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Monday, December 31, 2012

Just 3 years ago -

 
Developer prices for a 2/2 are now $65,900. 
 
See prices at:  http://tinyurl.com/cyxdeqy

Friday, December 28, 2012

A new Owners List is available, use this link for direct access to the new one and others going back several years: http://nccownerslist.blogspot.com.  Only the first page of 4 is shown on the blog due to space limitations, the full list is found at the above link.

Where are NCC Owners from:
FL 71, GA 11, TN 7, AL 5, OH 3, NV 2, LA 2 and 1 each from: MN, NE, NJ, MO, MI, CO, VA, CA, MS, KY, Unk


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Thursday, December 27, 2012

UPDATE: 23rd Street Wal Mart opens Wed. Jan. 23rd

"The doors open at 8 a.m. Jan. 23," said Wal Mart Manager Cobb said. "We are expecting huge crowds. The community response has been awesome."

"We actually took possession of the contractor on Dec. 10," he said. "We just finished putting in the fixtures and we are getting in the nonperishable items. It takes about a month to stock" a supercenter Cobb said the former store on 23rd was a "division one store," which was a "general merchandise" store but "This is a Supercenter and this has a bakery, a deli and an area for frozen foods and dairy," he said.   Package liquor also will be available. "This is a 99 percent new building,"

About 250 associates already have been hired to work at the Panama City store, but the company would look to hire about 25 more people, Cobb said.

Cobb said the Workforce Center at 625 U.S. 231 is now looking for applicants for the upcoming Wal-Mart at Pier Park, which is under construction across from Target. Applicants for either Wal-Mart also can apply online at careers.walmart.com.



The old Wal-Mart on 23rd Street is being reopened on 1/23/12 as a Super Center with 265 associates for the expanded store, which will have household, clothing items and groceries, including fresh produce, meat and deli items. There will also be a garden center.  

The reopened store has expanded to include the next door Fashion Bug store.

The Wal-Mart store has opened a temporary hiring center at the Workforce Center, 625 Hwy 231, open 8-5 Mon-Fri. Applications can also be submitted online at: www.careers.walmart.com

Most of the new associates will start work in December to prep the store for its 2013 grand opening.   The store manager is Tim Cobb.

The old Wal-Mart, which opened in 1987, was replaced by the large Lynn Haven store which was at the time the 4th largest Wal-Mart in the country.

The Panama City Wal-Mart opened at 513 W. 23rd St. and it was closed in October 2009. The city lost out on about $500,000 annually in revenue from sales taxes.There are also locations in Callaway and Panama City Beach, and another Panama City Beach location is under construction near Pier Park just 3/4 of a mile from Nautilus Cove. 

Addl. details at:  http://www.newsherald.com/news/business/wal-mart-on-23rd-prepares-to-open-1.70091?tc=cr and also
http://www.newsherald.com/news/business/panama-city-wal-mart-opening-in-january-1.67011?tc=cr

Friday, December 21, 2012

Just FYI if you are planning way way ahead-

The next AGM is set for Jan 19th, but if you are interested, the date for the 'following' AGM, is now set as Sat. Dec. 13, 2013.

This goes back to how we originally set Annual General Meetings, they were held in the first or middle of December. It only changed because the then Board of Directors got very sloppy when planning for our 'Turnover' election and missed the time frame for announcing the AGM for that year, by the time they noticed they were past the notification date for an early/mid December meeting and the meeting had to go into January, then the next one (the coming meeting) was also set for January.

Now we are going back to how it was done previously and probably all our coming AGM's will be in early or mid December with a BOD meeting following it.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

#102 has new Owner

A month ago the Troncale unit #102 was sold for $99,000 to Olin H. Skinner of Gainsville, Ga. 

The 4/3 was originally bought 12/18/06 by Kyle McKendree for $184,900, it was forclosed and then purchased by Ms Troncale for $90,000 on 3/28/11. 

Even considering realtor charges, Ms. Troncale may be the only Owner here to make a few bucks on a condo sale at NCC in the last few years.  Ms. Troncale served on the Board for 9 months before the sale.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Info from the Office:

Dear Owners and Residents:

In an effort to provide a more secure complex, the Board of Directors has instructed that there be one gate code assigned to the entrance gate, and that it be changed on the first day of each month.

During the next two weeks, the individual codes that owners and residents have been assigned will be phased out of the system. If your code is no longer working, please use #1776 as the interim code.

We will be issuing the codes each month through email, but it is the owners' and residents' responsibility to insure that they have the updated code for themselves, their families and roommates.

Gate cards and gate remotes may continue to be used as normal.

We appreciate your cooperation during this transition period!

Bus Area Issue

Our resident children have been doing a great job using the front pedestrian gate when they are going to and from the bus. Please let them know we appreciate them doing their part in helping to keep them safe from the traffic areas!

Pedestrian Gate

The process to install a new pedestrian gate at the back of the property is in full swing! The gate will replace the current gate that is no longer in use. It will have a keypad on each side, and the code will be changed monthly, as at the entrance gate. The two gates will use the same code each month.

In the meantime, please advise your children (those who have school-age children) to refrain from climbing over the fence at the back of the property. This is damaging the fence structure and a child could get injured.

FLORIDA CONDO LAW QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

40 of the Most Common Florida Condo Laws Used By Board Members are found at: http://www.condolaw.com/most-common-florida-condo-laws-used-by-board-members/

If you would like to review dozens of interesting Q and A's about Condo issues that have appeared in a South Florida paper go to:  http://www.condolaw.com/sun-sentinal-columns/

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Only 1 in 6 condos are Owner occupied at Nautilus Cove

Out of 168 condos only 27 have a 'homeowners exemption', that is 16% of the units and it has held at this level for the last year.  Some new registrations come on and others, through foreclosures or move aways are subtracted.  It is difficult to get a firm fix on this as the wildcard in the deck is the surge in 'lis pendens' (in foreclosures) which leaves some units empty for long periods.

There is a growing trend for buyers to pick up bank foreclosures/short sales at rock bottom prices and then rent them out as income producing properties.  This works out fine if you purchase at 45-50% of the original sale price and you can make some money renting out such units.  It dosen't work out nearly as well for those owners who paid full price before the housing bubble burst.  The $800-1,000 they bring in monthly might not even be enough to pay the mortgage each month, let alone the condo fees, taxes and insurance.

So those who purchased here thinking they would be living in a community of other owners and enjoying retirement have found that they are owners in an apartment complex.  Not really what they had in mind in 2005-08 when they decided to buy here.  New owners will continue to replace old owners and the complex will probably continue to be about 80% rentals.  The 'good news' is:  we won't have to rent a hall for the Annual General Meetings, we can just have them in the clubhouse.

Monday, December 10, 2012

The Snowbirds are coming - but not many to PCB.

Those use to spending a winter in Florida probably think that the seasons are reversed in the Florida panhandle, aka:  the Redneck Riviera.

Instead of businesses opening now for the tourist season, here in North Florida many are closing for the winter months.

In South Florida, their tourist season started last month and runs until about March when most of the snowbirds have flown back to their northern or Canadian homes.  If you drive through Hollywood (S. Broward County) during the winter you may see more Canadian Flags than US Flags.   But here in Panama City Beach, in March we are just opening up for the start of our tourist season.

While we have better weather during the winter than the North and Midwest, we can't match the 70's and 80's of South Florida so we miss the influx of the rich Yankee tourists who go to Ft Lauderdale, West Palm and Miami Beach.

Our season starts about March and goes to around November and we draw from neighboring states whose residents want to come down and go 'to the beach' either renting a home or condo or using their already owned second home.  Our area tourists are drawn from more working class folks thus the term 'Redneck Riviera'.

Friday, December 7, 2012

Who or What is Concord Management Ltd?

Here it is in their own words taken from:
http://www.atlantichousing.com/ourteam.html

This is what Atlantic Housing says about Concord: "Atlantic Housing is the commonly used brand name for our family of companies . . . The members of our team include Atlantic Housing Partners, Global Realty, CPG Construction and Concord Management . . . Concord Management Limited is a leader in high quality, customer focused property management of multi family and single family affordable rental housing communities."

Translation:
This 'Team' of 4 companies build, sell and manage 'affordable' (ie: Low Income) apartment complexes (140 of them). Concord works for Atlantic Housing and NOT for the Owners at NCC.

Concord has to be removed as our management company, they do NOT have our best interests in mind.



======================================
For Concord consumer comments you can see Yohoo.com at:  http://local.yahoo.com/info-14077563-concord-management-limited-maitland or look at their 'Flagship' property and corporate HQ at:  http://concordsucks.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Coming Spring of 2014, 1 Mile West of NCC

Update:   If you are heading west from NCC towards Target/Pier Park you will notice that the consturction has started for Pier Park North with the initial clearing of the property. 




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Casto Development will soon add another shopping center to their over 100 centers in 10 states. This center will be approx 380,000 sq ft with 1,800 parking places.   If the permitting with the City is finished in January next year then the site clearing and construction should take approx. a year to the first stores opening.

Pier Park North will be located just across PCB Parkway (Back Beach Rd) from the current Pier Park/Target/Wal-Mart complex. This is US-98 near the intersection of Route 79.
The average daily traffic count on PCB Pky is 47,000 daily and growing. Pier Park North is located one mile west of Nautilus Cove.  Prospective tenants include:
 

Working on Letter of Intent:
 ■America’S Best
 ■Aspen Dental
 ■Best Buy
 ■Cato
 ■Family Christian
 ■Hibachi Cafe
 ■Logan’S Roadhouse
 ■Mattress Firm
 ■Newt’S Cafe
 ■Orange Leaf
 ■Sally Beauty
 ■Wine World

Working On Lease:
 ■Bed Bath & Beyond
 ■Great Clips
 ■Kirkland’S
 ■Maharaja’S Jewelers
 ■Men’S Warehouse
 ■Petco
 ■Pier 1
 ■Ross
 ■Shoe Carnival

Leases Signed:
 ■Dicks
 ■Lee Nails & Spa
 ■Michaels
 ■Rooms To Go

Proposed:

 ■Chili’s
 ■Leslie’s Pool

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Duties of directors vs. officers in condo associations

There is some confusion about what a Director does vs what an Officer of the condo association does.

Probably this arises because the BOD here has 'elected' themselves to the 4 officer positions, so we have 3 people holding 7 positions. Not illegal, just unfortunate. Hopefully when we have the next election the new BOD will not continue this foolishness.  It started with the inception of the condo when the Developer wanted to keep Owner participation to zero so they refused to 'elect' any Owners to the Officer positions. 

This should have changed when the Owners took the Board majority but for unknown reasons the Owner boards refuse to share the positions and kept them all for themselves.

What do the directors and officers do?
Simply stated, the condo association directors make the major decisions about the property, prepare the budget, choose the management company, authorize larger expendetures and 'elect' the 4 officers of the association, etc. and the condo association officers implement those decisions and take care of the day to day operation of the condo.

Take a look at this article which will give you some perspective on the matter.
http://tinyurl.com/8heqpvg  Also see: http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/2007/12/the-role-of-directors-and-officers-in.html

Friday, November 30, 2012

Voting Suspension

In the near future there will be a Board of Directors meeting regarding the suspension of voting rights for unit Owners who are in arrears in dues. 

In order to vote in condo elections a Owner must not be delinquent in their dues. Voting rights depend on being current on all condo obligations.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

#705 goes back to Deutsche Bank

The auction of the Juan Reyes unit #705 is over and the mortgage holder Deutsche Bank simply purchased it for $20,100.  There was only one other bidder. 

Typically the Bank will purchase these foreclosures and will bid up to the amount due on the mortgage no matter what others might bid.

Expect the unit to now be turned over to a realtor and eventually sold for between 40-50% of the original 12/11/06 sale price of $168,200.



Also Bank of America is just about to take back #701 from us (originally the Jarrett condo).  BofA Filed Lis Pendens 6/12/12 and entered a 'Motion for Final Judgment' on 10/30/12.  Shortly the Court will grant them title and it also will be auctioned off 30 days after that. 

If you want to keep up with the various auctions for foreclosure see:   https://www.bay.realforeclose.com/index.cfm

To see 'Final Judgement of Foreclosure go to: http://tinyurl.com/9xsrljd

Misc:  The units we now own and their original owners are-
506 - Grass
701 - Jarrett (going to auction shortly)
401 - Thomas
702 - Ussery
705 - Reyes (no longer our unit)

Monday, November 26, 2012

Entry Gate Options -

NCC has a functioning call box at the entry gate that will be put back in use. It allows a visitor to look up a resident by name. The visitor selects that name which calls the resident's phone (cell or land line). The resident then selects "9" on their phone key pad. This opens the gate.

This can be done from anywhere, even if you are not at home. So, if you have a delivery and are at work or vacation, the gate can still be opened.The condo is looking for input on these 2 below options for access via the front gate.

Currently, access to the property can be obtained with a pass code, swipe card, or beeper.

1. Gate Entry Option 1:
Entry to the property would be gained through the use of swipe cards, beepers, and the call box. No entry codes would be provided. Anyone visiting without a swipe card would simply call the owner through the call box and be beeped in. Remember this can be done from anywhere.


2. Gate Entry Option 2:
Entry to the property would be gained using an access code. This access code would be changed each month and provided to all current owners and residents. Swipe cards and beepers (for owners only), and the call box would also access the property.


Misc Note:  Neither of the plans will stop vehicles without any beeper, card or code from simply waiting until another vehicle opens the gate and the second vehicle also drives onto the property.  A quicker closing time might be an option but a closing gate damaging any vehicle will probably result in a claim for damage done.

Sunday, November 25, 2012



Information is provided on this blog site for owners or renters at Nautilus Cove Condos. The information comes from public records or condo documents and is published here to assist your efforts in finding them. Opinions expressed are those of the blog owner. This site was set up in Dec 2007 and has 300 posts.

 Direct inquiries to: consumeractivist@hotmail.com
 This is a private site and is not associated with the developer or the association.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Even the ACLU has no use for Concord Management

 

Just How Bad Is Concord Management?

It is bad enough that we have them managing our condos at Nautilus Cove in Panama City Beach, but it could be worse for us if we were renting one of the 56 unsold developer units from them.

Take a look at just how they treated one woman at Valencia Village in Orlando. This is the same 3rd rate company we have in our condo office.

It was so bad that the ACLU took up her case. See details at: http://www.aclu.org/womens-rights/hope-v-valencia-village-et-al
and also http://www.aclu.org/files/assets/hud_complaint_redacted.pdf

See these cases and others at:  http://concordmanagementltd.blogspot.com/

Fair Housing Continuum, Inc v. Concord Management, Ltd

Also FYI:  Fair Housing sued and alleged that Concord Management, Ltd. purposely misrepresented that the apartments were a '55 and over' community when they knew that it did not comply with the Housing For Older Persons Act of 1995 and as a result Concord discriminated against families with children who wanted to live at Spring Lake Cove.

Testers found that those who stated they had children were quoted higher rents and deposits than those testers who said they were 55+ and did not have children.

See also the summary of:   Raymona J. Tumer vs. Concord Management, Ltd, which was filed Sept 3, 2011 in the U.S. District Court in Orlando and in part alleges discrimination against a minority woman. This is a 2 Count complaint: 1) Discrimination Based on Race, and, 2) Violation of State Statute 414.511

(get a subscription to PACER  and you can http://www.pacer.gov access all such cases in Federal Court for only 10 cents a page)

Drop by these blog sites for more information on Concord Mis-Management:
http://concordsucks.blogspot.com/
http://northbridgesucks.blogspot.com/
http://concordmanagementltd.blogspot.com/
http://stoneharborsucks.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Parking Permits are available from the office

You can obtain 2 parking permits from the office for no charge.  Complete the information below to register your vehicle(s) and you can obtain either the round decal for Owners or the square one for Tenants.
 


Round decal is for Owners


Nautilus Cove Vehicle Registration Form
 
Name(s): _____________________________________________________

 Condo Number: _______________________________________________

Vehicle Make/Model/Color: ______________________________________

Tag Number: __________________________________________________

Monday, November 19, 2012

A Reminder from the Office:

PETS FOR RENTERS:
























Misc FYI:  
9 NCC Newsletters are available at:   http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/2011/09/blog-post.html

Concord Renters newsletter at: 
  http://www.ced-concord.com/images/newsletter.pdf

or the 17 page Concord Residents Handbook at:
  http://www.ced-concord.com/images/propimages/reshandbook_AHP_English.doc

Sunday, November 18, 2012

An 'in house' CAM or another Management Firm?

There has been some minor interest in using an 'in house' CAM and Maintenance people rather than getting a replacement management firm to step in for Concord.  I inquired of Continental on this issue and here is the reply I got from them:

"There are several reasons why a community should choose a management company like The Continental Group.

First off, I will argue the savings and here’s why: there is no way that a single community, regardless of its size, can bring the resources, buying power and “clout” to the table as Continental can.

We have the resources of 700+ CAM’s statewide and 31 CAM’s that work out of our Miramar Beach Regional Office. The Certified Vendor Program that we have incorporated assures communities that ALL vendors are licensed, insured and provide the BEST customer service or they are off the program. Our CAM’s are the highest trained and experienced in the industry and we hire only the best of the best.

Our ValueEngineering program will give Nautilus Cove National Account buying privileges with companies such as Waste Management, Otis, AmSan to bring BETTER PRICING to your association. Just last year, we were able to save our associations millions of dollars using these vendors.

If NCC were to hire a CAM at $50,000 per year, you would have to still pay the payroll taxes and any expenses related to that position. These expenses may include major medical insurance, additional liability insurance, uniforms, cell phones, radios, drug testing, criminal background checking, etc. All of these costs are borne by Continental PLUS reducing your expenses with the National Account program.

One of the first things we would do for NCC is to bring in our team of insurance professionals to review and analyze your insurance program. If we cannot reduce your premium by as much as 15%, reduce your deductable while increasing your coverage, I would be very surprised. We just saved Destin Yacht Club $22,000 in insurance premiums and they only have 48 units. Imagine how much in savings there may be at NCC. The Board at The Breakers of Fort Walton Beach was self managed for 25 years. They hired us beginning October 1, 2011 and will tell you that we have saved them in excess of $100,000.00 per year.

Now, if you/they still believe that you can save money by being self managed, then there is no convincing you. We have the best program and our growth will verify that fact.

We would love to spend some time with your Board. If they will take the time, I will show them our program and complete a Cost Savings Analysis and show them here we can save them money."
Nearly two years ago this firm provided a 24 page proposal for representing our condo, it is available at:  http://nccmanagementcompany.blogspot.com/

I do not believe we would save any money going 'in house' as any savings there would be eaten up with higher costs for our condo insurance and contracts with suppliers.  We would not be spending more money with another firm than we spent with Concord, we would just be getting a lot better service.  I did some additional research and found other info:

Hiring (and Firing) A Property Management Company, at this link:
http://www.condo-owner.com/article/hiring-and-firing-a-property-management-company/  

also these 2 sites:  http://www.hoa-condoblog.com/JBBlog42712.html

http://www.allpropertymanagement.com/faq/hiring-a-property-manager_c7.html


==================================================
What should the 2013 BOD Do?

1)  Keep separate the duties of the Board from those of the Condo 'Officers'. The 3 member BOD should not hold all 7 offices. The Board has the overall responsibility for the Condo (hiring Mgmt firm and lawyer, approving expenditures, electing the Officers, budget etc) but the 'Officers' see to the day to day running of the condo. More Owner participation is necessary and this should not be limited to just 3 people (1 of which represents the Developer).
 
2) Get rid of Concord Management, replace with a professional management firm.

3) Change the Association attorney, the one we have now really works for the Developer.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Memo from the Office

The Association will soon begin removing Direct TV/Dish satellite dishes that are no longer in use. The providers have failed to remove the dishes, as previously requested, and the Board wishes to have them removed from the property.

Owners and residents who are using satellite dishes will need to mark their dish with a sticker or some clearly visible notice so that it will not be removed during this process.

The Board has stated it is the responsiblity of the owner or resident to locate, or have their provider locate, the satellite dish they are using and have it marked to avoid it being removed.

The Association will not be responsible for removing active dishes that are unmarked, so if you are still using a satellite TV provider, please have your dish located and marked as soon as possible.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

What is coming in 2013?

This week you should be receiving information about the 2013 condo budget and a form to complete if you are interested in running for the next Board.

There seems to be a shifting of dynamics in the condo outlook as to continuing under the mis-management of Concord next year.  It now seems reasonable to assume that the incoming BOD will not retain Concord but will shift either to another management firm or go 'in house' by hiring the CAM and maintanence people/person directly. 

Information on both options are set out clearly in the 1,200 word article "Hiring (and Firing) A Property Management Firm" at:  http://www.condo-owner.com/article/hiring-and-firing-a-property-management-company/

It is very important that our Condo elect two like minded Board members for 2013 who will see to it that Concord Mis-Management is fired as our management firm when their current 3 year contract expires.

Owners should support only those who will tell us in advance that if they are elected that Concord is OUT as our management firm.

Current Nautilus Cove CondoDirectors/Board
barbi@knology.net Mrs Simmons, #802, President
ljdpcb@gmail.com Mr DiGiacomo #616, VP
nknight@ndkconstsvcs.com Represents Developer

Congratulations, you live 17 minutes from the airport!

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport (ECP), opened on May 23, 2010, and now has a newly redone web site at: http://www.iflybeaches.com

Southwest and Delta serve the panhandle with daily direct flights to Atlanta, GA (ATL), Baltimore, MD (BWI), Houston, TX (HOU), Nashville, TN (BNA), and Orlando, FL (MC).

The airport is located just a 17 minute drive (13 miles) from Nautilus Cove.   Drive West on PCB Pky 2.9 miles to SR 79, right 3 miles to CR 388 and follow the signs to NFBIA.


A  is Nautilus Cove
B  is the Airport
 
Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, opened in 2010, the two major carriers are Southwest and Delta with contracts for at least four more years.

There are four major airports from Tallahassee to Pensacola. Before the new airport opened, the old facility accounted for approximately 9 percent of the total passengers using the four airports, but now it accounts for 25 percent of total visitations.

Airport spokesman said that, "We’ve had 14 straight months with double-digit increases. . . The lift that Southwest and Delta has brought us has been invaluable. . . In May of 2010, we had 42,273 visitations. . . In May this year, we had 87,398 visitations. We’ve doubled the number of people that come in through the airport. Only Pensacola has more visitations than we do now."

For example, St. Louis is a 10- to-12-hour drive from PCB, but it’s only a 1.5-hour flight and a 17 minute drive to Nautilus Cove.

Opening in March 2013 - 1 mile west on PCB Pky

Work continues on the new Wal Mart Supercenter on PCB Parkway, just east of the large Pier Park shopping center and just across the road from the existing Target store. 

The opening is currently set for Mid-March of 2013 and the location is only a mile west of our condos.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Why haven't we gotten rid of Concord Mis-Management!

I have moved this 11/1/12 post up to the top of the blog FYI.  I am running for the 2013 Board and one of the 3 major things I want to get done is to get rid of Concord as our management firm.  Of course this depends on having a second likeminded Owner on the Board, without that then we will probably be stuck with another 3 year contract for the poor service that Concord provides

I would also point out that just prior to our Owners getting the 2nd member on the Board (ie: Turnover) the Developer controlled Board gave Concord this 3 year contract when all prior such contracts had been for one year.  At this Board meeting they also gave to the Developer prime office space in our Clubhouse with no requirement they pay anything for upkeep.

We really got screwed by the Developer and Concord.  We are stuck with the Developer but we can sure get rid of Concord!
============================================









First some info about who Concord Management, Ltd 'is', and this comes right from their own public information: Concord is one of 4 companies who work together to build and manage properties which are either apartment or condo complexes. Three firms work to build them and Concord then manages them. About 160 of them presently in 7 states with approximately 32-34,000 units in total.


What do you think of Concord Management?
See: http://www.atlantichousing.com/ourteam.html

Drop by these blog sites for more information on Concord Mis-Management:
http://concordsucks.blogspot.com/
http://northbridgesucks.blogspot.com/
http://concordmanagementltd.blogspot.com/
http://stoneharborsucks.blogspot.com/
http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/

In terms of size, Concord is insignificant in the property management area. A firm that had put in a 24 page plan for managing our community was international and manages over one million units. Until I approached them for information they had never heard of Concord. You can see their 2 year old proposal at the below direct link.   This firm or a similar professional firm should be managing our condo. See their proposal at: http://nccmanagementcompany.blogspot.com  also see: http://happiercondos.com/index.html

Here is additional information FYI:
Did you ever wonder why we are a condo? I have and I still don't know what happened as this was always intended to be a apartment rental community and various loans were taken out on that basis. 

Both our sister community in PCB, Stone Harbor and NCC were intended as 'affordable housing on the beach'. We were intended to be low income housing for workers at the hotels, resorts and posh condos in Panama City Beach. 

Somewhere along the line the developer decided to make the complex into a condominium, however, with the lack of sales and with 56 unsold units remaining the developer seems to have gone back to the idea of being an apartment complex and is renting out those unsold units and now 112 Owners find themselves owning units in a low income housing complex. Welcome to Nautilus Cove Apartments! Details at: http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/search?q=affordable+housing

Concord has NEVER had the best interests of the Owners in mind. As long as Concord is the management firm for Nautilus Cove we are still under the control of the developer.
 
I hope that in the next NCC election we will end up with 2 Owners on the BOD who will make sure that the contract with Concord Mis-Management will not be renewed in October of 2013. 

It is time for us to have a decent management firm running this complex and not one that is an in house shill for the developer.

Monday, November 5, 2012

#515 sells for 43% of original price

Unit #515, the former Sgt. Scott Hupp, 2/2 condo, has been sold by Ginnie Mae to Tedd T. Wilson for $65,000. The original sale to Sgt Hupp was 5/9/07 for $149,900. Taxes are $674 yearly for the unit. Mr. Wilson already owns 2 Bay County properties.  The unit had previously gone to closing but that buyer found it impossible to get loan approval.

Saturday, November 3, 2012

NCC has 175+ books available for residents -

NCC has a lending library and the books are located in the Clubhouse, no library cards needed, there are no time limits on items you borrow.  

Thanks to several donations there are approx 175 books at present, both paperback and hardbound. Most are once read items.
==================================

Message Board/Rating Site
An underused 'message board' for Nautilus Cove is available at this click on link - read old posts and leave your comments:   http://tinyurl.com/7puzuhf and also an older site at:  http://tinyurl.com/y9pxdzs

Also NCC is reviewed on this site:  http://tinyurl.com/4jr6389

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Panama City Beach deals with Concord and AUM's ripping off residents!


Update:  The Concord Mgmt Reg Mgr has been instructed by the BOD to have Concord pay the bills directly, not via AUM.

Although NCC is not mentioned in the actual article you get a good idea of what the paper and the City think about how AUM (still our utility management firm) and Concord Management operate.  Take a look at the comment section and remember that there is a BOD meeting with this as one of the topics on Sat. Nov 10, 10 a.m., at the Woodlawn United Methodist Church, 219 N. Alf Coleman Rd. in PCB.
 
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PCB closes loophole on water charges
Article at: http://tinyurl.com/9okjm69

Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2012 at 19:34 PM.

PANAMA CITY BEACH — The Panama City Beach Council has closed a loophole on an ordinance that allowed apartment complexes to overcharge residents for city utility services.

A city investigation into individual meter readings at Stone Harbor Apartments on Alf Coleman Road showed some residents were billed $9 to $10 per 1,000 gallons of water used, nearly three times the city rate.

The ordinance, which prevents the resale of city water and sewer services by any third party, was amended at the Oct. 11 council meeting, adding language to prohibit landlords from taking utility cost from vacant units or the common areas and distributing it among tenants.

“They weren’t breaking the law, but they weren’t following what we intended the ordinance to do,” Utilities Director Al Shortt said of the complex, which outsources billing to American Utility Management (AUM). Residents “were essentially paying for stuff that should have been absorbed by the community.”
Shortt said the complex, a Concord Management property, was allowing residents to pick up the bills for vacant units and also for the irrigation water in common areas.

The amended ordinance prohibits landlords from charging any more than the city would have charged the tenant, with the exception of an administrative charge not to exceed $3.

“Having the other tenants pay what is the landlord’s obligation, the landlord is making money,” said City Attorney Doug Sale, who provided clarification at the council meeting.

The amendment to the ordinance was prompted after Councilwoman Josie Strange received complaints from residents at Stone Harbor regarding utility bills.

Although the complex runs off one master meter, AUM sets up individual meters at each unit, allowing city officials to determine that many residents were being overcharged for their usage amount.

The city sent a notice of violation and cease-and-desist order to the complex in August, requesting documentation of the actual cost of operating the utility and also information from the third-party bill processor.

Shortt said Stone Harbor residents should see a reduction in their utility bills during the next billing cycle.

“They’re well aware of what they need to do,” Shortt said of AUM. “Now that the ordinance is in place, it should take care of those issues.”
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   Comments Section: 
Waterstone Suckz · (Bill Harris, Nautilus Cove Condo)
Actually Nick, Nautilus Cove has an interesting history with AUM. We also had high bills and in my own case I found in comparing my bills over a 15 month period that the bandits at AUM had charged me for extra usage for 7 months when I was not in residence in my condo.

That is really creative bookkeeping, there were other complaints at our 168 unit condo and Concord Management made a big deal of firing AUM and going from individual billing to just an increase in condo dues to cover water and sewer.

You would think all was well since AUM was gone wouldn't you? Well 3 weeks ago I found out that for the last 4 years we were using them in secret. Right, they were fired for providing bogus bills to Owners but they really were NOT fired.

Concord Management will have some explaining to do at the Nov 10th BOD meeting. AUM is without question going this time and Concord's management contract is up next year, they won't be far behind. We don't need theives like AUM or a third rate management firm like Concord! For details see: http://nautiluscondosrules.blogspot.com/.

The Board has asked Concord to provide info as to what fee we have been paying them in secret for the last 4 years, so far Concord has managed to not provide the info to us.

Bill Harris #708 at Nautilus Cove.Posting as Waterstone Suckz
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Nick Long
  • Finally, someone addressed this. Glad that Stone Harbor/Nautilus Cove is going to be paying their own bills now.


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    Misc FYI: 27 pages of letters and email regarding the City taking action against AUM and Concord are at the bottom of the below referenced site, they would take up to much room to put them on top. The names and email addresses of those who complained about Stone Harbor are redacted. Direct link: http://aumsucks.blogspot.com/2012/10/posted-by-picasa.html

    Thursday, October 25, 2012

    The Chickens Are Coming Home To Roost!

    For 18 months, I have been opining about how it was a bad idea for us to have taken up foreclosures against unit Owners behind in their dues and having the units sold at auction (we bought 5 of 9 we filed on).

    I have always said that we should wait and let the banks and mortgage companies finish their foreclosures (all 5 had been filed on) and collect from them as we already had liens on the units.

    My calculations are that we would have to hold and rent out those units for between 18 and 20 months before we 'broke even'.  At the time of the  3/30/12 auction Juan Reyes owed $14,010.18 to the Assn. in past due dues.  We bought the unit at our auction for $200 and got title for it 7/16/12.

    Today Deutsche Bank got their 'Final Judgment of Foreclosure' for the #705 unit, and one of the 5 that we 'own'.  So 'Our' condo is going up for sale again at 11 a.m. on Nov 28th.  We were able to rent it out for a few months but it is quite likely that we will not be able to collect a dime from Deutsche Bank as we stepped in front of them and in effect wiped out the years of unpaid dues that Reyes owed us ($14,010), we never even came close to recovering what was owed to us by Reyes.

    Now we will incur additional legal costs in either contesting the sale or transferring the title quietly to Deutsche.  We got a worthless Certificate of Title on July 16th when Bay County issued it to us for winning the unit at auction for $200. 

    In the coming auction Deutsche Bank will bid a minor amount on the condo and if there are other competing bids they will simply increase their bid all the way up to the $18o,244.50 owed.  They will in effect take back the unit and place it with a realtor to sell it for about 45% of what Reyes paid for it.  Our certificate was always worthless and subject to the claims of the first mortgage holder, the other 4 Certificates of Title are equally worthless.  We don't really own the units and we never did, the most we could do was rent it (them) out as long as we could, in this case just a few months.

    If you want to keep up with the various auctions for foreclosure see:  https://www.bay.realforeclose.com/index.cfm

    Top: is 'Final Judgement of Foreclosure page 1 of 4 pages, to view all 4 pages go to:  http://tinyurl.com/9xsrljd
    Bottom: is our Certificate of Title

    right click for larger image, then open in new window:





     

    Misc: The units we now own and their original owners are-
    506 - Grass
    701 - Jarrett
    401 - Thomas
    702 - Ussery
    705 - Reyes

    Beware of that great deal at foreclosure auction
    Oct 23, 2012
    Here is a short blurb about a long article in the Orlando Sentinel of Sept 22nd. The situation is the same for us in a condo association as those in a HOA.  Two units here now belong to private parties who got them at auctions we initiated and of course we have 5 that NCC 'Owns', all 7 units really do not belong to those who purchased them at auction. 

    NCC simply jumped in front of the banks/mortgage companies and got a quick and worthless deed to the units. We can't sell them and can only rent them out until we in turn lose them in foreclosures.   While we have 5 of them we are on the hook for taxes, insurance and upkeep to keep them in shape to rent out. We also do not get the $225 montly dues on our 'owned' 5 units.

    "If the auctioned house was foreclosed on by a homeowners association, some buyers end up paying for the house only to have it later foreclosed on by one or more banks.

    "We're seeing a ton of this in Orange County," said Orlando lawyer Justin Clark, who currently represents several buyers of homeowner-association foreclosures. "The banks can foreclose on these people, and they can foreclose very quickly."

    But Clark said the websites fail to make it clear that homes foreclosed on by homeowner associations are going to be foreclosed upon again — next time by the banks."

    See the long article at:  
    http://www.ccfj.net/HOAFLauctiondeal.html