Looking for a LOFT or Condo in Tampa Bay, Fl?

VISIT OUR NEW SITE The Tampa Real Estate Insider

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Is it a good time to buy a Waterfont Home in Tampa?

Waterfont home for sale in Tampa for great deal!
• River/Bay Access
• 2/2.5
• Bonus Office/Guest Room
• LRG 2-Car Garage
• Wood Floor
• Fireplace
• LRG Deck/Balcony
• Corner Lot
• Dock On River
• 7 Minutes From Downtown
• Near Lowry Park
6726 N River Shore Drive Tampa 33604List Price: $299,900


Seminole Heights/Lowry Park area home on the Hillsborough River with Tampa Bay access: Situated on a corner lot with river frontage and boat dock in place. Short sale call for details.

“Listing courtesy of Keller Williams Realty”

Looking for waterfront homes for sale in the Tampa Bay Area? Have a Real Estate question?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese, PA and Michelle Jordan, PA
Realtors.




Sunday, October 05, 2008

Stonelake Ranch-Boating and Equestrian Community-Tampa, Fl

Tampa Lakefront Property on the Shores of Lake Thonotosassa. Over 10,000 feet of waterfront property lining the eastern shores of Lake Thonotosassa make the gated, master-planned Stonelake Ranch community a private, natural sanctuary.


From the wrap-around porches of the lakeside lodge to the beauty of the equestrian trails to the endless activities on and near the water, this Tampa lakefront community offers an abundance of varied amenities sure to please even the most discerning of tastes.

Here you will find the best in Tampa lakefront living, with lakefront and lakeview home sites, private docks and boatside access from the lakeside lodge. This wide open and wooded expanse of private countryside is worlds away from city life, yet located a mere 20 minutes east of metropolitan Tampa.

At this beautiful Tampa lakefront site you will find an expanse of open fields as well as diverse woodlands, all brought together by winding creeks. Oaks, magnolia, hickory, citrus and palm trees populate the dense forests while an island avian sanctuary provides refuge to native birdlife like ibis and spoonbills. For the boating or fishing enthusiast, the great Lake Thonotosassa is a secluded haven with very limited public access. There will be days that you will have the lake all to yourself. For those who prefer to enjoy their free time on land walking, jogging, biking or horse-riding.
Stonelake Ranch boasts 240 lush acres of common area and an extensive trail system that winds throughout the community. No matter where you roam on the pristine acreage of Stonelake Ranch there will be wide open spaces and awe inspiring views. And with only 160 home sites, spread over 685 acres, you are sure to always feel a sense of privacy and tranquility in this unique Tampa lakefront community surrounded by cool waters and endless sky.
Would you like more information on homes for sale at Stonelake Ranch?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese, PA and Michelle Jordan, PA
Realtors.


Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty

Thursday, October 02, 2008

Towers of Channelside-Bankruptcy Update-Tampa, Fl

Towers of Channelside announced in the Tampa MLS condo listings that "DEVELOPER EMERGES FROM CHAPTER 11 ON OCTOBER 1. CHECK OUT LATEST DISCOUNTED PRICES."


I emailed my friend Michael at the Tampa Bay Business Journal to see if he had heard of anything regarding the bankruptcy. He says "It's on the front page of our website today"! Ok, so I'm a Realtor, not a journalist, but I do try and get the scoop on the Tampa Real Estate Market!

Here's the latest good news for The Towers of Channelside




Towers of Channelside emerges from bankruptcy
Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Michael Hinman

It looks like at least one high-profile condominium project in the Channel District will have a fighting chance to weather the housing market bust.

The Towers of Channelside LLC emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday evening with a new plan to pay back creditors over a five-year period and, its principals believe, the momentum to sell the remaining 150 units of its twin 29-story towers.

“We’re officially out,” said Richard Sacchi, one of the development partners for the project that was completed last year only to find that many of the potential buyers that placed deposits for units were not closing.

It was a problem afflicting a number of condominium projects across the Tampa Bay area, and eventually forced Towers of Channelside to reorganize and seek protection from its creditors last January when Wachovia Bank threatened to default on its $105.8 million loan used for construction.

That started a string of bankruptcy and foreclosure problems along Channelside Drive that included Key Developers Group LLC, which will auction off The Place at Channelside Oct. 15; Tampa Condo 2 LLC filing for Chapter 11 protection in March after failing to build its 51-story The Tampa Tower 2; and last May when Ventana Tampa LLC decided to give its 84-unit complex on Kennedy Boulevard and Channelside Drive back to the bank in lieu of $16.8 million still owed to Mercantile Bank.

But Towers of Channelside can now remove the bankruptcy clouds that have hovered over the project for the last 10 months, Sacchi, said.
“We were just better situated than these other projects, and we were driven to try and make it work,” he said. “The easier thing would’ve been to walk away, but we wanted to make it work and try and get everybody paid back. We’ll continue to stay involved and continue to sell units.”
Chasing away the cloud

When Towers of Channelside filed for bankruptcy protection, developers had sold 89 units, and had eight more that were just about ready to close. Even with the project in bankruptcy court, Sacchi said Towers of Channelside closed 16 units since March, and he believes those numbers could rise now that buyers don’t have to be concerned about what the bank will do about the money developers owe.

“It hasn’t been an issue to the people who have come in to buy units, but maybe being in Chapter 11 and the threat of foreclosure didn’t bring buyers to the property,” Sacchi said. “Now that they know we won’t be going to foreclosure, maybe some of those who shied away will come back.”

The biggest issue facing buyers right now is the lack of funding for home purchases – especially condominiums – coming from banks. Developers can’t control that, but a five-year window to repay its debts will at least give the market time to readjust, Sacchi said.

Buyers also could likely see prices on units drop at much as 15 percent from original pre-construction prices because of the reorganization, and drop that Sacchi said couldn’t come at a more perfect time with the housing market trying to rebound.

Last year, before the bankruptcy filing, Towers of Channelside earned more than $47.4 million in gross revenue from the sale of units, and had a net income of $5.9 million mostly from deposits and interest in escrow accounts, according to court documents. However, 98 percent of that net income was paid to Wachovia, which left $58 million of the developers’ initial loan still due.

The development team included Sacchi, Bradley Hite and Michael McGuinness, each who received compensation of more than $210,000 between July 2005 and June 2007 for their services, legal filings show. In the court-approved bankruptcy plan, however, each of them will receive $72,600 over the next 18 months with incentive compensation capped at $2.1 million total.

see also:
The Place at Channelside in Tampa sells at Auction.....read story




Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744 with any questions regarding The Towers of Channelside or any other condo developments.


Rae Catanese, PA and Michelle Jordan, PA
Realtors.


Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

SkyPoint or Element Condos? Looking to buy or rent?


For Sale- Skypoint Condos on Ashley Drive in Downtown Tampa are still for sale. Resales are now starting in the 150's, originally selling for 220's and up for the same size 1 bedroom unit. There are bank owned/foreclosures and short sales available, as well as developer units for sale.

Send me an email for a current list of SKYPOINT Condos for sale! realtyrae@yahoo.com

or phone 813 784 7744


This is the latest news on The Element and their decision to consider the rental market.

Tower opens up to renters

By James Thorner, Times Staff Writer Published Friday, September 19, 2008 9:09 PM

Developers of Element, the still-incomplete 35-story downtown Tampa condominium tower, are considering converting much of the building into apartments until the housing market improves.
A shortage of qualified buyers forced the hand of Novare-intown Tampa Development LLC, whose completion of the neighboring SkyPoint condo tower was among the few success stories in the imploding urban condo market.

Novare is considering renting out units, which range from 691 to 3,445 square feet, and using the income to help cover its debts until the sales climate improves in a couple of years.
Christine Burdick, head of the Tampa Downtown Partnership, said the move makes sense: Better a vibrant apartment building than a half-empty condo tower. The partnership has banked on new downtown dwellers to stoke the city's restaurant and arts scene. "There are a lot of people not eligible for mortgages and there's a lot more renters," Burdick said. "I think having people living downtown and contributing to its vibrancy is one of the objectives.

Lauded as a bold follow up to SkyPoint, Element broke ground in February 2007. Work has advanced to the point that Novare expects to remove its tower crane this month from the construction site on North Franklin Street. Though the building is nearly topped out, interior work will stretch to the spring.

Sales prices for the estimated 395 units range from about $220,000 to nearly $1-million. That's proved to be too rich in a condo market where foreclosures and bankruptcies are rife.

Three prominent condo tower bankruptcies within sight of Element are Trump Tower Tampa, The Place at Channelside and The Towers of Channelside.

Interested in purchasing a condo at SkyPoint in Downtown Tampa?
Feel free to email or call us 813-784-7744
Rae Catanese, PA and Michelle Jordan, PA
Realtors.


Search MLS
Prudential Tropical Realty