The Daily Soak - September 8

Vero Beach Auction: "Tonight We're Gonna Party Like It's 1999!"

Or at least that's the feeling of euphoria shared by the auctioneer and winning bidders last weekend in Vero Beach. On Saturday, the Delray Beach-based developer of The Antilles, a gated community north of Vero on US1, auctioned off 19 single-family homes in the development. At the height of the boom, homes in The Antilles were selling for over $700,000, but winning bidders on Saturday were paying less than half that amount. The lowest priced home on Saturday sold for $320,000 while the highest priced home sold for $385,000. A crowd of over 300 turned out for the auction including Norman and Roxanne Schulman who picked up a new 4,000 square foot home for $365,000. "I think we got an outstanding price," gushed Roxanne. Other attendees like Frank Bosh were apparently looking for steals not deals. "I think people got caught up in the heat," Bosh said. "Tomorrow, people are going to wake up with a big hangover."


FHA Loans, State Money Good News For First-time Buyers

Just ask John and Kelly Pollak. The couple started looking for a home in Palm Bay exactly a year ago. Their lender told them they were qualified for a $125,000 home purchase, so they didn't have too many attractive options in the local market. What a difference a year makes. The abundance of distressed properties has forced more homes down into the Pollak's range of affordability. Meanwhile, coming up with the down payment was no problem thanks to a combination of state and federal government programs. FHA loans often only require a 3% down payment, and that was easily covered with a $10,000 interest free loan from the state of Florida. This Florida Today article offers some good advice for those seeking both FHA and conventional loans: 1.) Pre-qualify with a lender and 2.) Request a copy of your credit report and address any lingering issues.


Naples Construction Company Was Prudent, Proactive

Kraft Construction is one of Florida's largest commercial construction companies. During the boom years, Kraft helped transform the skylines of Southwest Florida with several luxury high-rise towers like Veracruz on Marco Island and the Plaza at Five Points in Sarasota. Kraft's fortunes and deal flow were closely tied with luxury developers like WCI, but that well went dry in 2006. Rather than waiting for a residential recovery, Kraft started ramping up government, institutional and medical projects like Ave Maria University buildings, a courthouse annex in Naples, and a police station in Sarasota. That strategy paid off for Kraft which has more than weathered the downturn. Kraft was recently purchased by Oklahoma-based Manhattan Construction Group and will operate as a subsidiary of Manhattan here in Florida. Kraft boss Fred Pezeshkan says the partnership will allow Kraft to bid on larger projects like the Boston Red Sox training facility, if the team decides to relocate. "With our new partner, we will be all over that," Pezeshkan said.