Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach, Florida connection

Just Days Before Going Crazy... Memories of the Future...  Fountain Beach Resort

January 20, 2004. Twelve units in the Fountain Beach Resort in the hear of Daytona Beach, which belonged to a corporation and were seized by the Feds, were auctioned in Plaza Resort and prices were from $27K (plus 10% auctioneer premium) to $45K per studio for direct oceanfront, which was very expensive.

I remember that on that day there were 52 condo-hotel units for sale out of 149-room Fountain Beach Resort, including units both on MLS and pocket listing that I had plus the 12 units offered at auction. Wasn't a great sign.

After the auction I spoke to two condo-hotel unit owners and they were very pessimistic about the future values at Fountain Beach Resort. I did not have any units here, and I was the most optimistic, sort of childishly optimistic, and they looked at me with a smile. Not only I was saying that there would be the time when the units would be selling in the $40K range, and that it would be not in 25 years, but maybe within 5 years from then (and it was a heretical statement right there), but I also insisted that we would also see prices in $50Ks, and they were laughing at my fantasies...

In March o fthat year we were lucky to get a couple of deals going, then another deal, than another couple of deals, than another 3, until by May we raised our heads, looked around... geez, it has started, the hot market has quietly arrived unannounced to our sleepy Daytona Beach. It took us a couple of months to figure it out; just by the time the locomotive was roaring at full throttle.

The next few months were like in the dream. We did not have time to show the units, people waited in the office, and we were writing contracts late in the evening. Inventory fell from 52 units to 6, and there were more buyers than units on the market. Inventory of condo-hotel units in the whole Daytona Beach area reached 26, an all time low... Our Buyer, noticing that by the time they close, the prices gone up another $10K-$20K started putting units back on the market the day they closed on the unit... It was hectic, it was hot, and buyers were writing offers without even looking at units. What I could not sell half a year before even if I would have offered to pay them to buy, I was selling at the price, higher than the listing... Angry agents were competing for any listing the minute it hit MLS.

We had our own condocoming out of the construction in Harbour Village in Ponce Inlet, and we closed July 3, 2004, but we did not move there until February 2005. We simply did not have time for replacing the carpet, and repainting the unit, and kept living in the rental condo closer to the office.

Since March to August, when we were hit by Hurricane Charley, the prices went up 2 - 2.5 times and kept going up. Charley did not stop it. I was writing an offer right after I got to the office the morning after Charley hit the area. 3 more Hurricanes came within 2 weeks of each other, before they were able to slow it down a little. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 passed us and did not do any damage on our coast. It flooded New Orleans, caused a horrendous destruction in Mississippi, brought insurance companies to their knees, and somehow marked the end of hot real estate in Florida.

5 years later...

There are again 262 condo-hotel units for sale in greater Daytona Beach area, there are dozens of units for sale in every resort, and the prices are sometimes lower than they even were in January 2004, when we all thought the sunrise was so far away. I look out the window and it feels the beginning of 2004, just days before going crazy...

Remembering the future

Oh, well

Watching Discovery Go Up From Ponce Inlet... Wow

I am writing it in exactly 30 minutes after the launch and on NASA's website you can read the following:"With seven astronauts and a host of experiments and equipment on board, space shuttle Discovery completed a flawless ascent into orbit Friday night to begin a two-day chase of the International Space Station. With Commander Rick "C.J. " Sturckow at the controls, the shuttle lifted off on-time at 11:59 p.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crew will rendezvous and dock with the station Sunday and the crew will begin transferring equipment to the outpost during the 13-day mission."

The news now are moving as fast as the Shuttle Discovery itself. I just walked in after watching this incredible launch. I watched it from our circular garage from the top 7th floor. I was standing there among other residents of The Links at Harbour Village in Ponce Inlet waiting for the launch with my camera ready, even though I was not sure I would be able to catch anything.

I set the ISO for 1600 as it was taking forever to shoot our Ponce Inlet lighthouse. We were looking towards pitch black ocean, which we could not see, and suddenly in the quietness of the night the skies got lit and we saw the ocean, and then a few seconds later we saw this fireball moving fast. i desperately reduced ISO, switched to manual mode as autofocus cold find the target, and the lenses kept moving without focusing on anything.

I was shooting frantically hoping that there would at least be something resembling the beauty and power that I witnessed. Of course, it didn't. On the photo all you see is a ball of fire, and on the garage floor we saw the clouds, the ocean, the separation of solid fuel tanks...

And when the shuttle became just a small star came the roar of the engines, which we did not expect at all, and it stayed with us for some time while the Shuttle was going farther and farther away disappearing in the sky...

Maybe this was the last night launch, and It felt very good to watch it, and once again feel a proud American.

We all felt it standing on the top garage floor, and I do not knnow whther they were democrats or republicans. We were simply Americans watching Discovery Go Up From Ponce Inlet... Wow

Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Myths & Reality is the 7th and last post in the series

Other posts in the series are:
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Pluses & Minuses.
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Special Assessments
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Living and Renting
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Management
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Safety of your Investment
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos

Our discussion isabout vacation condos or condo-hotels. It is not surprising that Buyers, coming from all over the nation (and some coming from beyond our borders) often have their strong opinions about what they want. It is very common to hear something like "Only direct oceanfront, and no tricks with oceanview". This is the most common demand, especially when looking for vacation condos in $30,000 range (LOL).

Yes, there are myths, and then Myths again, and then some reality. Let's start on the journey of busting the myths.

1. Physical Condition of the property is the key when choosing a vacation condo or a condo-hotel.

This would pertain more to the residential condos rather than condo-hotels. Though physical condition of condo-hotels is important, and improper maintenance may result in Special Assessment coming sooner rather than later, the things that you can't see and touch may be of similar or even higher importance.

Example: Ocean Walk Resort (South Tower) was well built in 2001 and is in perfect physical condition and is the most luxurious of all condo-hotels in the area. But they are involved in a legal battle with several lawsuits. The outcome is unclear. What is important here is that the units were sold part to owners like in any other condo-hotel (whole owners), and half to time-share owners. This is the cause of problems, and it is there, and it is unlikely to go away as a result of any lawsuit.

2. You can just keep the AC running and everything will be OK while you are not here.

Ooof, finally, I can say that this is usually not a problem for condo-hotels. As for residential condos this would be a bad advice. The only worse would be suggesting turning the power off and leave.

In residential condos, if you are not renting long term, you can avoid mold by keeping the AC on 80F, so that it turns on and dries the air. But this will work only in Summer. In winter, when the temperatures fall below 80F, this is not going to work. And all you need is 3 weeks to grow mold, and once it gets through the drywall, you are facing a very expensive cleanup, called mold remediation. Solutions: a) hire someone taking care of it; b) set a combined unit with AC and dehumidifier, and it will be triggered not only by a temperature, but also by certain level of humidity; c) retire and move to Florida.

3. Best deal (view) is direct oceanfront on the top floor

It is a matter of taste, of course, but usually it is ... just a myth. Best views in direct oceanfront buildings are NE and SE corners. It is because in the evening (and in winter it starts rather early) the ocean is pitch black, not a single light there, and the beach is dark. It is extremely uncomfortable, unless you are friendly with wolves and lived in the woods with no neighbors all your life. When you can see the lights in other buildings, it makes it very lovely. If you found a direct oceanfront unit of your dreams, ask the agent to get you there later in the evening, and spend there an hour. See if you still want it.

As for the top floor, it is very simple. Why get so high that to check young chicks on the beach you need the Hubble telescope? Oops, sorry, I digress. Basically, the human angle is when you can see the sand and waves rolling onto the beach. That movement is what we enjoy. It is never boring and never monotonous. When you are directly on the ocean and on the high floor, you have to stand right by the window or even on the balcony, in order to see the waves rolling onto the beach. Remember yourself on a cruise? It is beautiful when you see the shore or the islands. And it is so boring when you are in the open ocean.

By the way, in my humble opinion the best views are from the buildings that are not directly on the ocean, but across the street from it, at some distance. Don't believe me? Do you know what people in Hoboken (NJ) have that people in Manhattan don't? The knock-out views of Manhattan's skyline .

4. Best rental income comes from a direct oceanfront unit. For condo-hotels this is not always true, depending on the property. Often the set up is more important than location. When people get the key and they like the unit, they do not go and check other units. In Fountain Beach resort we watched for years that units with "lesser" views were bigger in income.

5.Someone (usually Donald Trump) will come and buy the condo-hotel. Do not worry, be happy. Trump will not come. Funny that nobody ever asked me the same question about residential condos. And condo-hotels in the legal sense are condos. To buy them Trump or whoever else there, would have to literally buy units from each and every owner. If that happens, you are the luckiest person in the world, as it means that they paid you way more than it is worth. Just pray for that to happen. So far, I know only of one such case in South Florida, where a developer paid $1 Mil for each mobile home. I am not sure that they regret this adventurous move, but it was at the peak of the market.

If you are looking for vacation properties, or a place to live here, call me at 386-405-4408 or drop me a line in the e-mail

Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Pluses and Minuses is the 6th post in the series. You can see previous installments here:
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Living and Renting
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Management
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Safety of your Investment
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos

Of course, the answer depends on your short and long-term goals. Both condos and condo-hotels are not income producing properties the way the apartment complexes are. You can't really apply investment approach to them, as they are at best speculative properties, and the money is in the appreciation.

If you buy a condo-hotel unit in Daytona Beach area for $50K, and its potential selling price at half warm market is $150K, then you are winning even if meanwhile its income does not cover the maintenance fee and property taxes. If it costs you $100-150 a month on average to cover your costs, then you are spending $1.2K-$1,8K a year, and if you keep it for 3 years, and then sell for $150K, you subtract this amount as expenses, like closing costs and commissions.

In that sense buying a residential condo in Daytona beach area with the goal of future resale would not differ much from condo-hotels. And in this market today you can buy both condo-hotel units and residential condos for under 500 cents of their prices in the hot market of 2005.

All condo-hotels in Daytona Beach Area have sprinkler systems. Only condo buildings (residential) that were built after 1983 have sprinkler system installed, and there are plenty of condominium buildings built in the 70s. Keep in mind that fire ladders can't reach high floors.

If buying a condo-hotel in Daytona Beach area, the unit being direct oceanfront vs oceanview has more significance, than when buying a residential condo. Condo-hotels charge more per oceanfront unit, than for an oceanview. However, oceanfront usually costs more, and also you should be aware of the possible water intrusion during the hurricanes, storms, and simply heavy rains. More so on the oceanfront. Older condo-hotels (and I suspect newer ones as well) will be flooded in Hurricanes. There may be damage to your unit. The beauty of being on the oceanfront comes with the price.

And if you are buying with a goal to sell when the prices are up, keep in mind that residential condos start appreciating first, and it will take maybe more than a year or two, before condo-hotels market start warming up. So, if it is a matter of timing more than money, buy residential condo.

No need to over complicate things. With prices for less than 50 cents on a dollar worrying too much is not good for your health.

Call us 386-405-4408 with questions, we are here to help.

Simple Pleasures. Mushroom "Hunting" in Ormond Beach, FL

It is August, and we have a daily dose of torrential rains, which help keep Florida green. But I know that if it is warm and rains, and a calendar shows that it is summer (in Florida you can get easily confuse, as warm and rainy may as well happen in January), there should be mushrooms somewhere. My son brought some mushrooms that he picked on a vacant lot in a subdivision. Olga marinated them, and boy, they were delicious.

In my life in Russia picking mushrooms was my biggest passion as I did not hunt and did not fish. I would go to pick mushrooms on my own since I was 8 years old. Was lost once, but figured it out. Always felt comfortable in the woods, always had a good sense of direction and knew where to go. When we lived in New York, we would sometimes pick mushrooms when we go out on weekends. In Florida we never did it, as I do not know Florida mushrooms really well, and then I was under the impression that "good" mushrooms do not grow here.

To my huge surprise, I was wrong. A Russian guy, a good acqauintance of mine, told me that he and his wife are picking mushrooms in our area. To tease me, he sent me a photo by e-mail, showing them with a full basket of wonderful mushrooms. And I lost my sleep.

So, here we are. It is Sunday, still not that hot in the morning, and we are off to Tomoka State Park, which is off Beach Street/Old Dixie Hwy in Ormond Beach. 2,000 acres with 12 miles of shoreline on both the Tomoka River and the Intracoastal Waterway, majestic live oaks with hanging Spanish moss, the park should be an ideal place to find mushrooms.

Our team of experts is my grandson Shane, who would rather stay at home, and who is the least enthusiastic in the group, my daughter Inna, her friend Jennifer, my wife Olga and me. I remember taking my kids to pick mushrooms in the Arctic after they would come from Summer vacations. Always chilly, wet, rainy, and still fun. What is it here?

My first impression that there are no mushrooms. My wife says the same thing. But my daughter finds them right under our noses. One after another. I just can't believe it. She walk behind me and finds mushrooms, which I missed. I guess, we are just older and do not see that well. But even with mushrooms safely hiding from me, I enjoy a walk in the forest, that air filled with all those fragrances. You immediately feel when you walk from the Oaks and into the pine trees with their unmistakely familiar smell in the air.

We are quite tired in just over an hour, it is getting hot. Surprisingly, my wife finds a few good mushrooms, and happily poses before the camera. Time to go under the comfort of AC. The last phase is checking for the ticks, and there are quite a few of them. The experts panic, and run to the car barefoot as they are afraid the ticks are in the footwear. They tell us to check carefully, but the ticks are so small, and our vision is far from perfect, so we do not find many, and leave with the feel of security.

That was it for mushroom picking in Ormond Beach this time. There was not much that we found, and we gave it all to my daughter. She called said she made wild mushroom risoto, and it was great. I know it was. She is a great cook.

Check the Youtube video to see the family in action