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ARE
YOU BUYING THE VIEW?
By
Jan Bergemann
Published
January 30, 2015
It
seems many home and condo buyers are under the impression that
they are buying the view when they are paying extra for the view
over the greens of a golf course – or other views realtors
praise to potential buyers. Even if you pay extra for the
“lake” or “golf course” view – the view can change in
a heartbeat – and there is legally very little you can do.
Recently
more and more owners who bought property next to a golf course
have legally no expectation to look over this golf course
forever. And once the golf course “disappears” – or is
growing full of weeds – the property values drop rapidly.
Read
this article from last week’s NWF Daily News: ‘A
tragedy of community relations’ plunges Bluewater into a deep
dispute over future.
An elderly couple trying to sell their home realizes that the changed view
(golf course full of weeds) is making a sale of their property
nearly impossible. “They’ve
lowered their price to well below market value. They have had
many people look, but when potential buyers see the overgrown,
abandoned golf course directly behind the house, they balk.”
If
you buy property directly at the beach your chances that your
view will never change will be pretty good! But otherwise? Any
other view you may be asked to pay extra for may change –
sooner or later! And instead of an increased property value you
may one day face the fact that your property values have
seriously dwindled – or the changed view may even make the
sale nearly impossible.
With
other words: When looking for property pay for the value of the
property and the value of the home (condo), but not for any kind
of “view” – since views can quickly change!
And
never forget: You only buy the property – not the view!
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Jan Bergemann is president of Cyber Citizens For Justice,
Florida
's largest state-wide property owners' advocacy group.
CCFJ works on legislation to help owners living in
community
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associations. He moved to
Florida
in 1995 - hoping to retire. He moved into a HOA, where the
developer cheated the homeowners and used the association dues
for his own purposes. End of retirement!
CCFJ was born in the year 2000, when some owners met in
Tallahassee
- finding out that power is only in numbers. Bergemann was a
member of Governor Jeb Bush's HOA Task force in 2003/2004.
The organization has two websites to inform interested
Florida
homeowners and condo owners:
News Website: http://www.ccfj.net/.
Educational Website: http://www.ccfjfoundation.net/.
We think that only owners can really represent owners, since all
service providers surely have a different interest! We are
trying to create owner-friendly laws, but the best laws are
useless without enforcement. And enforcement is totally lacking
in
Florida
!
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