What the Heck's Wrong With My Remote?

Fernando Herboso in a comment to my post To Real Estate or Not to Real Estate wrote "One thing for sure.. most people have 3 seconds to give you. . .long blog. . long wait".

I certainly agree that brevity is important. I am not sure, however, that it is a good idea to apply this 3 sec rule to our life.

I am not ready to limit my friendships to 3 seconds even in the era of twitter or whatever is there. I am not happy to narrow myself to fast food only... Would you really enjoy a 3 second sex? To what extent do we want to short sale our lives?
Have you seen on TV a Rosetta Stone ad featuring Michael Phelp? America, like Micharl Phelps, is obsessed with speed. We became the country of immediate gratification. If we want something, we want it yesterday, and we have a very short attention span for that.

I remember a snow storm in March in New York. The bridges were closed, and local TV was showing how people were doing their job to keep the city running. A guy called Daily News and complained that he had not received his Sunday paper. Hey, the bridges are closed, they couldn't deliver it. Yep, he knows. But the newspaper was supposed to be there by 7 AM at his door and it wasn't. Yes, he knew about the storm, that the bridges were closed, but he needed the newpaper to read about all that...

In reality wars are not a TV show. Yes, Clint Eastwood could win a war faster and more decisively, but Eastwood is not in Iraq and Petreas is not in Hollywood. But we do not care. And we should.

Real life does not start with a click of your remote. And it does not end there either.

Hey, General, you got 3 seconds: one...two...three... What, we are still there? We are still in Iraq? What the heck's wrong with my remote?

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach Connection
www.BeautifulFlorida.com

You Gotta Be Kidding Me or Mike Tyson for President

First Presidential debate left an uneasy feeling. Both candidates performed very well, nobody really stumbled, no big surprises. Analysts dissected every phrase and every statement. Republican analysts said McCain did better, democratic candidates claimed that senator Obama did better.

I firmly believe that this is a great country, and it deserves great President, and so far (since we came here in 1991, but, please, do not blame it on us) we had at best good, but not great Presidents.

I do not blame either Obama or McCain for the circus of the debate, which we, as the nation instilled upon them. Do you really think you would figure how the person is suited for Presidency in a boxing match into which it turned?

McCain jabbed Senator Obama, and Obama was able to respond with a quick hook to the body, then straight short right by McCain got Obama's attention, he is on the ropes, McCain carries a series of punches both to the body and head but there is no knockout, nor knockdown yet, and senator Obama counters with a combination of his own, terrific uppercut by senator Obama and now McCain stumbles...McCain is effectively aggressive and judges will take a note of it. Obama is very technical, and it is time for him to brawl to show the public and the judges that he is rightfully the #1 contender in this weight class.

If the ability to respond immediately, and entertain is the presidential virtue, put Chris Rock there as your presidential nominee. He is faster, funnier, younger... But this is not how Presidents work. If they need to jump out of bed and make a life or death decision at 3 at night, something may have been overlooked, like with this financial crisis, and it happened not overnight. But in this format of street fight, do you see how they can think, calculate, not only attract the best brains in the nation, but work with the team, and represent this great country the way it deserves?
If we need to put them in the ring for that, why not choose Mike Tyson? Decisive, has a great jab. Lost some luster? We all did.

Maybe the whole idea of the televized public debate is a cheap show? Is it like fast food place as the testing grounds for a chef of an exclusive restaurant. Does the ability to roll you a sub in 8 seconds means that they would be able to prepare Venison with Chanterelles in Cream Sauce and Braised Red Cabbage?

You gotta be kidding me

Why Do We Love Idiots So Much?

I was wathching TV the other day about this Great Bailout, and was stunned by a definition suggested by Mark Cuban, that there are Innovators, Imitators and Idiots.

How darn right!

Innovators are those who follow the basic rule of Real Estate "buy when the prices are low, hold to it, and sell when everybody is buying" attributed to John Paul Getty. Innovators base their decisions strictly on the values, and are not swayed by presidential elections or the media.
Time to buy is when price is low. They know that the market will warm up and then even get hot. Innovators make the most money.

Imitators are tempted by low prices. They also know that the market will come back, but they are sure when. They are afraid that this time it may take much longer. They wait for some signs that the end is near, and they want to see the light at the end of the tunnel before they dive into investing.
They have a pretty good sense of the market, and are able to pick the early signs of the change, and then they are in. They may pay a bit more, but they are still early enough in the process and make good money.

Idiots comprise a huge non-discriminatory group of all races, national origins, genders, etc (and blondes - LOL). Contrary to the popular belief, for the purposes of this blog idiots (and blondes) are not mentally challenged. Sometimes and often times it is even the opposite. They simply make bad business decisions.

Idiots do not buy in slow market. They know about the cycles but they are sure that this time it is different. The market will never come back. They call themselves "fiscally responsible", "smart", etc. When the market starts warming up, they still sit on the fence, as they need to make surre that the market is stable, and their investment is guaranteed. So, they jump off the fence the last, pay top dollar in the already declining market, fooled by its inertia. Idiots are those who lose money. Usually a lot of money.

So, when the government comes up with Great Bailout Plan, is it for Innovators? Nope. Is it for Imitators? Mostly no. Is it for Idiots? You bet.

Why not just sit outside the casinos on the Strip and offer to offset losses just because the gambles were expecting to win, but lost? Look, Idiots are those, who turned the Science of Buying and Selling Real Estate into the art of gambling. And then the question is: do we reward it as a form of art or we reward gambling? Do we need to give money, Oscar, or both?

Excuse me for asking, are you an ... ah, forget it!

Why do we love idiots so much?

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach Connection
www.BeautifulFlorida.com

You Got The Facts... Now What?

Give us the facts and we will deduct the truth... The assumption behind this is that facts are equal to truth.
Sorry guys, but facts are... just facts. About 200 hundred years ago Friedrich Hegel said that without the trend facts are dead (pretty free translation). Facts do not equal Truth. They do not hold absolute value.
My client sold a house in Seattle for $350,000. This is the fact. The Seller expected more, but waited too long, and the market punished him. He has all the reasons not to be happy with $350,000. However, he bought it 6 years ago for $140,000, so he did pretty well.
So, $350,000 that he sold the house for, is it a cause to feel miserable, or be ecstatic? Or it depends on his mood?
Hey, the proverbial glass that is half-empty or half-full. The fact (the quantity) is the same, but what the heck of a difference in the way we see it.
Are we pulling our leg when demanding the facts, assuming that we can attain the truth based on the facts alone?
This is especially true in politics. The same fact about governor Palin makes some happy, and others angry. Facts are nothing. The interpretation is everything.
Politics is the art of interpretation. The war in Georgia is a fact, but US and Russia have different interpretations of it. And many Europeans have their own interpretations of the same war.
Party affiliations are based not on the facts, but on their interpretations. That's the reason that no matter how many facts you have up your sleeve, a republican will interpret them one way, and a democrat will interpret the same fact differently.
So, you got the facts...Now what?

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach Connection
www.Beautifulflorida.com

A Few Street Smarts Of Investing

When the market was going up at an accelerated pace, according to the study, Naples, Fla., topped the list, with homes 84% overvalued. The study also pointed out undervalued real estate markets like College Station, Texas, where prices were 23% below what the data suggested they should have been. Charleston, S.C., undervalued by 7%; Charlotte, 6%; Huntsville, Ala., 11%; and Lafayette, Ind., 10%...

What does it tell us? Is there any practical advice that I can use as investor? Well, no. Even if you want to follow the theory and rush to College Station, TX, and buy a house there for 23% below what the data suggest it should be, it does not mean that you could sell it with a 23% increase in value. You are not going to bring it to Naples so that you can get 84% of Naples' overvalue plus 23% of College Station's undervalue to a whooping 107%. It does not work this way. There are too many other factors affecting the housing stats. When ITT left Palm Coast and there were tons of available lots for under $10,000, did we all jump on that terrific opportunity? We had plenty of indicators that these prices were too good... When Daytona market started getting out of the decade's stagnation in 1997, did we jump on the opportunity to reserve the condominiums for $1,000 and then have the most incredible ride on appreciation? Very few did. Not because there were no indicators, but because it is not the indicators that make us move, it is the success of others. We smiled at them, we thought we were smart and cautious, but they kept making money. Then we got angry that we were missing the train, so we were in a hurry to catch up. We were so determined that we did not notice that the train gained speed. Now, instead of being angry at ourselves that we got on that train too late, we are angry that we got on it, period. It is not the train, guys, it is us, passengers.

The reality is that in any market condition, whether it is "hot", or nearly dead, there are and will always be opportunities. The beauty of real estate that it is not homogeneous. No matter what the national or state statistic tells you, their big numbers come from thousands of small numbers which, high and low, together make the averages. The house is not just the walls and the roof, the fence and the backyard. Its value may be affected by the value of nearby properties, power lines, easements, etc. The same model and age house may be worth $200K in one location and $500K just a block away.
My friend in 1995 was looking to buy a house in Ponce Inlet on the ocean for $210K. The house needed work, so he ended up buying another house in Ormond for $120,000, which he sold 8 years later for $220K. The oceanfront house was already worth $2 Mil. My friend did not make a mistake with the value of the house. He made a mistake with the value of land.

Do not gamble. If your retirement plans do not depend on your next trip to Las Vegas, do not do it with real estate investment. Do not sign for a new construction just because you plan to flip it and bring somebody to the closing table. You have to be able to close plus to hold to the property for some time. Do not risk your down payment. I agree with a popular belief that there is a northerner out there with money in the pocket and he comes to buy your house. He will, but it may take a year, two or more.
You could do fine with $50,000 to invest in, for example, Palm Coast, FL just at the end of 90s. You needed more cash to get the same return 2-3 years ago, you can again afford investing today, but you would need more cash tomorrow. We see more and more Californians coming to buy properties here, because their dollar stretches further here. They were forced out of California investment field by high initial investment requirements. Therefore, rule number two is that with time you need more and more cash to receive the same returns. In other words this is getting more and more competitive. When everyone scream that the market is disastrous, the values are still higher than 10 years, when they were not disastrous. The longer you wait, the more it cost. Our next disaster market will be more expensive than today.

Rule number four. Do not change the criteria. If you have reserved the unit in a luxury condo with ocean view for $569,000 just because the price per sq. ft. is the lowest in the building, apply the same criteria when selling. You wouldn't sell it later for more money than direct oceanfront units in the same building at the same time.
Investment is the numbers game, so play it accordingly. Time and again we see people buying properties because they like them, or they fix them the way they like them. If you will never sell, do whatever you want. When buying for investment, do not paint the ceilings green just because you son, living in Denver, likes this color. If you are buying a new construction, do not ask the developer to do certain things unless this is what the overwhelming majority of others asked for. At the same time do not tell them not to do what the majority of customers want. Therefore, the rule is that when buying a property as investment; buy what the next buyer would like. Buying new construction, choose only upgrades that are highly visible and have the highest perceived value. Nobody would notice that you have the quietest dishwasher at a cost of additional $800, and everyone would notice a tiled dining room at similar cost.

Rule number five. Set your investment goals when you buy the property. Write them down and try to stick to them. If you are buying the property for $300,000 and plan to make $100,000, wait until you can sell it for $430K-$450K (so that you get $100K profit after you pay the closing costs) and sell it as soon as you can get your price even if the values are on the rise and you can get more money if you wait. If you set your goals realistically, you could be better off selling, and reinvesting $100K plus the cash invested into another property. If you decide to wait, without setting the goal, you are gambling. Your money is tied in the property, and you do not have a clear plan when to unload. Then, if you suddenly unload, you are not ready with the replacement property, and your money will not be working until you find one. The fact is that investors, who follow this rule, have a shorter investment cycle and make more money.

It is definitely worth dealing with professionals. Having a license to sell real estate does not make us professionals. It simply allows us to charge for our services. When it comes to investment, there are not that many agents, who can do it on a truly professional level, even those who invest on their own account. Many investors are thrilled with the process and work with a lot of agents and brokers. If you feel that you know your stuff better than they do, you are either right, or... you simply did not meet the good one yet. Try to find one; it could accelerate achieving your investment goals. Talk to agents and listen whether they make sense. See if they say "no" when you become unrealistic. Trust you gut feelings. If you are blessed and find an agent or a broker, be loyal. Don't be fooled that everybody wants your business. It takes a lot of time and devotion for agents to start seeing your business as their priority. There are plenty of repair shops out there, so why you always take your car to the same mechanic?

There may be no good or bad markets. There are always those, who make money and those, who lose their shirt. Investing is like driving a winding mountainous road, you drove it yesterday, but there may be a huge stone that fell in the morning, and it is right behind a sharp curve. Keep your eyes and mind open, and make sure your brakes are OK.

Jon Zolsky, your Daytoan Beach connection
www.BeautifulFlorida.com

To Real Estate or Not to Real Estate

I have run into Aaron Auxier's post How to lower your chances of getting a new real estate client by 50 percent when blogging.
This is a well written post, in strong terms showing us how we can ruin our chances of opening the gates to Paradise. Do not do this or you lose 50% and do not do that or you lose 20%... Educate the Buyers about real estate...
This is not the first time we hear that this is a real estate site, and we are limited strictly to real estate. Educating consumers about real estate is not what we as agents do best. Practice real estate and educating consumers about real estate is not the same. And while my license gives me the right to practice real estate and does not preclude me from educating, it does not mean that we are born educators.

For me AR is a terrific University. This is a wonderful source of information, and it is always just a click away. Then this is a terrific social place. Am I limiting myself because of my priorities? Maybe. But this is fine. I found what I wanted, and educating consumers about real estate is not #1 on my list. I'd rather educate myself on the issues, and enjoy socializing. How bad does that make me?

Of all the groups on Active Rain, how many of them are purely Real Estate?

Assuming that 110,000 + members are not all educators, I do not see any problem if we can be a more diverse group than just agents posting listings. If someone forgot, we are people, we breathe, cry, laugh...
Each of us here finds what they want to find. And if someone writes and places posts on Silent Majority, which is on the conservative side, others find refuge in Dissent, which is on a liberal side. Some do not talk politics, but talk families and there is a group for them. MeMes are not purely real estate, as well as hundreds if not thousands of other groups on AR.

Why would anyone try to narrow AR to their own agenda... when saying that agenda is what killing us?
And where the heck are you getting this statistics: 50%, 20%, 10%? I am a conservative, and my attorney is a liberal, and we enjoy the company of each other. Do you really change your car mechanic because you vote differently? Or your dentist would pull extra teeth because you disagree? And while I do not talk when dentist is pulling my tooth, I do talk to my barber, and I am still alive, though politically we are on different sides of a barricade and he is the one with the razor in his hands. Are you even on the same side with your gown up children?

My friends are not gathering around my table because of their political preferences. I do not choose service providers because of their political preferences.
When we all sing in unison, it is not a choir, it is a disaster.

If I were a buyer, I will be looking for a personality. Not an educator. And in Poinciana, FL I would pick Bryant Tutas. He is a live person with personality. And I believe that he is an excellent communicator.
In Salem, Oregon I would go with Melina Tompson, and in Madeline Island with Eric Kodner. I do not have a clue how Melina is going to vote, and we might have different views with Eric.

We all have space here, and there is no need to steer everyone in one and only direction. And no need to scare those who dissent, that they would lose clients. Maybe they are shining as personalities enough to get clients just because of that?

The beauty of it is we all can have what we want. You see it as money-making machine, fine. I do not have a problem. As my not seeing it as a money-making machine should not be a problem. Maybe it is time to stop fighting for the purity of AR. Imperfections make it great. Limiting it to pure real estate only is like castrating. Some of us prefer it a la naturel
So, be yourself.

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach connection
www.BeautifulFlorida.com

Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center

Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center at 2700 North Atlantic Ave in Daytona Beach is one of the largest condo-hotels in the area with its 322 studios and one-bedroom units. And one of the nicest condo-hotels in area.

Marble foye, a lot of glass, mirrors, high guality carpet in the hallways, this Condo-Hotels can impress.
With 442 ft on the ocean, the resort sits on 90,000 sf of beahfront in one of the most prestigious areas of Daytona Beach - across the street from Bellair Plaza, the largest shopping center on the Beachside, anchored by Publix Supermarkets. Area of the best reastaurants in town. You do not need to have a car in that location.
32,000-sf oceanfront paved pooldeck. 4 heated pools, one of which is indoor. Well-equipped Gym, Terra Acqua Day Spa, Sauna, Jacuzzis, gift shop, restaurants and bars, Room sevice.
A lot of meeting space in addition to the 17,000 sf Grand Ballroom. Multi-level parking garage, wi-fi in rooms and lobby, 24-hour business center, ATM machine in the lobby.
At the same time this is the longest conversion from the hotel (at one time Ramada). The developer, a lawyer from Atlanta, bought the hotel in July 1999 for $5,250,000 according to the County record. Conversion followed and in 2002 sales were going at full speed. Today, however, there are still 30 units for sale by the developer.

The resort brochure claims "We have spared no expense in creating a new level of comfort and elegant style with finely furnished condominiums which are simply..."the best value on the beach". Immerse yourself in the sub tropical elegance and distinct vacation ambiance of our condominiums, all in a wide variety options to meet your housing needs. You'll own your own condominium to use whenever you want, while an on-site management team is available to rent your condominium when you're not using it. While you are away, we help you pay...for your elegant condominium...and the perfect life that you are enjoying at the Daytona Beach Resort and Conference Center."

As the condo-hotel owner you understand that all the amenities, convention space, garage, will affect your maintenance fee. Yes, you have 32,000 sf pooldeck, 4 pools, but you pay for that, Everyting you have on the property, whether you use it or not, you might have to subsidize. You may reasonably expect higher maintenance fee.
If you are thinking about an affordable alternative to expensive vacation condos, call me at 386-405-4408 , or just drop me a line by

e-mail.

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach connection
Ask me about condo-hotels

Daytona Shoreline Hotel Tycoons File for Chapter 11

The article titled "Daytona Shoreline Hotel Tycoons File for Chapter 11" was published in Orlando Sentinel September 13. This is the latest bad news in the saga of the slow real estate market.
Bray & Gillespie came to Daytona Beach area in 1998, at the time of a slow market like today's, but these guys had a vision and grandiose plans. Actually nobody else had a vision like they had for Daytona oceanfront. They drove the beach, and Atlantic Ave then was not a pretty site, but they not only had the money, they could see beyond the rundown properties on both sides of the street, and saw the potential, and saw the future.

They courted the owner of The Plaza Hotel, an imposing, though bland 1964 hotel in the heart of Daytona Beachside, or several month, until he finally agreed to sell the hotel, which was not even for sale. They spend a lot of money, way over $30 Mil on this flagship property, and it is a beautiful hotel. Hungry for the properties, they were buying one hotel after another. In that frenzy they did not care that they lost a few properties after hurricane Charley and Frances in 2004. They were demolished and only a 228-room Treasure Island still stands empty as a reminder of this acquisition rush.

Bray & Gillespie were the best thing that cold happen to Daytona. These two guys had a vision and the energy never seen in Daytona before. The plans for the Blu, a 33-story Hotel in place of former Beachcomber, plans for 42 The Grand just south from the Plaza Resort & Spa, all that is now in limbo. It is such a bad news for Daytona, and I am sadden by it.

There are a lot of people who do not like Bray and Gillespie. Small dogs always hate elephants. They are not angels. I do judge them for what they were capable of, and what they could bring to the area, and there is no one who had that combination of business sense, entrepreneurship and vision.
They are very shrewd hoteliers. I would not be surprised if their occupancy rate will be the highest in the area, and if not, it is one of the highest.
They converted a 322-room The Plaza Resort & Spa to a condo-hotel to get some needed cash at the peak of the market. Sales were so simple that as Joseph Gillespie told me, they did not even need a real estate broker.
The sales stopped abruptly when the market started cooling off, as the price per sq. ft. reached the highest in the area reaching about $900 psf. As if someone pressed the brakes. It did not bother the developers, as they sold 2/3 of the units and could pay off the expenses on very extensive remodeling.
I never met Chuck Bray. I met once with Jjoseph Gillespie. He is an impressive guy (could play basketball with his height (maybe he even did when he was younger). It was a year and a half ago, and at that time Bray and Gillespie's empire looked strong. They did not have any problem getting money. The Wall Street liked them to the tune of close to a billion. Those power monsters of Wall Street are no longer there. And the value is no longer here. At least it is not here today
I can't and I do not want to blame them for falling prey to the weakening real estate. market and the equity that is disappearing like dry sand through the fingers. Bigger guys went belly up just recently. I am simply afraid that Daytona may lose them. I can only hope they can survive. 6 miles of Daytona Oceanfront that they own now could become the new South Beach, and I am longing for this to happen.
I just recently sold two units in The Plaza Resort & Spa. What will hapen to the owners with all that bankruptcy? I do not have a clue, it never happened here before. What do I tell my clients?

Bella Vista Condominiums. Daytona Beach Shores

September 11 '08 12:41AM Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach connection

Bella Vista by Cook Development
Direct oceanfront Mediterranean-style new elegant 11-story 100-unit condominium in Daytona Beach Shores. Rich architectural details, elegant lobby, Italian tiled hallway, beautiful oceanfront community room with full kitchen, billiard and card room, well equipped gym, gorgeous nearly 100' oceanfront poolOutside you find tropical landscaping, oceanfront pool and spa, offering relaxed Florida lifestyle.
10 units on the floor with 5 floorplans feature secured access entry, volume 9' 4" ceilings, handsome crown moulding and 5-inch base baseboards. Units feature multi-speed air handlers for humidity control, pre-wiring for stereo sound and RG-6 for cable, high speed Internet and telephone service. 16" x 16" porcelain tile in the kitchen, foyer and master baths. Kohler plumbing fixtures and faucets and under-mount sinks in bathrooms and kitchens.
Boasting 329' on the Atlantic Ocean, Bella Vista set the level of luxury that only few condos offer in the area. Large tiled balconies with summer kitchen with built-in gas grill, fireplace in units, imported granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, gorgeous cabinetry, oversized walk-in closets, double head shower heads - there is no comparison to any older area condominiums.
Call me 386-495-4408 or e-mail for information on available units in Bella Vista and other condominium buildings in the area. With prices as low as now, this is a terrific time to buy.

Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach connection
www.beautifulFlorida.com