign manager for the mayor recieved, turned around and immediately resold the homes for a good deal more than they paid.

And that is the trouble with government just giving away your tax money. There are many smart folks out there who are looking and waiting for the money to be dispursed. And they will always find a way to twist and pevert the intention to make themselves more money.

The building, Loft One, developed by Jorge Perez’s Related Group, had offered 102 moderately priced units. But of those, city auditors found only six units that had stayed in the same hands for more than a year and claimed a homestead exemption — signaling that they were occupied by people who planned on living there for a significant amount of time.
On sales applications, some people listed purchase reasons like ”business/real estate opportunity, rental, resale and investment property,” according to the draft audit by the city’s auditor general, Victor Igwe. Some buyers listed mailing addresses in Argentina, Ecuador and New York.
Igwe declined to comment on the report, saying it was ”unfortunate” that an unfinished audit had been leaked to the media.
The draft audit says 33 of the 102 affordable units — priced between $99,000 and $216,000 — were resold within a year of closing. The list of those who benefited includes Miami political strategist Al Lorenzo, who works as a lobbyist for City Hall and was the campaign manager for Mayor Manny Diaz. via the MiamiHerald.com.

I love science fiction but never got too into Star Trek. I guess William Shatner acting prowess was not my forte… But if you are a Trekkie and love all things Star Trek, check out this apartment.

It is for sale in the small town of Hinckley in Leicestshire and will be auctioned off on Ebay for 200,000 dollars. To watch the video on Reuters click the image.

Based on the interiors of Star Trek spaceships Enterprise and Voyager, this studioflat in the small town of Hinckley in Leicestershire is coming up for sale on E-bay during the last week of March.

The owner, Tony Alleyne decided to embark on the project after he separated from his wife in 1995 and managed to turn his flat into a bachelor pad with a difference. Not your usual DIY, but with meticulous eye for detail. Reuters

For those looking at relocating to a new job and are scared that you will be stuck in a hotel for forever, there are some options out there that can help you. Corporate housing is an alternative that is coming more and more into favor for those looking to relocate and need a short term housing alternative while homes sell or children finish the school year.

Apartment complexes typically offer corporate housing plans that have leases for a short as one month. These units come fully furnished and are available at a cost of up to 30 percent less than local hotels would charge for an equivalent quality living experience.

Cameris says some employees prefer hotels because they offer maid service and reward programs, which allow them to amass points toward future stays.
Extended-stay hotels also have been upgrading their amenities. Last year, for example, Homewood Suites, which is owned by Hilton, offered to have the rooms stocked with food and other supplies if guests requested them online before their arrival.
Kim Salzano, the employee who suggested the corporate housing program to Ashley, says corporate apartments are not only about 30 percent cheaper than hotels but can also offer many of the same conveniences.
“We offer many amenities and give choices of furnishings,” she says. “We try to make it feel like a home on a hotel basis. The renters don’t have to lift a finger, but it’s more like a home setting for them. About the only thing we don’t do is deliver croissants and coffee to your door.” via the AP Wire

If you are the die hard fan who attends all of your universities home games and are looking for convenience, have we got the new trend in housing for you. Why own a home on the beach when you can have a condo that overlooks Sanford Stadium, or is just down the block from Rupp Arena. Developers are building units just like these in college towns across the country who want the convenience of owning near the stadium instead of finding hotel rooms.

High-end condominium developments are springing up in many college towns, drawing die-hard football fans wanting a place to stay a short walk from the stadium of their alma mater. Buyers say the condos can be a good investment and save them the hassle of hunting a hotel room for crowded home-game weekends. They’re also a place to party with fellow alumni. Although there are just a handful of home football games a year, some developments offer management and concierge services to help owners rent out the condos like hotel rooms. But in most developments it’s taboo to rent to students.

“It’s brutal to find a place to stay on game day in many of these college towns, and you have a lot of rabid fans out there who want to own a piece of real estate like this,” says Michael McGwier, executive managing director at Trammell Crow Residential, an Atlanta firm that recently teamed up with developer Gameday Centers Southeastern LLC to market condos planned near the University of Notre Dame, the University of Tennessee and other locations.

The condos generally are fitted with hardwood floors, granite counters and stainless-steel appliances — though they don’t provide owners with tickets to the games. Prices can range from $145,000 for a studio across the street from Rupp Arena, home of the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, to nearly $1.1 million for a penthouse at the recently completed Tallahassee Center tied to the Florida State Seminoles. By lending its name to a development, school teams get part of the purchase price, typically 1%. The University of Georgia in Athens has taken in about $275,000 from sales at a condo complex that opened two years ago a few blocks from its Sanford Stadium, according to Gameday Centers. via the Real Estate Journal

David Lereah, chief economist for the National Asssociation of Realtors,  was speaking to a Realtor group in Saratoga Springs yesterday, and announced that in his opinion the real estate downturn will last only 3–6 more months before it rights itself. He dfd have one telling line that captured how some markets bubbled. He said “Who Can Afford That?” in reference to the San Francisco marketplace that has reached heights that are stratospheric.

He also pointed out that Las Vegas, Chicago, and Miami will take a bit longer to recover as they have a huge excess inventory of condos.

He predicted a rebound in the next three to six months in most parts of the country, provided the Federal Reserve doesn’t start raising interest rates again. Some areas in the South and West will take longer to recover because the boom of the past five years was much sharper than in New York and other states, he said.
The median price for a single-family house in San Francisco, for instance, is $740,000.
“Who can afford that?” said Lereah, who addressed the bi-annual meeting of the New York State Association of Realtors. via The Business Review (Albany)

The high cost of rent or ownership is creating new challenges for those who are just entering the workforce or are in careers that provide intrinsic benefits but not a big pay check. As marketplaces often do, a new breed of lowcost housing is coming on line. The concept of “Dorms for Adults” is gaining traction. Instead of renting a self contained apartment, you rent a room in the apartment and the complex offers central areas.

The concept is obviously a take off of the college dorm, but it does make sense. Those that would be moving in are typically right out of school and are used to this arrangement. Also, not having many possessions they can have a part of the housing transition subsidized by not having to outfit a complete apartment.

They do it to save money, share resources and, when possible, to build equity. Along the way, many also see it as a chance to build community in the impersonal, big city.
“We live in a world, nowadays, where you’re encouraged to isolate yourself,” says Brian Gleichauf, a 30-year-old high school teacher who grew up in suburban Chicago. “You live in your own little home and you have your quarter-acre of grass to mow and everybody owns their own lawn mower and everyone has their own cars.
“It seems like an incredible waste to me.”
Among other options, he and wife Jenny, a 27-year-old pastor, are looking into Prairie Onion Cohousing, a small group of Chicagoans who are considering converting a vintage apartment building near Lake Michigan into multigenerational, environmentally friendly housing. Building on an idea that originated in Denmark, residents would buy or rent their own units, but share common areas and whatever resources and duties they agree upon.
Creating community is a driving force in their case. But for some, sharing resources — and a mortgage — is a simple matter of economics, especially as interest rates have risen since spring. via Naples Daily News