Florida Real Estate, Tourism and Immigration News

US “Fast Track” EB-5 Visa Update

As the normal drizzly European winter fast approaches and international currencies continue to strengthen against the US dollar, many would-be emigrants are turning their thoughts once again to America and in particular, the “Sunshine State” of Florida.

Much has happened in the last few months to make the increasingly popular EB-5 investment visa even more appealing. The US government and several individual States, such as Florida, for example, have intensified and broadened their search for investment capital and job creation during these challenging recessionary times.

A good measure of the EB-5 (“Employment-Based”) visa programme’s growing popularity and success is its rapid expansion in recent months. The choice of US government-designated EB-5 “Regional Centers”, for example, has doubled in the past year, from under 30 locations last year to over 60 now. Along with increased choice, however, comes the increased need for due diligence in the selection of the one EB-5 Regional Center that best fits your individual and unique budgetary, investment and personal requirements.

Additionally, Regional Centers are becoming more competitive in their efforts to attract the US$500,000 or US$1 Million investment required to participate in the programme. One Florida EB-5 Regional Center, located only minutes from Walt Disney World in Orlando, has recently increased its EB-5 investment offering from two luxury condominium rental-income apartments to three – 33% more Florida property for the same investment amount!

The EB-5 visa secures a permanent US resident Green Card not only for the applicant but also their entire family under 21 (the bigger the family the bigger the visa value).

Please let us know, therefore, if you would like a more detailed update of the US EB-5 “Fast Track” visa. This timely and sensible US immigration programme enables you to invest in, as well as emigrate to the Unites States, without the usual qualification issues, delays and frustrations of many other US visa options.

So come, live and invest in America’s “Sunshine State”!

Sincerely,

Christine Doran – Emigrated to the U.S. in 1992

General Manager
British Homes Group Florida
www.eb5investmentvisas.com
www.britishhomesgroup.com
Telephone: (+1) 407 396 9914
From within the UK Freephone: 0800 096 5989

Lake Buena Vista EB5 Regional Center

“The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” will give you a renewed appreciation of the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Susan Veness’ new Disney book “The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” is reviewed by Jim Hill Media, a website that is one of THE most authoritative voices on Disney and all things to do with the House of Mouse anywhere in the world.

It is read by Disney execs and fans alike. It is a glorious, glowing review from one of the most knowledgeable people in the business and it is a superb testament to all Susan’s work on this.

“The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World” will give you a renewed appreciation of the WDW Resort…Jim Hill reviews Susan Veness’ new paperback, which features over 600 seldom-told tales about the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom .

“30 years ago this month, I made my very first trip to Walt Disney World. And for 25 years now, I’ve been writing about Central Florida’s Vacation Kingdom.”

“I offer this info up not because I want to impress JHM readers with my advanced age. But – rather – to give you some idea of how long I’ve actually been studying the history of WDW. The decades that I’ve devoted to talking with the Imagineers who actually designed the Resort’s theme parks and hotels, the many longtime cast members that I’ve quizzed over the years to get a sense of how this place really runs.”

“And over these past three decades, I have literally collected tens of thousands of tales about the Walt Disney World Resort. I mean, I thought that I had heard and read it all. Which is why Susan Veness’ “The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World: Over 600 Secrets of the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom ” (Adams Media, June 2009) is such a delightful surprise.”

Read the full review…
 
LINK: http://jimhillmedia.com/blogs/jim_hill/archive/2009/06/10/the-hidden-magic-of-walt-disney-world-allows-you-to-see-the-resort-through-a-new-set-of-eyes.aspx

Susan also helps co-author the very popular ‘A British Guide to Orlando’.

Congratulations Susan!

Orlando Realtors sold more homes in May, but more than half were bank owned or distressed sales, according to the latest report from Orlando Regional Realtor Association.

Association members sold 1,854 existing homes last month, or 38 percent more than April and 44 percent more than the same month last year. Of the homes sold in May, 795 were bank-repossessed properties and another 150 were distressed.

Those sales have driven down the median home price in May to $130,000, a 38.5 percent decrease. The median price for a traditional home resale was $165,000, $82,000 for bank-owned resales and $140,000 for distressed sales.

Meanwhile, sales of existing homes in Lake, Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties was up 44 percent last month. There were 2,400 home resales in the Orlando area, compared to the 1,662 sold in May 2008.

Through May, 10,005 homes have be sold, 51.7 percent more than the 6,595 sold during the same period last year.

Along with increased sales, more than double the number of homes awaited closings in May, an indicator of an improving market, the report said. There were 6,603 pending contracts last month, which compares with 3,225 in the same month last year and 3,455 homes came under contract in May 2009.

Orlando area condo resales was 369 in May, more than double May 2008’s 142 unit sales. The majority of those sales, 198 units, were priced at $50,000 or less.

The report said 156 duplex, townhome, and villa units sold in May, a nearly 36 percent increase from May 2008’s 115. Most of those sales, 29 units, sold in the $100,000-$120,000 price category.

Orlando’s affordability index is at nearly 198, which means that buyers earning the state-reported median income of $52,364 can qualify to purchase homes priced up to $256,939.

The first-time homebuyer affordability in Orlando is 140.6 percent, which means first-time homebuyers who earn the reported median income of $35,608 can qualify to purchase a home listed for $155,306 or less.

All homes were on the market for an average of 104 days before selling in May 2009. The average home sold for 94 percent of its listing price.

There were 19,123 homes for sale through the Multiple Listing Service last month, down 1,071 homes from April 2009. The May inventory level is nearly 24 percent lower than 25,015 available in May 2008. The May 2009 inventory reflects a 10.31-month supply at the current sales pace.

U.K. house prices unexpectedly jumped in May by the most since 2002, adding to signs the worst of the recession is over, a report by Halifax showed.

Home values rose 2.6 percent from the previous month to an average of £158,565 pounds ($260,000), the division of Lloyds Banking Group Plc said in a statement in London today. Economists predicted a 1 percent drop, according to the median of 12 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. From a year earlier, prices fell 13.7 percent.

Services industries expanded for the first time in a year in May and consumer confidence rose to a six-month high, reports yesterday showed, in further evidence the economy is emerging from its slump. The Bank of England said today it will continue spending 125 billion pounds in newly printed money to bolster lending as it kept the benchmark interest rate at a record low.

“The Halifax data are bound to heighten speculation that the housing market is turning,” said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight in London. “We believe that the pickup in actual house purchases is likely to be gradual and fitful for some time to come given ongoing tight credit conditions.”

The monthly increase was the first in four months, Halifax said. In the three months through May, prices fell 16.3 percent from a year earlier.

“There are some tentative indications of a possible stabilization in activity, albeit at a low level,” Nitesh Patel, an economist at Halifax, said in the statement. “House sales remain substantially below their long term average and market conditions are expected to remain difficult.”

The Bank of England today left the benchmark interest rate at 0.5 percent at its monthly decision and said they would keep the total amount of money that they want to spend on assets to aid the economy under review.

Despite a year long recession in 2008, more than 48 million people visited Orlando last year to give the area its second-best year on record, according to an official head count released Wednesday.

The visitor total reported by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau Inc. — 48.9 million — was three-tenths of a percent better than the 2007 head count of 48.7 million and the best year since 2005, when a record 49.3 million visitors came to town.

“We knew the first part of ’08 was sensational for us, and we led the U.S. in a lot of different metrics,” said Gary Sain, president and chief executive of the visitors bureau. “And then, of course, the last six months of the year were very challenging.”

The slight increase last year was due to an 18.9 percent jump in international visitors, who constitute a small but lucrative segment of Orlando’s tourism market. The number of U.S. visitors, who constitute about 93 percent of all travelers to Orlando, actually fell last year by nine-tenths of a percent.

Sain attributed the international growth to more targeted marketing in countries such as Brazil and Canada, as well as the addition of international air service by carriers such as Germany’s Lufthansa, Ireland’s Aer Lingus and Brazil’s TAM.

“We’re just making it easier for people to travel to Orlando,” he said.

The number of domestic leisure travelers last year generally held steady when compared with 2007, but the number of domestic business travelers fell 3.2 percent as the recession prompted corporations to trim their travel budgets. Overnight group meetings fell 7.8 percent compared with a year earlier, the visitors bureau said.

Davenport, Florida…

A troubled developer in the Four Corners area near Walt Disney World, sued by British investors after the vacation homes for which they paid thousands weren’t built, has now sought protection from its creditors in bankruptcy court.

Tierra del Sol Resort Inc. filed a Chapter 11 petition this week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Orlando, seeking a chance to restructure so it can resume construction and pay off its debts. The company owes creditors a total of $184 million.

“The goal is to restart construction,” said bankruptcy lawyer Scott Shuker, who filed the petition for the Orlando-based resort company.

Construction ceased last summer at Tierra del Sol, a development that was supposed to total nearly 1,000 condominium units and town homes off U.S. Highway 27, just west of the ChampionsGate resort. The developer ran out of money.

Tierra del Sol officials last year blamed the cash shortfall on the housing slump, an expansion of the resort’s water park, and the costs of filing plan modifications with Polk County government.

Once construction restarts, Shuker said, the company would finish building the units and sell them to repay creditors. If it can secure a loan, the company intends to build the 100,000-square-foot clubhouse, with restaurants and shops, featured in its original plans. Shuker said the resort would be fully built in three to four years.

So far, only 96 town houses have been completed and prepared for occupancy. Of the 972 units planned for the site, 370 have purchase contracts but haven’t gone to closings.

The project’s first phase — five Mediterranean-style buildings with six floors and 1,200- to 1,500-square-foot condos — was initially to be ready by the summer of 2006. When it missed that deadline, Tierra del Sol started to send buyers letters asking for contract extensions — and more money to finish the construction.

“They started calling and trying to get me to sign another contract and pay double the price,” said Tom DeNapoli, who said he paid a $27,000 deposit for a four-bedroom town house supposed to be completed in 2005. He asked for his deposit back but never got it.

“It certainly negated any other investment opportunity I might have had,” said DeNapoli, 46, who lives in Easton, Mass.

If the project doesn’t get back on its feet, Shuker said, those who paid deposits will not get their money back.

David and Sandra Clayton of the Netherlands are among the would-be owners who reached a settlement with the company late last year after filing a lawsuit. They have received about $100,000 so far of $330,000 they’re owed, said their lawyer, Matt Firestone.

“It’s not good for my clients,” Firestone said of the bankruptcy filing. “As unsecured creditors, they stand to obtain little if any of these funds from the bankruptcy.”

The Chapter 11 filing protects the company for now from current and future lawsuits. Affiliated companies that are part of the bankruptcy filing include TDS Amenities Inc., TDS Clubhouse Inc., Tierra del Sol Owners Association Inc., Costa Blanca I Real Estate LLC, Costa Blanca II Real Estate LLC and Costa Blanca III Real Estate LLC.

If the homes eventually are built and sold at their listed prices, Tierra del Sol’s assets would total $188 million, Shuker said. The company’s largest creditors include banks, investment groups and numerous home buyers, many of whom paid deposits of more than $100,000. Many of those disappointed buyers are from the United Kingdom, where the company had heavily advertised the resort. The development also drew buyers from throughout the U.S. and Latin America, including Colombia and Venezuela.

Kennedy Funding of New York and Stanford Fund of California are owed $28 million each. Tierra del Sol Resort’s parent company, American Leisure Group, reportedly received loans from R.Allen Stanford, a Texas financier accused of an $8 billion fraud by federal regulators.

Tierra del Sol is actually a subsidiary of American Leisure Holdings Inc., which is owned by American Leisure Real Estate Group.

International Pow Wow, the U.S. travel-and-tourism industry’s primary trade show for foreign buyers, came and went last week in Miami Beach. For Orlando, it’s already time to focus on next year’s show.

Orlando will host Pow Wow 2010 and the 4,500 or so suppliers, wholesale buyers and travel writers that come with the show. It’s a tremendous opportunity for the region during what’s expected to be a critical year for tourism, as the nation hopes to be climbing out of recession by then.

As the host city, Orlando will have the home-court advantage when it comes to snagging a piece of the show’s action. The U.S. Travel Association, which organizes the event, estimates that Pow Wow generates more than $3.5 billion in travel deals, and the host city typically captures 10 percent of the show’s total bookings.

The show, organizers say, consists of three days of intensive, prescheduled business appointments involving more than 1,000 U.S. travel-and-tourism businesses and organizations and close to 1,500 travel buyers from more than 70 countries. In addition to dozens of individual appointments, a buyer is also wined and dined by attractions from the host city.

For Orlando, which last hosted the event in 2006, that means everyone from Walt Disney World to Mears Transportation to various local hotels get to strut their stuff in hopes of wowing wholesale-travel buyers with a firsthand experience.

“So much has changed since when we hosted it last,” said Danielle Courtenay, spokeswoman for the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. “It gives us an opportunity to make sure that the thinking and perception of Orlando is current.”

Among the new draws in Orlando by next spring: roller coasters introduced this year by both Sea World and Universal Orlando, Disney’s Toy Story Mania ride and American Idol Experience show, the five-star Waldorf Astoria hotel in Bonnet Creek, the 1,400-room Hilton Orlando, and a host of new dining and shopping options.

Also, Universal’s much-anticipated Harry Potter attraction is expected to be open no later than the summer of 2010.

Leslie Case, director of sales and marketing for Blue Man Productions, knows the value of having Pow Wow in town. Last year, when Las Vegas was the show’s host city, more than 3,000 Pow Wow delegates saw the local rendition of Blue Man Groupduring a special evening event.

“People get it much better when they have an opportunity to see the show,” Case said. “There are relationships that are established at events like this that last us for many years.”

Nickelodeon Family Suites also hopes to benefit from see-for-yourself marketing next year, too, by inviting promising leads for a familiarization stay. Jim Struna, the hotel’s director of marketing and revenue management, said the business is a regular at Pow Wow and projected that the show will account for 17 percent of the hotel’s business this year.

One big benefit of the show is that it allows domestic travel companies to pitch their product to international buyers in person, something that might be too costly to attempt if it involved flying overseas.

Orlando marketing representatives started building some buzz for Pow Wow 2010 at this year’s Miami Beach show. The visitors bureau set up a “smile campaign” at its booth and is posting delegates’ photos to a Pow Wow 2010 page on Facebook, the popular social-networking Web site. Also on the site: A video commercial for Orlando’s varied vacation attractions.

In addition to generating a local marketing blitz, the coming of Pow Wow usually sparks a citywide cleanup. Before this year’s event, Miami embarked on an intensive beautification campaign that included politeness reminders for taxi drivers. About 30 officials took a two-hour bus tour to inspect the streets Pow Wow delegates were most likely to see or use during their visit; the day’s journey produced an 83-item punch list of problems that were then assigned to 15 agencies or organizations.

“We like to say Pow Wow is the Super Bowl of our trade shows,” said Rolando Aedo, vice president of marketing for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau. As this year’s host, Miami-Dade County was planning to spend about $2.3 million on Pow Wow, Aedo said.

By the time Pow Wow arrives in Orlando next May, local marketers are hoping the hundreds of travel buyers will be in the mood for doing business.

“This has been such an unpredictable year for travel,” said Courtenay, the visitors bureau spokeswoman. “Hopefully, by that time, we’ll have seen some turnaround.”

Florida Property Auction Updates.

May 16th 2009
 
Blue Springs Auction: (Scheduled)

    * Large Acreage Lots
    * Opening bids of $25 K to $29 K
    * There are two homes for sale too.
    * There are 28 lots to be sold.
    * 10 of the lots will be sold “Absolute”
    * The event will be held on site.
    * Register: http://www.britishhomesgroup.com/florida-property-auctions.php

Town Homes in Melbourne: (In process)

    * Numerous “fee simple” town homes.
    * Two car garages in each of the units.
    * Previously sold in the Mid $400′s
    * Opening bids of $95,000 for each.
    * Luxury finishes (granite and crown moldings)
    * Adjacent to the Intracoastal Waterway
    * Auction tentatively scheduled for May 30th
    * Register: http://www.britishhomesgroup.com/florida-property-auctions.php

Future auctions to include condos on both the east and west coasts of Florida, as well as some single family homes near the Disney World location.

Resgister to receive auction updates: http://www.britishhomesgroup.com/florida-property-auctions.php

DEAL OF THE WEEK

20% Deposit for International Buyers

Bank owned move-in condition! IMMEDIATE OCCUPANCY! Ready to move in. Spacious two story with bonus room (ideal for office). All bedrooms on 2nd floor, nice master suite with walk-in closet, large master bath with garden tub and double vanities, gourmet kitchen with all appliances, lots of cabinetry and counterspace, separate tiled breakfast area overlooking backyard. Formal living and dining rms, great family room that opens to kitchen, inside laundry room with access door to side yard, double car garage, close to shopping and restaurants.

Enquire About this property: More Information

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If you are currently considering buying a home in or around Orlando, recent statistics and an article in today’s Orlando Sentinel reveal that the ‘Timing is looking Good’.

Auctions, short sales, foreclosures and just plain and simple ‘too good to miss bargains’ are attracting investors, hedgefunds and first time buyers from all areas of the globe. Lenders are being more responsive with their short sale process and some are even offering 100% financing if you buy their own bank owned properties.

Existing-home sales in the region have started rising again compared with a year ago. And half the deals involve bank-owned foreclosures or “short sales” — properties for which the bank has agreed to take less than the amount owed on the mortgage.

48 percent of sellers nationally are now getting multiple purchase offers for a single property, nearly double the 25 percent rate during the same period last year.

The Orlando Realtors’ foreclosure analysis, released Monday, showed for the first time the extent of distress sales in the local market. Of the 1,653 homes sold by the association’s member agents in the core Orlando market last month, 700 were bank-owned.

Read the full article here…

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-bizdistress16041609apr16,0,4691113.story