January 2011

January 2011

Our acute surgery program at Dye Villas is paying some dividends. Our developer 'close out' at $30k per 1/13^th + HOA dues for a year + closing costs + extras, all cash at #34,650 down from $60k has gotten us 8 closed sales in the past 60 days with the pipeline filling up. We began this program at the start of the holiday season, so up hill with our customers to come to the project. We have about 12 other, solid deals in the works. All the buyers are regional to Myrtle Beach.

We plan to continue this 'close out' through the first quarter. Here's the scenario:

Dye Villas was built and opened in late 2005. It sold very well thru early 2008 and then began to slow and stopped on September 8^th of that year.

Not much happened 'till the spring of '10 when we became involved. In the mean time a 1/12^th share had been approved by the DRE in South Carolina, down from the 1/6 share previously offered at up to $150k. By 2010 it was down to $120,000, so the $60,000 for the then amended to 1/13^th share was a good price. But, no traction, so in November of 2010 we began with the 'close out' plan.

The concern was to: [1] make sales and bring in some cash, [2] bring in more HOA dues to cover the subsidy and [3] most important to not let the project go stale, to not let it be seen as old and older inventory although it's been kept in impeccable condition.

So, what do we know of the recession? Cut, cut and cut the prices and some prospects will move off center. Not very clever, but what can work; can work.

We have reconfigured our sales team in the process, stepped up our relationship selling skills, filled our toolboxes with contemporary data and figuratively 'married' any prospect that will raise their hand. We are with them until they 'divorce' us.

At Whitefish it's still hand-to-hand combat to get decisions made. For every sale we close we loose two that had deposits and paperwork. For all of 2010 we closed just a handful. I mentioned the turning on us of the Canadian market, who used to buy real estate in the US as a hedge to the Canadian economy. Now, they tell us the US is worse off than Canada, so why buy? 

I'm speaking at the London fractional conference in February, interested to see if there is any advisory work to keep our team busy.

Will the tax rate extensions and the change of power in the House of Representatives make any difference in consumer confidence? We'll see….