Buyers angered as developer misses 3 deadlines at idle condo site in Boca
Buyers angered as developer misses 3 deadlines at idle condo site in Boca
By Paul Owers
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
February 23, 2006
Jackie Badome has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and two grown children. She doesn't need a big house anymore.
So in 2004 Badome agreed to pay $360,000 for a two-bedroom condominium at Eden, a former apartment complex on Palmetto Park Road and Southwest Fourth Avenue in Boca Raton. She put down 10 percent in cash for the condo that was supposed to be ready in March 2005.
But the developer, West Palm Beach-based Ceebraid-Signal Corp., didn't deliver, blaming a busy hurricane season for the delay. Ceebraid missed at least two more deadlines and now promises Badome can move in by September -- except that construction on the job site stopped months ago.
This is an example of the struggles area developers face as the once-hot housing market slows down.
Increasing costs of materials are leaving builders in the lurch, and lenders are becoming more restrictive as the condo market tightens.
"It's pretty disappointing," Badome, 51, said Wednesday. "You make life plans based on where you're going to live, and this puts everything on hold. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position."
Badome, a real estate agent for Nestler-Poletto Realty in Boca Raton, is one of an estimated 200 prospective owners at Eden wondering when, or if, the condo conversion will be finished. Would-be buyers also are questioning the future of another Ceebraid project, Bocara, also in Boca.
Ceebraid is facing construction liens and lawsuits, but Adam Schlesinger, a company vice president, insists that Ceebraid will resolve those and finish both Eden and Bocara.
"We're very sincere and empathize with the buyers," Schlesinger said. "But all we can do is work through these issues and deliver the project at the end of the day.
"Unfortunately, in this case, it's been a very long day."
A Ceebraid affiliate, Ceebraid Acquisition Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Feb. 10 in West Palm Beach. The filing is related to another of Ceebraid's properties, Holiday Isle Resort in Islamorada, Schlesinger said.
Back at Eden, prospective buyers and real estate agents are fed up.
"This may be a house of cards," said Anthony Cutaia, broker-owner of Cutaia Realty Advisors. The Boca Raton real estate firm filed suit against Ceebraid, alleging the company failed to pay commissions for units sold at Eden.
Ceebraid says it has more than 40 years in the industry, converting about 25,000 residential units throughout the eastern United States. It bought the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach and is turning it into a condo-hotel. Ceebraid also announced similar plans for the GulfStream Hotel in Lake Worth and owns other properties in Palm Beach Gardens, Pembroke Pines and Miami Beach.
Schlesinger said Ceebraid had to refinance the loan for Eden and expects to resume construction and begin completing sales in the next month. He acknowledged rising construction costs but said the company will honor the sales contracts.
"We're going to make sure we deliver," Schlesinger said. "We're not going anywhere."
As prices and interest rates rise and speculators leave the housing market, demand for condos is waning, said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach real estate analyst.
Condo conversions were especially hot during the past few years, but those deals have slowed as well, McCabe said.
"It's a complete opposite of the feeding-frenzy attitude just last year," he said.
Joe Bova, an executive vice president for Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust in West Palm Beach, said federal regulators want lenders to be more careful in 2006.
"The market is definitely softening; there's no question about that," Bova said. "If there are 30,000 units coming . and only 15,000 units will be consumed, what's going to happen to the other 15,000?"
Myra Rubenstein, a Boca Raton real estate agent, agreed to buy two condos at Eden as an investment and also has a client waiting to buy.
Rubenstein, 70, said she and other agents are upset because Ceebraid's delays jeopardize their credibility with clients. As a result, she's shying away from preconstruction deals.
"It's put a bad taste in my mouth," Rubenstein said. "Why don't they finish what they start?"
So in 2004 Badome agreed to pay $360,000 for a two-bedroom condominium at Eden, a former apartment complex on Palmetto Park Road and Southwest Fourth Avenue in Boca Raton. She put down 10 percent in cash for the condo that was supposed to be ready in March 2005.
But the developer, West Palm Beach-based Ceebraid-Signal Corp., didn't deliver, blaming a busy hurricane season for the delay. Ceebraid missed at least two more deadlines and now promises Badome can move in by September -- except that construction on the job site stopped months ago.
This is an example of the struggles area developers face as the once-hot housing market slows down.
Increasing costs of materials are leaving builders in the lurch, and lenders are becoming more restrictive as the condo market tightens.
"It's pretty disappointing," Badome, 51, said Wednesday. "You make life plans based on where you're going to live, and this puts everything on hold. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this position."
Badome, a real estate agent for Nestler-Poletto Realty in Boca Raton, is one of an estimated 200 prospective owners at Eden wondering when, or if, the condo conversion will be finished. Would-be buyers also are questioning the future of another Ceebraid project, Bocara, also in Boca.
Ceebraid is facing construction liens and lawsuits, but Adam Schlesinger, a company vice president, insists that Ceebraid will resolve those and finish both Eden and Bocara.
"We're very sincere and empathize with the buyers," Schlesinger said. "But all we can do is work through these issues and deliver the project at the end of the day.
"Unfortunately, in this case, it's been a very long day."
A Ceebraid affiliate, Ceebraid Acquisition Corp., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization Feb. 10 in West Palm Beach. The filing is related to another of Ceebraid's properties, Holiday Isle Resort in Islamorada, Schlesinger said.
Back at Eden, prospective buyers and real estate agents are fed up.
"This may be a house of cards," said Anthony Cutaia, broker-owner of Cutaia Realty Advisors. The Boca Raton real estate firm filed suit against Ceebraid, alleging the company failed to pay commissions for units sold at Eden.
Ceebraid says it has more than 40 years in the industry, converting about 25,000 residential units throughout the eastern United States. It bought the Brazilian Court in Palm Beach and is turning it into a condo-hotel. Ceebraid also announced similar plans for the GulfStream Hotel in Lake Worth and owns other properties in Palm Beach Gardens, Pembroke Pines and Miami Beach.
Schlesinger said Ceebraid had to refinance the loan for Eden and expects to resume construction and begin completing sales in the next month. He acknowledged rising construction costs but said the company will honor the sales contracts.
"We're going to make sure we deliver," Schlesinger said. "We're not going anywhere."
As prices and interest rates rise and speculators leave the housing market, demand for condos is waning, said Jack McCabe, a Deerfield Beach real estate analyst.
Condo conversions were especially hot during the past few years, but those deals have slowed as well, McCabe said.
"It's a complete opposite of the feeding-frenzy attitude just last year," he said.
Joe Bova, an executive vice president for Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust in West Palm Beach, said federal regulators want lenders to be more careful in 2006.
"The market is definitely softening; there's no question about that," Bova said. "If there are 30,000 units coming . and only 15,000 units will be consumed, what's going to happen to the other 15,000?"
Myra Rubenstein, a Boca Raton real estate agent, agreed to buy two condos at Eden as an investment and also has a client waiting to buy.
Rubenstein, 70, said she and other agents are upset because Ceebraid's delays jeopardize their credibility with clients. As a result, she's shying away from preconstruction deals.
"It's put a bad taste in my mouth," Rubenstein said. "Why don't they finish what they start?"
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