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Pier lease negotiations remain in flux

Pier lease negotiations remain in flux

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – City Pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder has rejected Mayor Dan Murphy’s proposed rental rates for the new pier-based restaurant and bait shop currently under construction.

On Sept. 30, Murphy emailed Schoenfelder two options for a new 10-year lease with two five-year extensions. Option 1 proposes a base rent of $21,600 per month, with either a 3% annual increase or an annual adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI). Option 2 proposes a base rent of $18,900 per month, a $250,000 up-front payment due upon signing and the same annual 3% increase or CPI adjustment.

Neither base rent option includes the still-undetermined additional rent the tenant will pay for the shared maintenance of the new pier facilities.

On Oct. 4, Schoenfelder sent Murphy an email response that said, “I am sorry, but neither a base rent of $21,600 nor of $18,900 is acceptable for me. Amounts like this would eat up almost my whole expected income and there would be absolutely no room to build financial reserves, which are a must.”

Schoenfelder’s email referenced the lease agreement the Anna Maria Oyster Bar (AMOB) has with the city of Bradenton Beach for the restaurant space at the foot of the Bridge Street Pier. His calculations also took into account two additional spaces AMOB leases from the city and subleases to other tenants.

“You are asking for $259,200/$226,800, that is three to four times the AMOB rent and both restaurants are comparable in size/number of seats. And that’s just the base rent. I am referring to my offer which is $12,000 monthly that is still more than twice what AMOB pays. It does not make sense, at least for me, to offer a rent that cannot be realized by sufficient revenue and income on a sustained basis,” Schoenfelder wrote.

According to the 2015 lease, AMOB agreed to pay the city of Bradenton Beach $32,000 in base rent for the first year, plus 2% of gross revenues. In years two through five, the base rent is $42,000 ($3,500 per month), plus 2% of gross revenues. In 2021, AMOB’s annual base rent will begin increasing by 3% per year.

Current lease

In 2000, Schoenfelder signed the pier lease that required him to pay an initial base rent of $5,000 per month and included pre-determined rent increases every two or three years.

According to that lease, Schoenfelder was paying $9,240 per month in September 2017 when the hurricane-damaged pier and pier buildings were closed. Schoenfelder’s rent payments were then suspended and remain suspended until the new pier facilities are available.

Schoenfelder’s current lease calls for him to pay $10,080 per month from Dec. 16, 2018, until Dec. 15, 2020, when his lease expires.

Murphy recently told the commission he expects the exterior shells of the new bait shop and restaurant buildings to be completed by Mason Martin Builders in January or early February, with the interior build-out of those spaces to follow.

If Schoenfelder and the city cannot agree to a new lease, this could create a potential scenario in which the pier buildings would be available for interior build-out by a tenant who would only have 10 months remaining on his existing lease.

Additional concerns

On Oct. 16, 17 and 18, Murphy and Schoenfelder participated in an email exchange that addressed Schoenfelder’s desire to use a contractor other than Mason Martin Builders for the interior build-outs.

In that exchange, Schoenfelder suggested he was being forced to use the city’s chosen contractor. Murphy countered by stating that Mason Martin is contracted to build the exterior building shells and is not contracted to do the interior build-outs. Both men agreed that using a different contractor for the interior build-out could result in at least four more weeks of additional delays.

In his Oct. 17 email to Murphy, Schoenfelder wrote, “I don’t want to be pushed to make an offer that is not based on reliable facts and I don’t want to be made accountable for the delay created by a contractor the city has chosen. At this point, I cannot provide a new date for presenting my offer.”

In his Oct. 18 response, Murphy wrote, “I strongly recommend that you secure other contractor (or contractors) immediately to provide their estimates as to the costs involved so that you are comfortable with the financials. Accordingly, I would recommend you plan to tender your final offer in eight weeks, by December 13.”

Related coverage

Commission clarifies pier lease parameters

Pier lease talks gain momentum

Castles in the Sand

You found the perfect house; now what?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

You may think it’s finally over – you found your dream home, your forever home or your long-dreamed-of beach house. But guess what, unless you have lots of cash in your checking account, you will have to apply for a mortgage.

There have been for many, many years two basic types of mortgages, the fixed-rate mortgage and the adjustable-rate mortgage or ARM. The fixed-rate mortgage is just that – your principal and interest payment are fixed for the life of the mortgage or until you sell the property and satisfy the mortgage balance. Fixed-rate mortgages give you a set amount of money every month to budget for and builds equity for a home that you feel will be a long-term purchase. Building equity will also give you the option of refinancing in the future if rates go down possibly resulting in a lower monthly mortgage payment.

Adjustable-rate mortgages are typically a fixed rate for a specific number of years, for example, 5 years, and then are adjusted annually either up or down. Generally, adjustable-rate mortgages start at a lower rate than a fixed rate, but you take the risk of monthly payments increasing substantially as the rates fluctuate after the fixed number of years has been reached.

Adjustable-rate loans could be a good choice if you’re planning on selling your home within a short period of time prior to when the fixed-rate term expires. However, this type of mortgage does not build much, if any, equity, a consideration in a real estate market that may be on the way down.

Whichever type of mortgage you choose, the amount of money you put down will influence the rate you are offered. A 20% or higher down payment will likely provide the best mortgage rates and the most options as well as substantially reducing the risk of the home not appraising.

Putting down between 5% and 19% will put you in the position of having to pay a higher interest rate and/or fees. In addition, lenders most likely will require private mortgage insurance (PMI). Private mortgage insurance is an insurance policy that allows you to make a lower down payment by insuring the lender against loss if you don’t make your mortgage payments. A lower down payment could be a good thing for buyers with little cash or if the home requires work and the cash to do it. PMI payments start going down after equity has built up in the home.

Finally, there are no-down-payment or small-down-payment loan programs which are more expensive but are an alternative. If you or someone in your family are trying to get into a home with little cash, they should research FHA loans or, if qualified, VA loans, both with low down payment options.

Two things you should try and avoid in-home financing are balloon payments and prepayment penalties. Balloon payments are a large payment required usually at the end of the loan repayment period with varying amounts based on the terms of the loan. Prepayment penalties are an amount required if you refinance, pay off your loan early or sell your home. And one nice little trick to help you pay off your mortgage sooner and build equity is to make extra payments during the course of the year.

Once you find the perfect mortgage and get through the mortgage qualifying maze, you’re ready to enjoy your perfect home; I hope for you, it’s the beach house.

More Castles in the Sand:

Is homeownership threatened?

Real estate market disruption

Fee-fi-fo-fum, do I smell a recovery?

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns

Anna Maria farmers market returns

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city of Anna Maria’s weekly farmers market is back. The seasonal market opened its third year of operations at City Pier Park on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

From now until mid-May, the farmers’ market will continue every Tuesday at City Pier Park, weather permitting, from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. – with the exception of Christmas Eve, on Tuesday, Dec. 24.

City Pier Park is located at the corner of Pine Avenue and North Bay Boulevard.

“We’re excited to have the market up and running with the majority of our vendors back with us. Our new vendor, Dominga’s Flowers, is a nice addition to an already great product variety. From all accounts everyone was very happy with the opening day turnout and looking forward to another great season,” market manager Debbie Haynes said.

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Dominga’s Flowers is a new addition to the market. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

The opening day vendors included Fibela Produce, Milagros Produce, Tillman Produce, Bella’s Gourmet Cuisine, Dominga’s Flowers, Hahn’s Gourmet Kettle Corn, Holy Paradise Guacamole, Meli Gusto gourmet products, Mr. Fun Guy’s Mushroom Store & More, Painting With a Fish, Saucy Guys and the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring organization.

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Peas, mushrooms and more can be found at the city of Anna Maria’s farmers market each Tuesday. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

“I can walk right down the street and go to the market. It’s so convenient,” Anna Maria resident Lynn French said while purchasing tomatoes, radishes and raw turmeric from Tillman Produce. French said raw turmeric is hard to find and Tillman noted he’s one of the three-year-old market’s original vendors.

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Tillman Produce was selling hard-to-find raw turmeric. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Market visitors Aisling, Noleen and Niamh McQuaid purchased fresh banana bread before making their return trip to Boston later that day.

“It’s fabulous,” Noleen McQuaid said of the bread, and of the market she and her daughters have visited before.

Selling hot sauces, local honey, spice mixes and more, Saucy Guys vendor Neil Currie said, “We’ve been here since the beginning. It’s a great market. We love it. We’ve met some great people out here – and a lot of people from all over the country that buy from our online store when they’re back home.”

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Saucy Guys Jim Brannon and Neil Currie are among the market’s original vendors. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Currie’s business partner Jim Brannon said, “Right now I have orange blossom honey. Everybody kept asking for it, but it’s been hard to come by. I finally got some yesterday.”

“It’s beautiful here,” vendor Angelo Cannistraci said while working his first Anna Maria market selling mushrooms and more at Bill Nelms’ Mr. Fun Guy tent.

“It’s a fantastic market,” Holy Paradise Guacamole vendor Michael Valdes said, noting his offerings included fresh guacamole, tomato salsa and pineapple-mango salsa.

Milagros Produce vendor Tony Martinez was assisted by his seven-year-old son, Aidenn, and another family member.

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Milagros Produce vendor Tony Martinez and his seven-year-old son, Aidenn. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

At her Painting With a Fish tent, Kelly Hunt explained how she presses raw fish into paint and then onto canvas to create her art.

“All my fish are caught locally around Anna Maria Island. I’m big on conservation. I don’t use the fish once and throw it out. I refreeze it and use it for my classes at the Florida Maritime Museum,” Hunt said.

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Kelly Hunt displays her fish paintings. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Hunt also sells T-shirts that contain prints of her work and the GPS coordinates of where that particular fish was caught.

She also had on hand a few copies of the book G.B. Knowles wrote with and about her father, charter fishing Captain Scott Moore: “Captain Scott Moore’s Snook Fishing Secrets.”

Moore dropped by to visit his daughter and while there he signed a copy of the book an out-of-state visitor was buying for her oldest son.

Anna Maria farmers’ market returns
Scott Moore signed a copy of “Captain Scott Moore’s Snook Fishing Secrets” for these out-of-town visitors while visiting the Anna Maria farmers market last week. – Joe Hendricks | Sun

Storm moves Bayfest inside to The Center

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Featured.

ANNA MARIA – Tropical Storm Nestor is pushing Saturday’s Bayfest indoors from its traditional Pine Avenue location to The Center of Anna Maria Island, 407 Magnolia Ave.

The free festival, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 19, will begin at noon instead of 10 a.m., and remain open until 9 p.m.

The classic car show and arts and crafts vendors are canceled, according to the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce.

But “Bayfest 2.0 – Reimagined!” will still offer live music with the Trevor Bystrom Band, Memphis Rub, soulRcoaster, the Dr. Dave Band and the Karen & Jimmy Band, with Mike Sales as emcee.

A limited number of food vendors and a beer truck will be at The Center. No coolers or outside alcohol are allowed.

Parking and shuttles to and from The Center will be available at CrossPointe Fellowship, 8605 Gulf Drive in Holmes Beach and Roser Memorial Church, 512 Pine Ave. in Anna Maria.

The decision to relocate the festival was made because the storm could produce torrential downpours and local flooding, according to chamber officials.

Tropical storm Nestor, currently over the central Gulf of Mexico, is moving northeast at 22 mph and is expected to reach the Florida Panhandle early Saturday morning. Primary concerns along Florida’s west coast are heavy rainfall and minor to moderate coastal flooding, especially from Tampa Bay north, according to the National Weather Service’s p.m. report.

HSH Designs’ kiddos remain undefeated on the pitch

HSH Designs’ kiddos remain undefeated on the pitch

Written by Monica Simpson on . Posted in Soccer, Sports.

Three games into the regular season and Team HSH Designs looks to be the team to beat in the youth soccer league at The Center of Anna Maria Island in the 8-10-year-old league. Undefeated going into the third week of play, HSH went up against Team Ugly Grouper which was missing two critical players.

With the Zaccagnino brothers sick, the Cusack siblings Ceegan and Clancy played a tough game against the full HSH Designs squad.

Less than three minutes into the game, Bam Gartman scored the first of two goals, giving his team the early 1-0 lead. Teammate Dylan Sato hit the net. Along with Gartman’s second goal of the game, HSH had a three-goal lead.

The first half of the game had Cale Rudacille, who made four saves, in the goal for HSH Designs and Ugly Grouper worked with Clancy Cusack as the team’s keeper.

With a three-point lead and after 15 minutes of play, Sterling Holiday took advantage of Ugly Grouper’s goalkeeper out of position to score the fourth goal of the game for HSH.

To close out the first half of play, Nixon Conner showed his ball-handling skills for his Ugly Grouper team.

Clancy Cusack, credited with seven saves in the game, continued in the keeper position to start the second half of play.

Savanna Coba’s shot was stopped and was followed by a shot by Rudacille that went left of the post.

With four minutes left on the game clock, Coba scored HSH Designs’ fifth and final goal of the game.

Related coverage

Shootout at The Center: Ugly Grouper takes indoor soccer championship

Gulfview Windows and Doors wins championships

Adult sports head into the playoffs at The Center

Castles in the Sand

Is homeownership threatened?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

For most Americans, their biggest source of wealth is the equity in their homes. But what if you never own a home? What if being a renter is your fate? How does that impact your future wealth and state of mind?

Homeownership rates for younger Americans have fallen over the past 10 years and are near the lowest levels in more than three decades of recordkeeping. About 40% of young adults ages 25 to 34 were homeowners in 2018 according to federal data analyzed by Freddie Mac. That is down from about 48% in 2001.

In addition, the median age of a home buyer is 46, vastly increased from when I purchased my first home at age 27. According to the National Association of Realtors, this is the oldest median age since they began keeping records in 1981. For young people, it’s a vicious cycle of rents going up and student debt putting more financial pressure on young adults who can’t seem to get a foothold in the American dream.

Generally, lower homeownership promotes lower growth by forcing older Americans to stay in their homes because there are fewer buyers for entry-level properties. And even though the price of entry-level homes has been rising, without savings, the pool of buyers keeps shrinking.

So, is homeownership worth it? Sometimes yes and sometimes no depending on individual needs. These are some of the questions you need to think about:

What can I afford, should I keep paying rent until I find the perfect home, or should I take the plunge now with the goal of trading up down the road?

How long do you plan on staying in the home? If you know your job may relocate you within a year maybe you want to wait before spending the money required to get into a home. Or if you’re living in a “hot” market you may want to go for it with the hope of turning a nice profit in a short period of time.

Even if your job is not a factor, are you the type of person who likes stability or flexibility? Owning a home by definition is not a flexible choice considering maintenance and repairs that are required in most homes, not to mention the cost of upkeep. If you want to be footloose and fancy-free, better keep renting.

Finally, your decision may be all about the family. If you have children, the quality of the schools may be your deciding factor. Do rentals even exist in the school district of your choice or is purchasing a home the only way to provide the best education for your children? Also, having property space for kids to run around may require you to purchase a home.

The advantages of owning your home are many, with building equity and establishing good credit being the primary reasons people buy homes. Even with the new tax laws limiting some deductions, many homeowners may still see tax benefits to owning. And of course, there is the independence of Americans to own their own property and not having to answer to landlords.

The disadvantages of owning start with finances. It costs more money to own and maintain a home than renting. When you rent, someone else is responsible for the repairs and the cost of those repairs. Renting also insulates you from falling home values, which we all remember has happened.

It’s nice to have a choice in life and a choice in whether you want to own or rent. Unfortunately, it appears we are building an ever-increasing group of permanent renters who may not have another choice. Let’s hope the American dream isn’t shattered forever.

More Castles in the Sand:

Real estate market disruption

Fee-fi-fo-fum, do I smell a recovery?

Order out of chaos

Vacation rental advertising ordinance adopted

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city of Anna Maria has a new ordinance on misleading advertising as part of its ongoing enforcement of vacation rental occupancy limits.

Adopted on second and final reading on Oct. 10, Ordinance 19-855 amends the city’s original misleading advertising ordinance adopted in 2016. The fines are now established in a new and separate city resolution also adopted last week.

The amended ordinance creates a legal mechanism for the city’s special magistrate to impose fines that range from five to 30 times the rental unit’s daily rate on those who repeatedly advertise excess occupancy limits.

“Repetitive misleading advertisement activity means when a vacation rental ordinance is advertised at an occupancy level that is not permitted under the vacation rental ordinance, and when discovered and notified of the misleading advertisement by the city, the advertisement is changed to the occupancy allowed, but later is changed to an occupancy that is not permitted under the vacation rental ordinance,” according to the ordinance.

“What’s happening is after five days they comply. We close the case and then they come back again and change it. It’s the repeat offenders we’re trying to address here,” Mayor Dan Murphy told the commission during last week’s meeting.

When presenting the ordinance for first reading in September, City Attorney Becky Vose said she was aware of vacation rentals in Anna Maria advertising 30-person occupancies.

According to Vose, first-time offenders will be given a warning and a few days to cure the violation before fines and subsequent enforcement processes begin.

The ordinance states a special magistrate hearing shall be required, and the special magistrate shall determine the proper and appropriate penalty for the first offense violation, not to exceed $200 per day, for which the violation continues after email notice has been sent to the management company, the individual in charge and/or the property owner if:

  • The violation is contested, and the special magistrate finds the property to have been in violation;
  • The violation is not cured within 10 days after an email notice is sent; or
  • The fine is not paid within 20 days after such email notice is sent.

“For repetitive misleading advertising activities, a special magistrate hearing shall be required. The special magistrate shall set the appropriate fine based upon the severity of the violation,” according to the ordinance.

The ordinance notes that the severity of the violation could include the number of occupants advertised and whether the violator has published misleading advertising before.

The ordinance states that fines levied by the special magistrate for repeat violations shall be no less than five times and no more than 30 times the rental unit’s daily rental rate.

“Every day a violation continues shall constitute a separate offense which shall be separately punished,” the amended ordinance states.

In 2015, the city commission adopted a vacation rental ordinance that limits new vacation rentals to a maximum of eight occupants. More than 100 existing vacation rentals were granted additional occupancy limits in order to resolve Bert Harris claims filed by vacation rental owners who had one year to file a claim.

Each registered vacation rental’s occupancy limit is documented as part of the city’s annual vacation rental registration requirements. The city contracts a third-party screen-scraping company to continually monitor the number of occupants advertised at Airbnb, VRBO and other online vacation rental platforms, and those advertisements are compared to the allowed occupancy limit stated in the registration documents.

Related coverage

Short joins Anna Maria City Commission

New Anna Maria noise ordinance in effect

Anna Maria liquor ordinance explained

Shootout at The Center: Ugly Grouper takes the indoor soccer championship

Shootout at The Center: Ugly Grouper takes indoor soccer championship

Written by Monica Simpson on . Posted in Soccer, Sports.

ANNA MARIA – The anticipation of 50 minutes of indoor soccer action brought friends, family and league players to The Center of Anna Maria Island to watch the final game of the adult indoor soccer season. The championship game did not disappoint.

After years of no indoor action, Chris Klotz’s Ugly Grouper team came into the night as the underdog, but a contender nonetheless. Team Progressive Cabinetry, lead by captain Kevin Roman, started the game short one player but quickly dominated the game.

The first 13 minutes of play were virtually all going Progressive Cabinetry’s way with three goals scored by Roman along with a goal and assist by Palmetto Elementary School first grade teacher Jessica Williams.

Ugly Grouper’s Yuri Pereira assisted veterinarian Connor Bystrom with his first of five goals in the game, putting the score at 4-1.

At the 15th minute of play, the tides drastically turned Ugly Grouper’s way. In a matter of two minutes, Bystrom hit the net twice with assists by Pereira and Klotz. Olaf Krause found the goal after a strong attack.

The Ugly Grouper effort tied the game at 4-4 with less than eight minutes left in the first half of the final game of the season.

Bystrom made the go-ahead goal shot with Progressive Cabinetry goalkeeper Diego Felipe out of position.

Less than a minute later Klotz temporarily widened the scoring gap with another strike against Felipe who had 17 saves in the night.

With the score at 4-6, Felipe moved out of the keeper position to score his only goal in the game. Felipe attempted one last shot before the half that was stopped by Ugly Grouper goalie John Haggerty.

To start the second half of the game, Klotz made his next goal three minutes after the whistle, putting the score to 5-7.

Klotz made a follow-up run down the court only to be stopped by powerhouse Steve Oelfke for Progressive Cabinetry.

Williams and Roman tied the game back up with consecutive goals at the 30th and 37th minute of play.

Pereira made sure the tie did not last for long with his solo goal of the game.

After strong defensive play by both teams, including backfield attacks by Erin Felipe and James Roadman for Ugly Grouper, the scoring went back and forth until the end of regulation time play.

Goals by Roman and Bystrom ended the game with the score tied at 9-9.

The championship game couldn’t end in a tied score. A five-minute overtime was implemented.

After five solid minutes of defensive attacks by both sides, the 9-9 score remained on the scoreboard.

Ultimately the indoor soccer champion was named with a shootout. Each team picked their first four shooters to go against Klotz as the keeper for Ugly Grouper and Brayan Felipe for Progressive Cabinetry.

The shootout excitement filled the community center gym with players and spectators waiting with bated breath for each shot.

Williams was selected by her team to take the first shot of the event. Her successful strike against B. Felipe put the pressure on Krause, the first shooter for Ugly Grouper.

Krause’s solid shot tied up the game once more. Roman’s missed shot open the door for Ugly Grouper to once again take the lead.

Bystrom hit his shot and was followed by a goal by Progressive’s Murat Akay.

Felipe stopped the shot of Pereira, but he missed his own penalty kick against Klotz.

Going against Oelfke, Klotz missed his own shot, leading to Oelfke’s failed goal attempt.

With all the pressure on his back, Krause was the sixth shooter for Ugly Grouper looking to end the tie. Krause’s shot hit the net, making the next shot by Williams a life or death shot.

If Progressive’s Williams hit her goal shot, the game would’ve returned to a tie score, but a miss would give the win to Ugly Grouper.

Despite her best efforts, Williams’ shot was stopped by Klotz, ending the championship indoor soccer game with Ugly Grouper as the first titleholders in the sport for a number of years at The Center.

Related coverage

Gulfview Windows and Doors wins championships

Adult sports head into the playoffs at The Center

Bowlers escape the heat as they support The Center

Castles in the Sand

Real estate market disruption

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Is there an algorithm in your future? If you’re planning on buying or selling a house, get ready for the future of real estate.

In a world where technology has remade everything from your morning coffee to tracking your investments, the real estate market has remained very old school. Reams of paperwork are the norm and interaction with local real estate professionals is the custom in most markets around the country. It wasn’t that many years ago when local real estate associations opened up multiple listing access to consumers making practically everyone an informed expert. If the availability of multiple listing properties to everyone was a big step, wait until you see what’s coming down the road.

iBuyer computer platforms have been gradually immersing themselves in the real estate market, offering buyers and sellers practically on-the-spot gratification. An iBuyer is a company that uses technology to make an offer on your home instantly. iBuyers represent a dramatic shift in the way people are buying and selling homes, offering a simpler, more convenient alternative to traditional home sales. Just search iBuyers and you’ll be amazed at the hits you get.

Companies like Knock and Zillow are betting big time on the success of these platforms in a world where everyone is too busy to complete traditional real estate transactions. Knock, for example, helps customers buy a new home, usually an upgraded one, and then stages the old home and gets it on the market right away. There are, of course, fees for this service but for many professional couples, it’s worth it.

Zillow and others buy the property after an appraisal and the sellers move on without the hassle of selling. So far Zillow is moving along with its business plan, buying more than 1,500 homes in the second quarter of the year.

Then we have startups who are offering people with good income but not so good credit a way to get into a home. Divvy Homes buys homes then rents the homes to their clients so they can have a place to live, pay rent and build equity towards eventual ownership. This is an idea that has its roots in the real estate industry known as rent with an option to buy, which was a private contract between two parties. It worked for many buyers and sellers in the pre-tech world, especially for difficult-to-sell properties.

Now Divvy and others like Flyhomes are offering high tech plans to fill a need aimed at first-time buyers who are probably already renters. It’s not uncommon for first-time buyers to be faced with student loan debt and little or no savings while they’re getting their careers up and running.

Divvy’s plan is to charge monthly rent with about 20% of the monthly payment going toward equity to buy the property. The monthly rent is higher than what the going rate for a similar rental would be, but equity is being built. Naturally, Divvy makes most of their money from the rent paid.

Flyhomes offers a full-service brokerage, buys the homes for cash giving their clients an edge and then underwrites the potential mortgage. Naturally, there are fees attached to this as well as traditional real estate brokerage commissions.

Ask five different real estate agents what your home is worth and you’ll get five completely different answers. Ask an algorithm what your home is worth and you’ll at least get one answer which may or may not be correct. No matter how you feel about technology getting involved in real estate, we can all agree that it’s definitely a disruption.

More Castles in the Sand:

Fee-fi-fo-fum, do I smell a recovery?

Order out of chaos

Luxury ain’t what it used to be

Castles in the Sand

Fee-fi-fo-fum, do I smell a recovery?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Recovery, what recovery? That’s a word we left in our rearview mirror a long time ago. It’s true in Florida generally, and Anna Maria Island specifically has recovered nicely since the financial downturn. There are areas of the country that are still struggling, but August may have been the turn-around month.

According to the National Association of Realtors, August was the strongest month for sales of United States homes in nearly a year and a half. Sales of previously owned homes rose 1.3% in August with a median sale price of $278,200, up 4.7% from the previous August. Conversely, the availability of homes for sale fell in August further increasing prices. Add to this the average fixed-rate mortgage for a 30-year loan was 3.73% at the end of September.

Is this the beginning of the national real estate market starting to turn the corner? Real estate sales have been underperforming relative to jobs and the economy as a whole and economists are viewing the statistics for the past two months as a very good sign.

If you’re interested in how the national market compares to our local Manatee County market, keep reading.

Closed single-family homes were up 10.3% from last August and the median sale price continues to be strong at $317,000, 7.1% higher than last year. The average sale price for single-family homes was $408,738, up 4% from last year. The median time to contract is down by 4.5% to only 42 days and the month’s supply of available properties is 3.3 months.

Condos closed fewer properties down at 25.9%, however, the median sale price was higher at $205,000, up 7.9%. The average sale price was also up 13.1% to $251,339. The median time to contract was up 6.4% to 50 days and the month’s supply of condos is at 3.6 months.

Sales statistics are from the Realtor Association of Sarasota Manatee.

Our sales in both the numbers of properties sold and sale prices continue to perform well compared to the national statistics. Nationally, the median single-family sale price for August was $278,200 up 4.7% from last August, compared to Manatee County’s median of $317,000 up 7.1%.

Based on the above, it’s not a surprise that the southern region of the country ended August with an increase of 3.6% in sales, making it the largest annual growth in sales volume in the country. And this may be just the beginning, as more and more high-income residents of high taxed states are just beginning to feel the effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and are taking refuge in the South.

There are 41 states that collect taxes on wages and salary, with California taking the highest percentage at 13.3%. The remaining nine states that are income tax-free are Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming. If you’re a part-time resident of one of these states and are considering full-time residency, check out the individual state’s qualifications to establish permanent residency. Both the state you’re leaving and the one you’re coming to have strict and varied residency rules.

It looks like there will be big changes for Florida and other low tax states right around the corner. Nevertheless, don’t get too comfortable with what you see in the rearview mirror when it comes to real estate markets. You never know when that truck will start gaining on you.

More Castles in the Sand:

Luxury ain’t what it used to be

The fun and not-so-fun of selling a home

The fun and not-so-fun of buying a home

Pier repairs resume

Pier repairs resume

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The i+iconSoutheast construction crane has returned to the Anna Maria City Pier construction site and repairs to the accident-damaged pier resumed late last week.

The barge upon which the crane sits crashed into the pier walkway on Tuesday, Sept. 10. The accident damaged the pier walkway about two-thirds of the way out.

Two concrete pilings damaged in the accident were removed on Sept. 19 so new pilings could be driven in their place.

On Sept 20, i+iconSoutheast Project Director Paul Johnson told Mayor Dan Murphy a damaged boom line was discovered on the crane. The crane was then demobilized and repaired. It returned to the pier construction site on Thursday, Sept. 26.

During the Sept. 26 city commission meeting, Murphy said he expected the new pilings to be driven the following day. He also said he was told the construction crew would be working on Saturday as well.

“Once the piles are driven, the beam has to be put on top and then they have to do the stringer work and then the conduits,” Murphy said of the repairs to be made. “The downside of this accident is we’re unable to start the construction on the restaurant and the bait shop.”

Murphy said those construction materials have been delivered to the pier’s T-end, but the construction of the new restaurant and bait shop cannot begin until the breach in the damaged pier walkway is repaired.

Murphy said the barge accident and subsequent repairs will push back the originally anticipated late December-early January pier opening.

“I would estimate late January, early February for an opening date of the shell of the pier, where people can return to the pier, fish and things of that nature. That would be the earliest date,” Murphy said.

It was stated at a previous meeting that the interior buildout of the restaurant and bait shop can take place while the completed pier walkway and T-end decking are open to the public.

Pier lease update

During last week’s meeting, Murphy told the commission that he and commission candidate Mark Short – a retired certified public accountant – recently spent time together exploring options on the amount of rent to be charged for the lease of the new city pier.

“The numbers have to be fine-tuned. We’re close,” Murphy said.

Murphy said he planned to communicate that information to current pier tenant Mario Schoenfelder within five days. Murphy said it would be premature to disclose the proposed rent figures discussed, but he expects to provide the commission with that information soon.

Schoenfelder hopes to enter into a new long-term lease with the city and maintain his presence on the city pier that began in 2000. Murphy and Schoenfelder recently exchanged emails in which they discussed parking considerations and insurance responsibilities for the city’s pier tenant.

Schoenfelder estimated he will have 100 to 115 seats inside and outside of the new restaurant and bait shop and he needs to know how many pier parking spaces the city will lease to its pier tenant. He also asked whether the city would consider installing some form of gated parking to restrict the use of those designated parking spaces.

Related coverage

Barge strikes new Anna Maria City Pier

Commission clarifies pier lease parameters

Pier opening discussed

New Anna Maria noise ordinance in effect

New Anna Maria noise ordinance in effect

Written by Joe Hendricks on . Posted in Anna Maria, Community News.

ANNA MARIA – The city has a newly-amended noise ordinance that now subjects violators to a $35 fine instead of a verbal warning for a first offense.

Increased fines are also now in place for repeat offenses that could also subject vacation rental owners and rental managers to similar citations and fines.

Adopted on final reading on Thursday, Sept. 12, Ordinance 19-851 is accompanied by a city resolution that establishes the fines levied on those who receive noise ordinance violation citations.

The fine for a second noise ordinance violation is now $200, and the fine for a third violation is $500.

Before being amended, Anna Maria’s noise ordinance included a $500 fine for a first offense.

During recent commission discussions, it was noted deputies were hesitant to issue citations that carried such a heavy fine for a first offense.

The $35 first-offense citations will replace the verbal warnings previously issued by deputies. If the responding deputy determines a noise violation has occurred, the violator will be issued a ticket instead of a warning.

If the noise violation occurs at a vacation rental property, the property owner and rental manager will be notified. If a second or third violation occurs with the same guests, the property owner and rental manager could be issued similar citations.

City Attorney Becky Vose said notifying property owners and rental managers of the first noise violation puts them on notice.

“This creates the liability on all these people, but the sheriff’s office, working with the city, will have discretion as to who they will be citing,” Vose told the commission.

These new policies were enacted to better address the small number of vacation rentals in Anna Maria that generate repeat noise complaints.

The fine amounts reset for each new set of vacation rental guests, but issuing citations instead of warnings provides the city with written documentation of the repeat noise violations that occur at a specific property.

A property that receives three noise ordinance citations during a rolling 12-month period could be declared a public nuisance. A vacation rental property that is declared a public nuisance could temporarily or permanently lose its ability to be used in that capacity.

Mayor Dan Murphy said the city has long the ability to declare a property a public nuisance but very few $500 noise ordinance citations have been issued to document that process.

“There’s some places – not many, but a couple that are in fact nuisances. I think the message will be loud and clear with this structure,” Murphy said of the amended noise ordinance.

The escalating fines would also apply to the owner of a permanent residence or a vacation home at which repeat noise violations occur.

Vose said the amended ordinance could also result in fines for those who own vacation homes and allow friends or family members to use their home in a manner that generates repeat noise complaints.

Related coverage

Anna Maria taking new approach to noise violations

Repeat noise violations a lingering concern

Magistrate rules in city’s favor on noise citation

Gulfview Windows and Doors wins championships

Gulfview Windows and Doors wins championships

Written by Monica Simpson on . Posted in Football, Sports.

After a dry spell, one of the Island’s organized sports’ best all-around athletes, Ryan Moss, earned a second championship wearing the Gulfview Windows and Doors logo in the adult co-ed flag football league.

Just a few months ago, Moss, with friend and owner of Gulfview, Jordan DeMers, took home the Paul “Ace” Hayward Cup in adult soccer. The dynamic duo, along with teammates Tyler Lancaster, Brandin Holcomb, Dina Calvary, Jake Parsons, Jason Sato and Justin Greer, finished the regular season at The Center in second place behind Progressive Cabinetry, which lost in the semi-final game against Lancaster Designs.

Just minutes into the game, with the football in hand behind the line of scrimmage, Sato found Moss open for the first touchdown of the game and an extra point catch in the end zone by Calvary.

Playing against the team with his business sponsorship, Lancaster’s speed and agility helped stop Lancaster Designs’ team captain and quarterback Tim Shaughnessy. The hot hands of Holcomb and Jordan gave both Moss and Sato excellent targets with a combined 11 receptions, two for extra points and two touchdown catches for DeMers. Coming off having just played an indoor soccer game and a semi-final flag football game, both Sato and Moss dug deep and found the energy to dominate the throwing game, with Moss’ three touchdown passes and Sato having two of his own.

On the other side of the field, Lancaster Design’s father-son combination of Mike and Tim Shaughnessy hit their intended receiver, Anthony Mannino, for a touchdown pass each. Mannino’s touchdown was the only scoring for regular season fourth-place finishers. The team’s loss was not for the lack of heart or desire to win the matchup.

Lancaster Design’s offense has catching ability, as shown in the game statistics. T. Shaughnessy had six catches of his own, with a close second by Mannino’s five nabs. Karri Stephens was the top receiver of the game, but his efforts were not enough to take his team to the top. Louis Pellegrino and Brianna Roberts each had a single reception, paired with three nice catches for Jay Hoffmeister.

Gulfview’s game on both sides of the football was on point and could not be stopped. The team’s defense rattled the offense of Lancaster Design, including an interception by Holcomb. With momentum, Sato hit Moss a couple of more times with a deep route along the sideline for big yardage gains. Gulfview flipped the action with Moss finding Sato running a wheel route.

Missed flag pulls by Lancaster Design let Sato cross the goal line in the first half of the game.

The ladies of the gridiron, Calvary and Roberts are fierce competitors and stellar players. Both with strong all-around games, the one-on-one coverage and battle between the two veteran players endured the entire game. Knowing the taste of victory, each player having bragging rights to multiple championships, Roberts did not give up points to Calvary at the end of the game despite the point spread. Roberts’ tight coverage of Calvary and ultimate flag pull prevented the point after on the final touchdown of the game, leaving the score 34-12 with just seconds left on the game clock and no chance for Lancaster Designs to come back to take the win.

After Lancaster inadvertently ran over his teammate Calvary, the official called the game granting Gulfview Windows and Doors the championship.

In final adult indoor soccer action, the semifinal games will be played Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The first game puts number one seed Progressive Cabinetry against number five seed Sato Real Estate. Moss Builders, finishing second in the season, plays third-place finishers Ugly Grouper in the second game of the night. The winners face off at a date and time to be determined at The Center.

Related coverage

Adult sports head into the playoffs at The Center

Family and friends on the gridiron: Gulfview bests Moss Builders

Progressive Cabinetry shatters Gulfview Windows and Doors

‘Steel Magnolias’ bleeds Southern charm

‘Steel Magnolias’ bleeds Southern charm

Written by Tom Vaught on . Posted in Entertainment, Theater.

ANNA MARIA – After a champagne party to celebrate the start of the Island Players’ 71st season, the show began for “Steel Magnolias,” a play written by Robert Harling in memory of his sister, who died at an early age.

Anybody who has seen the star-studded 1986 movie might get confused because the opening of the movie had Tom Skerritt using a shotgun to scare away birds in a huge magnolia tree.

That scene was not in the play, but it wasn’t missed. In fact, there were no male roles in the play, but they were not missed either.

The cast was up to the opening performance with great timing on the line delivery, especially the jokes. The Southern accents were believable and Director Mike Lusk did a great job.

The setting is a beauty salon in Chinquapin, Lousiana. Jennifer Kwiatkowski was brilliant as Truvy, the salon’s owner. She “chewed the scenery” when it came to dialogue with punch lines.

Tahlia Chinault, a newcomer to the Island Players, has performed on stages along the Sun Coast. She played the new girl in town, Annell, quite well and was spot-on in playing off the other actors’ lines. She will be replaced by Caitlin Ellis for the second week, but we would love to see her in future plays.

Cathy Hansel-Edgerton played Clairee, a regular customer at the beauty salon, who, as she says in the play is “richer than God,” and she buys the local radio station to give her something to do.

Sometimes actors get roles they can have fun with. That was the case with Sue Belvo, who played Ouiser (pronounced “Wheezer”). She’s mean and offends many of the townsfolk. Belvo got laughs as she delivered her lines.

Then we have a mother-daughter team played by mother Kelly Wynn Woodland and her daughter, Corinne Woodland. Kelly Wynn Woodland is known for her directing, but she occasionally takes to the stage, while Corinne has performed with her mother in other productions. It is remarkable how much they resemble each other and hard to tell the mother from the daughter when they’re on stage.

As Shelby, Corinne is determined to have a baby, even though she is diabetic and her doctor recommends against it. As M’Lynn, Kelly Wynn Woodland has to deal with the loss of her daughter when the inevitable occurs.

“Steel Magnolias” is a great play if you like to laugh and then wipe back a few tears at the end.

Acqua Aveda Salon and Spa is the play’s co-producer.

For ticket information, call the box office at 941-778-5755.

Related coverage:

All-female cast performs ‘Steel Magnolias’

Honors presented at Island Players banquet

Expect comic mayhem at next Island Players show

Castles in the Sand

Order out of chaos

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Writing has been compared to bringing order out of chaos, something I try to do weekly on this page, and one of the most chaotic aspects of real estate is the mortgage process, which may be getting even more confusing to the average home buyer.

As confusing as the typical mortgage process is, the relationship of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and Ginnie Mae – entities that are also known as government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) – to the mortgage market continually contribute to the chaos.

Before we go on, a quick review: Over 50 years ago Congress chartered the government-sponsored enterprises to provide liquidity to housing finance. The GSEs securitized and guaranteed mortgages, freeing up private lenders to provide more loans, making mortgages more readily available to the average home buyer. This created the 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage, which has been the gold standard of housing finance for all these years.

It was a great system until it went off the rails with sub-prime mortgage products partly encouraged by Congress leading to the bursting of the housing bubble and financial collapse in 2008. The American taxpayer was on the hook for $190 billion dollars to keep Fannie and Freddie floating and they have been in government conservatorship since then.

Now the federal government wants to gradually shrink the GSEs and start returning them to private hands. One of the suggested ways is to require them to have additional capital and underwriting standards comparable to private lenders. Will this happen? Maybe, but even if the wheels start to spin in that direction, it will be a long painful process which could turn on a dime subject to the outcome of a national election.

In the meantime, there is a new type of unconventional mortgage that has turned up. It’s called asset-depletion loans or asset-dissipation loans. Basically, they are designed for people who don’t have conventional paychecks, particularly retirees. As long as the borrower’s ability to draw on their assets is not overestimated, the loans can be fine.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do make these loans but only based on a borrower’s 401k assets. However, Fannie and Freddie have eased up on standards for this type of loan, asking for smaller down payments and allowing more debt for borrowers. Again, this creates more risk for the American taxpayers.

So, what else do the gatekeepers of the American housing market have up their sleeve? Well, there is something that many Florida residents will be very interested in. Within the past year, they rolled out a program that would treat manufactured homes the same as it does site-built properties.

This means that a previous market that was difficult to obtain mortgaging for will now operate as a conventional mortgage market. They have also designed mortgages for manufactured homes at lower interest rates than buyers of these properties were previously able to obtain, as well as allowing appraisers to compare manufactured homes to those built on-site when determining value.

This may be a great program for many buyers of manufacturers homes, but in Florida, as we all know, manufactured homes are the most vulnerable in storms. Again, call me crazy, but do we as taxpayers need to assume more mortgage risk?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as all other GSE programs, will go on for a long time before any real change is made. It’s almost impossible to take away something that’s been in effect for so long. All I can do is try to bring order out of the mortgage processing chaos.

More Castles in the Sand:

Luxury ain’t what it used to be

The fun and not-so-fun of selling a home

The fun and not-so-fun of buying a home