Archive for December, 2006

Tampa Bay Condos Attract Buyers By Using An Inexorable Force

December 27th, 2006 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Condos, New Projects (Condos), Tampa Market Conditions

As I was heading to a pre-closing inspection of a new townhome this morning I happened upon the sign in the photo above. What could this possibly mean? Who was responsible and why did they need to post this sign here?

So off I went to get the definition of “suck”. It seems that the best definition available for this discussion is “to attract by using an inexorable force”. Great, but what does inexorable mean? I believe adamant or persuasive works best here.

Yes then. Condos sucked many buyers into Florida from all over the world over the past few years. I see the sign maker’s point. Many buyers were persuaded to buy condos in Florida and supply had a hard time keeping up with demand. New condos were built and many apartment complex owners converted their apartments to condos as the sucking got stronger. Many of those who were sucked in purchased while never intending to occupy the condo. All you had to do was wait a few months and you could sell to someone who was more recently sucked in. You could pocket a nice profit even with the cost of the sale factored in.

Read more on the condo conversion craze.

But alas, the sucking has waned, and many condos sit vacant looking for a buyer, or at least a tenant to call them home. Statewide, Florida condos have experienced a decline in value. Inventory is very high and buyers are now staying away. Related post.

Sales in the Tampa Bay area were down 51% in October of 2006 as compared to October of 2005. There are currently 1668 condos actively listed with brokerage firms in the City of Tampa alone. (UPDATE 8/6/07 2016 Condos For Sale) The average condo in this group has been on the market now for almost 287 days. In November, 154 condos sold in the City of Tampa. We don’t need to do the math to realize their is a large supply of condos for sale available in Tampa.

So yes, the sucking has stopped and many buyers are reluctant to even consider a condo currently. But all of this is very generalized, and if you’re in the market for a condo, do your homework to find a good buy, and make sure to seek answers for some basic questions:

• Is there a large supply of this type of housing available?
• Are there many units in the building on the market?
• Are many of the units vacant?
• Why would I want to live here?
• Why would someone else want to live here?
• Is there anything special about the location or the building (project)?
• Are there any amenities available that I can’t get elsewhere?
• What’s the rate of turnover in the building?
• Is the association organized and effective?
• Are there many problems with noise? (talk to the residents!)

• And most importantly: Does it suck?

The answers to these questions will go a long way in helping you to make a decision on what’s best for you now, and later, when it’s time to sell.

Browse Tampa Condos For Sale

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 8 Comments »

Understanding Condominium Ownership In Florida

December 22nd, 2006 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Condos, Tampa Realtor

I find that many condo buyers, whether they are first timers or not, often do not understand the differences in condominium ownership as compared to fee simple ownership. The two types are quite different and prospective buyers of condominiums should fully understand the issues involved in ownership.

The word condominium is a combination of Latin words meaning together (con) property (dominium). Owners of condos own only the individual unit (horizontal and vertical space) in fee simple along with joint ownership of the common elements of the property. The legal description of the real property will usually state the percentage of common elements owned: HYDE PARK PLACE II A CONDOMINIUM UNIT 329 AND AN UNDIV 0.8818% INT IN COMMON ELEMENTS, or CULBREATH KEY BAYSIDE CONDOMINIUM UNIT 106 BLDG 8 AND UNDIV INT IN COMMON ELEMENTS.

By comparison most townhomes and single family homes are owned in fee simple, meaning that the building, along with the land is owned individually. Owners in fee simple are responsible for their own insurance, grounds maintenance, roof replacement, etc.

Condominium owners are members of a condo association that governs the owners. Members pay fees to the association to cover insurance of the building, grounds maintenance, trash removal and reserves. Reserves are funds that are set aside to pay for future projects such as painting and roof replacement. If reserves are not adequate, members may be assessed a fee to pay for projects that the reserve funds could not cover.

When a buyer enters into an agreement to purchase a condo in the state of Florida, a seller has to provide a set of documents which are most often referred to as the “condo docs”. The buyer then has a period in which to inspect these documents. For new condos, the period is 15 days and for resale condos, 3 days. The “condo docs” are made up of 4 separate documents, all of which need to be provided by the seller, at the seller’s cost. These documents include:

1. Declaration of Condominium
2. Articles of Incorporation for the association
3. Bylaws and rules of the association
4. Same year-end financial information provided to owners the previous year

After reviewing these documents a buyer may cancel the contract within the alloted time period and receive a full refund of any and all deposits. Why would a buyer cancel? Some buyers may find the rules of a particular association to be to restrictive. Maybe the pet policy or the policy regarding leasing the unit raises a red flag. Maybe after reviewing the financial information, it is clear that the association management is not effective. Prospective buyers should learn as much as possible about the association before signing an agreement to purchase if at all possible.

Most condo associations now post their documents online at sites such as CondoCerts.com so that they are easily retrieved by prospective buyers.

Condominium living has many advantages such as:

• Low maintenance living
• Use of common amenities such as pools, fitness centers, tennis courts, etc.
• Security

But there are also the disadvantages such as:

• Control by the association and its board of directors
• Operating costs can exceed projections (assessments)
• Limited parking, limited space
• Common wall neighbors

Prospective buyers of Florida condominiums should fully understand the issues involved with condominium ownership and solicit information from residents, Realtors and each association and/or its management company.
Browse Tampa Condos

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 1 Comment »

New Yahoo Mail Feature Is Nice Tool For Home Buyers

December 20th, 2006 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Homes For Sale in Tampa, Tampa Realtor

Yahoo! recently added a new feature to their mail service where users can quickly bring up a map of a property address within an email. If an address or place is underlined, you simply point and select “View Map”. You can also quickly print directions to a property using this tool. This is a nice feature that can save time for home buyers looking for the specific location of a home or to quickly print the driving directions.

Search Tampa Homes For Sale

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | No Comments »

No More Buyers, No More Sellers Of Tampa Homes

December 15th, 2006 categories: Tampa Florida, Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Florida Real Estate, Tampa Market Conditions, Tampa Realtor

As we approach the end of the 2006 and with the holiday season upon us, the supply and demand of residential real estate in Tampa remains flat. The number of active listings as well as the number of pending listings has not changed much since mid-October when these numbers began to flatten out.

New listings, of course, had been on the rise steadily through the first 3 quarters of the year, while the number of listings with buyers under contract has fallen steadily since mid-April. As far as supply and demand goes, conditions are pretty stable.

That noted, inventory is still very high at 7543 active units, while only 1679 sellers have a buyer under contract. Listings that expired since November 1st number 657 while another 1231 listings were withdrawn during the same period.

But with interest rates low and supply plentiful, 539 buyers have decided to enter into a purchase agreement since mid-November, some of them getting big discounts.

Data used is from the Mid-Florida Regional MLS for properties in Tampa.

Create, save and automate your own custom Tampa home search.

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 3 Comments »

Historic Hyde Park (Tampa) Bungalow Gets A Major Renovation

December 14th, 2006 categories: Tampa Real Estate, Tampa Homes, South Tampa, South Tampa Neighborhoods

The Hyde Park neighborhood of Tampa was originally developed in the early part of the 20th century and is situated near the mouth of the Hillsborough River and in the shadows of downtown Tampa. The predominant architecture is of an American Craftsman style and many of the homes have been well preserved.

Native Dwellings, LLC is a Tampa company that specializes in constructing and renovating South Tampa area homes with the intent to blend the character and quality of the past with today’s technology. One of their most recent and notable projects has been the major restoration of a 1923 bungalow at 1812 Hills Avenue. This home sits within the Hyde Park Historic District where home restorations have to fall within certain guidelines.

Listed at $1,749,000, the home has been totally updated and consists of 4 bedrooms and 4 full baths with a guest room and bath over the garage. Total square footage (heated/cooled) is 3667sqft., including the guest’s quarters. The custom cabinetry was done by a local craftsman, Bob Ballard, of Envirostudio.

The home is listed with Coldwell Banker and the listing agent, Dominique Mellow, says that Native Dwellings, LLC is only the third owner of the home and that the original owner was in the lumber business. Both the front door and the fireplace, as well as the built-ins on either side of the fireplace are original. Most of the original heart of pine flooring remains and is in surprisingly good shape. Wood flooring was replaced in a few areas of the home, as well as in some additional space added to the rear of the home.

The majority of the wood siding is also original as is the wood on the front porch columns. Even the concrete sidewalk at the street curb is original.

This historic bungalow is a great example of how homes with such great character can be restored and also brought into the present with all the amenities, bells and whistles one would expect in a newly constructed home.

Search Historic Hyde Park Homes

Posted by Lenny Gurvich | 1 Comment »

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