Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach, Florida connection

Palma Bella is one of the newest and finest condominiums in Daytona Beach Shores. Developer - Doug Cook - brought the sense of luxury that simply was not there. Not in the name, as we call luxury any Oceanfront Condo, and though the Ocean is definitely a luxury, the condos very often not.

Palma Bella is one of the five oceanfront condominium buildings comprising the Costa Bella collection in Daytona Beach Area. Out of 5 planned 3 have been completed: Marbella, Bella Vista and Palma Bella.

Palma Bella is a gorgeous building with very spacious three-bedroom and 3 baths units. Developer used best materials and the lobby is very impressive. You find yourself in the art gallery with pictures on the walls, nice tiled common areas with a social room with full kitchen facing 100' pool and the ocean. The U shaped building has a bridge on the 9^th floor making it resemble the Atlantis on the Paradise Island in the Bahamas.

The bridge is facing west, and it is gorgeous place to watch sunsets over the city. Developer was lucky that he had all units reserved, but by the time they got to Closings, the market was not in great shape and some of the buyers/speculators walked away. That became a common challenge for condo developers getting caught in the declining market.

Palma Bella features include underground reserved parking, sundeck w/oceanfront heated pool & spa, oceanfront fitness room.

All units are 9'4" ceilings, crown molding, 5 1/4" baseboards, built-in electric fireplace, European style cabinetry in Kitchens, imported granite countertops, Jenn-Air electric grills on balconies.

Of course, everything is up to new toughest codes with impact-resistant windows and doors with saltwater protection.

Check the available units today. Everything that is under $500K is a terrific price, but look at $398,500. This is an incredible price at $164.33 per sq. ft. What an incredible market.

Call me if you want a million-dollar luxury oceanfront unit for less than 50 cents on a dollar. Call 386-405-4408 or drop me a line in the e-mail.

* The photo of the ocean is taken from unit 202. The least expensive unit 302 is just above it.

Time to update on the Condo Deals in the Oceans - Daytona Beach Shores, a popular Oceans complex. In the last months the market has changed: there are fewer units remaining for sale, the prices are somewhat higher, and multiple offers can happen...

I have clients who are still waiting to see how it changes. Well, just 5-6 months ago there were quite a few units in the 140K-$170K range. Look at the table below. There are now only 3 units for under $170K. 4-5 months ago there were 3 units for under $170K just in Oceans One, and now there are 3 in all 11 oceanfront Oceans buildings. "Real' price is over $190K.

The table below includes all 9 units for sale in all of the Oceans buildings for under $200K, 9 out of 22 total units for sale.

It is also good to remember that at the height of the market these units (remodeled) were sold for close to $500,000. (I would rather concentrate on that number, than wait to see if it falls another $10K-$20K.)

So, which of these is the best buy? Well, the best one is not on that list. But it is for sale. We had it under contract for our buyer. It was a short sale, and then the Seller declared bankruptcy, thus effectively killing the Short sale. We asked whether our client could buy a note, never got the answer, and the buyer bought a property in another area.

Now somehow the judge got it out of bankruptcy and told them to sell it, at least that's what the Listing agent told me. She called me because we had it under contract. It is not yet on the MLS, and I might be the only one who knows about it.

Because it is not my listing, and I did not ask the Listing agent for permission to disclose the address, I can only say that it is in Oceans One, it is a 2 bdr/2 bath DIRECT OCEANFRONT unit. Not only that, this unit was practically fully remodeled and now has granite countertops, beautifully done Master Bath, tiled floors. It could benefit from replacing the windows and the sliding balcony door. Living room has the view of the ocean and the city, both bedrooms face the ocean. We had it under contract for $155,500, same as unit 2005 in the same building, which is an REO, with no remodeling except for the kitchen, and not direct oceanfront (but a unit with a great views of both the ocean and the Intracoatal).

You want it? Maybe you could get it for the same price, which would be as close to a miracle as it gets. Call me at 386-405-4408.

Considering the changing market, of course, in a couple of years this would sound more than a miracle...

Daytona Beach Area...Where Living Is Cool...

It was a picture perfect day in Daytona Beach. At 79F it felt on a cooler side, crispy and clean air, blue sky...

I was showing an apartment building on Daytona's Beachside, just a block from the ocean. We looked at several units and were ready to leave, when the Seller, a good friend of mine, shouted something and pointed to the sky.

I looked up and there was the shuttle Atlantis going up and glowing in the cool blue sky. I did not have a camera with me, and it happens very fast, so all I could do was to grab my I-Phone and try to capture the magnificent moment. It is a very cool phone, by the way.

Did not come out nearly as gorgeous as how I saw it, as I could get it with my digital Canon Rebel, but it was my fault. I should have had the camera with me.

Well, need to go and check if Gary Woltal has placed his incredibly great pictures of a liftoff, like he did last time (LOL). Not that he lives here, he is in Texas, but he somehow manage to be in the right place at the right time.

I think this is another advantage to living in Daytona Beach Area, where my winter footwere is the same as summer footware (what a saving) and where the weather, life in general, and entertainment are all Cool. World class cool...

Daytona Beachside is a 23-mile long but narrow Barrier island squashed between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, also called Halifax River.

This is a small part of the Daytona Beach area, but when we are talking VACATION, this is what we have in mind. The rest is for locals. There are absolutely gorgeous communities in the area, but they are of no interest to tourists.

We are spoiled. Why buy anything 3 miles from the beach, when right now you can buy a condo rirght on the beach and spend less than 50 cents on a dollar? I am sure there was a time when in Manhattan people would only build on the water. Now living on Park Ave is not considered an exile to Siberia. Far from it.

Todays condo market on the Beachside is represented by 775 Beachside condos. This is quite a drop from 1,063 18 or so moths ago. Threre are 384 2 bdr/ 2 bath unit starting from $29,900 (an REO) and this is a drop from over 500 a year and a half ago. 287 of these condo units are either direct oceanfront or oceanview units.

As for prices, we were seeing lower prices until about 5-6 months ago, when 2 bdr/2 bath unit in direct oceanfront buildings like one of the Oceans were from $140K. Not now. They are starting from just a few dollars under $200K.

Together with decreasing inventory, this is a hint on the light at the end of the tunnel.

Guys, there is still time to get you dream vacation place for 35-50 cents on a dollar. Do not outsmart yourselves. And if you do, hold the stories how you could buy something great for nothig to yurselves. I think I am going to listen to too many of them rather soon.

Want a piece of oceanfront? Call me at 386-405-4408.

I was showing condo-hotel units in Daytona Beach in the Plaza Resort & Spa recently and my clients asked me:

- What is the worst thing about The Plaza Resort & Spa?

I thought for a moment and answered:

- The fact that the Condo Owners Association is controlled by the developer.

And then they asked me:

- What is the greatest thing about the Plaza Resort & Spa?

I thought for a moment and answered:

- The fact that the Condo Owners Association is controlled by the developer.

We started laughing simultaneously. It was funny.... and it was true.

So, why it can be bad?

In the developercontrolled association they set the rules. They control the association, and can carry any agenda they want short of criminal. Owners have to put up with that, as there is very little if anything that they can do.

Theoretically, this is not a good point for the owners.

Then, how it can be good?

In real condo-hotel world the biggest problem is not the buildings. It is the Board of Directors of condo owners association.

The Board consists of elected owners. They have no real clue about Hospitality business. And because of that, they think that there could be nothing easier than running a hotel. They usually have ideas in that regard, and there is nothing more dangerous to a condo-hotel than these ideas.

We would not attempt to do a surgery on our loved one on a kitchen table with a chef knife. But we will remodel our house without consulting a designer. And that's fine. Remodeling a hotel to your taste is ot fine, but we see it again and again.

Having a professional company running and operating the hotel is a blessing. But when you do not understand it, how can you value it?

A simple example. Exactly a year ago, a few new owners in another condo-hotel decided that they can do a better rental management for the owners. They were involved in a property management company, specializing on managing single family homes. They kicked out a company, which was doing it for years there.

I came there 2 days ago, and there was nobody on the front desk. But there was a note that they are only there until 3 PM. The Association manager told me they are leaving. They could not make ends meet. And the rentals were dismal.

Now theyare screwed. The previous company is not coming back to a property, where they "killed" the business. This will be the 3rd condo-hotel in Daytona area, that lost Front Desk. Because the Board thought they knew how to run it.