I was planning on taking some photos and a few video fragments in preparation to changing the design of my website. Mornings were coming nice, but a bit hazy, and the sky was coming up without color, making photos unpleasant. And I was waiting, and it was getting better, but then the clouds would come, and the rain would follow, and it all become grey and unappealing…This is actually our summer weather pattern, with rain or thunderstorms in the second half of the day. And that would be fine any day, but not this weekend, as this is a big race time here, second biggest racing event after Daytona 500.It is already midnight in Daytona. Just learned that Coke Zero 400 at Daytona Speedway was delayed for 3 hours and 34 minutes, and, actually, it just started 15 minutes ago. Six previous Spri... 07/05/2015

 I am from the Soviet Union, and my knowledge about any religion did not go beyond that "religion is the opium for the people” (V.I.Lenin). Not that I believed it then, nor do I believe it now, but I am as far from any religion as you can only be.When we landed in J.F.K. in hot summer of 1991, and did not know what to do, I was told to go to a synagogue in Manhattan and ask for help. They gave me yarmolka, and I went to the synagogue, walked around the block and them came back and returned the yarmolka. I simply could not do it. I could not pretend that I was an opressed Russian Jew...So, when I was invited for a ceremony in a Hindu Cultural Center in Daytona Beach, I was caught napping. A former client turned friend Dr. Ramesh invited us, and I had no idea what to expect, how to be dre... 06/27/2015

 Daytona Beach Home Pool Safety Tips Tips for maintaining a safe and secure environment around your home swimming pool or hot tub.1)  Children must be supervised at all times.  Never leave children alone around pools.2)  Designate a responsible person to watch over the water when people are swimming in ornear the pool.3)  Make sure that all young or inexperienced swimmers wear US Coast Guard approved lifejacket.4)  Make sure that everyone in your home knows how to swim by enrolling in swimming courses.5)  Establish "Pool Rules" around your pool6)  Completely surround your pool with a 4 feet high fence or barrier with a "self-closing", "self-latching" gate.  7)  Install a pool alarm that goes off if anyone enters the pool9)  Know Swimming Pool Safety10) Keep a First Aid Kit nearby11)  Ke... 06/17/2015

Daytona Beachside Condo Prices UP Drastically The Wyse Condo Team at Keller-Williams Realty in Port Orange, FL analyzed May condo sales in the Daytona Beach area and found a decrease in the number of condos and condotels sold in the Daytona Beach area in May, compared to a year earlier. However, the median sales prices for condos were up significantly - by tens of thousands of dollars – bringing great news for local condo owners. Daytona Beach MLS data shows that 89 condos and condotels sold in the Daytona Beach area during May 2015, with a median sales price of $185,000. In May 2014, meanwhile, 104 condos and condotels sold with a median sales price of $144.500.  Meanwhile, there were 103 condos and condotels sold in April 2015 with a median sales price of 125,000. Ron Wysocarski, lead... 06/17/2015

 The condo-hotel market in Daytona Beach area is pretty sluggish, but as the saying goes, some are more sluggish than the others.These more sluggish than others seem to be The Plaza Resort & Spa, and Oceanside Inn.For some reason, while we read in the newspaper that tourism is up, the County collects significantly more revenue in bed tax, these two condo-hotels are not doing great.The irony is that they represent two levels of condo-hotels and are leaders, or, better, say used to lead in their respective categories. Plaza was one of the best if not the best among higher end and more expensive condo-hotels, and Oceanside Inn was unquestionably the best among budget condo-hotels.Actually, according to the latest newsletters from the Plaza Resort & Spa, “The first quarter of 2015 was excep... 06/15/2015

When I receive a call and the question is about rental limitations, and now more often about the limitations on owners’ stay in condo-hotels, I get that uneasy feeling.When people are trying to find the condo-hotel, which would allow unlimited stay, when people are telling me that they plan to use as a place of living, or even stay 6 months, I want to scream…No, there is no such condo-hotel, where you can live. Condo-hotel is a hotel, and you can’t live in a hotel. You can only stay in a hotel. And that stay can and is regulated.But let’s stop for a second and think. Even if there was such thing as a condo-hotel, where you could live, you shouldn’t. It is the wrong type of property for this purpose.It is like ask me whether you can add wings to your Toyota and fly because it has a power... 06/14/2015

Facts About Volusia County Florida that May Surprise You  Volusia County Geography·        240,000 acres of conservation land ·         172 miles of waterways·         35 miles of sandy beaches·         More than 10,000 acres of park sites, and 55 parks·         Miles and miles of biking and hiking trails·       Abundance of Florida State Parks – Blue Springs Park and De Leon Springs Volusia County Location:·         Located between Jacksonville and Orlando·         Daytona Beach International Airport·         Immediate Access to I-95 and I-4·         53 Miles to Orlando·         90 Miles to Jacksonville·         139 Miles to Tampa·         53 Miles to St. Augustine·         200 Miles to West Palm Beach Volusia County Economy:·         Corporations based in Daytona Beach include:·      ... 06/10/2015

Daytona Beach Waterfront PropertiesDaytona Beach Florida offers a nice selection of WATERFRONT PROPERTIESfor Home Buyers searching for a waterfront property.Daytona Beach Area offers oceanfront, riverfront, lakefront, and canalfront homes, townhomes, and condos in all price ranges from $100,000 up to $8M.Take a tour of the Daytona Beach Area You can search for DAYTONA BEACH WATERFRONT PROPERTIES  on my website:http://www.JoyceMarsh.com  Ormond Beach Waterfront Homes and Condos Daytona Beach Shores Homes and Condos Ponce Inlet Luxury and Waterfront Homes and Condos Port Orange Homes and Condos South Daytona Waterfront Properties Ormond By The Sea Waterfront Properties New Smyrna Beach Waterfront Properties   Contact Joyce Marsh Homes Team for more information:DAYTONA BEACH WATERFRONT PRO... 06/04/2015

I am trying to make sense of our today’s Daytona Beach area condo-hotel market and I can’t. It resembles 2014, which started with some promising activity, but then ran out of steam and went into a coma. Actually, it resemble the coma part. This year I did not notice even any increase in activity, which we expected in the Spring. It has not gotten out of the coma yet...Seems like the pattern of seasonal fluctuations, that was so noticeable before, changed. Not that there is a new pattern now, it is simply that the condo-hotel market is anemic, and there was not enough steam to even simulate the activity.Currently, there are 36 units for sale in Plaza Resort & Spa. The inventory is very high, and it's been very high for the last, I believe, 9 months.If we, at least, had units pending or c... 05/18/2015

A few days ago I noticed this flyer on the wall of the elevator. The Turtle season is back.  And today in Ormond Beach I saw the first nest staked and taped around. First for me this season. Now we have to be careful with the light. Usually people use special light fixtures on the balcony. It is not the light itself, it is when it is on the sand. The turtles by instinct go to light, and in nature water reflects the moon and the stars and is the light. As you see, fines are quite substantial, and it is a good inducement to do things right:)Here is the flyer:  05/09/2015

- A friend of mine owns a condo-hotel at Xxxxxxx. I saw her the other day and she told me unit 555 is available and the price has been reduced. We plan on going to the beach this Sunday.I received this email on Monday. I wouldn’t say that I get them all the time, but it is not unusual. I checked the listing, and yes, the price was dropped from $45K to $35K making it $15K less expensive than the next unit there, and I called the Listing agent expecting only one answer.You know which one?That the Seller has just accepted the full price offer.So, what do you do when the frustrated owner drops the price by $10K making it 70% of the price of the next unit?What do your hunter’s instincts tell you?Yeah, grab it right away. Put the contingency on viewing, or make sure you are within your inspec... 05/05/2015

It is the very end of April and high time to me to look at the condo-hotel market in Daytona Beach area.We have the total of 2, 448 condo-hotel units in 14 condo-hotel buildings. 158 condo-hotel units are for sale. This is a low number. It is 6.45% of all condo-hotel units in Daytona Beach area. It is a sign of warming market.Actually, I do not even remember when it was under 160. But I remember how 3-4 years ago it was at 360.The paradox though is that both then and now the starting prices are very low. Of course, not exactly as low as in 2009 for $15K in Hawaiian Inn in the middle of both the recession and a major concrete restoration work in Hawaiian, which in plain English means that owners had one Special Assessment after the other, and there were quite a few units that were dumped... 04/30/2015

27 units for sale in Daytona Beach resort & Conference Center at the very end of April. For a 315-room resort this 8.6% of units for sale is not a killer. It is just slightly above the “healthy” 7 %, so no worry here. Actually, developer is still holding close to 60 units, so the true ratio of units for sale to total units would be a bit over 10%, which for today’s condo-hotel market in Daytona Beach area is still not bad.It is the only condo-hotel, which started conversion early in 2000s and have still the inventory of unsold units by the developer. Not sure if the developer wanted it this way, or how it happened, but this is how it is.I never considered this resort a good fit for condo-hotels, but the way it was happening in the area had little to do with what would make sense, but ra... 04/30/2015

Real Estate market changes constantly. Those who watch it on regional scale see the trends and can make some predictions. We are watching it on local scale, and are hardly able to see the trends, but while it is good to understand the trend and know where you are going to be in the near or not so near future, it is mostly theoretical if you are thinking of buying.So, what is happening at Ocean Walk Resort in Daytona Beach? It is April and the market is still quite stagnant. The market is believed to be warming up (on both the national, regional and even the local scale), and inventory shouldn’t be growing.However, since January of this year there was not a single 2-bedroom unit sold in Ocean Walk. In 2014, which was not a very active year, there were 5 two-bedroom units sold, and if we ... 04/29/2015

March Condo Sales in Daytona Beach The Wyse Condo Team - The Right Choice To Sell Your Condo - 386-562-2651April 27, 2015  An analysis by The Wyse Condo Team at Keller Williams Realty in Port Orange, FL of the  March Condo Sales in Daytona Beach found a slight decrease in the number of condos and condotels sold in March, compared to a year earlier. However, average condo and condotel sales prices were up by nearly 15 percent in the Daytona Beachside in March 2015 compared to March 2014. Search all condos for sale in the Daytona Beach area.According to MLS data, 71 condos and condotels were sold in Ormond Beach, Ormond By The Sea, Daytona Beach, Daytona Beach Shores and Ponce Inlet in March 2015 with an average sales price of $189,044. That's up from sales prices in March 2014 when 80 c... 04/28/2015

Daytona RisingatDaytona International SpeedwayDaytona Rising is a $400 million project to redesign parts of an American Icon- Daytona International Speedway.  Fans will have the options of a new series of escalators, entrances and elevators to transport visitors to three different concourse levels. Each level has its own social area along the nearly mile long frontstretch. Daytona International Speedway expects to have approximately 101,000 permanent, wider and more comfortable seating, more restrooms and more concession stands. Also, Daytona International Speedway will boast over 60 luxury suites with track side views and  a new  modern hospitality experience for the corporate guests. Completion time is expected to be ready for the 2016 Rolex 24 at Daytona and Daytona 500!!Daytona Inte... 04/22/2015

Knowledge is our best weapon. How many times in your life you thought that if you were an attorney, these (or those) people would have to pay for what they say, or what they did. Of course, sometimes, you not only have to have the knowledge, but also be licensed, but I digress.In Daytona condo-hotels the issue with owners renting their own units is getting hotter. Many Management Companies, that do rentals and maintain the Front Desk in condo-hotels, see owners' own rentals as a threat. Some Board of Directors side with the Management companies, as owners rentals are more difficult to control, and it might be more problematic for the Associations, and they are simply looking for fewer issues to deal with rather than more.Understandable.I had a customer calling me today after reading my ... 04/07/2015

40 units for sale in the Plaza Resort & Spa is a very high percentage. 12.4% of 323 units in the resort being for sale is nearly twice the norm. I could accept it 3 years ago, when this was the story of condo-hotel market and the number of units for sale in all condo-hotels was way over 300, but not today. Today the market is very different. Today there are 170 condo-hotel units on the market, a far cry from 300+. Considering that we have 13 condo-hotels, and one has 40 units for sale, this is nearly a quarter of all units for sale. Of course, The Plaza is the biggest with 323 rooms, which is 13.4% of 2,411 units total. So, it is 13.4% of all units, and it has 23.5% of all units for sale. Call it disproportionate. Not great statistic and it raises questions. Why is that you can buy a un... 03/24/2015

I am a Floridian, and, as I often joke, I am still warming up. People usually smile. People are polite. But after living in the Arctic for 14 years, warming up in Florida is not a joke. Or it is the best joke ever, depending how you look at it. Even though I have been in Florida since 1996, and it is longer than I lived above the the Arctic Circle, living in the Arctic left an indelible mark, and I have a lot of appreciation for simple things like sun, the ocean, and green leaves. Every morning I look out of my window and call my wife to look how beautiful the world is, and she is laughing, as she has used to it and she is not comparing it to the Russian Arctic, and I still do. Watch this very short amateur video taken couple of days ago in the Russian city of Vorkuta where we lived. It... 03/22/2015

The Blue Black vs White Gold Dress Debate – How it relates to Real Estateby Joyce Marsh – Daytona Beach, FL - March 7, 2015 There is no doubt that “the dress debate” has dominated the internet lately, and has become one of the most viral sensations in internet history.  Unless you’ve been in hiding, I’m certain that you have taken part in the phenomenon.  Is the dress blue & black or white & gold? The original Buzz Feed post was shared 28 million times.  Twitter reported more than 11 million tweets in less than 20 hrs.The results report that 72% of people actually saw the dress as white and gold, 28% saw the dress as blue and black.  As it turns out, we now know that the dress is actually “blue and black”, so 72% of people were “correcting in the wrong direction”.  People seem to be ama... 03/06/2015