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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


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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.
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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