Technicalities, Lawyers, Right and Wrong

I tend to be more sympathetic to real estate buyers than to developers.

However, this ruling bothers me. A buyer of a property in the pre-construction phase tries to get off the deal once the market has not met his profit expectations. Much alike a speculator in the stock market could try to invalidate a transaction a month after he has given an order to buy and the market didn't go his way.

Despite many developers' abuses and non-compliance of promises made when enticing a buyer to put his money in a real estate project, I cannot side with the buyer/investor in this case. Respectfully dissenting, I believe that the non-compliance of a detail that did not negatively affect a party, should not be a reason to favor the other party. But I am not a lawyer and this is just my opinion.

Read on: (from Daily Business Review - April 15, 2010 )

Ruling could open door for buyers to recoup deposits

Miami attorney Alexander Lian may have come up with an innovative strategy to help people recover pre-construction deposits they gave condo developers during the housing boom.

Lawsuits have blossomed since the real estate market collapsed in 2007 as would-be condo buyers go after developers to recover their deposits — often as much as 20 percent of the purchase price. The results of those suits have been mixed, with some rulings favoring developers and others favoring buyers. Lian argued that developer Swire Pacific Holdings and title company Lawyers Title Insurance failed to create two separate escrow accounts when his client deposited $232,000, or 20 percent of the $1.16 million purchase price, in 2004 to reserve a unit at the then-proposed Asia on Brickell Key.

Lian, with Lian & Associates in Miami, cited Florida Statute 718.202, which says a developer must set up a pair of escrow accounts if the deposit exceeds 10 percent of the purchase price. If that doesn’t happen, the buyer has the right to rescind the contract and recover the deposit. U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga agreed with Lian in a 45-page opinion issued March 30.

‘TECHNICAL’ VIOLATION

When developers receive a 20 percent deposit, they are to put half of the money into a protected account and the other half into an account the developer can access to pay for construction, she said in her ruling. Swire failed to split Double AA International Investment Group’s deposit between two accounts, Lian said. In early 2009, Double AA demanded that the contract be canceled. Swire and the title company ignored the request, Lian said. Altonaga rejected the Swire and Lawyers Title defense that the “violation was a technical one that should excuse them from liability,” according to the judge’s ruling.

The Ruling - Summary judgment

Swire and the title company argued that it is common practice for escrow agents to create one account and “then use bookkeeping entries to say what money belongs where,” Lian said. Gary Saul, a Greenberg Traurig lawyer in Miami who represented Swire, said his client declined to comment. Lawyers Title declined to comment, said Fort Lauderdale lawyer Philip Kantor, who represented the company. Kantor is with Quintairos PrietoWood & Boyer.

‘POWERFUL’ STRATEGY

This strategy “is very powerful,” Lian said. “It allows the buyer to rescind the entire contract and get all the money back plus interest.“ No money was missing from the escrow account, according to the lawsuit. Swire and Lawyers Title have until the end of the month to turn over $232,000 to Double AA or to appeal the ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit. Since the ruling, lawyers specializing in deposit recovery have rushed to amend their pending lawsuits to add this claim, said Fort Lauderdale attorney Joseph Altschul. He has already amended more than 10 cases. Altonaga’s ruling applies only to cases where the buyers sued to cancel the purchase contract before backing out of the deal and being declared in default by the developer, Altschul said.

POSSIBLE APPEAL

If Altonaga’s ruling is appealed and upheld, numerous developers will have to return millions of dollars in deposits, even after they had already spent some of the money for construction of their buildings. Two sources who declined to be identified said Swire plans to appeal the ruling. Some experts predict the company will be successful. “I feel very strongly that it was a misinterpretation of the statute by the court and it will be overturned on appeal,” said Tony DiTocco, a former developer and now a real estate consultant for builders marketing new condos. DiTocco, president of DiTocco Consulting in Fort Lauderdale, interprets the law the same way Swire and Lawyers Title did: One account is sufficient if separate records are maintained. DiTocco is not involved with the case. “There is no purpose to be served” by keeping two accounts, he added. Hollywood attorney Gary Phillips, who represents condo developers including Miami’s Tibor Hollo, said Altonaga was correct in her ruling, but the law doesn’t make sense. “The judge is technically right, and most developers I know do have two escrow accounts,” Phillips said. “But I think it is a shame.”

LIMITED IMPACT?

If Swire and the title company lose the appeal, Altonaga’s ruling will gain the force of law and be a significant boost for buyers seeking to get out of condo deals. For now, however, her 45-page opinion isn’t binding on other judges who may see similar cases, Altschul said. “Right now, it is certainly what we would call persuasive authority but it is not binding authority,” he said. “It is not very often that you find a written opinion that goes through such detailed analysis,” Altschul said of the lengthy ruling. “It will be very difficult for a federal appeals court to overturn her conclusion on the merits.” Altschul, who represents several people seeking to recover condo deposits, is reviewing their developers’ escrow agreements to see if Lian’s strategy can be used. He said many of the agreements he has looked at don’t require two escrow accounts. “But that doesn’t mean that maybe they didn’t do it right,” Altschul said. If Altonaga’s ruling is appealed and upheld, numerous developers will have to return millions of dollars in deposits, even when they had already spent the portion that was allowed to go toward construction of their buildings.

Phillips expects to see a flood of deposit recovery cases tackling this issue. “I am sure will be see a flurry of discovery now requesting documentation on where the escrow monies were held and in what accounts,” he said. “Luckily my clients … all use separate escrow accounts.”

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,

Which side are you on?

Hurray for Governor Crist!

Insurance Companies had it their way for too long. And they will keep having it unless you and me do something about it.

I have read some distressful news today and these are my thoughts:

As a realtor, I see every day the desperate situation of many homeowners.

It is a time of great distress in America. People are losing their homes, and losing their jobs.

But the aggressive greed of insurance companies (among others) is unlimited. Corporate profit, bonuses, monopoly games, you name it. This has become the standard.

Owning a home in Florida is more difficult now than it has ever been in the past few decades. Cities' greed, counties' greed, mortgage banks' greed. This undeniably is a substantial part of the problem.

Insurance companies are large entities dedicated to accumulate wealth at our expense, often to waste it on incredibly large bonuses on their directors (see AIG). How many real damaging hurricanes have we sustained in the last 20 years, and how much were their losses that can justify the rate increases? How much homeowner insurance rates have increased, compared to actuarial increase in these risks?

The uncompromising attitude of these companies contrast with everything their ads and publicity proclaim.

I totally agree with Governor Crist.

That how I got the news:

Read in the Sarasota Herald Tribune - April 14, 2010

Tussle in Tallahassee over insurance rates control

TALLAHASSEE - Call it Round 3 between the Legislature and Gov. Charlie Crist. Earlier in the session, Crist vetoed a campaign fundraising bill championed by top Republicans. This week, lawmakers and the governor are facing a showdown over a bill that would eliminate tenure for newly hired teachers and links future raises for teachers with student test scores. And now, another storm is building between the Republican Crist and the GOP-controlled Legislature. Legislation that would weaken the state's ability to control property insurance rates is moving through the Legislature. Crist again is threatening a veto.

The legislation is similar to a bill passed last year that would have largely freed major insurance companies from rate regulation for hurricane coverage -- but Crist vetoed that measure. Lawmakers have tempered the bill this year, partly in hopes of winning Crist's support. On Tuesday, the Senate General Government Appropriations Committee approved a bill (SB 876) that would allow property insurance companies to raise their rates an average of 10 percent a year without state approval. But that increase may still be too much for the governor.

Crist has voiced his opposition this spring to any legislation that increases property insurance rates, saying Floridians cannot afford it during a difficult economy. He said if he receives a bill that increases rates, "I will veto it and happily do so." It's another threat in a session that has been characterized by vetoes and anticipated vetoes. Crist has already said no to a bill that would have allowed lawmakers to create "leadership funds" with campaign contributions. Lawmakers say the rate legislation is necessary to revive Florida's property insurance market, arguing that giving companies more leeway in raising rates will attract more companies and spur competition.

Without more private competition, lawmakers say, the state will continue to rely heavily on Citizens Property Insurance, the government-backed insurer that covers more than a million Floridians. If Citizens runs into a deficit, it could result in a surcharge on all insurance policyholders in the state, auto insurance policies included. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said the state's current regulatory structure has hurt the ability of Floridians to find coverage from private companies. "We've tried it their way for year after year after year and we have a market that is going down, down, down," said Bennett, who is sponsoring the Senate rate bill. Lawmakers have backed off their original plans for a more wide-open deregulation system for property insurers. And on Tuesday, they moved closer to the governor's position, dropping a plan that would have allowed a series of increases up to 15 percent a year and replacing it with the 10 +ercent limit. The House, which will take up a similar bill (HB 447) today in a policy council, is also expected to back a 10 percent limit. But the modified bill is opposed by the state Office of Insurance Regulation.

Monte Stevens, an OIR lobbyist, said state regulators believe the bill "still goes too far to the side of the companies."

If Citizens runs into a deficit, it could result in a surcharge on all insurance policyholders in the state, auto insurance policies included. Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, said the state's current regulatory structure has hurt the ability of Floridians to find coverage from private companies. "We've tried it their way for year after year after year and we have a market that is going down, down, down," said Bennett, who is sponsoring the Senate rate bill. Lawmakers have backed off their original plans for a more wide-open deregulation system for property insurers. And on Tuesday, they moved closer to the governor's position, dropping a plan that would have allowed a series of increases up to 15 percent a year and replacing it with the 10 percent limit. The House, which will take up a similar bill (HB 447) today in a policy council, is also expected to back a 10 percent limit.

But the modified bill is opposed by the state Office of Insurance Regulation. Monte Stevens, an OIR lobbyist, said state regulators believe the bill "still goes too far to the side of the companies." Stevens also said regulators doubt giving companies an easier way to raise their rates will make hurricane-prone Florida more attractive to large national companies that could be risking their financial health if a major storm strikes. "It is a problem of geography," Stevens said. Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, who has been an opponent of the rate deregulation bills, said granting even a 10 percent average increase could lead to rate increases in the range of 20 percent or 30 percent in some coastal areas, since the cap was an average.

"That's totally intolerable," he said.

The Senate General Government Appropriations Committee on Tuesday also backed another major property insurance bill (SB 2044) that also gives insurers the ability to raise rates to pay for reinsurance and other costs as long as the overall rate does not exceed 10 percent a year. The bill also modifies the impact of discounts that insurers must give to residents who harden their homes against storm damage and changes the way consumers are reimbursed for property losses. Insurers have argued that the discounts, reinsurance and other factors that have undermined their ability to cover their costs with premium payments.

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,

A Developer's Story - Biscayne "hard" Landing

An interesting twist on the ongoing "fight" about the Hallandale Diplomat Resort proposed condominium complex.

The following is an example (not quite accurate but significant) on how some developers can fail to "keep their promises" and leave beleaguered buyers stranded in an unbelievable mess. I just read this very interesting article in the Daily Business Review.

I am a natural observer. I prefer to deduce and understand events based on facts, past and present. Can this story be generalized? Not completely; I certainly know of great developers with absolutely perfect credentials, but it is also true that Developers will often leverage their risks at the cost of consumers' distress. This is a perfect case.

And that brings me to the conclusion that all this patriotic talk about developing our land, building homes for our citizens, vision, progress, and the like, has a bottom line: Money.

Suing the City? "I don't think"...said North Miami Beach Mayor? Is this an obnoxious thought?

Our elected officers should be very careful when planning our children's future.

I have read this in Daily Business Review - April 02, 2010

Biscayne Landing

No quick fix for owners who feel duped by developers

Boca Developers and Biscayne Landing

Attracted by glossy promotional pitches, Rupert and Beverley Henry say they almost emptied their retirement account a few years ago to buy a condo where they hoped to spend the rest of their lives. They liked what the brochures and what the developer told them of the proposed Oaks at Biscayne Landing near Biscayne Bay in North Miami. Back in 2005, the couple envisioned themselves strolling to restaurants and shops in the town center of Biscayne Landing, spending afternoons by the pool and enjoying the view of Biscayne Bay. But after they moved into their newly built condo in 2007, they discovered reality didn’t match their dreams.

Their bay vistas have been replaced by mounds of dirt. They don’t have a pool, clubhouse, guardhouse or any other amenities because BLIA Developers, an affiliate of Deerfield Beach-based Boca Developers, never got around to building them before turning the two-tower Oaks project over to the lender. The twin 25-story buildings are surrounded by acres of dirt, a chain-link fence and construction debris. None of the promised retail, office and hotel space has been built. The Henrys and about 100 other owners at the Oaks have hired attorney Gary Poliakoff to help them escape from the Oaks. For now, their two options are limited and won’t provide a quick fix: They can sue the city of North Miami, which owns the land under their buildings and worked closely with the developer to plan the project, or they can negotiate with the construction lender, which is about to take control of the condo association.

North Miami Mayor Andre Pierre said he doesn’t believe the owners have grounds to sue the city. “Before the closing, they did a walk through, they investigated the property and they knew exactly what they were getting,” he said. “Coming after the city would be a frivolous lawsuit. We welcome their frivolous lawsuit if that is what they want to do.”

Pretty Pictures

The Henrys have become consumed with the troubled project and their investment. The couple paid $406,000 for their two-bedroom condo in 2007. Units now are selling for $125,000, Rupert Henry estimates. “We used our retirement funds to buy this property, and this is the result,” Henry said, standing next to renderings of the Oaks hanging on the walls of the project’s vacant sales center. “Aren’t those pretty pictures?” he asked. Most owners don’t want their condos, which have depreciated in value because of the lack of amenities and the condition of the surrounding property. “Most of them are not interested in staying there because the lifestyle that they bought will never exist,” said Poliakoff, a shareholder in Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale. “They want to recover as much of the money they invested as possible and, quite frankly, move on.” The owners have no hope of seeking compensation from Boca Developers’ BLIA, which turned over 160 units in the Oaks to construction lender iStar FM loans last year.

Unbuilt Town Center

North Miami approved Biscayne Landing in 2002. The community, east of Biscayne Boulevard and south of Northeast 151st Street, was to include nearly 6,000 residential units, 180,000 square feet of office space, a 200-room hotel, 300,000 square feet of retail space and an Olympic training facility. But Boca Developers only got to build the 373-unit Oaks before it defaulted on its construction loans and lost the project. Boca Developers owes iStar $35 million. A foreclosure sale of the 160 units is scheduled for May 11. If there are no bidders, iStar would end up taking title to the units. Boca Developers also defaulted on $45 million and $161 million construction loans granted by Credit Suisse and First Boston to develop a town center with shops, restaurants, offices and a hotel. Credit Suisse and First Boston foreclosed on the $45 million loan and a foreclose sale of the development rights is scheduled for July 15. “The only viable, non-bankrupt entity is the city,” Poliakoff said. “The city is a potential [target] in any litigation because they are the only remaining of the original promoters of Biscayne Landing.”

Trustee's Promises

The Henrys and the other owners at the Oaks don’t even control their own building. Boca Developers never handed over the building’s association to the owners. Court-appointed receiver Andrew Hellinger is running the association until iStar gains control of the property. Hellinger, CEO of Liberty Pointe Advisors, recently met with a small group of owners at the shuttered Biscayne Landing sales center. He promised to build a pool, a playground, a basketball court and a garden for the Oaks residents. He also talked about building a wall around the Oaks and constructing a separate entrance road to isolate the community from the rest of Biscayne Landing. “The goal is to create an oasis within Biscayne Landing so when you are in the pool … you are not seeing the [dirt] that the developer” left behind,” Hellinger said.

He declined to comment on how much iStar would allocate for the job and said he didn’t know its probable cost. Pierre said iStar had committed $1 million for the amenities. A representative of iStar did not immediately return calls for comment. Hellinger said the Oaks parcel doesn’t have enough space to accommodate the new amenities, so he wants the city to give the Oaks about 4 acres from the undeveloped portion of the 167-acre Biscayne Landing. The city signed a land lease with Boca Developers’ BLIA Developers LLC to build the Oaks and signed a second land lease with Boca Developers’ Biscayne Landing LLC to build the rest of the project. The four acres are leased by the city to Biscayne Landing LLC and are collateral for the Credit Suisse loans. Charles DeSanti, the court-appointed receiver for the vacant land, said Credit Suisse and First Boston have agreed to give four acres to the Oaks.

Everyone’s Best Interest

Added Scott Galvin, a member of the North Miami City Counci: “We don’t mind giving a little bit of extra land over to the unit owners. [It] is not going to be a major deal. It’s in everybody’s best interest for those tenants and those residents at the Oaks to get their amenities done.” Pierre said the city will expedite the permitting process for construction of a guardhouse and pool, despite the owners threat of a lawsuit. “I am pushing to get the amenities built as soon as possible,” he said. But he said the city would defend itself against “frivolous lawsuits.”

Unit Unaffordable

Marcia O’Connor and Jerry McCarthy, who own a three-bedroom condo at the Oaks, pay about $700 a month in maintenance fees. In addition, each unit pays the city $1,500 a year for the land lease. Those expenses and their $2,100 monthly mortgage payments made their unit unaffordable, said O’Connor. They are renting the unit for $1,600 a month to cover part of their expenses, O’Connor said. “It is killing us, killing us,” she said, adding they paid $380,000 for the unit in 2007. She says some units are now selling for about $120,000. Pierre said most of the owners aren’t paying the $1,500 land lease fee, and the city has not filed liens against their condos. “We haven’t aggressively gone after those owners because we understand and we feel the pain,” he said. From the beginning, the project was marketed as a partnership between the city and the developer. Some buyers bought into it because the city was part of it, said McCarthy, McCarthy, a real estate broker that sold units at the Oaks, said he liked the developer’s sales pitch and believed in the project. He said the city should bear some of the responsibility for the failed project. In part, he blames the city for giving the developer the green light to start closing on the units before the Oaks’ amenities were built. “They should have told the developer they were not going to issue a certificate of occupancy until the clubhouse was built and the guardhouse was built and all the amenities that are part of this property were finished,” he said. “But they didn’t do that.” Pierre said the amenities were planned for a different section of Biscayne Landing, and the certificate of occupancy was issued because the developer built what it was supposed to build in that portion of the property. McCarthy said if the Oaks had been completed with the amenities, the units would not have depreciated as much as they did. “If we had got more of what we were promised,” he said. “We would have been better off than we are.”

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,

THE BEACH CLUB CONDOS - Hallandale - Update

Surprising statistics at the Beach Club Condos in Hallandale.

As of April 4th, 2010
There were a total of 165 units for sale on the MLS. Of those:

38 at the Beach Club One - 1 studio, 5 one-bedroom, 10 2-bedroom, 22 3-bedroom
60 at the Beach Club Two - 2 studio, 12 one-bedroom, 23 two-bedroom, 23 three-bedroom
67 at the Beach Club Three - 1 one-bedroom, 18 two-bedroom, 42 three-bedroom


During the previous 12 months, 121 units were sold at the Beach Club complex.

29 at the Beach Club One - sale prices between $290,000 and $900,000
51 at the Beach Club Two - sale prices between $213,900 and $1,750,000
47 at the Beach Club Three - sale prices between $286,000 and $850,000

That indicates one fact: At the present rate of sales, the inventory at the Beach Club will be reduced to a minimum quantity. There is a 15 month inventory. About 11% of the total units.
This is the healthiest it has been since the complex inauguration.

Buyers are mostly in solid financial condition. Many have bought their unit cash. Whoever could have got a mortgage loan must have been a privileged borrower, with great paying ability.

The Beach Club Complex is a luxury complex right on the ocean in Hallandale.


Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,

Conflict in Hallandale Beach over new project.

Conflicting views on "progress" and "development".

I am a Hallandale Beach resident; and a Realtor.

I have seen the last piece of land on the beach, the Postner Track, given up for development and three voluminous buildings obliterate the last remaining view of the blue ocean waters in our"City of Choice".

That was a few years ago. And under the flag of "increase the tax base" our municipality was going head on the "Development" doctrine.Thousands of apartments/condos would prop us up in a new and modern era of prosperity.

Have we residents seen an improvement of our quality of life? I leave the final word to the angry drivers at the unending traffic jams; or the reduced frequency and outright elimination of some of our trash removal; the ongoing increase of our property tax rates; the lack of improvement of our public schools; and yes the splendid city building with its sprawling bureaucracy: all thanks to the expanded "tax base" of our new condominiums.

Do we need further development?

As a realtor, I should jump up and down yelling "YES".

As a spectator of how my quality of life is being affected, I could perhaps have a conflicting opinion.

Hallandale residents should take an increased role in the government of their city, I guess.

This is what I read in the Daily Business Review, on March 25, 2010

The owners of The Diplomat Golf Resort & Spa are pushing to obtain approval for an ambitious redevelopment of a Hallandale Beach golf course as a critical deadline approaches.

Running the gauntlet of land use and zoning hurdles is never easy, but winning approval of such a huge project could get tougher after November. That’s when Floridians will vote on a constitutional amendment that would allow them to veto any changes to a municipality’s comprehensive land-use plan.

The Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund, which owns the Hallandale Beach resort, wants to build up to 950 residential units, a 500-room hotel, a 48-slip marina and about 3,000 square feet of commercial space and upgrade the golf course.

Diplomat officials proposed changing the land use from commercial and recreational use to a designation called “local activity center,” which would allow a mix of residential, hotel, commercial and recreation uses.

Some in the development community expect Amendment 4, also known as Florida Hometown Democracy, to pass. That would make it much more difficult to change land use and zoning, experts said.

That’s why the Broward County Commission’s failure on Tuesday, by a 4-to-4 vote, to send the development plan to the state’s Department of Community Affairs for review — a necessary step before the final approval — is a big setback for the pension fund. The commission’s vote raises doubt about whether the 96-acre project can get the needed approvals by the time voters go to the polls in November.

In addition to the land-use issues, the pension fund also needs to find financing for the $500 million project and faces increasing competition from condo projects already in the pipeline.

“They’re trying to rush this stuff through in advance of Amendment 4,” said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach-based housing analyst.

The consensus among builders is that if Amendment 4 passes, “it’ll put tremendous constraints on large-scale building projects like this,” he said. Builders all over Florida are pushing for approvals now, McCabe said.

Specter of Change

The specter of the change to the state constitution wasn’t raised at the commission meeting. Instead, it was skepticism on the part of Commissioners Lois Wexler and Sue Gunzburger that dominated the discussion. Wexler questioned developers’ claims the project would add only 180 peak-hour car trips to nearby roads, which are already over capacity.

Gunzburger asked how the developer planned to comply with Hallandale Beach’s affordable-housing provisions, which require a developer to either set aside 15 percent of a project for affordable housing or that it pay into the city’s affordable-housing fund. Diplomat officials agreed to pay into the fund.

Gunzburger wondered how a city with nearly 3,000 condo units already approved but not yet built could absorb even more inventory. “I don’t see the need for another 950 units,” she said.

Diplomat officials argued that the residential portion of the project is critical to make it work financially. A hotel alone won’t work, they said. Wexler also asked if the property was for sale.

Debbie Orshefsky, a Greenberg Traurig lawyer representing the developer, answered: “It’s not for sale at the present time.” She then added: “The property is not actively being marketed.” Earlier, Orshefsky said the entitlements would position the property for when the market rebounds. She acknowledged that the owner currently doesn’t have financing or investors in place to pay for construction and said the pension fund would most likely need to partner with an experienced builder.

Joining Commissioners Wexler, Gunzburger and Kristin Jacobs in voting against sending the proposed land-use changes to the state was Mayor Ken Keechl. Computer animated overhead view of the Diplomat’s gold course redevelopment . Commissioners John Rodstrom, Stacy Ritter, Diana Wasserman-Rubin and Albert C. Jones voted in favor. Commissioner Ilene Lieberman was out of town.

The developer, union officials and their supporters that filled the commission chamber were stunned by the vote. “It’s a procedural nightmare,” Orshefsky said after the vote. “I don’t know what it means. But it’s a procedural nightmare.” The county commission will hold another public hearing on the project in April. Both the city and county have to vote to send the proposal to Tallahassee for review by the DCA. Another public hearing and a final vote of approval by the city and county commissions are required after the DCA’s input. It’s a process that often takes months.

Long Fight

Opponents and proponents are sure to gear up for yet another battle. It has been going on for years.

In 1997, the Plumbers & Pipefitters National Pension Fund bought the resort and spa on Diplomat Parkway, east of Northeast 14th Avenue, north of Hallandale Beach Boulevard and south of Atlantic Shores Boulevard. It also owns the oceanfront Westin Diplomat hotel several miles away on A1A in Hollywood.

In 2000, the fund refurbished the golf course, added a new club house, tennis center, spa and a 60-room boutique hotel. The cost was about $45 million. But like many golf courses across South Florida, the one at the resort saw its fortunes decline.

Golf Course Costs Increasing
It was originally envisioned to be a high-end resort and golf club sustained by locals and guests from the Westin Diplomat. But that hasn’t happened. And while the golf course loses customers, its operating costs have continued to increase, officials said. To preserve the golf course, planning started about four years ago to create a golf course community and destination, Orshefsky said before the meeting.

The first proposal was for 1,600 residential units and a 350-room hotel, Orshefsky said. By the time Diplomat officials submitted their first application in early 2007, they proposed building 1,400 residential units and the hotel, she said. After months of back and forth with Hallandale Beach officials and residents, Diplomat officials withdrew their application. They refiled with the city in September 2009 after lowering the density and rethinking the design, Orshefsky said.

The wrangling with Hallandale Beach and Hollywood residents and Hallandale Beach city officials continued. The original proposal was too much, Hallandale Beach Mayor Joy Cooper said.

“It didn’t fit our city,” she said. But after a year and half of back and forth and many changes, city and Diplomat officials developed a plan they could agree on. The Hallandale Beach City Commission voted 3-2 in December to approve the plan. Cooper and commissioners Dotty Ross and Anthony Sanders supported the measure with Commissioner Keith London and Vice Mayor Bill Julian opposed. This “will continue to make that a viable, sustainable golf community,” the mayor said.

DEVELOPMENT RUN AMOK’

No one is completely happy, including Terry Cantrell, president of Hollywood Lakes Section Civic Association. The association worries mostly about traffic heading north through neighborhood streets.

“Hallandale Beach represents development run amok,” he said.

City officials there “never take into account” the amount of traffic its residents have to deal with, he said. He called the traffic studies the developer conducted “grossly inadequate.”

Luis Paredes, president of the United Condominium Associations of Hallandale Beach, said his group’s main worries are the added traffic and the compatibility of the high-rise project in a low-rise neighborhood. In e-mail blasts he sent out, he raised issues such as the number of empty condo units currently in Hallandale Beach and the possible sale of the property. He also questioned why the developers were fast-tracking the project.

David Schwartz, a third-generation South Florida hotelier and principal of The Management Consortium, a hotel consultant group, doubts the project will ever get built. “I can’t see the pipefitters taking on that risky venture,” he said. Schwartz said he also doesn’t think there will be any buyer for the property in this economy. Still, the supporters of the project say it’s important for the city’s future success.

“With all due respect, the time has come for Hallandale to shed its reputation as a senior citizen community,” said Gregory Dell, a local resident and lawyer not connected to the project. “In an economy that is suffering, Hallandale needs to seize an opportunity and look to the future growth and reputation of our city.

“I fear that if this project is not approved and the Diplomat golf course is forced to shut down, our property values will further decline and our city will have another vacant lot with no development.”

McCabe questioned the Diplomat’s contention that the project is needed to maintain the golf course’s viability.

The project would cost hundreds of millions of dollars, he estimated. And with Amendment 4 looming, getting the rights to build such a large project would dramatically increase the property’s value, he said.

“They really just want to get the entitlement to flip it to someone else,” McCabe said .

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Licensed Real Estate Agent. Please visit my website www.condo-southflorida.com to search for:

Aventura Condos

Sunny Isles Condos

Hallandale Condos

33% RATE INCREASE IN PROPERTY INSURANCE?

Remember "Drop like a Rock"?

Our Governor, Charlie Crist promised, not so long ago, that Florida property taxes and insurances would get such a wonderful cut that real estate in our state would receive an incredible boost.

Now, whoever you think are your friends in Florida Congress, read the news, and read my comments below:

From The Sun Sentinel - March 25, 2010

Senate panel passes bill allowing major home insurance rate hikes

The Senate's insurance committee passed a bill Wednesday that would essentially allow home insurance rates to rise by a statewide average of up to 33 percent in the next three years. That means premiums in South Florida could rise by more than that. "Couple that with the 10 percent annual increase passed by this committee last week, and you have huge rate increases," said Bill Newton, executive director of the Florida Consumer Action Network who spoke in opposition to the bill along with Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate Sean Shaw. Gov. Charlie Crist also made an appearance to ask lawmakers not to vote for the bill.

The bill would essentially allow automatic average statewide rate hikes of up to 5 percent the first year, 10 percent the second year and 15 percent the third year. Policyholders' premiums can increase by more or less than the statewide average rate. Supporters say the bill is needed to strengthen Florida's property insurance market, draw more insurers to the state and improve companies' ability to pay claims if a major hurricane strikes. Opponents say rates already went up in South Florida after the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes and consumers can't afford additional increases. After heated debate, the committee passed the bill, SB 876, by a 6 to 4 vote. Voting for it were Minority Leader Al Lawson, D-Tallahassee and Senators J.D. Alexander, R-Lake Wales, Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton, Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale, Jeremy Ring, D-Margate, and Garrett Richter, R-Naples. Voting against it were Senate President Pro Tempore Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey and Senators Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, Alex Villalobos, R-Miami, and Joe Negron, R-Jupiter.

Newton said he's "disturbed" that all the Democrats on the committee voted for the bill and other insurance proposals. The House insurance committee passed its version of the bill, HB 447, last week. To weigh in on this bill or others, you can find your legislators on the state's Web site.

In all truth, our Governor is not the culprit.

Perhaps his Republican friends in Tallahassee?

Oops, not so fast: Have you noticed how many Democrats have also voted for this new attack on the beleaguered homeowner in this state?

Counties, Cities, and now the State: nobody seems to understand that we are living the most trouble times in many decades. Poverty in Florida is one of the worse in the whole US. Foreclosures, Jobless claims, Deficits, are our daily bread.

But our politicians do not quite understand the necessity of downsizing. Downsizing doesn't necessarily mean reducing essential services, like education and health. It means reducing the waste, reducing luxurious offices, parties, travel expenses, level and sub-levels of unnecessary and blown up bureaucracy. Things must change because we cannot afford our and "their" lifestyle anymore. As we are forced to adjust our expenses in face of the recession and economic necessities, so must our government change their spending habits.

In the same line of action, our government must take definite steps to rein in insurance companies. Their non-ending greediness must be contained, least one of these days some genius comes up with a reform , a "public option", a "single-payer-system" or something similar to the health reform that has shaken our political landscape, only that next time it could be applicable to property and auto insurance.

Insurance companies are a big part of the problem. Unbridled and uncontrolled, they lobby and mandate at will their rules on us, as well as our elected officers.

It is evident that the consumer is powerless against their voracity . At least if he wants to buy a car, get a mortgage, or obtain health care. High rates of insurance are a large factor in denying the access to homeownership to many citizens, as are high property tax rates.

Five years since we had a major hurricane, no losses for the insurers, but still paid our premiums. We already had our rates raised after Katrina.

So what exactly happened that forced these insurance companies to pump up again their rate at this shameful levels? And how could they convince our legislators?

Without being a specialist in actuarial sciences and risks calculations, my bet is that they do it simply because they can. And they will keep doing it unless you and me do something about it.

Henry B. Nathan is a Florida Realtor at United Realty Group Inc.
Visit my website: http://www.condo-southflorida.com
where you can search for Aventura Condos, Florida Condos, Sunny Isles Condos,