| Tuesday, May 22, 2007 |
| Condo News |
This is a new one on me. Never heard of a Condop...have you?
I had to take a real estate course before I even understood what a co-op was...:-)
What Exactly Is a Condop?
By VIVIAN S. TOY
Published: May 20, 2007
New York Times
PEOPLE often wonder what exactly a condop is.
A common misconception is that it’s a co-op that operates with condominium rules. But lawyers say that legally a condop has nothing to do with whether a building requires a board interview or allows rentals.
“A co-op with condo rules is not a condop,” said Jeff Reich, a real estate lawyer. A true condop, he said, is a condominium building that has separate commercial and residential units, with the residential units controlled by a co-op corporation. The separate commercial units are typically retained or sold separately by the developer and can include retail space, office space and a parking garage.
Mr. Reich said that condops were first created in the early 1960s, when New Yorkers were still wary of the concept of residential condos, but developers wanted to divest the residential parts of their buildings while retaining or separately divesting the commercial parts. “It happened because traditionally this was a co-op town,” he said.
According to a survey of New York City apartment buildings commissioned by the Council of New York Cooperatives and Condominiums in 2005, the city has roughly 6,700 co-op buildings, 2,300 condos and fewer than 300 condops.
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Editor's note: Do you know the difference between a condo and a co-op?
A condo has a deed just like a home. Its treated almost the same way except for some extra
things about commons areas and insurance.
A Co-op is actually a STOCK! The owners buy stock in the building instead of having deeds to the individual units...
Real Estate Marketing See the new Myrtle Beach Condos Encyclopedia.Labels: co-op condominiums, condop, condos, real estate |
posted by Myrtle Beach Web Design @ 2:41 PM  
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| Sunday, February 04, 2007 |
| Move Over Donald Trump! |
In the past five years I've been in the middle of some of the most savvy hotshot realtors, builders, and developers in Myrtle Beach. Many of them are pretty amazing characters. Some are great and good people. Many of them are not so good. It's been a real education.
But I've also met and made a few really good friends along the educational road, and one of them, quite by accident, ended up becoming a close friend and confidant.
Lane Yates, along with his wife Sunny and their two boys, live on Lake Norman, close to Charlotte, NC.
 Lane is a self-described "unique real estate visionary, who simply sees things differently." He has an approach and perspective of real estate that is unorthodox, yet conservative... using the gadgets of modern technology, but at the same time, living by the morals and sweet disposition he inherited from his good southern family.
In a word, he's a budding Donald Trump with a conscience! Pretty amazing, isn't it? Lane began his real estate investing and development career in 1989, shortly after graduating with a Civil Engineering degree. He was influenced by his father to pursue construction at an early age, which ultimately lead him to pursue developing and investing in real estate. He lived in France for several years, meeting and marrying his wife Sunisay, a very beautiful lady of Chinese descent, who is herself a respected Lake Norman real estate broker. Lane and some partners have developed a large community called Salisbury Village, and he recently began a tremendous project of developing much of the island of Grand Turk, in the Turks and Caicos, British West Indies. I went there several years ago, and fell in love with it like no other beach that I've ever seen. The flourescent, NEON, aqua water in that part of the ocean is just unbelievable. It's a big celebritiy hangout too. I asked Lane to answer some questions and talk about his career and ambitions for me to post here. Just listening to him fascinates me, and I feel blessed to have his council when it comes to holding my own in a working environment that is so alien to me at times. Jan: Lane, you have a new website and are getting ready to launch "yourself" to potential partners and investors, as well as customers looking for luxury real estate in the Lake Norman area. Tell me what you hope the website will accomplish. Lane: You had asked, what exactly am I selling? I guess the answer is my personal story, which might provide confidence to very high-net-worth individuals who may be considering purchasing real estate from me, or may wish to engage in business with me. Both objectives are my goal. Story telling is all part of one's success. Tony Robbins sells himself, Robert Kawasaki sells his personal story. Certainly Donald Trump is the master at selling himself when it comes to real estate, and other colorful events, etc. It’s nothing new... Politicians spend their lifetimes promoting themselves in various ways to be elected and then remain elected. Bottom line is that people connect to stories and what they think you know. Not all do, but most do. For most, selling is considered a game of persuading others to participate in some form of business or event. It’s all part of the game of psychology and it’s the way our minds function; including mine, if I yield to someone else's sales pitch. It’s my goal not to SELL, but rather depict winning locations in the most promising real estate markets and create solid real estate investment opportunities for as many peoples as possible. I like to live in an imaginary world, for that is how most everyone's dreams, visions, and desires first begin. My goal is to understand what others are looking for and turn dreams and visions into reality. Boastful or not, I know in my heart that I will become a very successful world-class developer if I focus on serving others well. I kind of like being a bit boastful at times, for I'm confident where I'm headed and where I'll be in another 15 years...as well as those taking my advice on investing in real estate. People that did not believe in me before are now believers. Those that think I’m not going to make it to the top are the exact ones that provide me the power within my soul. I love when people think down on me. There will always those out there that will hope to see you fall. I don’t know why that is, but always remember it. Bottom line is that people connect to real stories and invest in your experience and confidence. Jan: Who is Lane Yates? Lane: He is passionate and enjoys the game of real estate. Simply mention his name in many places, and you’ll see that he is highly regarded as an authority in real estate. Lane Yates is becoming a popular name among a new breed of real estate tycoons. Jan: What makes you an authority? Lane: Over the years, I've learned creative ways to market, sell, lease and negotiate properties. I know how to predict real estate cycles, buying trends, and how to forecast and identify winning locations. I've been on the front line making many deals and transactions. What I've learned in the past decade would take most others a lifetime. Jan: What is it that you do, exactly? Lane: My focus is land acquisitions and Real Estate Development; strictly in high-capital growth markets, particularly around oceans, mountains and lakes. My primary function is to identify and secure rare tracks of land having unique characteristics and tremendous development potential. I approach my developments and acquisitions with rigorous due diligence studies, using conservative assumptions. I incorporate macro and micro economics, raw data, and sophisticated analytical scenarios into all my development models. Jan: What projects are you pursuing as we speak? Lane: I'm currently developing a range of developments. This includes a 356,000 square foot mix use urban development in Salisbury. This City-within-a-City will incorporate retail shops, restaurants, banking, medical and professional offices, along with two hundred residential living units. In addition I'm developing one of the largest luxury resorts in the Caribbean, located on the island of Grand Turk in the Turks and Caicos. Sailview Resort will be a long term project, among other real estate ventures I'm considering.  Ocean Club Resort in Providenciales- Utter Paradise!
I have no doubt that Mr. Yates will do everything he sets out to do. Good looks, extreme intellect, a quick wit, and (most of all) a good woman behind him will see to that! :-) Myrtle Beach Web Design and Marketing Labels: Charlotte real estate, condos, Lake Norman real estate, real estate, resorts, Turks and Caicos |
posted by Myrtle Beach Web Design @ 4:37 AM
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| Wednesday, January 17, 2007 |
| North Carolina Real Estate VS Myrtle Beach |
Got a very statistically oriented article in my inbox from a newspaper in the Outer Banks area of North Carolina...Hatteras, Atlantic Beach, etc. Seems like their real estate market is worse than Myrtle Beach. Odd, because I had heard that was a super hot market right now.
It says the cost of living in the upper NC Beach area is higher than us...also surprising. Even to the point that New York and Boston were the only ones higher. I've never heard of that...and can't imagine why that would be.
Houses and condos in Myrtle Beach are slow, but not flat...yet. I have a realtor friend in Charlotte that deals with Lake Norman real estate, and she's going full guns. The last I heard, Brunswick County and the beaches like Holden Beach and Ocean Isle were still strong.
I find this article rather puzzling all the way around....
Economic indicators show downward shift
The Outer Banks Sentinel Wednesday January 17, 2007
The Dare County economic indicators now available through the end of November show a crashing real estate and construction market, a weak retail sector, but a 10.53 percent increase in occupancy taxes for the calendar year. Dare County building permit values fell 64.59 percent for November 2006 when compared to the same month in 2005. For 2006 through the end of November, construction was down 32.29 percent. Land transfers also took a dive with a year-to-date total loss of 42.03 percent compared to 2005. November 2005 showed a dip of 30.87 percent. Retail sales taxes for calendar year 2006 through September showed a gain of just 1.79 percent for the year. September shook out at .79 percent over the same period in 2005.Occupancy taxes through November show a 10.53 percent increase, although it is unclear whether the increase is in visitors or rental prices. Sales taxes on restaurant sales through November 2005 showed a year-to-date decline of .19 percent. The slowest month, based on sales tax collections for restaurants, was October with a 33.05 percent fall from the previous year. Neighboring Currituck County, through October 2006, experienced a 48.66 drop in land transfer receipts and a 29.2 percent drop from the previous year's building permit values. Retail sales in Currituck through September 2006 were up 15.14 percent, although September is reported to have had a 30.08 percent drop from 2005. A cost of living index prepared by the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce indicates that Dare County residents pay more for grocery items, housing, transportation, health care and goods and services than the average U.S. consumer. In a comparison with other cities, including Boston, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Myrtle Beach, Harrisonburg, Va., Richmond, Asheville, Charlotte, Durham, Greenville, Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Tampa, only Boston and Philadelphia have higher living costs than Dare. ### Myrtle Beach Web Design Labels: condos, homes, myrtle beach, myrtle beach condos, north carolina real estate, real estate |
posted by Myrtle Beach Web Design @ 6:20 PM
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| Tuesday, September 12, 2006 |
| The housing boom is over, but creative investors still make profits |
By Robyn A. Friedman
The Sun Sentinel
Special correspondent
Posted September 11 2006
Vicky Kaye is accustomed to making a double-digit annual return in the oceanfront real estate market. And unlike many other area real estate investors, she's still doing so.
"I do about two or three deals a year," said Kaye, a licensed massage therapist who lives in Pompano Beach.
Kaye is a private lender who provides short-term financing for other real estate investors. She's been investing that way for five years and making 12 to 14 percent interest on each deal, as well as the return of her principal in less than a year.
"It's collateralized, and there are no complications," she said of the transactions.
Over the past few years, South Florida's housing boom has spoiled real estate investors, many of whom unabashedly brag about the killing they made flipping preconstruction condominiums, rehabilitating foreclosed properties or buying apartment complexes to convert to condos. But now that the housing market has tanked -- the inventory of unsold homes skyrocketed and sales have screeched to a virtual halt -- investors are becoming creative, segueing into new types of deals and properties in an effort to wring out profits in a challenging market.
"The latter part of 2002 to the second quarter of 2004 was the period of time when everybody jumped on the bandwagon, and all those condo flips occurred," said Michael Y. Cannon, managing director of Integra Realty Resources South Florida in Miami. "That was when the market actually peaked."
Today, Cannon said that many people don't know where to put their money.
"They're starting to put their money back into savings accounts, CDs and treasury bills," he said. "Instead of a 2 percent return, they can now get 5.5 percent, and although that return is less than the promised return they'd get on real estate, they want safety."
Others say that moneymaking real estate opportunities still abound in South Florida.
"There are more opportunities now than there have been in years," said David Dweck, a real estate agent with Re/Max Professionals in Coral Springs and an active investor the past 14 years. "With the market shifting, sellers are becoming more realistic and motivated. A motivated seller can mean a buying opportunity for an investor."
Where are area investors putting their real estate dollars now?
Commercial properties. Cash flow is the name of the game. Since investors can't count on short-term appreciation and a quick sale, many are seeking an income stream.
Michael S. Weiner, a zoning attorney in Delray Beach, has been purchasing buildings since 1991. He owns several buildings on Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach that have retail and office space. He targets properties with "intrinsic value" and always buys to hold long-term. Weiner only buys properties in Palm Beach County. He recently bought a medical office building and is considering a post office.
"Real estate's the most intensive investment you can possibly have," Weiner said. "You've got to watch it."
Foreclosures
Michael Perlmutter has been a full-time real estate investor for more than six years. He's referred to in the industry as a wholesaler -- someone who spots homes in foreclosure or preforeclosure and then resells them to one of the 3,000 investors in his database, typically at a profit of at least $15,000. The buyer then rehabs the property and resells it for an additional profit. Even with his well-oiled machine, Perlmutter has had to adapt his buying strategy.
"Eighty percent of the part-time weekend investors who dabbled in real estate have folded," he said. "Now, I've got to work harder." Still, Perlmutter said he gets five to seven calls a day from people in financial difficulty looking for someone to buy their houses. "There's never been a better time than right now because of the supply," he said.
Preconstruction condos (yes, preconstruction condos).
Gone are the campers, the speculators who lined up -- sometimes for days -- to snap up prime condo units at early prices. At least one local expert thinks a market still exists for some of these condos. Mark Zilbert, president of Zilbert Realty Group Inc. in Miami Beach, said that half the buyers who hold contracts on preconstruction condos -- most of them real estate speculators -- don't want to complete the purchases on their condos.
"They just want their deposit back to get out of it," he said. "So an opportunity lies for someone approaching a buyer who bought an apartment in 2003 or 2004 and offering them their contract price."
Zilbert said that the investor has to be prepared to settle on the unit and hold it for a year or so. After that, he says, they should be able to resell the condo at a profit. "They'll probably see a 50 to 60 percent return on their money, which is a far cry from the 200 to 300 percent we used to see," he said.
Invest in a vulture fund. Many people are putting aside money to plunge into the real estate market in an attempt to swoop up bargains when they think the market has hit bottom. One of these is Deerfield Beach real estate analyst Jack McCabe, who has formed McCabe Acquisitions LLC for such investments. McCabe said that accredited investors of high net worth, institutional investors and other entities can participate in his acquisition firm as nonmanaging members. A minimum investment of $5 million is required. He plans to acquire blocks of condos in multifamily developments -- or entire projects -- in many markets in the country, with a special emphasis on Florida. And he hopes to purchase these properties from anxious sellers at a discount. "My acquisition group will acquire at early 2004 prices from developers and builders, or debt value from lenders," he said. McCabe said he's prepared to hold these properties for up to 10 years.
Invest in your own property. Consider remodeling your own home but do it wisely. With the right remodeling project, you can increase your home's value. According to Remodeling magazine, the average price of a midrange bathroom remodel is $10,499. When you sell, however, you'll recoup 102.2 percent of the cost of that remodeling job. Kitchen and bath remodels, as well as siding replacements and home additions, yield the highest return on your investment. Add a sunroom, on the other hand, and you'll recoup just 74.5 percent of your cost.
Look into other regions. Although South Florida is experiencing a housing market slowdown, markets in other parts of Florida and the United States remain robust. Many investors are flocking to Orlando to purchase condos and vacation homes for investments. Some are investing in commercial properties in Ocala and Jacksonville. While other areas may offer opportunities not currently available here, experts warn investors to be careful.
"If you're a small investor, you should never invest in anything that you can't visit in one day," said Integra's Cannon. "Stick to the neighborhood that you know or else invest in a REIT (real estate investment trust) or mutual fund that invests in real estate. Use common sense."Labels: condo sales, myrtle beach condos, real estate, real estate marketing |
posted by Myrtle Beach Web Design @ 12:55 AM
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| Friday, November 26, 2004 |
| News Article-A Steady Supply of First Timers |
I found this article in the Sun News website, Posted on
Sun, Nov. 21, 2004, and written by By Alan J. Heavens,
Inquirer Real Estate Writer.
Interesting points in the article were:
Fully 40 percent of people who buy existing houses
in a calendar year are entering the market for the first time.
This year, if sales projections are on the mark, that number
will top out at 2.6 million homes.
The typical first-time buyer, the Realtor survey found,
was 32, with a median income of $54,500. Twenty-four
percent of respondents identified themselves as African
American, Latino or Asian.
The typical first-time buyer was 32 years old, with one in
10 under 25 and more than half between 25 and 34, the
survey data showed. Median income was $54,500, while
three-quarters of the respondents said they made less
than $75,000 a year.
Seventy-seven percent of first-time buyers responding
to the survey were white. However, 24 percent of the
total identified themselves as African American, Latino
and Asian. They also were somewhat more likely to
speak a language other than English than repeat buyers.
In Northeast Philadelphia, we have everybody," said
Chris Artur of Artur Real Estate in Mayfair. "I listed a
house recently where nine of the 10 people interested
were Asian."
"There is a real mix of first-time buyers," he said.
"About 75 percent of the less expensive houses are
being bought by investors, and the more expensive
twins by people who plan to live in them, but it is
still a definite mix of immigrant groups."
Although only 7 percent of buyers said they found
their agents on the Internet, 74 percent said they
searched for houses there. This compares with
2 percent of buyers surveyed in 1995.
More than 80 percent of Internet searchers said
they used a real estate professional to buy houses,
Lereah said.
Real Estate Marketing by Myrtle Beach Web Design
Labels: real estate |
posted by Myrtle Beach Web Design @ 8:02 AM
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