December, the month of Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays. I'm
curious where you come out on these names?
Last week, we had a full-team Seahorse meeting to assess
where we currently are and to make concrete plans for 2015. It was an excellent
day and a half. This is the slow time of the year on the Texas Gulf Coast, so
many of our decisions will take some months to play out.
Our main topic was have we over-built our
luxury homes on the beach and bay and do we need a second line product? Or,
have we just not seen the right prospects yet?
Because we have not been able to arrange
financing for our major amenity, the beach clubhouse and pool, we are really
selling with one arm tied behind our backs, as the expression goes.
Usually, not much gets accomplished during
December due to parties and the holidays. No so, as mentioned last month, with
us. We are going flat out to improve sales at Seahorse and to get the Florida
Keys Resort funded.
Marathon Key:
The Crystal Cottages project on Marathon is already funded
with equity. Now, it's time for the development loan, to start construction and
to get into sales. RCI will play a material part in this process.
The Florida Keys Resort, aka Sombrero Golf
Club, with sites for hotel, fractional cottages and new clubhouse, will close
next month. We are finalizing the major equity contribution that will allow us
to do so. We have transferred our franchise agreement from Crystal to Florida
Keys Resort, and still plan to sell the second floor either in a fractional
structure or a condo-hotel structure.
Condo-hotels? The SEC has changed its
regulations to allow for a more dynamic presentation of the numbers. With the
improving economy and the red hot Keys hotel market, we may have a winner on
our hands.
Where do we go from here? We have a good
handful of leads for marketing and/or development. Now comes the tough
part—converting the leads into deals.
New Orleans:
Square #97, about which we've written quite a bit over the
past year or so, is in limbo as we have been faced with conflicting information
on transient use [hotel, fraction, short-term rentals] and ownership. We may
have an 'in person' meeting soon.
Other Deals:
San Antonio, TX – At The Fairmount, we have a proposal
before the owner to fractionalize to-be-built condos in and on top of the
hotel.
Bear Valley, CA – We have discussed with the new owners the
build-out of the village core.
Telluride, CO – We have a proposal for a bulk sale of
inventory there in a semi-dormant fractional project.
Wells, ME – Back again after the recession is a
wonderful project that will have a golf course, country inn and a fractional
component.
The easy part is getting the leads in and organizing them.
The tough part is the closing.
Merry Christmas,
Carl
