Oceans Five is ... just a building #5 in the row of Oceans condominiums in Daytona Beach Shores. It was built in 1975, when the majority of the Oceans grew up like white mushrooms in the rainy Florida summer. It is not Le Corbusier, but by the standards of  the 70s, it is a modest high-rise direct oceanfront condominium building with 113 units on 21 floors. Oceans One, Three, Five & Seven are the same design and layout. 6 units on the floor, and they are zig-zagged, so that the balcony always has direct oceanfront. Technically all units there are direct oceanfront but all of them also enjoy a great view of the Intracoastal. Units are not really large, range from 1,028 SF inside to just over 1,120 SF. Need to mention good size balconies. One of the nicest areas. An over a mile-long stret... 09/06/2009

Daytona Beach Shores is a home to quite a few condos in the area here and has a variety different styles, sizes and amenities in all the condos built by different developers with different ideas of conveniences, amenities and style. Largest group of condos here is a row of buildings on the Oceanfront known as the Oceans. These high rises are now home to majority of the residents of Daytona Beach Shores. Oceans are stretched along the shoreline right across from the new City Hall, Publix Plaza and Walgreens Pharmacy and continue up North to Tuscany Shores condominium. Oceans have a perfect sense of a small community nestled in the center of a very friendly small beachfront city. Immediate closeness to the beach, shopping, major highways gives it's residents and visitors tons of things to... 08/26/2009

Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Pets and Condo living is the fourth post in the series. Previous posts: Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Condo Versus Home Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Renting Your CondoCondo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Fees, Assessments and Reserves   In my fifth post in the series Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores I decided to take five minutes and to talk about our four legged friends and how they influence where you live and what you do. As we all know associations and boards in condos impose their rules and restrictions when it comes to numerous areas of condo living here. One of the more controversial ones seems to be the pet policy.   When it comes to pets every condo association seems to have a d... 08/26/2009

Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Fees, Assessments and Reserves is the fourth post in the series. Previous posts: Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Condo Versus Home Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Renting Your Condo Let us take a quick look at Maintenance (Association) Fees, Assessments and last but not least - the Reserves.   If you read my previous post discussing the cost of owning the vacation condo or a home here in Daytona Beach Shores area you are familiar with basic breakdown. What I would like to do here is dwell a little deeper into the things associated with actual ownership of the Condo in the area.   Maintenance fees cover day to day operations of the condo association. It includes insurance, management and maintenance... 08/24/2009

Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Renting Your Condo is the third post in the series. Previous posts: Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Condo Versus Home Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Renting Your Condo is my third blog post in Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shoes series and it discusses renting a condo. With majority of the condos on the Beachside of Daytona Beach Area being a vacation or second properties it is only natural that a lot of owners seek rentals to help them pay for the maintenance fees and the taxes for the condo. I want to look at the specifics of renting a condo in the Daytona Beach Shores as I do manage some units here and have a first hand experience of working with the landlord and the tenant.   There are two typ... 08/20/2009

A very early Sunday on the Beach in Daytona Beach Dhores. This Sunday August 16, 2009 started way too early for me. The alam clock mercilessly forced me out of bed at 5:30 AM, wihich usually happens only when I am have to catch a morning plane, and that does not happen often at all. I am an night owl, and sitting at the computer until 3-4 AM is OK, but getting up at 5:30 AM is not. However, there was an occasion that we could not miss. "The Mayor, City Council, Staff and Residents welcome the participants of the triathlons and their families back to the city of Daytona Beach Shores for the 2009 season. This city supports the active life style associated with triathletes and has pledged to help in every way possible to make these events a success." That's about us. No, me and my wife wer... 08/18/2009

Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores - Condo Versus Home is a second post in the series. Previous posts: Condo Living in Daytona Beach Shores  What would make a better vacation property: condo or a home? The only way anyone can really answer it if they look at all of the components and weigh all the pros and cons. A lot of it has to do with your lifestyle and what is the most important criteria when you are considering the purchase.    There are no Oceanfront homes in Daytona Beach Shores and in the greater Daytona Beach area for $200,000 or so but there are Condos in Oceanfront buildings that start from around $150,000 and offer direct vies of the ocean. Oceanfront homes on the other hand start from around a million dollars and that is a huge difference right from the start. Let's look... 08/17/2009

2 bdr/2 bath +Den in Oceans Grand in Daytona Beach Shores! And It Is Not SHORT SALE!!! I like Oceans Grand condo. Terrific location, breathtaking panoramic views of the ocean, and/or Intracoastal. Oceans Grand offers numerous amenities including Heated Pool and Hot Tub, large gym, community room with kitchen, entertainment center and a dance floor, a game room. It also offers golf and tennis memberships for the owners and tenants in the Oceans Golf club and in the Oceans Racquet club. Here is a little rundown on the building. 21-story building. All standard amenities (heated pool, gym, undeground garage, secured entryways). 9' ceilings, granite in the kitchens and bathrooms is standard, double entryways, very spacious units (starting from 1,645 SF), all units facing water, balconies, ex... 07/30/2009

 Why is it a perfect time to own a vacation condo in Oceans Grand in Daytona Beach Shores? Timing is everything and we are on the brink of reaching original prices of 2004-2005 pre-construction era here in Daytona Beach Area. Just like everything else in life goes through cycles so do the prices of real estate. Catching the right moment is tricky and I doubt we can ever pinpoint just the day or even the month when prices start going back up after a long downward spiral, but every investor wants to be on the very bottom of the cycle when making that decision to purchase. Many believe that time is now. Oceans Grand was built in 2006 and is one of the latest condos in Daytona Beach Shores, and the last condo built in the Oceans part of the Shores. It is perfectly situated between the Intra... 07/27/2009

Bella Vista - A Luxury condo in Daytona Beach Shores, is part of the The Costa Bella Collection by Cook Development. 3 out of 5 planned condo buildings are built: Marbella, Bella Vista and Palma Bella. The Collection embraces Spanish Mediterranean architecture. These condominium residences widely use arches, patios, balconies, tiles, tiled roofs, vibrant colors. Bella Vista was completed in 2007 and is now home to 100 owners. This is an impressive building, and, along with Ocean Villas and Ocean Vistas, these are among the only really luxury buildings in the whole Daytona Beach area. And they all happen to be in Daytona Beach Shores. PROPERTY FEATURES Grand entrance lobby, professionally decorated and furnished Secured-access entry Private underground owner parking Additional parking, l... 07/25/2009

   Daytona Beach Shores Real Estate Market Report by Lisa Hill REALTOR®. "THE SMART CHOICE!" For Daytona Beach Shores real estate sellers: I believe you'll appreciate this information, which will help you determine the value of your house, townhouse, duplex, or condo, based on this years' total sales-to-date, compared to previous years' sales for the same time frame. This can help you determine your asking price. (Data is from Jan 1 to July 1) For Daytona Beach Shores real estate buyers: I believe you'll appreciate this information, which will help you determine the value of your next potential home, and how much to offer and/or invest, whether it's a house, townhouse, duplex or condo. The following chart contains data from the Daytona Beach REALTOR® Association, and shows the total sa... 07/05/2009

Daytona Beach Shores is a home to a condo row known as the Oceans. They started in the glorious 70s and at that time were quite a statement for a small quaint place on the Atlantic Ocean.  They go by the numbers: Oceans One, Oceans Two and so on, skipping Oceans Nine, and it ends in Oceans Ten. All by one developer, Bellemead. In addition to the Oceans from One to Ten, which are all direct oceanfront buildings, there are also two twelve-story buildings: Oceans Atrium and Oceans Atrium One, sitting between Oceans Three and Oceans Four.  Majority of them have already undergone major concrete restoration replacing rusted balconies, some have replaced elevators, and some are in the process of doing it. The buildings, though not new, and far from today's stringent codes, proved to be quite ... 06/24/2009

We submitted an offer for a condo. Short sale. Asking price was $150K, my client wrote the offer for $136K, the Lender came back with $5K more than asking. The whole thing made my clients very uneasy, they thought that it was deceptive, wanted the answer in writing, thought that everyone was avoiding a paper trail. The lender would not give this in writing, and as not the party to the transaction, they are not obligated (at least for now), they wanted that the Listing agent does it in writing, and, of course, the listing agent had no trouble to do it in writing, and neither had I Then I sent them an e-mail, where showed the values, and a lot of other relevant stuff to put it all in perspective. Anyway, I got the e-mail: "Jon, Thanks for your help. However, we feel our offer of $135K is ... 06/05/2009

It's working. It's moving. This is a big shock. Yes, we know that properties in the group "steal it and I will even pay you if you do" are going fast, and the inventory is decreasing on this end. But medium priced properties in $300K-$400K range is a different animal.   Ocean Vistas, one of the best built luxury condos in Daytona, proved that they are selling, and selling they are, indeed.   The Auction was scheduled for 1 PM Sunday an the Shores Resort (former Hilton).I came early. The parking was full, the parking across the street, was full. I parked the car at a restaurant parking, Came to the door, sorry, no more capacity. Oops, all my plans to watch the auction and write a nice blog were going through the drain.   So, I was not at the auction. Called Jeff Moore, who is also an AR ... 05/05/2009

With the market like this, we are used to see the signs "Auction" while driving along A1A. Never went to one, know that there isn't much success, as people are waiting, and the hype is simply not there. I can only imagine auctions 4 years ago. I actually remember how we all went to Venetian Bay to make reservations for condos for our out-of-state buyers. The rules were strict and there were 5 of us, because you could not reserve more than one condo for your client. We came at 3 AM, and there were 3 people ahead of us. We played food for mosquitoes until at 8 AM, when we were let in, and by that time there was a long line of people behind us. I remember being frustrated that they took off the market the best units, as they claimed they were reserved for their employees. The units were ov... 04/27/2009

    Daytona Beach Shores Real Estate Reports and Events. By Lisa Hill, "THE SMART CHOICE!" This real estate update is for the 2009 1st quarter real estate listings and sales report for Daytona Beach Shores. If you're not familiar with the layout of the Daytona Beach area, you should know that what you think is all Daytona Beach, is actually a string of 7 small cities that abutt each other, with Daytona Beach being at the center. In the last couple of weeks I've written... 1st quarter real estate report for Port Orange 1st quarter real estate report for South Daytona 1st quarter real estate report for Daytona Beach The 1st part of the total real estate data for Daytona Beach Shores for the 1st quarter of 2009 includes houses, condos, manufactured homes on land and town houses. The 2nd p... 04/23/2009

Vandals flood 4 floors of Castaways condos -that's was the title of an article published by Anne Geggis in our local newspaper about what happened to Cstaways Beach Resort, a condo-hotel in Daytona Beach Shores Some pranksters last Friday hit a fire sprinkler head on the 4th floor of a condo-hotel and caused flooding from the forth floor down. It happened at about 11 PM, the front desk employees might not have known where the pump was and how they could stop the flooding, and by the time this all was figured, damage was quite extensive. The resort was closed, guest went to other hotels, and those who live there permanently, went to a local shelter. They may open tomorrow after drying out the rooms and hallways. Electricity and water were restored on Saturday, but the city posted a note ... 04/22/2009

Oceans Grand Condominiums in the heart of Daytona Beach Shores Oceans Grand is one of the newest Condos in Daytona Beach Shores located between the Intracoastal Waterway and the Ocean. This is the last building in the popular Oceans complex. This is the last high-rise building in Daytona Beach Shores, as the city has set the height limit to 120', and since then the new buildings are not more than 12-story high. Oceans Grand with its 21 stories was grandfathered. Daytona Beach, a neighboring city to the north still allows high-rise buildings, but the opposition is mounting. Oceans Grand is surrounded by an a 9-hole executive golf course and is right next to Daytona Shores Racquet Clubs' tennis courts.   Oceans Grand, completed in 2006, offers amenities like heated pool, saunas, Hot Tub, ... 04/08/2009

It is April already. Time to check on the Oceanside Inn - a condo-hotel on the Atlantic Ocean in Daytona Beach Shores. 9-story condo-hotel is home to 191-room resort right on the Atlantic Ocean. End of last year was tumultous for the property, but many people did not understand what happened there. And what happened was the control of the  property shifted from a professional management company to the board that is a well intentioned clueless people. Sales pretty much died in the ceanside Inn. A few short sales in the resort, with double units from $75K, whihc is half of what it cost from the developer in 2003. Direct oceanfront studio, the larger floorplan, starts from $94,900, whihc is a heck of a price for this property. Both were over $200K value at the peak of the market, and they ... 04/04/2009

The last remaining luxury oceanfront condos in Daytona Beach Shores are going fast. The luxurious Bella Vista and Palma Bella are tremendous deals, actually selling for less than pre-construction pricing. Interested parties are encouraged to contact me for the scoop. 03/25/2009