French Market in downtown Daytona Beach Florida

Downtown Daytona Beach merchants will present a French Market on this spring on Saturday, February 26, March 26, and April 23, 2012.

The event is expected to offer food, arts, entertainment and much more. Outside vendors will come in to provide a variety of offerings. It is expected to be a multi-cultural event. The French Market is an open air shopping bazaar that will be experienced along Beach Street from Bay Street to Orange Avenue and also along International Speedway Blvd.

The French Market stretches more than 4 blocks in historic downtown Daytona Beach from 9AM to 3PM. You can also stroll over to the Farmer's market on City Island which is open every Saturday from 8AM to Noon.

There will be entertainment, arts and crafts, holiday items, baked goods, handbags and apparel and much more.

Admission is FREE and parking is FREE. Head on down to downtown Daytona Beach Florida on December 3rd for music, fun, food and dancing and get some Christmas shopping done.

For additional information call Kelli at 386-290-1365 or Stacey at 386-255-3701.

For information about Ormond Beach and Ormond by the Sea Florida homes and condos for sale and for rent call 386-441-8245 or visit the Ocean view Realty Group web site at http://www.ovrealty.com/ where you can also search the Daytona Beach area multiple listing service (MLS) anonymously.

This post was written in November, but for some reason I did not publish it at that time. I thought to delete it, but then looked at the listings, and it is a great comparison to today (copmare it with my blog posted last week).

Very telling change. So, I decided to post it now. Sometimes "old" stuff is as good as new, if not better.

Plaza Resort & Spa at 600 N. Atlantic Ave in Daytona Beach is a premiere condo-hotel in the daytona beach area. Here is the link to over 20 blogs that I wrote about it, which can give you all the information about this property, and, because they were written in the course of 2-3 years, you could see the dynamic of the market.

Interestingly, the inventory in Plaza Resort & Spa went up, and is now 30 units for sale. I think it reflects that this is our seasonal slow time, so fewer sales, and that's how we gained 4 units (last time I checked there were 26 units for sale).

Not only the inventory went up, but the prices went a bit down, and while they are still a far cry from where they were 2 years ago, they are less than just a month ago.

This 323-room resort is in the heart of Daytona Beach. Maintenance fee $428.22. Plus $16.41 insurance for the inside. Taxes vary depending on what owners paid for their unit, but you can approximate them at 2.5 -2.6% of the value (what you paid for). No pets. Owners stay, if on rental program, limited to 60 days a year, and not more than 30 consecutive days.

Condo-hotels, including Plaza Resort & Spa, can be a good alternative to more expensive Oceanfront condos. If you are interested in condo-hotels or condos in Daytona Beach area, call me at 386-405-4408.

Can There Be Too Much Knowledge?

I have received several offers for a condo-hotel unit in Plaza Resort & Spa. This is the largest studio floor plan, priced reasonably at $103,500. Next comparable unit in the resort of similar set up and size is $159,000.

It would be easy to assume that I have the price wrong, based on the consistent uniformity of the offers, but I would stubbornly say “nay”. Why? Because I know… Because I work with investors, and run into it often enough…

With rare exception the offers are $62K and $67K. Interestingly, at the same time I have received offers on a smaller unit there for more money.

Anyway, when I get offers like this, I immediately look at who represents the buyer and I put them on my “bad” shelf. These for me are agents who do not deserve be taken seriously.

So, why is it happening?

It is too much knowledge. The agents check the county Property Appraiser site and see that the Seller has bought it recently at the auction and paid only $42K.

And instead of basing their advise to the Buyer based on today’s market, my fellow smart agents give their suggestion of the price based on what they think is fair to give to my Seller, knowing that he bought it recently for $42K. Some of them think that it is enough to give him $20K, and some think that $25K is OK. Hence the offers for $62K and $67K.

They are not in the “buying” mood when they do it, but in the “throwing a bone” to the Seller mood. Now they are thinking of how much profit is fair for the Seller instead of thinking what would be a fair price based on the market values.

These agents somehow are in the wrong business. They need to join our present Administration, which knows how much people should be making and what is fair.

Why not go to basics, and look at the market, evaluate it, and then advise your customers what the market value is, and avoid looking stupid, when there is no counter on a ridiculous offer. I would die to see how they would explain that they advised on a "smart" price, and the results are... no results...

Is it that too much knowledge is too much?

Can you outsmart yourself?

You bet…

Should you?

* Photo by Elsie esq. via Flickr.com

Association Dues in Plaza Resort & Spa.

Jon,

I have been considering looking to buy in the Plaza Resort and Spa in Daytona Beach....but the $428 monthly maintenance fee...what is included in this? Seems high, but I know its a very nice place to live / vacation?

This is from the e-mail I have received from AR reader. I have written about it before, but could not find it in those hundreds and hundreds of blogs.

Plaza Resort & Spa is a Condo-Hotel. It is one of the oldest hotels initially built in 1911, and then completely rebuilt in 1969. It was converted to condominium type of ownership relatively recently, in 2005.

In general Association Fees (Maintenance Fees) are higher per sq. ft. than in residential (apartment) condominiums, and the fees are significantly higher. A 372 sq. ft. studio in Plaza Resort & Spa would cost you $428.22, and if you buy a 2 bdr/ 2bath condo with full kitchen (which is not in a 372-sf unit), your maintenance fee will be about the same $400 a month.

Of course, the difference is that in residential condos only water is included, and the rest of the fee covers everything OUTSIDE the unit. In the condo-hotel it is much easier to list what it DOES NOT cover, which would be property taxes (paid annually), and liability insurance, so that you are protected when the guest gets hurt ($16.41 a month).

Everything else is included: electricity, cable, local telephone, plus every expense for the common areas (undivided interest in common areas) to cover maintenance of the building and the grounds.

The Plaza Resort & Spa has chosen the system where each condo is assessed the same amount, no mater of the size, so each unit, whether it is 372 sf, 462 sf or 513 sf studio, or even a one-bedroom unit, the Association fee today is $428.22.

The way the association fee is calculated is by preparing the budget. And yes, if the cost of KW of electricity goes up, it would affect the budget. Increased cost of water would affect the budget, growing labor costs would affect the budget, cost of materials sure affects the budget. So, if the projected budget is set higher than the last budget and the difference is not offset by the increase in revenue, the Association fees can go up.

Keep in mind that people who vote for the budget are owners like you, and they are not interested in just voluntarily hiking the fee. They are paying it as everyone else.

So, is $428.22 a month high? What if the fee is lower, but the management has to cut corners to keep it lower? Would it cost less? Well, all these cut corners, and all the work that was not done, and preventive maintenance that was not done do not go anywhere. They would come in the form of Special Assessment and will cost you more than a professional management.

Actually, if you walk into lobby of Plaza Resort & Spa, and If after that you are concerned about the association fee, maybe condo-hotel and condo is not for you. I think Buyers should be careful when the maintenance fee is lower than on average, and there is no reasonable explanation.

There are no miracles. You want to buy a unit in a premier condo-hotel, then you are faced with higher Association fees. Woldn't you pay more for a Mercedes than for a Chevy?

The funny part is that the amount of the Association fee is never a concern for the owner. The difference between the rental income, and particularly the difference between the owner portion and all expenses is what owners should think of.

You can have $300 a month Association fee and have no revenue, or, like in large units in Ocean Walk, have $1,056 a month Association fee and enough revenue to offset your expenses.