Where have I been this past month? Why have I denied you your bi-weekly ration of off-color humor interwoven with current events? What possible excuse can I have for such a blatant shirking of my responsibilities?  Vacation. And it was AWESOME. I’m totally tanner than you right now.  So, I clearly have some ‘catch-up’ to do. And by golly, there was so much fun stuff going on in the world that I couldn’t bring myself to cut out[...]
 MetroWest Orlando gets a new real estate website this month. Intended to home in on all aspects of the MetroWest real estate neighborhood, the new Orlando site features separate sections for single family homes and condos. “The portal’s main focus is single family homes in MetroWest,†says Burke, the site’s developer. “But with Metro West being ground zero for Orlando’s condo crash, it was hard to ignore condos altogether, so we [...]
The Top Ten Real Estate Deals website selected our featured Orlando condo bank liquidation as one of their Top 10 picks for the best home and condo deals in the United States this week. Each week the site's developers compile and showcase a media list of the Top 10 best and most interesting real estate deals available on the web. The Top 10 spotlight is sent every week to over 40,000 print, online and broadcast media and thousands more real estate agents and subscribers across the [...]
55 West, Paramount & Aspire Condos, Downtown Orlando  $200 CASH REBATE! Get $200 in CASH just for using our downtown Orlando condo rental service! (That’s on top of any other monthly “specials†you may get.) This month's special? Write your contract AT 55 West condos on a certain day this month - and get a free iPad! (Email us to find out which day.) Also, write a lease the day you look and receive $500.00 off the first month's rent! What do you have to do for [...]
Fannie Mae, the too-big-to-fail public-private mortgage company, approved 123 new Florida condo projects for financing in the first half of of 2010, a stark contrast to 2008 when not a single condo community was accepted, according to a new report from condovultures.com in Miami. New condo project approvals for financing in 2010 have already risen by more than 40 percent compared to 2009 when 87 projects were deemed acceptable for mortgages by Fannie Mae. No new Florida condos were [...]
Well we don't normally deal with sales outside of Orlando but given the number of investment inquiries we receive both locally and internationaly for turn-key income producing investments (regardless of location) we thought we'd put this one out there. Here's a quick exerpt from the brochure. (Please click on the image to the right to download the brochure in pdf format.) These Atlanta homes come completely renovated, tenant-ready, with local property management in place. A two-year [...]
When you buy a condo from a developer or builder, you're automatically given a set of what are commonly referred to as "Condo Docs". You may get the heavy weight paper version, but these days you're more likely to get the CD-ROM version. Either way, most buyers don't bother to read them, but they do include some useful information for those looking to learn about their new condo investment. When you buy a resale, the owner will probably give you their copy, but when you buy from the [...]
Lennar homes have opened a town home vacation resort close to Disney called Paradise Palms. Current pricing for Paradise Palms resort includes a turnkey furniture package and a private heated pool (only two 3-Bed left for this deal) - for the three bedroom unit the price is $189,990. Financing may be possible as well as $5,000 in closing costs paid.  Amenities of the community include a 9,500 sq ft club house with: Grotto style heated community pool two spas Tiki bar and [...]
A fortune teller asked me to gaze into her crystal ball. "I see wear and tear in your building's future. I see a new roof will be needed. I see cracking paint and asphalt in need of repair. I see (gasp!) a depleted reserve fund!" It doesn't take a fortune teller to predict that common elements are going to wear out and it doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that HOAs are going to need money and a plan to fix them. So why do so many HOAs fail to properly plan for these predictable events and [...]
The statutes governing community associations require notice of meetings to encourage owner participation. HOAleader recently published an article on this subject: HOA Meetings: Does Your State Have Rules for Your Meeting Agendas? Here are some handy reminders - there are additional options in the statutes. This list is not intended to be all inclusive. Â TYPE OF MEETING Condo/Co-op HOA Board meeting 48 hours posted (or pursuant to documents) with agenda 48 hours posted (or pursuant[...]