Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach, Florida connection

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

Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Special Assessments is the 5th post in this series. Previous posts are:

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

The dreaded Special Assessments. A horror story of condo (and condo-hotel) living. So what is a Special Assessment? Basically, it is a very simple concept. If there is something that needs to be done, which cost money, and there is no money to pay for it, that cost is distributed among the condo owners proportionately.

So, if this is just a matter of paying for something that was not budgeted or was not sufficiently budgeted, would there be any difference between the condos and condo-hotels?

Surprisingly (or, maybe not) the answer is "yes". So how come?

There are several reasons for that in the Daytona Beach area.

1. Except for the Ocean Walk Resort, the rest of the condo-hotels in Daytona Beach area were not built as condos, they were hotels, that were later converted to condos. The overwhelming majority of them were converted on a shoestring budget, often using shoddy contractors, cheapest materials, and every corner was cut.

2. Having a rental component causes more tear and wear, than in residential condos, thus making need for repairs more often.

3. Trying to cut costs, and under pressure from owners, condo-hotel Associations often wwaive the requirement to have the reserve fund beyond the one required to cover the gap specified by the insurance policy.

4. Condo-hotels are more open to lawsuits, which, along with the physical condition, are the reason for special assessments (paying lawyers in fights against the developer, the management company, etc.).

5. Condo owners associations are generally stronger in residential condos than in condo-hotels. In residential condos people take the issues closer to heart and are more involved in the decision making, thus providing more stability for the property. In condo-hotels owners do not live in their units, and often are out of state residents. They are unlikely to come to the meetings.

6. When the money is flowing, Special Assessment in Condo-Hotels do not look that scary, as rental income should help to pay for it. But betting on it is a mistake. None of the condo-hotels in Daytona Beach area is a real cash cow, and breaking even (without a mortgage) is already good. But in times when business is slow, and street in a tourist town are empty and there are fewer warm bodies to put in hotel (or condo-hotels) rooms, the prospect of special assessments does not sound very encouraging. While residential condos are not immune to the recessions, and have owners stopping paying their Association dues, this is nowhere close to what is happening in condo-hotels. People do not pay maintenance fee. They are angry that there is no income, so some decide to stop paying as a business decision, some just can't afford it, as they have other troubles somewhere else.

So what happens when people do not pay their dues in daytona beach area Condo-hotels? The Association still has to pay the bills. And there is not enough money, because of those who did not pay the dues. Yes, the association will be forced to assess the paying owners to cover the shortage. In condo-hotels that creates a vicious cycle. Because more people stop paying. This is still unfolding, and we do not know where and how it will end.

This is one of the reasons why our advice is always: If you can afford a residential condo, go for it. A less expensive alternative like condo-hotels allows you to buy for less, but you pay more later.

If you are in the market for a condo or a condo-hotel in Daytona Beach area, call me on my mobile: 386-405-4408 and we will make sure you are not going to get hurt by a Special Assessment.

The Only Condo-Hotel in Ormond Beach - Symphony Beach Club

Symphony Beach Club is the only Ormond Beach condo-hotel. Its address: 453 South Atlantic Ave., Ormond Beach, FL 32176

Built in 1985. 32 units total. Units are generally small, ranging from 297 sf, and up, with one stack of the largest studios - 417 sf. Have Murphy beds.

Maintenance Fee: 295 a month. 50/50 split of rental income if rented with the Front Desk.

For those who want some home cooking, there are modern fully equipped kitchens available. Oceanfront pool. Also on-site is a BBQ grill and exercise room. On-site management. Outdoor oceanfront pool.

Traditionally has very few sales. One sale in 2007, 1 sale in 2006, 5 sales in 2005, 6 sales in 2004, 2 sales in 2003, nothing in 2002, and 1 in 2001. last sale was in 2007 for $110,000.

Only one unit for sale is offered at the time of this blog post. Asking price $52,000.

For condo-hotel information and prices call us at 386-255-5355 or e-mail to jon@DaytonaCondoHotel.com

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Condo Hotel Guru www.DaytonaCondoHotel.com

Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Living and Renting is the fourth installment in this series. Previous installments are:
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

Condos in Daytona Beach started in the 60s. Those condos were not investments in anticipation of rental income, they were residential in nature, and limiting rentals seemed logical. Take Pendleton Club for example. Minimum rental is one year. Others that came a bit later have rental limitations from a month to a year. It was not until relatively recently, that developers recognized that their customers were interested in renting their vacation properties when not using them themselves.

As the prices escalated in recent years, the idea of a vacation place just sitting empty and used only a week or two a year was less and less attractive, so it is no surprise that some of those super luxury condos in Daytona Beach actually have very short rental limitation starting from 1 week. This can cause tensions in a condominium, as if you chose it as a quiet place to live in this utmost luxury, you may find that it is not as quiet, and you have to deal with people, who have very little appreciation for the property and respect for the rules. They paid serious bucks renting a luxury condo, came to relax, it is their party time on the pool, and this can come into a conflict with full time residents.

Some condo associations attempt to change the rules and set longer minimum stay requirements after they get the reigns from the developer. I do not think it is fair. If you did not like the limits in the condo docs, why did you buy? But buying and then changing is not fair to others. Some people bought specifically because the rules and regulations fit their needs. If someone bought a condo with a limitation of minimum 2 weeks, and the association then changes that to 3 months, this may hurt the owner. And this is not just with minimum rentals, it can be about pets. If pets are allowed by the condo docs, then the association can change the rules and allow not 50 lb dogs, but 25 lb dogs, etc.

The good news is that by Florida law you can't change the minimum rentals requirements for people who already own the unit in the condo. The new rules would affect those who buys after the rules were set in place, but the arrangement would stay the same for the existing owners. The same does not apply, however, to dogs, and other things.

While in Condo-hotels the minimum stay is the most liberal - 1 day, it does not mean that there are no problems with rentals in a condo-hotels. the issue is often with the right of owners rent themselves. And here there is no universal rule. Each condo-hotel runs their own rules. Form "no way" to "do what you want". Fountain beach adamantly fights with owners and does not allow them to rent long term (which they define as over one month), Oceanside Inn has no problem with long term rentals, but do not like people doing short term rentals, Plaza Resort wold not allow long term rentals at all. The issue is also with the owners themselves. Yes, their stay may be limited. In Plaza Resort & Spa the owners can occupy their unit not more than 60 days a year and not more than 30 days in one visit.

Can it be that the line in the condo docs "This cannot be a primary residence" is interpreted by the Boards too narrow, as it never says that you can't stay in the property? So all those "6 months and one day" maximum stay for the owner may be nothing more than a wish. But to my amazement, so far I did not here that anyone contested it in court.

What often comes as a surprise to owners of units in condo-hotels in Daytona Beach Area, is that owning a unit may not guarantee them the right to use it whenever they want, or rent whenever they want, or even stay there as long as they want. Read the Rule & Regulations, and be ready that it might be changed.

If you are looking for condos or condo-hotels in Daytona Beach area, call us at 386-405-4408.