In this most recent week, March 19 through March 26, there were another 24 new listings with 19 new accepted contracts, four of them in the first week on the market. There are 220 existing condo units and 66 single family homes for sale in Cocoa Beach and Cape Canaveral this morning. That is only slightly more than the number of properties that have gone under contract so far this year.
The Misunderstood and Often Wrongly-Administered First Right of Refusal
An unusual number of the condo transaction I've been involved in recently have been in first right of refusal complexes. There is a lot of misunderstanding about how this antiquated process works and how it should be carried out. From experience, I can say that it is often being done contrary to the procedure the condo docs proscribe. Procedures outlined in the condo docs vary among the dozens of local condo associations that have this right and the Board's or management company's interpretation of the docs is often wrong. First right of refusal gives the association and/or the members (owners) of the association the right to take over a contract to purchase from an outside buyer. For instance, if I contract to purchase a unit in a first right building, the association will offer my contract to the existing owners and they will each have the right to take my contract away from me and purchase the unit at the same terms. Some complexes mail a copy of the contract to all owners and some post it on a bulletin board or website. The length of time is usually between 10 and 21 days in our area. Most docs spell out that a sale to an existing owner is not subject to first right. There is a popular weekly rental complex in Cocoa Beach whose docs spell this exclusion out but the longtime management company insists on offering every contract out to the members regardless of whether the purchaser is already an owner in the complex. There are other complexes offering the right to members where that right only applies to the association and not individual members. I used to own in a complex with first right or so the owners thought. When challenged by a new purchaser, it was discovered that the first right did not and never had existed despite having been offered for over ten years. I would encourage everyone who owns in a first right building and especially Board members to read the condo docs carefully. There is a good chance that the procedure being used for the last two decades is wrong. It may be of little concern to an owner who is not involved in a dispute, but a lawsuit over the interpretation may prevent that innocent owner from being able to sell her unit.
And on another well-worn topic, I continue to receive requests to hold escrow deposits at title companies from agents who should know better. If there is an agent or broker out there who has a good reason for wanting a deposit held at a title company rather than a real estate broker's escrow account, I'd love to hear it. I'll give you a hint; there are none. In the event of a rare dispute over a deposit, I'll take a State of Florida free dispute resolution any day over dueling lawyers.
“We try to abolish intervals by our manic insistence on keeping busy, on doing something. And as a result, all we succeed in doing is destroying all hope of tranquility. You have to learn to immerse yourself in the silences between.” ____from a book I read years ago that changed my perception of and the direction of my life. Thank you Lyall Watson for writing Gifts of Unknown Things
