Question: Our pool and clubhouse are 15 years old. The board wants to build a larger pool and upgrade the clubhouse which would require a $200,000 special assessment and drain our reserves. Answer: The board has no authority to expand the common area amenities. Its authority is to maintain existing amenities in good condition. However, if an appropriate majority of the members are in favor of raising and spending this money for this purpose, that is acceptable. However, the "appropriate" [...]
Well, it was just a question of time - and it's been a very long time it's true - but it sounds as if Orlando condo loans may slowly be creeping back onto the mortgage radar, at least for certain kinds of purchases. Yes, there are caveats, and we still don't know of any loans for those wretched Orlando condo foreclosures at the $50K price range, but I did receive an email this week from a bank claiming to be able to loan on "non-warrantable" condos and Orlando condo condo hotels. Here's the [...]
55 West Condos, downtown Orlando  Starting Monday: LOOK & LEASE SAME DAY at 55 West -- get an i-PAD!  AWESOME specials this week...  2 - 2.5 months free on select units! Not have much left at these prices! $100.00 Moves you in with a 30 day move in! Call Condo Metropolis on 407-290-3408 to register and take a tour asap. For more info on downtown Orlando condos (for rent or sale) see our 55 West condo page and also our Downtown Orlando Condos page.
President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank Financial Regulation Reform Act into law Wednesday, beÂginning what will inevitably become a maelstrom of angry lobbying and political jockeying. Obama described the 2300 page behemoth as a “common sense approach to long-needed financial regulationâ€. I don’t know about you, but ‘common sense’ usually doesn’t need to be explained in a tome about twice the length of Tolstoy’s War [...]
Orlando condo sales are back with condo buyers coming from every corner of the globe to snap up a piece of Orlando real estate.  The following graph says it all. The median price for a unit in Orlando during June 2010 was $52,800, down 3 % from 2009, according to the recently released industry report. Prices were up from $49,900 in May. The median price for condos across Florida state was $95,000, down 16 % from June 2009. With 889 units sold during June, Orlando condo sales [...]
New legislation (SB 1196) looks set to help condo buyers during these tricky times. It also encourages bulk buyers of condo inventory by removing some of the liablity previsously associated with such purchases, ie. they will no longer be considered the communities new "developers" for the purposes of lawsuits just because they now own a portion of them. The Distressed Condominium Relief Act went into effect on July 1, 2010. The new law, signed by Governor Crist on June 1st, broadens the [...]
Community leaders should understand the financial wherewithal of the associations they lead. Unit and Home Owners also have rights to review financial records. It seems like we hear about theft of association funds more and more these days. Simply leaving finances in the hands of a manager, bookkeeper or treasurer is not enough.  For some practical ideas how to stay "in the know", please see the following article published by HOAleader: Five Questions to Ask Your [...]
The U.S.A. and England have moved from “in a relationship†to “it’s complicated†over the one-two punch of BP’s massive oil spill trashing the Gulf of Mexico (now holding the esteemed “greatest American ecological disaster†slot) and our 1-1 tie in the first game of the World Cup.  Facebook status joke? You betta’ believe.  And as if Europe wasn’t interesting enough, bond ratings agency [...]
Plantation Park Condos, Orlando As most of you probably know by now, I'm not a fan of short sales - unless a buyer bails on one that's ready to close. Well here's one such deal at Plantation Park condos. The buyer has been working out this one-bedroom deal with BOA / Freddie Mac for about 8 months, and just as it's ready to close, they're pulling out because they have to move to Chicago at short notice. A shame for them, but easy pickings for someone else, all without the hassle of [...]
The Mosaic Condominium Ater a couple of years renting, Mosaic condos near the Mall of Millenia are now selling again. The 27-building, gated, Mosaic condo complex is one of Orlando's nicer condo conversions (built 2003) and the current owners have elected to go for individual sales over a one-time 'bulk' sale to a new sole buyer. The Mosaic condo community has 451 units in total and about 170 remain. About 30 contracts have been written in the last month since sales began and there seems[...]