One less Kmart in Bay County.

The Callaway K-Mart store on Tyndall Parkway*  is on the list of 79 K-Mart/Sears stores closing. 
(*225 S Tyndall Pkwy, Callaway, FL 32404)

No other K-Mart or Sears locations in Bay County are effected, but this is just the first round of closings. The company’s web site says 120 Sears – K-Mart stores are targeted for closing. Today’s list included 79 stores which means there are still another 41 stores to be announced for closing.

K-Mart will still have 2-Bay county locations, one on the corner of Lisenby Avenue and West 15th Street in Panama City, and the other just west of the Hathaway Bridge in Panama City Beach. 

Closings Announced in Dec. 27, 2011 Sears Holdings Update, click on the direct link to see the list:
http://searsholdings.com/about/122711_close.pdf

2012 Proposed Budget and Expenses

Most Owners already have their own copy of this item. In case you do not have it I am posting it here FYI.
 Print out or click on for larger copy:

The Water Billing Issue is NOT Going Away

Below is a post from Jan 14, 2011, about the possibility of saving some $ for Owners if we went back to billing for water/sewer on an individual basis.  After doing the research I brought this up at the 1/29/11 AGM and information was provided to those attending (see below).  As usual for the BOD nothing was done.

The CAM opined that it might not be 'legal' and it would have to be looked into, still waiting for that.  Individual billing was in place, set up by the Developer and used for 3 years.  Why it would suddenly not be legal dosen't compute, nothing further has been done in this regard and it is very disappointing. 

I do understand that the Developer controlled BOD was so useless that you wouldn't really expect them to actually 'do something', but I had hopes that once the Board came under the control of the Owners (we now have 2 of 3 positions) that we would finally be in a position to make some changes. 

Clearly we need to get an Owner controlled Board of Directors that is prepared to make some decisions, particularly if we can save Owners several hundred dollars a year.  Here is the original post FYI: 

Owners 'might' save $400-500 a year on Quarterly dues!*

We need to look into hiring another utility managing firm to bill units individually. There are many such firms, below is some information from one out of Sarasota. You will recall that we had quarterly dues of $537 which went up to $675 quarterly to cover water/sewer costs when AUM was fired as our billing firm 2 years ago.

I believe we can substantially reduce our quarterly payments by returning to what is called 'co-metering', where each unit pays its own water usage. I don't know that we can return to exactly $537 quarterly, but we can almost certainly get it back to the mid $500 area.

* Keep in mind that while 'dues' are reduced you will also gain a monthly bill for what water you use, but you should still save $ overall with this change.
 For details on this firm see:  http://web.amsbilling.com/WebUBS/index.php?hidAction=welcome 
This potential savings for owners needs to be looked into by the BOD.

(Updated below)
Something to think about: 
The 2010 Budget reflects $34,800 for Water and $29,700 for Sewer (total: $64,500), this comes out at an actual cost of $383 per unit yearly. When AUM left their quarterly billings to owners ceased and we went instead to an increased dues payment to cover the estimated water/sewer costs. Quarterly dues increased from $537 to $675 to cover the water/sewer city charges. This is a yearly increase in dues of $552 from the prior yearly dues.


We no longer get any quarterly water/sewer bills from AUM, our water/sewer is now incorporated into our quarterly payment of $675. Every unit pays the same no matter how much usage there is for water, a 4/3 with 8 people pays the same as an unoccupied unit with no usage. In doing the math each unit is paying $169 yearly more than the actual costs of water/sewer, or a gain/profit for the Association of $28,000 yearly.


As we have seen here at NCC sub-metering can be effectively employed in condominiums, however the choice of a reliable firm to accomplish this is needed.  AUM had 67 complaints with the BBB over 36 months, another billing firm out of Sarasota that I looked at had only 5 in the same period.  Clearly sub-metering will decrease what we now pay for water and one benefit for most owners is that those using the most water will pay the most, not the case as things are now, where the total billing is simply divided by 168.  One firm that might be considered is: AMS Billing at: http://www.amsbilling.com/main/home.sfx?session=%{Session}% .

So we have something to think about:
1) Should we get a year end rebate for that $169 yearly water overcharge?*
2) Should we go back to metered unit billing where each unit pays only for the water used by that unit? (Obviously we would not use AUM but contract out to another utility billing firm.)
If we were to hire another utility billing firm we would pick up another bill every quarter, but we should also have a yearly drop of approx. $550 in our Association dues payments, plus you would not be subsidizing those units with more water usage
.----------------------------------------------
* The sewer charge remains constant, equally divided between 168 units, only water costs fluctuate.

Update:  Some general information from a Florida utility billing firm I contacted regarding going back to the metering system:
The current meters can probably be used with this firms computers and billing system, they might not be used if AUM had some off brand meters put in initially but it is probable that the ones in place can be used, a contract of 3 years is standard but prices can be locked in with a longer 5 year contract, billings to individual units can be monthly or quarterly, the fee to the unit is $10 per billing period, past due fees can be applied and the amounts charged are up to the condo – a fee split is possible to the condo could make a few dollars on past due payments, meter info is gathered and forwarded to them via a dedicated phone line.  They use both inhouse technicans/installers and also can contract with local firms as needed.
===========================

(photo)  Meter is an ‘AMCO INSIDER’ Model C700 ¾” B

S/N 16037471

FA5230  FCC ID:  HCQ306ABB 

Made by:

Inovonics Corp, of Louisville, CO. 80027

How are NCC tenants screened?

Having gotten some negative feedback on the backgrounding procedure here, on Oct 28th I sent an inquiry, via Certified Mail, to the office, asking the one question allowed per month, that the BOD is required to answer within 30 days of receipt. 

Here is the reply and some additional information on the firm doing the checks.  This may be of interest to all tenants and most Owners as the complex is presently about 75% rentals. 

This is what the Better Business Bureau says about the firm and you might notice that they rate them as a D-:

THIS BUSINESS IS NOT BBB ACCREDITED

CoreLogic Safe Rent, Inc.

Phone: (888) 333-2413

7300 Westmore Road, Suite 3, Rockville, MD 20850

See their web site at:  http://www.fadvsaferent.com/index2.php

19 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years 11 closed in last 12 months

CoreLogic Contact Information

Complaint Contact: Ms. Robyn Small, Consumer Relations Director

Contact via email:  consumerrelations@saferent.com 

Business Category

SCREENING - BACKGROUND and  EMPLOYMENT SCREENING SERVICES

Alternate Business Names for Core Logic are:

First American Registry, Inc. and First Advantage SafeRent, Inc. both also rated at D-

Also 3 'Yahoo! Local' ratings found at: http://tinyurl.com/7ck7et7  were unfavorable to this firm.  I also found them under First American Registry, with complaints on The Rip Off Report at:  http://tinyurl.com/6wq9kkf, seems that they like using multiple names and don't like to correct errors in their reports.

 

CoreLogic, aka: First American Registry: This firm made a Class Action settlement in New York where Plaintiff renters alleged 7 routine violations of the FCRA, the NYFCRA, the firm settled rather than fight the charges. Details at: http://tinyurl.com/89rq6yj

 

Which firm Concord Management uses for backgrounding the Developer's renters is their business but the Owners should be using a more reputable firm for any such backgrounding of our tenants and not one rated at D- and who were subject to a class action suit.

You don't live in a Condo - You live in 'Low Income Housing'

Although NCC condo owners thought that they were buying into a condo complex the facts are that this was never intended as a condominium. Today 112 people are owning a condo in a low income apartment complex. The 56 unsold units are being rented out by Concord Realty Ltd.

Nautilus Cove Floorplans: Rents: -

2 Bedroom Floor Plan Starting From $799

3 Bedroom Floor Plan Starting From $849

4 Bedroom Apartment Home Starting From $899

=====================================================

Affordable Housing Options: Concord Management, Ltd

Concord Management, Ltd. is a property management company with several beautiful, affordable housing, tax credit properties located primarily across the Eastern United States and in Texas.

Apartment Amenities

Concord’s apartments offer all of the amenities one would find in traditional communities with market rents (regular rent). Most communities offer swimming pools, on-site laundry facilities, car care centers, washer-dryer hookups, picnic areas, attractive landscaping, newer construction, updated appliances, the ability to make online maintenance requests, and the ability to make online rental payments.

Because Concord caters to families with low income, they also offer extra amenities that are not usually found in traditional apartment communities. Some of these extras include free after school kids clubs (Monster Club), family DVD lending libraries, and directories to free or low cost children’s healthcare plans for each state in which they are located.

Affordable Housing Eligibility

In order to obtain an apartment at Concord Management, you will need to complete an eligibility screening process (as with any tax credit apartment community) . The apartment’s leasing agent will request your financial information, and she will use it to see if your income falls within their specific income guidelines. – As long as your income falls under a certain amount, you should be fine along with all of the usual, standard apartment rental requirements. In each community, Concord Management usually sets aside a number of apartments for low income renters with Section 8 vouchers (Housing Choice Vouchers). If you have a Section 8 Voucher, you will need to contact the specific community in which you are interested in order to find out about availability.

Concord Affordable Housing Locations

Currently, Concord offers exceptional affordable housing communities for low income residents in the following states: FL, GA, IL, IN, MI, NY, NC, OH, SC, TN, & TX. If there is a Concord community located near you, contact the leasing office today to find out about current apartment availability and specific eligibility requirements.

*Most of Concord’s affordable housing communities are located in Florida

The original of this document is available at: http://tinyurl.com/3d5o273
See the 17 page Concord Resident's Handbook at:  http://tinyurl.com/3fmay5y  then click 'open'

A New Management Company for Nautilus Cove? Something for the New BOD to consider.

In the closing days of 2009 NCC was reviewed by representatives of Grandshores Management (now known as the Continental Group) and in January of 2010 they put in a 24 page proposal to manage our complex. Unfortunately our Board of Directors took scant notice of this. The Board at that time had just come under the control of the Owners and could have taken action on the proposal, instead it was ignored and we remained with Concord Mis-Management Ltd.

Now we will be having another leadership change and the proposal remains available for review and potential action by our new 2012 Board. You can see their extensive review at: http://nccmanagementcompany.blogspot.com/


Nautilus Cove's Current Management Company

How is Concord rated on Glassdoor.com?

Cons:  Support structures are not always as knowledgeable as would be expected, very little opportunity for advancement without intra- or inter-state moving if hired at a satellite property, no support structure for anonymously reporting unprofessional behavior, occasional hiring or advancement of employees on factors other than ability to perform functions of position (as anywhere), occasional failure of advancement for qualified employees (trading short term stability in one position for long term employee retention), stringent hierarchy (assumptions that titles translate to knowledge or responsibility), failure to acknowledge top on site performers in aspects other than leasing.

Concord Spends a lot of time in the Courts:  http://concordmanagementltd.blogspot.com/

Nautilus Cove Quarterly Newsletters

August 2014

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

1st Quarter 2013
For larger image right click and open in new window

=================================================

10/5/2012

NAUTILUS NEWS FROM THE BOARD

I. MONIES RECEIVED:

Hats off!! We are ahead year to date on income from collections!! This is great news!

II. DELIQUENCY REPORT:

There are some in foreclosure and the HOA holds titles to five of these. They are being rented until the banks foreclose on these properties. We are getting back some of the delinquent Association dues on these units.

III. ITEMS THAT ARE BEING ADDRESSED:

Buildings 1, 2, 4 have had some roof leaks that cost approximately $300.00 in total for repairs.

Cigarette container is now at the fountain (now a garden sitting area) to stop people from leaving their butts behind.

Damaged front gate repair is $1,200 but the insurance of the person who caused the damage has paid for the repair.

Information on the dishwasher recall has been distributed to all owners, who can choose to replace or repair.

The lien process has started for units 105 and 306 for delinquency*.


IV. FINES COMMITTEE:

Members Mark Aldrich, Len DiGiacomo, Jamie Webber have nothing to report at this time. Several first notices have been issued.

V. LANDSCAPE COMMITTEE:

George Simmon, Jeff Ferren, Linda Sexton are the committee. Community Work Days are Friday, Oct. 12, and Saturday, Oct. 13, beginning at 9 a.m. Anyone interested in helping should meet at the clubhouse. Everyone is welcome at Community Work Days! Bring work gloves.

VII. UNFINISHED BUSINESS:

In addressing the snake issue, a product costing around $13.68 per container was suggestion. This was purchased and will be put out in specific areas when needed.

On the topic of upgrading the basketball goal, three bids were received, and the Board agreed to purchase one at $289 when funds are available. The current goal is attached to the curb and the Board wants to avoid any injuries.

Parking Stickers are now required for Nautilus Cove owners and residents, and can be picked up in the office. Each owner will be issued two decals, as needed. Additional decals are $3.00 each. There will also be visitor passes available for those who are on property for three days or longer.

Once the program is fully implemented, vehicles without decals or guest passes may be towed from the property at the owner's expense.

Owner Mr. Harris has relayed information on a class action lawsuit going on with AUM and will let us know more information as it is available.

The revisions of the Bylaws is almost complete, and will be distributed to owners in coming months.

Security System: The Board has determined a security camera is needed at the trash compactor! Charge for garbage left outside the compactor is $60.00 per bag and garbage is being opened to determine who left the bag(s).

Security at side gate: Three bids are being received and considered to make the pedestrian gate smaller and more secure.

Pool security cameras will be rearranged to allow more coverage of the area.

VII. NEW BUSINESS:

Cigarette butts found outside of units will prompt fines! Please make sure these are picked up.

The Board is looking into the use of a clubhouse office by Pelican Real Estate, and determining if it can be used at no charge. There is an ongoing discussion about charging for use of that office.

NO OCTOBER MEETING:

There will not be a Board meeting in October.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

An adult Halloween party is being planned for October 27, in the clubhouse. Costumes are a must. Come and join us for some spooky fun!

On October 31, at 6 p.m. a Halloween party will be held in the clubhouse for children of all ages! Candy, fun and gobblens!

PLEASE BRING A BAG OF CANDY TO THE OFFICE FOR TRICK OR TREATING!

Happy Halloween, and we hope to see you there!

---------------------------------------
Note from Blog Author:
*  105 is David Turner and 306 is Jeffrey Osterhout

============================================================
Something for Everyone!

Renters can see our NCC Newsletters on this site. Owners may be interested in looking at the Sept. 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

Dec. 2011 (4th Quarter) NCC Newsletter
click on for larger images

 

In case you missed it, here is the official NCC newsletter for the 2nd quarter 2010. A good change is the online payment option. A seperate charge is made to use this payment service, the amount depends on the amount of the charge and how it is paid, an electronic check seems the cheapest at $1.95.

Double click for larger image or print out:

Nautilus News 2010
Click for larger image:

Official 4 Quarter 2009 Newsletter

Here is the October 4th quarter newsletter 2009, it went out with the somewhat delayed statements on Sept 26th. To avoid a late fees the $675 payments should be made by 10/20/09, the late fee has gone up from $25 to $33.75. If you would rather stop the paper Statements/newsletters they can be emailed to you if you advise the office of your email address at: nautiluscove@ced-concord.com.

Double click for larger image or print out -

NCC Newsletter 2nd Quarter 2009

More construction on PCB Pky/Back Beach Rd.

Back Beach Road is getting some new construction. West of NCC by a mile is the new 156,000 Super Wal-Mart which is just across Powell Adams Road and within a stones throw of the Target store in Pier Park. This new Wally World will open in the Spring of 2013.

A mile East of NCC a new Whataburger is being put up in front of the Lowe's Home Improvement (at Alf Coleman Rd), also coming to that strip mall is a new Hardees and across the street a new oil change place.  Immediately east of the year old Publix (which is next to the Lowes) the Breakfast Point Medical Center with doctor’s offices is currently under construction.

Everything you might want to know about Nautilus Cove Condo can be found at the below sites.  There are 10 other blogs which may be of interest,  8 have information regarding the complex, 2 are provided FYI:

185 photos of Nautilus Cove
http://nautiluscondo.blogspot.com

Nautilus Cove Owners Listhttp://nccownerslist.blogspot.com

Proposed new Management Company (Continental Mgmt)http://nccmanagementcompany.blogspot.com

Proposed changes to NCC Rules and Regulations
http://nautilusrules.blogspot.com  

Our former utility billing firm American Utility Mgmt
http://aumsucks.blogspot.com  

A long running problem with individual grills at NCC
http://nccgrills.blogspot.com

A bit of NCC history, our very own 'Meth Lab'
http://nautiluscovearrests.blogspot.com  

Bid-A-Wee, the HOA across the street
http://bidaweeeasement.blogspot.com

Medical Tourism, a trip to India
http://overseasmedicalcare.blogspot.com

A 3 year suit against NCC BOD cost Owners $11,000
http://nautiluscovesuit2008.blogspot.com

Delinquency and Owners Lists

NCC July 2011 Delinquency List

Delinquency List Historically:

  11/16/11 - $121,044  2nd Highest
  09/22/11 - $118,345
  08/15/11 - $127,656  Highest Delinquency
  07/08/11 - $106,220
  05/06/11 - $112,033
  03/01/11 - $118,867
  12/03/10 - $112,415
  08/12/10 - $101,594
  05/19/10 - $ 84,581
  04/23/10 - $ 85,428
  01/21/10 - $ 86,298
  12/28/09 - $ 95,753
  09/28/09 - $ 82,501
  04/25/09 - $ 35,920
  08/28/08 - $ 18,440
=======================================================

   Updated Owners List Now Available:  
A current copy of the NCC Owners List is available on a seperate blog site FYI.  It runs 2 1/2 pages and takes up to much room to post on this site. 

If you are interested in contacting the Owners you might find the list useful, however, keep in mind that those delinquent in payments to the Association can not run or vote in our elections.  Click on this link to see/print the list:  http://nccownerslist.blogspot.com/

Where do our Owners live?

   FL - PC/PCB 61,
   FL - Other 13,
   GA - 9
   TN - 6
   AL - 4
   2 each from:
   LA, NB, OH and
   1 each from:
   CA, NV, MS, VA, AZ, WI, MI KY


Note: total does not add up to 112 as 5 are deducted for units belonging to Banks or Mortgage companies.

Strategic Default is always an option:

There have been several mentions on this blog site about 'Strategic Defaults'.  I see that there is now a web site which has information on the subject: http://www.youwalkaway.com. If this option is under consideration you might take a look at their site but of course they are selling a service and you might just cut out the middleman and find a local attorney who handles property issues.

"A Strategic Default is when a borrower decides to stop paying a mortgage even though they may still be able to afford the payment. When the value of a property has fallen far below the mortgage debt and recovery of the equity lost is expected to take years, a borrower may elect to default. . ."

It makes no sense to me that Owners who have paid list price for something that is now worth about half that amount would remain in the property. It will be many years before your condo is worth what you paid for it initially and in those years you will be stuck with quarterly condo fees, your mortgage, insurance and taxes

Even renting out your condo will probably not provide enough income to cover the above costs. I am sure that the only happy owners here are those who took advantage of the very low prices on those foreclosed units. We have had 27 foreclosures filed so far with 8-9 units now with new Owners and the rest still winding their way through the estimated 2 year process. 

Some new buyers are simply using the condos for rental income (ie:  investments), this will work for them due to the very low prices they have paid to obtain the units.  They are of course in competition with the developers 56 units which tend to rent first due to the low prices Concord is asking for them.  

If you would like to see what rentals are going for here, go to http://panamacity.craigslist.org/  and under the 'apartments/housing' section enter 'Nautilus Cove' in the search bar and the last 45 days worth of advertisements for condo rentals here will be displayed (19 listings as of today).  You will see Owners prices vs. Concord/Developer prices.

Also see these sites which are The Consumerist and CBS TV Sacramento: http://tinyurl.com/5rk4l76  and http://tinyurl.com/3jbanrd

Prior Posts on this blog are: "Is a "Strategic default" in your Future?" of 4/24/11 and "More on Strategic Defaults" from 5/8/11.

2 Free Internet Sites for Bay County News

I thought I would pass this along FYI.  You can read both the Daily Bay News and the Bay County People online for free at:   http://issuu.com/countypress and http://www.thecountypress.com/. 

They have a lot of interesting info and even Owners looking in from out of area might find it worth looking at to find out what is going on in Bay County.  You can also submit articles for their consideration.  Two years ago I had one of mine run in the paper edition of the County Press and met the owners/publishers.  Take a look and sign up for a free subscription.

Click on for larger image