Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Myths & Reality.

Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Myths & Reality is the 7th and last post in the series

Other posts in the series are:
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Pluses & Minuses. 
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Special Assessments 
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Living and Renting
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Management
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos. Safety of your Investment
Understanding Condo-Hotels In Daytona Beach. Condo-Hotels vs. Condos 

Our discussion isabout vacation condos or condo-hotels. It is not surprising that Buyers, coming from all over the nation (and some coming from beyond our borders) often have their strong opinions about what they want. It is very common to hear something like "Only direct oceanfront, and no tricks with oceanview". This is the most common demand, especially when looking for vacation condos in $30,000 range (LOL).

Yes, there are myths, and then Myths again, and then some reality. Let's start on the journey of busting the myths.

1. Physical Condition of the property is the key when choosing a vacation condo or a condo-hotel.

This would pertain more to the residential condos rather than condo-hotels. Though physical condition of condo-hotels is important, and improper maintenance may result in Special Assessment coming sooner rather than later, the things that you can't see and touch may be of similar or even higher importance.

Example: Ocean Walk Resort (South Tower) was well built in 2001 and is in perfect physical condition and is the most luxurious of all condo-hotels in the area. But they are involved in a legal battle with several lawsuits. The outcome is unclear. What is important here is that the units were sold part to owners like in any other condo-hotel (whole owners), and half to time-share owners. This is the cause of problems, and it is there, and it is unlikely to go away as a result of any lawsuit.

2. You can just keep the AC running and everything will be OK while you are not here.

Ooof, finally, I can say that this is usually not a problem for condo-hotels. As for residential condos this would be a bad advice. The only worse would be suggesting turning the power off and leave.

In residential condos, if you are not renting long term, you can avoid mold by keeping the AC on 80F, so that it turns on and dries the air. But this will work only in Summer. In winter, when the temperatures fall below 80F, this is not going to work. And all you need is 3 weeks to grow mold, and once it gets through the drywall, you are facing a very expensive cleanup, called mold remediation. Solutions: a) hire someone taking care of it; b) set a combined unit with AC and dehumidifier, and it will be triggered not only by a temperature, but also by certain level of humidity; c) retire and move to Florida.

3. Best deal (view) is direct oceanfront on the top floor

It is a matter of taste, of course, but usually it is ... just a myth. Best views in direct oceanfront buildings are NE and SE corners. It is because in the evening (and in winter it starts rather early) the ocean is pitch black, not a single light there, and the beach is dark. It is extremely uncomfortable, unless you are friendly with wolves and lived in the woods with no neighbors all your life. When you can see the lights in other buildings, it makes it very lovely. If you found a direct oceanfront unit of your dreams, ask the agent to get you there later in the evening, and spend there an hour. See if you still want it.

As for the top floor, it is very simple. Why get so high that to check young chicks on the beach you need the Hubble telescope? Oops, sorry, I digress. Basically, the human angle is when you can see the sand and waves rolling onto the beach. That movement is what we enjoy. It is never boring and never monotonous. When you are directly on the ocean and on the high floor, you have to stand right by the window or even on the balcony, in order to see the waves rolling onto the beach. Remember yourself on a cruise? It is beautiful when you see the shore or the islands. And it is so boring when you are in the open ocean.

By the way, in my humble opinion the best views are from the buildings that are not directly on the ocean, but across the street from it, at some distance. Don't believe me? Do you know what people in Hoboken (NJ) have that people in Manhattan don't? The knock-out views of Manhattan's skyline .

4. Best rental income comes from a direct oceanfront unit. For condo-hotels this is not always true, depending on the property. Often the set up is more important than location. When people get the key and they like the unit, they do not go and check other units. In Fountain Beach resort we watched for years that units with "lesser" views were bigger in income.

5.Someone (usually Donald Trump) will come and buy the condo-hotel. Do not worry, be happy. Trump will not come. Funny that nobody ever asked me the same question about residential condos. And condo-hotels in the legal sense are condos. To buy them Trump or whoever else there, would have to literally buy units from each and every owner. If that happens, you are the luckiest person in the world, as it means that they paid you way more than it is worth. Just pray for that to happen. So far, I know only of one such case in South Florida, where a developer paid $1 Mil for each mobile home. I am not sure that they regret this adventurous move, but it was at the peak of the market.

If you are looking for vacation properties, or a place to live here, call me at 386-405-4408 or drop me a line in the e-mail