Kurt,

Then you can appreciate and understand the work needed to protect that community. You are right that many industries are to blame. Please understand that my original post asked the OP to perform his own research. It is my belief that realtors are an important part of any real estate transaction. However, homeowners should not simply rely on realtors as their sole source of information. It is the buyers responibility to educate themselves about the local market conditions, and then approach a realtor to help them locate specific properties that match their qualifications. it is unfair to you and every other realtor to assume that you can or will perform all the requisite research for the buyer.

Think of it this way... when you go to purchase a new vehicle, you ought not simply drive to the nearest dealership and ask "what car should I buy?" If that dealership happens to be, say, a Toyota dealership, it is likely you will drive off the lot with a Toyota. The consumer should go to Edmunds, Consumer Reports or the alike first. Real estate is (in my opinion) much the same way. Realtors are often maligned because they are seen as commission-driven and have lead buyers into properties that were probably not the right choice. Whose fault: in my opinion the buyer for not educating themselves, and the realtor for not stating as such.

Understand, my post was not meant to agitate you or anyone else. Just state to the OP that he needed to do the research for himself. I also tried to provide some important aspects beyond what had already been mentioned (e.g., short-sales). I hope that the OP does engage a realtor, and I honestly hope he finds a property he is happy with. Yet, he must identify his various tolerances and criterion. Each property mentioned is distinct and has advantages and disadvantages. Indeed, you are correct in pointing out that there are others that may meet his needs. Nonetheless, he does not seem to know (from his post) what type of property is "best" for him. Unfortunately, "best" is subjective. Short-sales, by themselves, do not hold a tremendous amount of information--especially since we do not know what criterion the OP has for purchasing.

The Reserve at Naples has had many units move from investors to banks, and then to new owners. The units are selling at a fraction of their orignal cost. However, if you look at the overall health of our Association, we are (in my opinion) in a uniquely strong position. Therefore, the short-sales are not a good predictor of the overall value of the development. I understand why short-sales are used as a metric, but my orignal post was tinged with the aggravation that this metric is too commonly applied absent other factors.

Good luck to you and your partner, and have a restful weekend.

Just an FYI....I am president of our condo association as well......so is my partner.

You can put the blame of the collapse on eager speculators and the liberals for trying to make sure everyone qualifies for a loan. Homeownership is not for everyone.

You once again "attack" in your approach.....you started well.....mentioning "generalization"......then you went right back to old grumpy pi**ed at everyone approach.

This will be my last response.......you are not worth my time or aggrevation. You did get under my skin though so feel good and accomplished for that as I am sure that was some of your intent.

Generalizations are just that, but keep in mind that Lawrence Yun, the Chief Economist for the National Association of Realtors has demonstrated the lack of acumen... or perhaps the over-eagerness to make a sale regardless of real world conditions. A review of his, and others, comments demonstrate that realtors (in general) provide biased information intended to motivate buyers. Remember, real estate is a trade, an occupation, and not necessarily free from ulterior motive and personal gain.

Asking for objective advice from a biased industry professional that makes hisher livelihood from the transaction is not wise. Realtors (again a generalization) were key players in establishing and maintaining the bloated SW Florida real estate market. Granted, financial regulators, mortgage brokerages, and appraisers also contributed, but realtors faithfully sold property regardless of whether it was in their clients' best interest.

As far as my experience, I have actually made a positive impact on my community. While you were selling property absent any moral bearing, I was working to stabilize our budget, pay our vendors and ensure the community maintained a standard for those that remained. I worked with no remuneration for tens of hours per week--beyond my full-time job where I spend more than 50 hours per week. In contrast to your monetarily-motivated desire to sell, I was actively improving the community in which I lived wholly based on the overall relative good.

Also, I may have bought at the height of the market (which I take responsibility for), but I have a 30 year fixed mortgage at 6.85% which is within my ability to pay. I do not harbor malice towards any realtor, but will openly acknowledge that they are, for the most part, nor historically, been an objective source of reliable information to buyers. As per the responses, evaluating a property goes far beyond simply how many short-sales exist within a community. Your rhetoric and that type of simple metric are analogous to the puerile and inane advice that is often dolled out to buyers who fail to research the variables and relationships themselves.

If you read (or perhaps re-read) my previous post, you will notice that I actually provided the OP with useful information about better assessing a potential sale than the trite, "The Reserve and Fairway Preserve are both apartment turned condo conversion units. Positano was built as a condo complex. There is a big difference between communities like this. I can show you the units available for all three if you would." He was asking for advice, not a sales pitch.

As such, perhaps you should consider providing useful answers rather then trying to defame someone who is attempting to provide such information absent any motive or affiliation.

Bschipper......

Thanks for the generalization of Realtors.....sounds like someone is either bitter or had a bad experience. Lacking the business acumen you mention is absurd. You do however have a lot of knowledge regarding your community. Great job......sounds like you have a lot of time on your hands.

You sound more like a condo commando who bought during the peak and now needs someone to blame for their troubles.

I cannot speak with certainty about either The Preserve or Positano Place, but having lived and been on the Board at The Reserve at Naples, I can state that we are financially stable. Unfortunately, realtors are motivated by commission and generally lack the business acumen to understand the complex relationship between short sales, foreclosures, legal culpabilities of Developer versus Owner-operated properties.

Specifically, although short-sales and foreclosures permeate the market, they only capture the number of units being sold. Associations, if budgeted properly, can account for the loss of revenue through the inclusion of "bad debt" line items. Short sale foreclosures also fail to capture the overall strength of the governing documents and the Boards ability to use FS 718 to lien and foreclose properties.

When I wrote the budget for 2009, I included $250K in bad debt--which was, as it turns out, an over-estimate. We have also cut costs through contract renegotiation and the retention of a new management company. We have one of the three most highly regarded attorneys working to actively lien units. As a result, we are recouping much of the costs associated with current market conditions.

We also successfully managed the transition from Developer to Owner-control. That is, unlike Positano and perhaps the Preserve, the owners control the Board and operate the property, not a Developer entity. This is important as many developers are going bankrupt and walking away from the Associations leaving them in financial ruin. Though our developer walked away in 2008, we did what was necessary to balance our budget. As a result, we are now investing in adding amenities, we pay our bills on time, and we are not indebted to anyone. I am confident that we are the only Association mentioned that can make that assertion.

Lastly, a conversion does not equate to poorer quality. Walk each property and you will find that The Reserve (built in 2001-2002) has a better build quality than Positano Place--which was thrown together during the building boom. As an owner for the last four years, let me advise you of what is important:

1.) Who controls the Association - specifically, homeowners will do a better job managing a property than a Developer.

2.) The financial state of the Association (regardless of who operates it). Look at the budget to ensure they are accounting for bad debt, have adequate insurance policies, are paying vendors on time, and are funding the reserve accounts.

3.) The physical appearance of the property. Just look at our neighbor, Mariposa (sp?), to see what happens when the Developer fails to maintain the property. Physical appearance may only be temporary, but it is a good indicator of the past and current state of the Association.

4.) The number of full-time owners. Unfortunately, most communities have seen the perils of investor-owned units.

5.) From #4, ensure the governing documents have the necessary provisions to enforce community rules, and that the Board is actively engaged in maintaining the property through the judicious application of the covenants.

6.) The overall build quality of the buildings. We have been lucky insofar as hurricanes, but one big storm and some communities will be devastated. The Reserve is concrete block and has recently had a wind mitigation study performed. Both the Preserve and Positano Place should be built similarly. In regards to the interior, build quality between units is as important or more important than the finishing. I recommend you walk the properties at 6:00pm in the evening when most are home.

6.) Safety. Pull police reports for each complex.

7.) Remember, realtors are making money from your transaction and sold all three properties actively throughout the madness of 2006-2008. As hard as it is, do the research yourself and do not rely on any single opinion (including mine).

Good luck to you.

I WOULD BE HAPPY TO HELP YOU.
Please email me at ginjay1@earthlink.net.
I will fing you the best buy.
Thanks!
Ginny

Good Afternoon Lulu,

The best way to find out the health of an association is to request a copy of the financials. This will give you a better picture of the amount of money kept in reserves and you can also request the current amount of units in short sale status or foreclosure status. We can also request the number of properties that are delinquent in paying association dues.

Let us know if we can help.

John & Sandra James
Prudential Florida Realty
(239) 784-7000
E-Mail: MarcoTropicalRealty@comcast.net

Lulu,

Jesse is correct about the communities. I would tend to lean towards a little more stable community, there are some issues that might arise in all 3 communities HOA's due to short sales and foreclosures. Please give me a call and we can go more in depth on your questions, wants and desires.

Thanks,

Scott Riddle, PA
(CSP) Certified Short Sale Professional
Sand Castle Realty Group
239-289-1849
239-390-0027 fax http://www.NaplesRealEstatePros.com http://www.bonitaspringsfloridahomesforsale.com

All three are apartment conversions gone wrong, meaning they all have issues with short sales and foreclosures. I would love to tell you otherwise but that wold be misleading. The result is unstable financial enviroments meaning many people are not paying their condo dues either which results in current and future owners picking up the tab.

I have spent 26 years in the Naples.Bonita Springs and Estero markets, give me some exact criteria and I can fire off some handpicked lisitngs.

Nathan LaCorte
Main: 828-215-5603
Toll#: 800-590-6856
Fax: 239-236-0282
Sand Castle Realty
nathannaples@gmail.com http://www.nathannaples.com

The Reserve and Fairway Preserve are both apartment turned condo conversion units. Positano was built as a condo complex. There is a big difference between communities like this. I can show you the units available for all three if you would like. Let me know.

Hi LuLu,

What type of Information are you looking for specifically? You may contact me personally at the information listed below.

Kurt Petersen CIPS, ABR, TRC,
Licensed Real Estate Broker
Premier Wordwide Properties
Office: 239-261-9719
kurt@premierworldwideproperties.com