[Spring Hillian]

Originally Posted by chaseo1

I have and the statement holds 100xs true, have you? Funny NYers think Florida is the center of the universe, was NYC really that awful?

Ive been to Seattle. Winter was chilly, rainy, dreary. Summer is dry. I dont think I ever saw the sun on my 3 multi day stays there. I found it to be very crowded. I didnt find much appealing about the place. I found Austin to be nice, but I was there in the 90's, before the population boom.

You have a lot of preconceived notions about NYkers. IT IS the center of the universe. It is a wonderful place to visit, but living there is another story. It is way too crowded, the attitudes of the residents both newer and native generally sucks. It is brutally cold in the winter and gets hot as hell in the summer.
NYC is great if you have unlimited financial means. Dinner at most restaurants is $50 per person plus tip and drinks. A cocktail will run you $14 or so. Rents are out of sight these days. Average in Brooklyn is over $3k and you would be hard pressed to find a 1 bedroom, one bath for less than $5k a month in Manhattan. Everything is costly in NYC. The subways stink from various odors, the roads are a disaster, the streets are littered with trash, there are many other draw backs. You think FL has ghettos? The people here have no concept of what a ghetto looks like. Want to talk crime? Check this out: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime

Yeah, in NYC they do have good bagels, good pizza can be easily found, Chinatown is a mecca for Chinese food and Little Italy (Bronx and Manhattan) has amazing Italian eats. Its got all the sights. Museums, national landmarks, great art deco era buildings and much more. They have taxes on the taxes. A pack of cigarettes is runs $13-20 a pack. So nice to visit, hard to live in.

Florida offers nice weather year round, plenty of open spaces, forests, fishing, hunting, great beaches, nice flora and fauna, excellent roadways, diversity in various parts of the state, historical sites, wonderful state parks, lakes, rivers, wildlife, clean air, a decent cost of living, just to mention a few aspects.

Yes, the big cities in Fl are crime filled, drugs are a problem, a lower class of people concentrated in definable areas. It is no different than any where else.

[psychorase]

Originally Posted by Spring Hillian

Meth, crack, heroin, LSD, Ecstacy and prescription drug use will be found in any town in the US.

Not to the extent you'll find them in Florida.

My hometown has a meth problem and the people here still make fun of Florida's.

[justNancy]

I'm surprised that nobody has posted facts like these:

[url]https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2015/cb15-56.html[/url]

"Florida contained seven of the nation's top 50 numerically gaining metro areas between July 1, 2013, and July 1, 2014, and these areas accounted for more than three-quarters of the state's population gain over the period"

Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach (with a one-year gain of about 66,000).
Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford (about 50,000).
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (about 41,000).
Jacksonville (about 23,000).
Cape Coral-Fort Myers (about 18,000).
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton (about 16,000).
Lakeland-Winter Haven (about 11,000).

The population is estimated to increase to 26 million by 2030. I can't imagine what traffic will be like, even in 5 years.

[Captain-Obvious]

Originally Posted by BrokerHarry

There are a couple thousand homeowners here in Bellalago that would completely disagree with the opinions expressed by Joey Falcon.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NPgvzkJFXA

Would that be the ones that own homes that look like this?

Edit: Or would that be the ones that had their vehicle stolen or the one that literally destroyed the outgoing gates on the southern side of the development?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by crowsandcats

That article is a couple years old. Does anyone know of some statistics from this year? When do they publish the census statistics?

This isn't a census year so that's the latest. The fastest growing areas have been averaging anywhere from 1.5% to 2.7% net growth per year so it would be reasonable to assume somewhere around 2% as an average now.

[BrokerHarry]

Originally Posted by Captain-Obvious

Would that be the ones that own homes that look like this?

Edit: Or would that be the ones that had their vehicle stolen or the one that literally destroyed the outgoing gates on the southern side of the development?

Congratulations on your very 1st post, Captain-Obvious.

There are currently 66 Active, Active with Contract, or Pending resale homes on today's MLS in Bellalago, out of the almost 1500 homes in the community.

Of those, 7 are short sales, with an ever diminishing chance of approval. These are the properties most likely to be found in disrepair with the most deferred maintenance. They're fast disappearing.

There are only 6 REO properties, 3 Active & 3 Pending. Many of the REO properties are now being rehabbed by the investors behind the note, & are often pulling higher sales prices than the remaining short sales.

The distressed market is not nearly so dominant as it once was.

Yes there was a vehicle recently stolen in Bellalago. But if you research the matter, you'll find that the owner admitted he left his keys in the unlocked vehicle parked overnight in his driveway. That's almost inviting problems.

I'm also well aware of the SUV (reportedly towing a trailer with gardening or construction equipment) crashing thru the Bellalago secondary gate in the wrong direction, causing substantial damage. Reportedly, authorities have identified & arrested the culprit.

New construction is booming in Bellalago. We bought our waterfront home 2 years ago, & my wife & I remain very pleased with the overall quality of the community.

[boston904]

That's easy Jupiter Fl

[Captain-Obvious]

Originally Posted by BrokerHarry

Of those, 7 are short sales, with an ever diminishing chance of approval. These are the properties most likely to be found in disrepair with the most deferred maintenance. They're fast disappearing.

The main 2 reasons these homes in disrepair are disappearing are because first, it's coming to the end of the growing season, so it's easier to clean up those properties and make it appear as if the HOA is actually on top of things. Second, someone may have sent a photo album to Tony Iorio detailing the lack of upkeep community wide, or at least a fairly reasonable sample of it, some of which included sections of community areas not mowed for months and homes with feet of overgrowth that should have never been allowed to reach that height in the first place. In fact, there are still areas pending. Even the area along the school fence on Weatherfield Drive hadn't been touched from May up until just a few days before school started, and only because someone had to bring it to the HOA's attention because they weren't' active enough in the community to see it themselves, like so many other issues.

But fear not, Bellalago will soon* be switching over to a new security gate system which is bar-code based. It sounds great, except no one seems to know whether there are any safeguards in place preventing someone from copying someone else's bar code.

*been pending for over year and bar codes were announced to be rolling out soon 11 months ago

You know, maybe it's because I've been in Bellalago for over 10 years and I've seen what "investors" have done to the place. For example, back a few years ago AV Homes (known as Avatar at that time) sold a bunch of houses to would be investors who then tried to compete with the builder for sales and then either rented to just anyone who came along or the homes ended up in foreclosure, leaving them empty for years never having had an occupant, and never having any of the "new house" issues fixed.

And I've seen these rental properties with trash everywhere in the yard, when the grass is cut short enough to be able to see it. It is good to see some people cutting their grass every 2 or 3 months in the summer whether it needs it or not.

It's not all bad, but the promo video compared to reality is like the Waldorf Astoria compared to Days Inn.

[BrokerHarry]

Originally Posted by Captain-Obvious

The main 2 reasons these homes in disrepair are disappearing are because first, it's coming to the end of the growing season, so it's easier to clean up those properties and make it appear as if the HOA is actually on top of things.

The fact that summer is turning into fall, & any actions of the HOA, has little to do with the amount of distressed properties in the local marketplace.

FL still has a substantial amount of unresolved distressed inventory because it is a judicial foreclosure state (where it takes years to wind thru the legal system) as opposed to CA (where I previously practiced), where faster paced Trustee Sales enabled the eradication of most distressed inventory by 2013.

As a semi-retiree, I perform multiple BPOs for major lenders on distressed properties in the 3 neighboring zip codes closest to Bellalago every week.

Distressed inventory has seen a dramatic reduction this year, & sale prices are rising. In nearby areas of Poinciana, that once had 10+ months of inventory, we are now seeing less than 5 months' worth.

Also, in an improving economy, Federal tax laws no longer excuse taxation on forgiven mortgage debt. There will be much fewer short sales approved, or coming onto the market, in future months.

Originally Posted by Captain-Obvious

And I've seen what "investors" have done to the place. For example, back a few years ago AV Homes (known as Avatar at that time) sold a bunch of houses to would be investors who then tried to compete with the builder for sales and then either rented to just anyone who came along or the homes ended up in foreclosure.

Anyone who thinks they can purchase & then flip for a profit new inventory, in a community where the builder remains active, is mistaken, unwise, or both.

If AV closes out new construction in Bellalago in the next 3-5 years, that is when we might see further price appreciation in resale values.

[Captain-Obvious]

Originally Posted by BrokerHarry

The fact that summer is turning into fall, & any actions of the HOA, has little to do with the amount of distressed properties in the local marketplace.

No, but the cleanup of those homes does. I've been here since 2005. I was here when AAM took over after the Continental Group left it a mess. Cleanup since AAM took over always came in waves, and then those homes were forgotten and regressed back into their former state. The fact that the new HOA is made of the former HOA staff means that all HOA related issues will persist. You look at it like a financial investment (and try to sell it like a used car dealer), but sometimes there more to a home than dollars and cents, sometimes it's about the quality of the lives after the point of sale for the buyer that plans to live there, that plans to raise their kids there.

Like I said, it's not all bad, but any to any potential buyer, I would suggest taking a tour of the community and talk to your potential neighbors before buying a home. Some people are very happy here, others not so much. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. But when you pay some of the highest fees in the area, your expectations should be a bit higher.