Would you buy this condo ?

[Moemg]

5508 Summit Pointe Cir Unit 102, Bradenton, FL 34210 - New Home for Sale - realtor.com®

This condo originally sold for $744500 in 2008 .It is now being offered for $226500. Zillow has it valued at $438000.The project stalled due to the real estate melt down . They are now trying to sell the three condos that were built . It is in a golf course community that has several different developments . This is the last development being built .. They never finished the amenities in this area but the community has swimming pools , tennis courts , a clubhouse & golf course .It 's a good buy if they finish the development but a lousy buy if it just sits there for years . Would you buy it ?

 

[Meadbh]

Personally, I would not buy it. While the purchase price is very attractive, the condo fees and property taxes together add up to over $18,000 per year. The fact that the development has stalled means that the HOA is in legal limbo. The future is a legal and financial wildcard. If the property were a SFH it might make more sense.

 

[imoldernu]

First thing I looked at was this:
Condo developer to lose Legends Cove units | August 15, 2012 | Michael Braga | Inside Real Estate
A lot to think about, certainly.

Our FL mfg home community is owned by a consortium the began development of a large community back in 2005, but it went into receivership in the late 2000's. I believe it is now owned by the residents.
Arlington Ridge Leesburg, FL - Arlington Ridge Florida

I am not sure of the current situation, but know that at the time, there was considerable angst among the resident owners, as prices dropped, and a promised "town square" was left incomplete.

About 2010 to 2012, We looked at many, many Central Florida Communities that were not completely developed, and where prices had fallen... typically 30% to 50%, and the real estate market was bottoming out. Some of the newer developments were left so incomplete, that communities planned for 600 homes, ended up with fewer than 50... with little prospect for any increase at any near time.

We realized that the homes were less important to us than what the community would be... likely for the rest of our lives. Based on that, instead of spending time looking at the homes, we went in to the communities we were considering, and spent a lot of time talking to the residents. For us, the community was much more important than what we would save in home costs, or home amenities. Nice homes can be found anywhere, but the right social climate is more elusive. We ended up, not buying... and kept our Florida home, choosing to be snowbirds.

It looks like we're we'll soon settle where we are in Central Illinois, and forego the travel and responsibility of owning both homes. A function of age, and not desire.

Community first... Oh!... and remember to check the Homeowner fees, and the reserves. No surprises.

 

[Moemg]

Personally, I would not buy it. While the purchase price is very attractive, the condo fees and property taxes together add up to over $18,000 per year. The fact that the development has stalled means that the HOA is in legal limbo. The future is a legal and financial wildcard. If the property were a SFH it might make more sense.

The property taxes are based on the $744,500 selling price when the property sells the taxes will be lowered to a more realistic value . The condo is a wildcard for sure .

 

[Moemg]

We realized that the homes were less important to us than what the community would be... likely for the rest of our lives. Based on that, instead of spending time looking at the homes, we went in to the communities we were considering, and spent a lot of time talking to the residents. For us, the community was much more important than what we would save in home costs, or home amenities. Nice homes can be found anywhere, but the right social climate is more elusive. We ended up, not buying... and kept our Florida home, choosing to be snowbirds.

This is the one aspect that interested me . The community is in EL Conquistador golf community which is very well maintained .It has several different sections of single family homes , condos & villas . This is the last area to be developed across from it is Legends Bay which are single family homes which also stalled but now they have resumed building .It's pretty common in Florida for developments to stall and then get picked up by other builders . This is in a real hot area for development .

 

[Closet_Gamer]

I once heard Warren Buffett say:

"A sure good thing beats a maybe great thing every time."

Sounds like this is a "maybe great thing"...I'd pass personally.

 

[Animorph]

Nice risk premium, hopefully.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Step away from Zillow. The condo is worth however much it will sell for...which is NOT what Zillow 'thinks' it's worth. My DW is in real estate and absolutely HATES the Zillow's of the internet. I don't know of many real estate professionals that like 'em.

As for the condo, I'd run away.

Oh one other question...how long has it been built and been sitting empty? Very important questions to answer. A building sitting abandoned in Florida (high humidity) is a bad deal, no matter what.

Sent from my mobile device so please excuse grammatical errors.

 

[ls99]

The word condo, and anything with HOA is automatically dismissed DW and I, regardless of price.

 

[48Fire]

I would be interested. Looks like a good value.

 

[Texas Proud]

The property taxes are based on the $744,500 selling price when the property sells the taxes will be lowered to a more realistic value . The condo is a wildcard for sure .

Taxes look like it is based on $390ish.... or $370ish... not the $744...



It looks like it is in a flood plain.... I would never buy anything in a flood plain....

 

[urn2bfree]

I just saw a nightmare Florida condo story on CBS - seems to help out struggling condos the FL legislature passed a law recently that has had an unintended consequence that makes any condo owner in that state very vulnerable.

In short what happens is that any condo can be converted to rental if the majority of owners vote to do so...then you have to sell your unit often at a loss and allow it to be used as a rental. In situations like the one you are describing where many units are empty -a developer scoops up majority interest then uses their majority position to force conversion to rental and force all other owners to sell at low low prices.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/condo-termination-loophole-in-florida-law-forces-condominium-owners-out/


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[johnlock]

5508 Summit Pointe Cir Unit 102, Bradenton, FL 34210 - New Home for Sale - realtor.com®

This condo originally sold for $744500 in 2008 .It is now being offered for $226500. Zillow has it valued at $438000.The project stalled due to the real estate melt down . They are now trying to sell the three condos that were built . It is in a golf course community that has several different developments . This is the last development being built .. They never finished the amenities in this area but the community has swimming pools , tennis courts , a clubhouse & golf course .It 's a good buy if they finish the development but a lousy buy if it just sits there for years . Would you buy it ?

Strangely enough I was looking at the same offer an year ago.. It appeared a bit curious to me. Fortunately, I've received another offer for a condo in Fort Lauderdale and own it ever since. But I'm curious if anyone knows what happened with this property in Bradenton...

 

[Moemg]

Strangely enough I was looking at the same offer an year ago.. It appeared a bit curious to me. Fortunately, I've received another offer for a condo in Fort Lauderdale and own it ever since. But I'm curious if anyone knows what happened with this property in Bradenton...

It sold for $271,000 in October 2014 . The same owner bought a few of the available units . I drive past there a lot so I stopped to really evaluate the area. If building restarts it will be very nice but so far the condo area is stalled and no amenities are in place yet .

 

[NW-Bound]

I would stay away. In Phoenix, my cousin bought a home in a new subdivision just prior to the bubble burst. The developer filed bankruptcy and left many homes unfinished or unsold, and with many lots empty. Property crime went to the roof as vandals came ripping stuff off the homes. He stayed for a while, then abandoned his home to the lending bank as this is a non-recourse state.

 

[TomH]

Don't fall in love with the property.
Look up the numbers, mortgage, taxes, loan, PMI, insurance, and association fee.
Will you get fixed or adjustable loan?
Do the numbers make sense for you?
Can you afford the payments years later?
Also association fees can go up unexpectedly and additional costs may surface from the association for repair costs.
I owned condo in Hawaii and the additional costs made it hard to break even but sold it last year.

 

[LARS]

Being conservative, I would most likely take a pass (unless I could convince myself there were deep enough pockets to build out the remaining units).

But what is STUNNING is this unit sold for 3/4 of a million $s in 2008. SHOCKING...

 

[marko]

Things I consider/worry about down here in Fl:

MOLD
What assessments might be in the wings
How well financed is the association re: assessments
MOLD
MOLD

**Note: Now, it could just be me, but I just tried to look up "Summit Point Cir Bradenton, FL" on Google Maps and didn't come up with any such place....that's not a comfy feeling.

 

[W2R]

Being conservative, I would most likely take a pass (unless I could convince myself there were deep enough pockets to build out the remaining units).

But what is STUNNING is this unit sold for 3/4 of a million $s in 2008. SHOCKING...

Yeah, that sure seemed incongruous.

In answer to the original question, although it had a very nice bathroom and attached garage, both of which I liked a lot, I would not have bought it regardless of price. Instead I would prefer something smaller, single story, and very close to F's home, if I could find such a place. Just personal preferences.

 

[Moemg]

What surprised me is that it sold above asking price . Somebody must know that building will be resumed .