Highland Beach Condos, Boca Raton Homes, Boca Raton Real Estate Advice and Opinions: January 2009

I do not know if many of you have heard, but a crazy thing happened in my city Boca Raton, FL.  Boca Raton is famous for its snowbirds (people from the northeast coming down seasonally to get away from the snow), its celebrities, and its beaches, but now we are famous for something else.  The first cloned dog in the United States.  That is right a couple had a labrador named Lancelot who passed away from cancer.  They decided to freeze his DNA 5 years ago, and now they just spent $155,000 to clone Lancelot who was born about 10 weeks ago.  They had it perfomed in South Korea, and his name you guessed it Lancelot Encore.  As you can see he is very cute, but come on that is just  a little nuts. 

I guess the economy is not so bad for some people or their priorities are a little backwards.  I love dogs.  I l love people a little less, but I really do not love people who get media attention for doing something that many of us just thinks is pretty stupid.  I do believe they should be able to do what they want with their money.  The real issue I have is if we do not allow for cloning of dogs in the United States then why can you bring back a cloned dog into the United States.  I wonder if there were tests done to make sure it was not bringing back diseases.  As clonging is in its infancy stage, shouldn't there be more research before allowing something like a dog to be cloned in a country on the other side of the world.  How do we know it there are not side effects to clonging?  I like many think it is a stupid decision to spend $155,000 for a cloned dog, but I believe it is there decision.  However it is the government's job to make sure that there are no ill effects from allowing this to happen.  When are we going to be able to bring back Abraham Lincoln or Grandma Esther?  Where does this end?

The Boca Raton Resort & Club has received approval to build piers to serve the 36 unit condominium project located at the Boca Raton Beach Club.  These condos will be located on the Lake Parcel of the Boca Raton Beach Club.  The docks will be limited to acommodate a 45 foot boat.  There is quite the transformation since Blackstone Group has taken over.  They have totally renovated the Boca Raton Resort, and the Boca Beach Club.

They have brought in some of the country's top chefs for their fine dining restaurants, and have taken even one of the staples of New York Ice Creamery called Serendepity to Boca Raton.  They have invested a lot of money in the transformation of the Boca Raton Resort & Club.

With money & new ownership I believe they are losing the charm and architecture of what is the Boca Resort & Club.  The Addison Mizner Pink Towers and lush landscaping have been replaced with whites pillars, white lobbys & golds frames good for New York, but not the tropical and historic Mizner tradition that has made the Boca Raton Resort & Club one of the favorite destinations globally. The Resort needed a facelift, but they should have kept with the Addison Mizner theme, and continued to expand on that instead of making it look like a hotel on 42nd and Broadway. 

Many of my clients ask me why should I do a short sale vs. a foreclosure.  Here are a few answers to those questions.

With a Short Sale you will lose between 125-150 points on your credit score.

With a Foreclosure you will lose 250 points in most cases.

With a Short Sale we have had an 85% success rate to have the banks waive the right to come after you for the difference of the what is owed, and what the bank receives otherwise known as a deficiency judgement.

With a Foreclosure 100% of the time they get a deficiency judgement that in many cases forces the customer into bankruptcy.

With a Short Sale the ability to get a new loan is hindered, but only for 2 years.

With a foreclosure it is going to be very tough to even get a new loan.  Right now they say about 5 years minimum.

There are going to be a lot of changes to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac in the near future as we have already seen.  With a lot of people claiming bankruptcy and doing short sales I thought this chart was great information so you can educate your customers on what to expect in the future and the consequences a short sale or foreclosure may have on the ability to obtain a new loan in the future.

Bankruptcy and Foreclosure Policy Changes (applicable to manually underwritten loans only)

In U-Memo 08-29, we detailed changes to our requirements for borrowers with a prior foreclosure in their credit history.  With this U-Memo, we are updating these requirements as well as establishing new requirements for bankruptcy and pre- foreclosure sales.  We are updating the requirements regarding the time period that must elapse before borrowers can demonstrate that they have re-established their credit history following an occurrence of a bankruptcy or foreclosure.  The following table outlines our current and new policies for manually underwritten loans:

One of the most incredible parks in South Florida is Sugar Sand Park located at 300 S. Military Trail in Boca Raton.  With one of the most amazing settings, Sugar Sand Park has it all.  A huge interactive playground with slides, tunnels, & swings keep the children busy for hours.  There is a beautiful Carousel in the front of the playground where for $1 you can ride with your child.  There is also a vending stand who offers snow cones, candy drinks & snacks.  Behind the playground is an inside interactive children's musuem.  Fully equipped with learning tools that use the children's imagination. 

Mondays, February 2nd, March 2nd, April 6th, and May 4th from 10 AM -11AM youngsters can enjoy Singing Storytime.  These are interactive stories which include singing, dancing & a puppet show.  Admission is Free and parents must accompany their children.

The site of what was to be a townhouse project at the corner of Military Trial and Spanish River Boulevard in Boca Raton is now being eyed for commercial space.

And by the same company.

The Planning & Zoning Board will hold a series of public hearings tonight, all related to the application of Kolter Homes LLC, which wants to rezone the land from multi-family use to a commercial zone.

The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall.

In 2006, the application said, the City Council rezoned the 5.93-acre parcel from a Light Industrial Research Park (LIRP) to multi-family use. 

The firm began to clear the property for what was to be called the Ravella Townhouses, but, the application simply says, "It was never built."

The application that will be heard tonight requests the city to rezone the land to commercial use; approve a site plan with a technical deviation related to the driveway; present a tentative plan approval and approve a planned commercial development.

The P&Z Board will only make recommendations.  The City Council has the final say in the matter.

According to the application, Kolter wants to build a 4,000 square foot bank with drive-through facility; 25,000 square feet of office space and another 31,500 square feet of commercial space.

City Development Services Director Jorge Camejo said Kolter plans to relocate its headquarters to the property.

The application says the technical deviation will decrease by 1455 feet the distance between the two driveways from Military Trail.

The city is asking the firm to donate $1,500 to Boca's beautification fund. The application says Kolter already gave $60,000 to the city for the site that was not developed.

Kolter will also be required to take part in the Multi-Modal Transportation District by paying $29,600 per year (pro-rated the first year) to pay for shuttle service. The payment will end when the service becomes self-sufficient.

The contractor, on the application, expects buildout by 2014.

By Dale M. King
CITY EDITOR

I grew up and currently reside in Boca Raton, FL, and I never really got the idea of living in the bitter cold.  Since, I am a native Floridian I do not have a point of reference when it comes to why people like the cold.  I do visit New York quite a lot, and it is kind of nice to see the seasons, and a little snow, but for short periods of time.  This is why I visit and do not live in the Northeast or the Midwest.  I heard on the News that Minnesota has a windchill of 30 degrees below.  Ouch.  That is not cold that is like eskimo cold.  My question to you is Why live in the Cold when you can live in a more tropical environment with beautiful parks & beaches.  Yes it definitely gets hot here, and we do have our Hurricanes, but I cannot imagine living anywhere else.  This is not a post about bragging on how great Florida is.  I genuinely want to know why many of you either love the cold or stay in the cold, and if so have you ever thought of relocation to a warmer environment?