You might remember me writing about a purchase that fell through at The Vale because the Buyer's lender would not make the loan because the Home Owner Association (HOA) at The Vale was in financial trouble with 25% of the condo owners behind on paying their fees.  It was my opinion that until the HOA got its financial house in order, condo sellers would have an extremely difficult time selling there and prices would most likely drop.  I learned last week that the same condo refernced in the post recently sold to a cash buyer for $22,000 less than it had previously "sold" for.  Ouch!

Last week I learned of another sale that fell through for the same reason but at a different condo community; this time 525 Town Lake.  In this case the HOA receipts at 525 Town Lake are 36% under budget.  Expect prices there to drop as a result.  But be careful not to get lured just by the low prices as there is potential risk in buying in a community where the HOA is unstable or at financial risk.  I'm not saying not to buy there, just know what you're getting into and know potential risk before doing so.

The AZ Rep reported today about problems at Summit at Copper Square.  I'm not privy to the financial matters at Summit but I will say this; the owner David Wallach is very hands-on and working hard to see the high rise condo building through these tough times.   He is currently renting out condos at very very competitive prices (contact us for details or to see the condos).  The added cash flow from the rentals will hopefully keep things afloat.   It's amazing made during the boom/bust cycle.  Summit delivered condos starting roughly December 2007 and closed approximately half the units.  If construction had finished six months earlier I think that most of the condos would have closed.  But then again, if construction had been completed six months later I bet only 10% of the condo buyers would have closed.  

BTW, Mr. Wallach if you'd like a venue to refute or add to today's article, feel free to e-mail me your observations or comments and I will gladly post them to this site.

Things have been pretty quiet at Century Plaza, at least in our circle.    For a while there we were hearing from prospective investors every single week.  Over the last month we have only heard from one party.  The guy was very very confident that he and his company would soon own Century Plaza.  IF they do buy the high rise and IF they are able to offer the condos at the prices he shared with me then expect some really great bargains in the future.  Keep watching this web site or give us a call to learn more.

I swung by Stella to shoot more photos last week; what a great community!  I'd put the quality, style and overall look up against ANY (except Galleries at Turney) infill row house style project in town.  I'll post the photos in the next couple days so you can see for yourself.

Stay tuned for more...