Jacksonville beach restaurants succumb to multi family housing boom

Just over a month after the First Street Grill’s final New Years Eve bash, another popular eatery on the Intracoastal Waterway closes its doors for the last time. The Lighthouse Grill, located at the San Pablo River bridge on Beach Blvd. has been sold to Chase Properties, Inc., whose plan is to offer multifamily housing with Intracoastal access on the 2.4 acre waterfront site. The new development, called Lighthouse Point, will consist of 37 townhouses designed in a West Indies tradition, and will sell from $650,000 to 1.5 million. Residents will also have the opportunity to own a boat slip on the property. After denying a proposal to construct an 80’ high, 94 unit condominium on the property two years ago, the city of Jacksonville Beach approved this project as the buildings fall under the cities 35 foot height limit, a restriction passed overwhelmingly by voters in the 2004 election that has until now been seldom enforced. The trend in Jacksonville Beach has been for developers to buy up large parcels of land, tear down the existing structures, and put up 7 to 10 story condominiums. As a result, many of the popular restaurants and night spots that helped define the character of Jacksonville Beach have disappeared. The most recent casualty was the First Street Grille, an oceanfront eatery and gathering place at 7th Ave. North. First Street Grille closed on January 1st after hosting a huge new year’s party attended by many local patrons of the establishment. First Street Grille will be fondly remembered for its excellent Florida cuisine, it’s popular happy hours, and for the dancing behind the dunes to the tunes of live oldies bands. A circuit judge ruled in October that the developer who owned the property, Lee Underwood, had vested rights in the parcel because his decision to purchase the land was based on the government’s position about the properties present and future status. A similar case was decided on January 9th, allowing developer Scott Gay the go ahead for a 10 story condominium at 10th Ave and 1st Street. Several other property rights cases are currently pending in the courts. Arising from the dust of the First Street Grille will be the Acquilus III, a seven story oceanfront condominium. Underwood also owns the property across the street on which the Dolphin Depot is located. An old two story beach house that was transformed into a restaurant, the Dolphin Depot is a popular upscale dining establishment with a very creative menu. According to the same judge that ruled on the First Street Grille property, the rights for this parcel are not vested. Nevertheless, one could safely assume that the Dolphin Depots days are also numbered. In early 2004, a proposal to develop Beach Marine, the public marina across the street from the Lighthouse Grill, into a 550 unit condominium resort and private yacht club was soundly defeated by city council. As a result spawned the group Beaches Watch, a collection of Jacksonville Beach citizens that began the citizen’s initiative, a referendum requiring a city wide height limit of 35 feet on all new construction. The city council proposed a similar amendment, but would allow high rise construction on the oceanfront only. In November, the citizens initiative won by an overwhelming majority of over 70%. High rise construction and development in general has by no means slowed in Jacksonville Beach since the vote. Seven to ten story condominiums are presently being erected from 3rd to 1st Streets as investors continue to win their vested property rights in the courts. While Jacksonville Beach is quickly becoming a world class destination, many of the locals will have to find alternative places to meet and hang out, perhaps going north out of the city to Atlantic and Neptune Beach where the casual ambience and beaches lifestyle does not seem to be threatened.

Investing in bulgarian property the fast track to huge capital gains

: There are amazing profits to be made in the Bulgarian property market. Careful research can even uncover properties that offer instant equity and guaranteed returns. Bulgaria is currently the EU investment hotspot. The prospect of capital gains of 30% per annum, and the cheapest property in Europe is attracting investors from across the globe. Millions of euros are being spent each and every month by investors eager to cash in and this is set to continue unabated, with the prospect of full EU accession in 2007. Entry into the European Community always prompts massive price increases, with 100% capital gains in a single year, quite commonplace. All property types in Bulgaria offer incredible value for money and are experiencing good capital gains across the board. However, with careful research, unbelievable opportunities are to be found in this booming market. The sheer volume of properties can offer a bewildering choice and in any region or resort the asking price of the properties on sale can vary massively. It is vital to accurately gauge the market value of each particular area. In the off plan market especially, developers will launch their new projects with introductory discounts to stimulate sales. Properties are available with discounts of up to 20%. The property for sale in Bulgaria is primarily designed for the holiday trade and corporate letting market. Forward thinking developers, have already begun to sign agreements with major holiday companies and corporations for letting the properties they are building. The income generated is then passed to the purchaser, as a further inducement to stimulate sales. There are currently deals available which will offer anything between 2% to 15% as a guaranteed rental. Bulgaria offers the best investment opportunity around today. The low cost of entry, consistent prices rises and the expected capital gains surge from EU accession next year, provide an irresistible mix for the property novice and seasoned investor alike. investmentpropertybg/"> investmentpropertybg offer a free service to locate either resale or off plan properties, with prices that range from under Ј10,000. With offices both in the UK and Bulgaria they have a wealth of local knowledge and a massive portfolio to choose from.

1031 Exchange tax deferred benefits are hard to ignore

Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code contains arguably one of the most powerful provisions of the tax code for real estate investors… the 1031 tax exchange. Many highly successful real estate investors have used this tax code provision in combination with aggressive pyramiding and upgrading strategies to amass huge investment property portfolios. Here’s how it works: OVERVIEW A Section 1031 Exchange allows you to exchange “like-kind” investment properties without triggering the payment of capital gains tax. As your property assets appreciate in value you have the ability to upgrade into larger properties with greater cash flow. Section 1031 also gives you the flexibility to exchange your rental properties that have appreciated in value in hot markets, and re-invest into lesser-known areas that are expected to develop and become the next hot market in years to come. You can continuously defer these capital gains taxes as you continue to pyramid your property investment portfolio into larger and larger properties. 1031 EXCHANGE BENEFITS There are a lot of benefits to considering the use of a 1031 exchange: TAX DEFERRED INVESTING The ability to re-invest your entire property equity without tax erosion can significantly enhance the amount of capital that stays invested and can make it easier to upgrade into higher value properties with greater cash flow. INCREASE CASH FLOW This decision to upgrade into higher quality properties with greater cash flow can occur faster now that taxes are a lower priority transaction decision. In some markets the real estate values can get ahead of the available cash flow available from the property. In these situations it may make sense to lock in your gain and look to re-invest in another property where you can achieve higher cash flow returns. TIMING THE MARKET The ability to speculate on the next hot market area or region is a much easier decision under a 1031 exchange. Why not lock in your profits on property that has already risen dramatically in value and re-invest it in the next hot market? As long as your capital gains are deferred making these transaction decisions is easier. COMPOUND RETURNS If you are stepping up your portfolio through a series of exchanges over time your full capital gain can be re-invested without tax consequence, resulting in accelerated equity accumulation. FLEXIBILITY The ability to switch into “like-kind” properties as defined in the tax code gives you a range of investment options and flexibility. If you don’t want a lot of the headaches associated with managing property you can also consider Tenant in Common exchanges, which do qualify under Section 1031 of the tax code. CONCLUSION 1031 tax exchanges gives real estate investors a lot more options and flexibility to make better investment decisions on their real estate holdings without the issue of tax over-riding sound judgment. If you own a rental property or are considering it you owe it to yourself to see if a 1031 exchange is right for your circumstances. [ -- You are only permitted to use this article on your website, RSS, and e-zine only if the article links are activated into working hyperlinks at all times. Sites found violating this reprint condition will be subject to legal action for copyright infringement. When using this article you may remove this legal notice -- ]