About Holly Hill's Marina Grande On The Halifax

I left for vacation in Dominican Republic on February 9. A couple of days before it I received a call from Derek Catron, staff writer for our News-Journal. He Googled  Marina Grande on the Halifax and saw a series of my blogs about this condo development in Holly Hill, Daytona Beach area.

We chatted about Marina Grande and its chances to rebound considering the fact that there finally was a new owner, and that new owner was the one, who started this project years ago – Swerdlow Group.

I knew that Swerdlow Group was doing due diligence. We were all anxious to know when it would become official.

After the property was offered for sale, all unsold 414 units in two 25-story towers, plus vacant commercial/retail component, generated quite some interest.  There were at least 5 groups that showed some degree of interest in the project. I knew all 5 of them. With one group I worked closely on the prices, but they did not win it.

Swerdlow Group was the most motivated and aggressively pursued the deal. And they are the best thing that could happen to Marina Grande for simple reason: they have control of the remaining land of the project, and they are willing to complete this ambitious project, even if it means waiting for the market to really warm up.

Anyway, I left for Dominican Republic and the warm weather and the fun pushed it to the background and finally I checked the newspaper yesterday, and noticed Derek Catron’s article “Marina Grande sees new life with old developer”, which was published February 9.

Derek interviewed Brett Dill, President of Swerdlow Group. He also used some fragments of our discussion there. Information by Swerdlow Group that prices will start from under $200K were good news to me, as previously I was told they were higher. I think this is the right thing to do in this market, but this is really a no brainer.

I know that Brett Dill has thought about the market and how he plans to overcome its weakness. Who said that you can’t swim against the current? But it is much more difficult. We will see what the future has in store for Marina Grande on the Halifax in Holly Hill, Daytona Beach area.  

At this point I am glad that Swerdlow Group is back. The Prince is back. Cinderella has waited long enough...

It is final. Marina Grande on the Halifax, a 972-unit condo development in a sleepy Holly Hill with two of four Towers already in place, has a new owner, Swerdlow Group. The closing was today

Of all the groups bidding for this property, Swerdlow Group is the best for the future of Marina Grande on the Halifax, as they also own the land directly north of the existing two towers. This means that when the market gets warmer, and when they sell of 414 units, they will continue with two remaining towers.

Swerdlow Group was involved in developing Marina Grande on the Halifax. Eventually they sold their part to Boca Developers, and did it at the height of the market. I was asked today whether Brett Dill, President of Swerdlow Group, was a genius or was just lucky. I do not know, but I think he has to be both a genius and very lucky to sell 414 units in this market.

The rumor is that they will start with the main clubhouse and Las Vegas style pool to attract potential buyers. Also they will put the boat slips, as was initially planned.

Anyway, life is coming to Marina Grande on the Halifax, a gorgeous condominium development by Seabreeze Bridge on the Intracoastal in sleepy Holly Hill.

Congratulations, Mr. Dill.

Marina Grande on the Halifax is a Cinderella of the Condo Market in Daytona Beach area waiting for Prince Charming. With only 54 units sold in South Tower, and 10 in North Tower, and only a few buyers actually living there, this half of the projected 972 units in 4 towers of which only 2 have been constructed (486 units) is a ghost place.

Beautiful ghost place.

If there was rating of ghost places, Marina Grande on the Halifax would undoubtedly be in the first 10 in the world.

But do you want to buy a unit in the most prestigious ghost town? Now you might want to seriously consider in favor of buying a unit in Marina Grande on the Halifax… That's when they will open the sales.

For Marina Grande on the Halifax, a massive condo development on the Intracoastal in sleepy Holly Hill, everything was great. Except for timing. This was a long and difficult wait, but putting my ear to the ground, I hear the horses coming. The Prince and his entourage are coming. I will make the announcement once it is confirmed who the prince is. I know who the Prince Charming is, I just need some patience…

There were several groups vying to become the prince on white horse bidding for Marina Grande on the Halifax in Holly Hill and of all of them, the one that is completing the due diligence, is the best for this development. And when the announcement is made, I will explain why it could be the best thing for Daytona Beach area.

Wait, Cinderella, wait. Prince is coming.

We have a listing in Marina Grande on the Halifax in Daytona Beach Area. It is a short sale. 2 bdr/2 baths unit on the 14^th floor was bought in 2007 for $490K. The 25-story tower with 243 units in one and 486 condos in 2 out of 4 built.

It’s been in the works for a long time and had its ups and downs. Already 2 BPOs and one appraisal have been done, case opened, closed, reopened… On Friday comes a phone call. The guy needs to do BPO and is asking about access to the property.

No, no keys whatsoever. I have to be there and let him in. It is a policy thing. I want to know who I deal with and what is their level of competency or lack thereof. As usual I ask the guy how familiar he is with the area and the property. And for one minute I believe that he is familiar.

But then he asked me in which of the 4 towers is the unit. I guess he wanted to show that he knows the area, but the problem with those 4 Towers was that the developer built only 2 out of planned 4, so I immediately knew that he had no clue about Marina Grande on the Halifax. He sees a listing in MLS where agents used the developer's picture of 4 towers created by the computer.

I hesitated between refusing letting him do the BPO, and sending away, but we have already twice had the BPO done by a local guy, and both times he was tremendously off, and he told me that it was because he had to follow the instructions to the letter, and if he did, these were the numbers.

We argued with the Lender both times, and ended up with an appraisal, which came 40% of what the BPOs were. Way more in line with the real values in Marina Grande on the Halifax.

On Saturday I meet the guy in the garage, and ask him for his business card. He is from Palm Coast. Not really far, he could have some knowledge, though not specific, but he didn’t.

I told him that I did not even want to let him do the job, and I could argue with the Lender that he was not familiar with Daytona Beach area, but all I needed was a decent BPO in line with values.

I hope he did not screw up. I still do not understand why he took the job in Marina Grande on the Halifax. I asked him whether he had access to our MLS, and he laughed at me. He said he had access to every MLS in Florida.

I was speechless. He paid big bucks to have access to every MLS (if he did not exaggerate) in Florida. What, did he take jobs in Miami? It should cost more in gas…

I guess having access to different MLSs made him a guru of local real estate. Of course, being a guru cost money. You poay, and you become a guru...

How much does it cost to become an instant guru?

Yesterday I postedWhat We Can See Happening In Marina Grande On The Halifax in Daytona Beach Area.

I ended it with a “Bang!” Something happened that nobody expected. And promised to continue…

Historical part: The GC and a bunch of subcontractors that worked on Marina Grande on the Halifax were not paid, or were not fully paid. General Contractor – Yates & Sons Construction Company - was arguing with Chase for quite some time. They claimed that they were owed over $9 Mil. The Lender squared payments with subcontractors, and the final amount of the Claim of Lien is said to be just pennies over $5,506,000 (quoting from memory, so there are pennies left).

There is a bitter dispute raging between the GC and Chase over the work done on Marina Grande on the Halifax. And while there were no sales, it wasn’t really going anywhere. Now, that there were 3 sales and some other properties were going either to Short sale of foreclosure, the battle field changed dramatically.

In 3 foreclosure sales, as far as I understand, the second lien was wiped out, and that means that Yates and Sons Construction Company did not get a penny. I do not know whether it was just a coincidence, or they renewed their legal attack, but they vigorously tried to get into the first position, and force Chase to pay them off.

I am not the attorney, so I asked an attorney. I was told that it was complete BS, and they will never get in the first position.

That made me breathe better… for one day. As the next day I was looking at Partial Summary Judgment where the Plaintiff was Chase Home Finance, LLC and among the defendants there was Yates and Sons Construction Company.

Chase wanted to foreclose on the unit of my client and filed the complaint with the court. It is a 6- page document, and I am only quoting a small part of it here, but it is very interesting.

Hysterical Part: The court actually agreed with the defendant in this case, and allowed Yates and Sons Construction Company to be in the first position regarding this claim.

I do not even know yet what it means for my client. We have negotiated the whole short sale of their unit in Marina Grande on the Halifax, have approval, and are now stuck. We were supposed to close quickly, but here we have over $5.5 Million hanging.

We contacted Yates' attorneys to get the partial release, and they said “No”. No partial releases. You want to sell a unit, pay $5.5+ Mil and then do whatever you want.

The funny thing is that they did not put a number on any unit. It is the whole amount or nothing.

Nice twist, isn’t it?

I would not be surprised to know that I am not the only one who never heard about the GC taking the first position over the major US bank.

That’s the story number 2. And I think there is number 3 in a fetus stage… at least something is kicking me in the stomach…

Life is quiet in a small town of Holly Hill, where Marina Grande on the Halifax is proudly standing by the bridge right on the Intracoastal. At least it was meant to be…