News About Properties – Page 114 – News about properties and real estate

Condo developer wears two hats [South Florida]

Q: I am a condominium owner in a complex that has approximately 200 units, of which approximately half are rental units waiting to be bought. The owner of the property owns these units and calls all the shots. We have one meeting per year, which means nothing, since the owner controls everything. I would like to know if we are, under law, entitled to an outside audit. Also, where I can get copies of county or state regulations regarding condominiums?

A: First, read your documents to see if they require a type of year-end financial report. The condominium statute FS 718.111 requires the following: An association with total annual revenues of $100,000 or more, but less than $200,000, shall prepare compiled financial statements. An association with total annual revenues of at least $200,000, but less than $400,000, shall prepare reviewed financial statements. An association with total annual revenues of $400,000 or more shall prepare audited financial statements. A copy of the FS 718 can be found on the state’s website http://leg.state.fl.us/; follow the links to the statutes.

Vacation home market heats up

Homebuyers looking for bargains are finding the time is right to make an offer on a second home.

Plentiful choices, attractive interest rates and low prices are spurring activity in the vacation-home sector, industry members say. Another factor: uncertain returns elsewhere.

“People are telling me they’re pulling their money out of stocks and their 401(k),” said Cathy Nichols, broker associate at Tropical Realty & Investments of Brevard.

She estimates that 90 percent of the closings she and business partner Sara Forst Griffin have completed in recent months have been vacation homes.

A gilded headache [South Florida]

Jorge Perez joined Donald Trump Jr. Friday for a familiar task: selling a posh and pricey condominium high-rise on the ocean.

How hard has that become lately? Perez says he is directing most of his sales energy toward people who have already signed sales contracts to buy units.

“We are going to concentrate our efforts on the existing buyers first,” Perez said in the glass-walled “cigar room” of the Trump Hollywood, a 41-story oceanfront condo where the cheapest unit sells for about $1 million. “What can we do to get you to close?”

Some buyers who once felt fortunate to get in early with a luxe condo like the Trump Hollywood now are regretting their decisions, in some cases suing to break contracts. Others are simply walking away from deposits that can top $200,000.

Buddy Johnson’s misspelling and selective memory line his path to financial ruin [Tampa Bay Area, FL]

The unsettling story of Buddy Johnson’s personal finances came out in dribs and drabs: mounting debt, unpaid taxes, foreclosures, and a lawsuit by an elderly couple who say the former Hillsborough elections chief swindled them out of their retirement nest egg.

But now, with new documents and Johnson’s sworn testimony in the lawsuit made public, the story can be told whole.

New details show that Johnson deceived Cecil and Nita Bass, who sold him the 20-acre tract held in their family since the Great Depression.

A newly released internal memo at the Plant City bank that loaned Johnson $400,000 shows he misled officials there, as well. And Johnson’s credit report suggests an answer to the mystery of why his name was misspelled on other loan documents.

Auctions bringing buyers bargains [East Nashville]

Auctions bringing buyers bargains [East Nashville]

A small crowd gathered for the auction of a Shelby Avenue home in East Nashville — one of about 30 properties repossessed by a bank and being sold by Bob Parks Auction Co. in a whirlwind tour this week.
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The historic home’s renovations were nearly complete, including immaculate hardwood floors, exposed brick around the fireplaces, a new kitchen and fresh paint. The county tax appraisal listed the house as worth $297,300.

After the auction, someone walked away with it for $166,000. Even the buyer thought his winning bid seemed too low.

“I’m surprised it didn’t go for more,’’ said Stewart Levine, who won the bid on behalf of a local investor, Lane Wallace. “In this market, things are just down.”

Isleworth sees more ‘for sale’ signs [Central Florida]

Isleworth sees more ‘for sale’ signs [Central Florida]

Isleworth has reigned as Orlando’s most prestigious address for more than a decade.

The lavish 300-home subdivision on the Butler Chain of Lakes near Windermere is, above all else, known as the place Tiger Woods, other athletes and prominent business executives call home.

But in this real-estate market of unprecedented lows, even the rich and famous are finding it tough to sell.

Sports stars Grant Hill, Mark O’Meara, Stuart Appleby and Ryan Longwell as well as former Hughes Supply Inc. CEO Tom Morgan and the estate of car dealer Bob Dance all have homes up for sale in Isleworth.