At the Executive Board Meeting yesterday Mr Levy Sr. relayed his concerns about the growing problem of unit owners not paying dues. Century Village is not alone concerning this issue , it's happening to private gated communities all over Fl.
This not only effects his profits but also the value of each Century Village unit. The more units not paying dues to Assocs. and WPRF the sooner Century Village becomes a blighted area (my words ,not his). Mr. Levy would like to Re Market Century Village in NY, Pa, Conn. and NJ , by doing so, raise the RE values of Century Village and keep his investment sound.
To Re Market, Mr Levy will be seeking a legislative initiative allowing him to Re Market his old developments in Fl., which under Fl law he is prohibited from doing. I don't know all the legalities of this prohibition but it would be in Century Village's interest to help him get legislation passed, enabling him to market Century Village .
What better person to Market Century Village than the man who had the foresight to develop CV and also the man who has a large financial interest to preserve. (MR LEVY WILL BE CHARGING 2% OF GROSS SALES PRICE PER UNIT FOR HIS RE MARKETING EFFORTS.) This is cheap, if he can turn the CV RE market around.
I would hope the UCO BOARD will be monitoring the Levy Initiative and be prepared to help in anyway it can. Century Village is a great place, let's preserve it.
Mike
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think it is a great idea to remarket but the market has to also turn around. You can have all the greatest marketing but if people cannot get mortages, as I am told is still a problem then we are in the same hole but paying 2% to Levy on small sale figures. How about 1%? There are quite a few Century Villages in Florida.
ReplyDeleteThis may be a great idea.
ReplyDeleteHowever, Mr. Levy has collected a great deal of money over the years from the cash cows that comprise the four CVs. I can only assume that his investment group has accrued more than enough money to promulgate such a plan without charging a 2% premium of new buyers, if the truth were told.
For a long time, he has succeeded in shifting many of his business costs over to the unit owners. Why should we agree to allow him to do it again? Even though we would all like to see our property values restored, it's also not our responsibility to help him maintain his profitability.
The re-marketing is just what any businessman would need to do in a season of flagging sales, etc. I suspect his concern is less for our property values than his own pocketbook, but he is being astute in linking the two.
If he wants to "link" his and our fortunes together, then there must be a real and tangible benefit to the CV owners, now and in the future, just as there will be to him and his investors. Therefore, there should be a negotiator in this to represent our CV unit owner interests and do some shrewd horse-trading.
In that vein, I would like to see some opportunity for CV owners to buy out the rec lease at a reasonable price. It's a major impediment to the financing of the units.
As the reverse mortgage manager for a large bank, and I can tell you that no bank or lender wants to lend on a condo with a rec lease, nor will FHA, which precludes reverse mortgages. We need to do what almost every other older condo in S. FL has done: Buy out the lease at a reasonable price.
Just my two cents. "Don't ever let a crisis go to waste". This is more his crisis than ours. We should find a way to use it for our benefit for the long term, and not just accept a small speculative benefit to us which may or may not materialize.
Lindy brings up a good point. FL has outlawed rec lease communities for many years--CV was one of the last ones built before FL changed the law in the late 1970s. CV apparently turned DOWN purchasing the lease once already, and its now owned by Beneson Capital Corp., which operates WPRF. Dave and others may want to add more to this.
ReplyDeleteCV history will not improve RE values, our predecessors were either to cheap,to stupid or the price was more than the amenities were worth to purchase. None of that matters at this point. If CV doesn't want to use Levy to market,so be it. All Levy is looking for at present is CV's help in his Legislative initiative. There will be other marketers CV can hire if they want, once the legislation is passed. This was my take on what Levy had to say. Granted, I know nothing about the law prohibiting him from marketing. Re Marketing is the only thing that will improve RE prices in CV, Levy or no Levy. Mike
ReplyDeleteUnless and until a more reasonable set of rules for the use of the units is implemented, it is unlikely the unoccupied units will be sold.
ReplyDeleteThe units are a terrific value. The grounds and amenities are great. The problem is potential buyers do not want to adhere to so many rules relating to the use of the units.
While I understand it is many of those rules that have preserved the property and kept CV safe and quiet, the inability to sell units at prices so low they can't be beat speaks to the need to "tweak" the occupancy/visitation rules and strike a balance of attracting new buyers and keeping all CV residents happy and safe.