For the past few days we have been getting plenty of rain.  Hard rain..the kind that makes you appreciate the blue skies once the rain ends! Sunsets in Daytona Beach, Florida sometimes are so incredible. Incredible enough to tell a very good friend, I need to snap some photo's I gotta get off the phone. Tonight the skies were so incredible..like I have never seen before.  Lucky me, I live in Daytona Beach, Florida. Wouldn't you agree? Looking for a vacation home, call Midori Miller of CENTURY 21 Sundance Realty! 08/14/2008

This past Tuesday we had our Daytona Area Association of REALTORS general breakfast at the Halifax Marina.  Now I have to admit, I don't like being somewhere in the morning at 8 am unless I am on vacation but for me I just roll out of bed...go over the bridge and park..Lucky me!   Once I get over the shock of being out and about at 8 am I truly enjoy myself.  The best breakfast in town and actively participating  and listening, yes I am in my element..its pretty social and it's FREE! At our general meetings we usually have some incredible speakers, 50/50 and RPAC drives.  This meeting, a memory trainer..well worth it..another blog post..  As far as RPAC, I do believe that it's important but the problem is sometimes I don't always believe in the stanz they take but I am involved and I co... 08/13/2008

THE Daytona Beach Real Estate & Community Event Blog. By Lisa C. Hill, "THE SMART CHOICE!" Great news for Daytona Beach residents who need a way to escape the heat. A new public aquatic center has been built on the corner of Nova Road and George W. Engram Blvd. This new "regulation size" pool is the Cypress Aquatic Center, with a 101 swimmer capacity. But this is more than just a pool. This affordable way to spend a day ($3.00 for adults, $2.00 if under 17, children under age 7 must be accompanied by a responsible person over the age of 16.) has locker rooms with showers, family changing rooms, and a covered picnic area which includes availability for party rentals. But that list is just the part the adults and parents will appreciate. Check this out! 6 waterplay stations with waterfal... 08/09/2008

Your blogs give you many benefits with SEO, a familiar name/face and an on line presence. Did you know you really can build relationships via your blogs?  Quality content, consistent and interesting will get you return readers, fans and some blasts from the pasts..once you start building relationships you got yourself a strong sphere of influence.   But how do you get your sphere to take you serious?  Here are a few of the observations I made. Prospecting for My Bail! It started with a blog post-with the post came a few comments lots and lots of views, posted it on twitter, mybloglog and facebook too!  I saw people I hadn't seen in a long time..why because I had a catchy title.  But the catchy title was not enough.    $20.00 in donations until yesterday I made that donation..it was the ... 08/08/2008

Our local newspaper - News-Journal - announced an new car show coming to Daytona Beach. Besides Tampa and Orlando (and 21 other shows all over the world), the show will be held in the Ocean Center from March 31 through April 7. Good timing, as Bike Week runs the first 10 days of March, and Spring Break, that follows, is realtively slow, so a bit more activity on the beachside would be welcome by everyone. With disappearance of BCR (Black College Reunion), that is not terribly missed, but which still left hotels and beachside stores struggling to survive, the new attraction is a needed boost for beachside economy. If you are interested in greater Daytona Beach Area, give us a call at 386-255-5355, or just drop us a line    Jon Zolsky, your Daytona Beach connection   www.BeautifulFlorida.com 08/07/2008

  Midori Miller, Manger of Century 21 Sundance's Pelican Bay office is going to jail! Yes, you read right! JAIL! Ok... not city or county jail but MDA Jail!     Here's the deal: Midori is giving up her time to go behind bars until her "bail" of $3,200 is met to free her. How you can help: The Muscular Dystrophy Association & Midori have a secure site set up where you can donate money towards setting her free! It doesn't have to be a lot, just a few dollars. The money goes towards fighting MDA and helping Jerry's Kids.  Did you know: There are over FORTY different types of Muscular Dystrophy? Some diseases begin in infancy, some early childhood, others early to mature adulthood. ALS Or Lou Gehrig's Disease is also a form of Muscular Dystrophy. What was that link again? Muscular Dystroph... 08/07/2008

Daytona's Gotta Dance. Are you in Daytona Beach? Then that can only mean one thing. You have to dance! OK, so maybe you personally won't be doing the dancing, but this fundraiser is for a really good cause, so keep reading. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've probably read several posts about Seaside Music Theater. The most unique thing about Seaside Music Theater (SMT) is that it's the only theater in the Southeastern U.S. that includes a full pit orchestra in their productions. Unfortunately, with the economy the way it is, you may have also read my post about the financial troubles that Seaside Music Theater began having when the Daytona Beach News Journal, which had been the Theater's biggest supporter, dropped a bomb on SMT at the last minute, thus forcing them to c... 08/06/2008

 1233 South Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach, Fl 32118 This 134-unit oceanfront condo-hotel with city and gorgeous ocean views is half mile south of International Speedway Blvd. Two pools, one outdoor and one indoor. The resort is owner managed, no outside management company, and, as usually the case, they do not have the best and even good rentals. If you plan to keep the unit for yourself, this is not a concern, however, if rental income is important to offset the expenses Sea Dip has the dubious distinction of having the least expensive unit in Daytona. You can see the list of available units below. Sales were quite sluggish. In 2007 only one unit was sold for $60,000, and it was quite a drop from $87,500 asking. UNITS IN SEA DIP FOR SALE ON MLS 08/05/2008 430 0 1 260 $39,900 224 0 1 300... 08/06/2008

It is important to get the perspective on that condo-hotel market, and not go by the myths. I am always stunned when people stumble into our office and tell us that they could buy a unit in the Fountain Beach Resort for $10K in 1990. Guess what? They couldn't. The hotel was converted to condos in 1998-1999 and even at that time there were no sales for $10K. But we like to believe it. I have not yet met an old enough guy who would say that he got paid to buy one of those sometime in 1951 following that logic. Anyway, here's a little bit of boring statistics, which, to make it even more boring, I need to explain. The data is based on Daytona area MLS. For our practical purposes it works fine, especially where the number of units sold is high. If you, however, are doing a research paper, t... 08/03/2008

There are 1612 condos for sale in Daytona Beach area MLS. Prices from $44,900 to $3,550,000. Average days on the market is 164 (compared to 70 in 2004). Note that we are slightly ahead of 2007 in the condo category, but we see the increased sales in Condo-hotel sales and in Single Family Homes sales (189 sold in July last year, and 220 homes in July this year).  Is this the sign of stabilization? We will know by November-December if this was just a seasonal fluke. So, what is the difference in prices in 1998 and 2008? July 1998, 49 units sold at average price of $122,013 (120 days on the market on average). In 2008 53 units were sold with average price of $272,845 (171 days on the market). The number of days on the market shows you that the market today is slower that it was 10 years a... 08/03/2008

Buying a Condo-Hotel in Daytona Beach. Real Life No-Nonsense Scenario I was showing a studio unit in the Plaza Resort & Spa to a couple form Orlando. I met with James before, and I e-mailed him. He is down to earth no-nonsense small business owner with a good sense of humor. A day after showing I sent him and e-mail and below is the actual e-mail communication with James (name changed), practically unedited. Why do I do that? I thought that the best blog would be a real situation and a real case study, and this is the real one. We are talking about a unit in the Plaza Resort, a bank owed property (REO), which popped up at unbelievable $95,000. I e-mailed to 140 people in my database, and James came to see the unit. ---- Jon Zolsky <......................> wrote: "James,After sleeping it... 08/02/2008

July 27th at 7 pm, I recieved the call.  "It's Time!"  Anna has gone into labor and we are at the hospital. You can go in through the main entrance."  I got a bit excited and I admit I did question, will I be a good coach?  I want to be..I took a class...had my own kids..this is going to be a piece of cake at least I hope.   When I arrived at the hospital I ran right into dad, didn't greet me just pulled me into Anna's room.  I saw relief in his face and gratitude immediately...I took a deep breath and went into the room.  Anna's husband is a tough guy..but not when it comes to his wife.  Anna's mom was there with Anna and her pregnant sister..yes in a few months..grandma would have not one grandbaby but two. Both spoke russian, it didn't matter...because I could read the eyes and they ... 08/02/2008

How To Spot A Real Deal Buying a Condo-Hotel In Daytona Beach The Plaza Hotel & Spa is one of two really luxury condo-hotels in greater Daytona Beach area. The conversion came at the height of the market and was very successful and then died, so to say, on a dime, leaving close to 100 units out of 322 units in the hands of the developers, who happen to be the biggest hoteliers in the area. At the peak of conversion to condo-hotel, the prices went higher than $810 per sq. ft., which was nearly double what older condo-hotels were selling for on a per sq. ft. basis at the peak of the market. I did not touch the Plaza Resort & Spa, because I could offer better value to my clients in Oceanside Inn. But the prices were sliding, and we tried to throw a line on a couple of distressed properties... 07/31/2008

Last Saturday I awoke at 5am. Unable to go back to sleep, at 7 I decided to get dressed and head back out to the protected area of beach where the Black Skimmers had decided to hatch their babies and see if I could get you some better photos. Much to my delight the birds had moved to the eastern most point of the protected area and were ready for their close ups! After taking some 200 photos I wondered what would be the best way to show them all to those of you who wanted to see them. I was really quite proud of a couple. Then I remembered a post I recently helped Midori do, and thought to myself HEY! I can run with that idea too!   Here is a short slide show of my photos from Saturday, July 26 with the Black Skimmer Famly. 07/30/2008

 Midori Miller AKA Daytona Real Estate Trainer  Description:  Usually Wears a Smile CAUTION:  Heavily Armed With Kindness...This Could Be Contagious! PRIOR CONVICTION:  Thoughtfulness and Generosity Please Help Me!!!  I have been arrested and will be put in jail for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) Lock-up.   Don't even bother asking what crime I have committed - it's not really that important.  I just have to raise my bail of $_____3200.00____ before the Lock-Up and they will go easy on me, but I need your financial assistance to post my bond.  Please lend your support during the:  Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center Your 100% tax-deductible donation will help MDA continue research into the cause and the possible cure of the 43 neuromuscular diseases they cover.  Your supp... 07/25/2008

Some buyer's choose to lock in their rates ASAP while others take a gamble and wait.  Since turn around time for 3rd party approval is taking longer than ever.    If you talk to a short sale specialist..they will tell you..right now they are overworked and really backed up..backed up weeks and some even months.  Heck you call some banks...its sounds like a telemarketing room! The buyer who takes the gamble is the buyer I am talking about.  Keep in mind with the way guidelines are changing everyday..the rate the buyer was qualified for 60 days ago..may no longer be available today.  This can and often times will kill the hopes and dreams of the buyer buying that particular home and may cause the short sale seller to start once again. Loan officers should make sure and share this informat... 07/24/2008

  A year ago, August of 2007 I told you about how these 3 rare birds had captured the hearts of people around Daytona Beach and managed to block off the beach to cars in my post: Rare Birds Put The Breaks On Beach Driving In Daytona   That post remained on the first page of Florida Information, Volusia County Information and Daytona Beach, FL Information until just recently. You all loved it that much!   Just recently Mom and Dad returned to Daytona Beach, they must love our hospitality! My hairdresser spotted them in the exact same spot they were at last year and we began to wait for the arrival of the baby. Sunday evening I received a email that the first baby hatched on Friday and a second hatched on Sunday, however the Mom and Dad were not at the same spot, they were further south! ... 07/22/2008

  By now my regular readers will know that I went off to the beach last weekend and I took my chocolate brown Lab, Katie, with me. She had never seen the Ocean before and as you can probably see, she loved it! So this is largely about pictures- and so not that many words from me, except to say that Daytona has a beach dedicated to dogs. it's actually down by the Lighthouse of Ponce Inlet and there's a little park there when you pay $3.50 to get in, but you can come and go as you please and the entrance is good for all day - 6am to 9pm. Considering the charge to drive on the beach in Daytona, this is really good value. Apart from the beach itself, there is ample parking; great rest room and shower facilities; places to grill out; big cabanas which you can reserve without fee and of cours... 07/21/2008

Exactly a week ago today I got a call from a couple, that saw our condo-hotel sign, and wanted to see the units, as then the were leaving to Orlando the very same day. It was Sunday, and my chances of spending time on the beach were fading as I was driving to the office. Nice young professional couple. They complained to me that before they called me, they called 7 other agents in the area and not one of them wanted to work with them. I told them that they are lucky, as we are one of a handful of agents who know condo-hotels, which is absolute true. With more chutzpa I would say that we know condotels better then anyone else, but I am OK with being one of two as well. I educated them on the intricacies of buying a condo-hotel. They had their criteria, so we went to see two resorts in th... 07/20/2008

Daytona Beach Real Estate in Golf Communities. By Lisa C. Hill, "THE SMART CHOICE!" If you're interested in moving to the area of Daytona Beach FL, and you're a golfer, you're probably just as interested in the golf courses as you are in the real estate. And even better yet would be a residential golf community, and we have plenty of those. Let's start with what is probably the most well known of all the Daytona Beach golf communities. LPGA. TheDaytona Beach LPGA residential golf community has two world-class courses. The Champions golf course, designed by Rees Jones and opened to the public in 1994, has natural marsh areas, strategic mounding, numerous expanses of sand bunkers and more, and is playable for all skill levels. Also at LPGA is the Legends golf course which opened to the p... 07/14/2008