I am a condo dweller. I lived in a house and it was eating me alive. All this lawn mowing, trimming the bushes, or getting pine needles off the lawn…
This is not the ideal living for me. Condo is for me. And my clients are condo buyers. Many of them are moving to Florida in their mature years, and if they want to be on the beach (and they do) for reasonable amount of money, it means condo.
However, many of them never lived in a condo before, and there are some challenges.
You buy a condo on the beach in Daytona Beach Shores (that’s where majority of our condos are). You wait for your furniture.
Your first shock is that the trucks are not allowed on the property. They have to stay either in the middle lane, or the right lane of State Road A1A (Atlantic Ave). And no delivery can be done through the main entrance, only through the garage. So, you need to unload it, if it is in the median, then cross the 2 lane State Rd., slope into underground garage, then go to the service elevator and take the stuff upstairs, and then to the condo.
In condos they allow you to move furniture, or make any other delivery only at certain hours of the days, and would not allow any delivery on weekends. These hours could be from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM depending on the particular condo. And no, it may be a big deal if you are late. Maintenance guys will remove the padding from the elevators, and you would be asked to stop.
You can’t leave the stuff in the garage, so you need to take the truck to stay overnight. In Daytona Beach Shores, it is easier said then done. It is tempting to leave it at store parking, and you can even make arrangements with the owners, but you rather square it with the Police Department, so that the truck is still there in the morning.
It is especially a problem with DIY project, when our clients rent a truck. Moving is one of those things better left to professionals. DIY moving is usually late, the truck comes with a mess inside, and some broken furniture.
Not that it is impossible to manage, but we have seen our fair share of situations when we explain it to our customers, and they say they understand and that they would be on time, and then staying in the middle of the road with a truck full of furniture and stuff, and it is too late.
Sorry guys, this night you are not sleeping in your bed. If you are sleeping this night at all. Somebody has to guard the truck…
Image by OregonDOT via Flickr.com
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