Star Real Estate Agent - Amelia Island

Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty is so proud to announce that one of our agents was named a Five Star Real Estate Agent for 2009! Each year, Florida Homebuyer Jacksonville magazine lists the top real estate agents in Northeast Florida and each year Prudential agents make the list. The agents are chosen by an independent survey completed by recent homebuyers and other industry experts to find the best in client satisfaction. The survey asks recent homebuyers to evaluate their real estate agent based on communication, customer service, integrity, finding the right home, negotiation, marketing the home, closing preparation, market knowledge and overall satisfaction. Less than 4 percent of more than 10,000 licensed agents in the Jacksonville area make the cut, so we want you to meet the best! Call John Holbrook 904-415-0171

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

http://ping.fm/KEDpQ

Concours d’Elegance

This years Concours d’Elegance is scheduled for March 12-14th 2010. In addition to an amazing collection of classic cars this year the Honoree will be Nascar legend Richard Petty!

The event will also celebrate the 40th anniversary of Porsche’s victory at the 24 hours of Daytona and Le mans and showcase a number of influential Porsche 917’s.


John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Waterman's Bluff Lots

Click here for Waterman's Bluff Lots

http://nas.ctimls.com/Report.asp?359NAS3;449346,449341,449339,449340,449338,451097,450866,450549

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Amelia Island Plantation Residential Properties

Amelia Island Plantation Residential Properties - Click Here

http://nas.ctimls.com/Report.asp?698NAS3;143599,149963,148322,149434,150290,150382,147962,150030,150009,150811,150874,147936,149609,147051,150249,143250,148986,148286,147797,148401,148456,149706,149410,151015,146714,150883,149529,150280,149547,148341,148808,150731,147798,141662,150641,149578

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Carolyn Lockhart Property Search

Dear Jacki,

Thank you for visiting the Prudential Chaplin Williams web site and for your interest in the Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee area. I am a full time agent with the company and would be happy to assist you in your search and help you locate the property that is right for you.

Please email or call at your convenience and provide me with information regarding your needs and timeframe for your property search. If you would like to provide specific criteria I will begin to search the MLS for a home or lot that matches your needs.

Also, if you are unfamiliar with the area and would like some general information I will be happy to send a packet with various publications, a map and any other specific areas of interest.

I look forward to hearing from you and assisting you with your search.

Carolyn Lockhart
Prudential Chaplin Williams Realty
(904) 557-3227
cwl64@bellsouth.net
www.ameliaislandduo.com (go to my website to search the local MLS!)

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Jacksonville Housing Report

Jacksonville, FL – Traffic Up, but Signs of a Lull in Buying Emerge
(5,135 single-family permits in 2008, 18th largest market in the country)

Traffic increased, but buyers now lack urgency. Buyer traffic improved again in
November following the gains seen in October, as our traffic index improved to 45.5 from 36, indicating traffic levels essentially in-line with agents’ expectations for this time of year (a reading of 50 suggests traffic in-line with expectations). Agents said buyers remained active throughout the month following the extension of the tax credit, but that the traffic has not converted into sales as buyers lack urgency. “We have more calls but folks still are not buying,” according to one agent. Another noted, “Buyers are looking but with so much on the market, few actually buy.” Others commented that now that the tax credit has been extended through the spring selling season, buyers feel no sense of urgency to buy now
during the typically slow late fall/winter months and given the belief that home prices may fall further.

Prices remain under pressure despite lower inventory levels. Home prices continued
to fall in November, as our price index dropped to 14 from 29 in October, with any reading below 50 indicating lower home prices over the past 30 days. Prices remain under pressure as a result of the persistently high levels of foreclosures and short sales on the market, despite lower overall inventory levels. Our home listings index increased to 64 in November from 57 in October, with readings above 50 indicating lower inventory. However, foreclosures remain the key driver and will likely continue to pressure prices further in the coming months.

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Mortgage Relief - IRS

Mortage Relief Info.
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=179414,00.html

Stephen E. Doss, CPA
DOSS|WEEKS
CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANTS
2338 South Eighth Street
Fernandina Beach, FL 32034
Tel: (904) 277-0009
Fax: (904) 277-0093

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Florida Home Sales Report – 3rd Quarter 2009

Florida Sales Report – 3rd Quarter 2009
Single-Family, Existing Homes

Realtor Sales Median Sales Price
Statewide &Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) 3rd Qrtr.2009 3rd Qrtr.2008 %Chge 3rd Qr2009 3rd Qr2008 %Chge
STATEWIDE* (1) 44,345 33,311 33% $145,400 $185,600 -22
Nassau County 117 96 23% $190,000 $244,500 -22

Florida Sales Report – 3rd Quarter 2009
Existing Condominiums

Realtor Sales Median Sales Price
Statewide &Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) 3rd Qrtr.2009 3rd Qrtr.2008 %Chge 3rd Qrtr.2009 3rd Qrtr.2008 %Chge
STATEWIDE* (1) 14,797 9,488 56% $106,100 $160,100 -34
Nassau County 23 25 -8% $240,000 $390,000 -38


John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Amelia Island Plantation files for Bankruptcy

Amelia Island Plantation resort said it will continue to operate while it reorganizes under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, aided by an investment deal with residents of the island.

Amelia Island Co., which operates the Nassau County resort, filed for bankruptcy Friday in Florida’s Middle District of U.S. Bankruptcy Court. A judge immediately issued an order that will allow operations to continue while it reorganizes its finances.

The company said it would not have sufficient cash to meet its Nov. 20 payroll without access to a debtor-in-possession loan facility. It employs more than 825, down 275 positions from its staffing level prior to the recession.

Amelia Island Co. said it had signed an agreement with a group of of wealthy investors who own homes at the Plantation to provide it with $18 million to $20 million debtor-in-possession financing. The Red Leaf Investors, led by long-time resident Robert C. Smith, will provide funding as well as long-term strategic and asset management services in an effort to enhance operations and improve financial performance.

“This debt restructuring will pave the way to the profitable operation of our resort," Jack Healan, president of Amelia Island Plantation, said in a release. "They are providing immediate interim financing with the intent of becoming long-term equity partners in the Company, which we welcome."

Amelia Island Co. also disclosed in its court filings that it is working a deal with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. to purchase the Amelia Inn, the conference center, spa and two golf courses, Ocean Links and Oak Marsh, for $43 million.

The Plantation has been struggling with slowing occupancy of its rental units and a stagnant leisure and business travel industry since at least October 2008, when it began to suffer from a significant negative cash flow. Revenues have fallen from $75 million in 2007 to an estimated $57 million this year. Profits have fallen from a $7 million profit in 2007 to a “substantial loss” in 2009, according to court documents.

The bankruptcy proceedings follow a failed $60 million investment effort earlier this year with Atlanta-based Redquartz Developments Atlanta, which would have injected much-needed funding for operations of the 1,350-acre resort.

The company estimated assets to be between $50 million and $100 million, equivalent to its estimated liabilities. The filing attached 23 pages of creditors.

“AIC anticipates that the severe decline in business meeting, vacation travel and the real estate brokerage business is not permanent and that its business will recover by 2011,” the company stated in court documents.

The Plantation includes a 249-room oceanside hotel, 49,000 square feet of meeting place, nine restaurants, 23 tennis courts and four award-wining 18-hole golf courses, among other amenities. Its 1,150 condos, 800 homes and 180 lots have an aggregate value of $1.95 billion, according to court documents.

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Amelia Island Company

Amelia Island Co. in Chapter 11 bankruptcy

By Michael Parnell, News-Leader

Amelia Island Co. has filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. There will be “business as usual” at the Amelia Island Plantation resort while the company reorganizes and firms up its finances.

Amelia Island Co. announced Friday it has signed an agreement with a new investor group, Red Maple Investors, LLC (RMI), to help ensure the future of the 1,350-acre resort.

The investor group, all residents of the island, "delivers immediate interim financing and long-term financial planning and expertise while assuring the uninterrupted operation of the resort," a press release stated. As part of the agreement, the Amelia Island Co. will restructure its debt and liabilities in bankruptcy court.

"We're pleased that RMI truly believes in our vision for the future, as well as our commitment to a resort community that exists in harmony with nature," said Jack Healan, president of Amelia Island Plantation, in the press release. "The resources they bring to our relationship will provide the continued high-quality service of the resort that our leisure and conference guests have come to expect when they visit us and that our club members and property owners enjoy every day."

RMI is a group of high net-worth Amelia Island Plantation homeowners investing in Amelia Island Co. with the goal of building a financially healthy company. The group was formed and is led by 19-year resident Robert C. Smith.

"Our investors believe in the potential for the long-term success of Amelia Island Plantation and are pleased to be able to provide the needed financial and strategic support to accomplish this in a professional and thoughtful way. All of us in RMI want to protect this little paradise we have come to love. And we are willing to put up our own money to assure its success far into the future," said Smith in the press release.

"This debt restructuring will pave the way to the profitable operation of our resort. They are providing immediate interim financing with the intent of becoming long-term equity partners in the company, which we welcome," said Healan. "We have a great group of people in RMI, and we look forward to the opportunity to deliver an even stronger customer experience as well as providing stable employment to our staff."

One of the RMI investors is John A. Griswold, president of Harbor Hotel Investors, LLC. Griswold has more than 30 years' experience in the ownership, operation and management of hotels and resorts.

There will be no "interruption" in Plantation management, employees were told, though changes are coming. The News-Leader has learned that longtime Amelia Island Co. vice presidents Norman Bray, who is retiring, and Richard Goldman, who has resigned, will be leaving before year's end. Goldman will become director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau in St. Augustine.

Employees were told in an e-mail distributed Friday that "the signing of the local investors and the restructuring of our debt in Chapter 11 is a very good thing for the company, our customers and our employees. It means business as usual. ..."

Employees were told there would be "adequate financing to sustain operations at current levels, including maintaining facilities and amenities like golf courses, tennis courts, restaurants, spa and shops.
"Staffing will be maintained commensurate with business levels.
"AIP remains an AAA 4-Diamond, independent resort."

Chapter 11 protection "will affect how much vendors and other creditors are paid on past invoices and debt. ... Those vendors who continue to do business with the Plantation will be paid on a current basis," the company wrote employees.

There have been numerous job terminations this fall, and remaining employees have had their pay cut 40 percent after mandatory furloughs.

Amelia Island Co. owns all of the resort and recreational facilities and amenities on Amelia Island Plantation, including the Amelia Island Club. Both are affected by the bankruptcy filing.

The Amelia Island Plantation Community Association is the homeowners' association under Florida law that owns, manages and maintains roads, common areas and provides for security, landscaping, drainage and the like. That association is funded by property owner assessments and is not directly impacted by the filing.

Plantation residents have been invited to informal coffees all next week at which representatives of the company and new investors group will explain the consequences of the changes.

A proposed merger with the Atlanta subsidiary of an Irish development company fell apart earlier this year as the economy soured. Redquartz Developments Atlanta, a real estate investment company affiliated with Redquartz Developments, Ltd., of Dublin, signed a memorandum of understanding in January that could have led to $60 million in improvements at the Plantation.

The deal was to give Redquartz Developments Atlanta 51 percent of equity in Amelia Island Co., giving it majority control. The Cooper family, which has owned the company since 1978, would have retained the remaining 49 percent.

The plan was to upgrade and expand the Plantation's infrastructure and increase the number of international visitors. There are plans to build new hotels and other amenities and to modernize current facilities, most of them dating back several decades, but they have not been implemented for lack of financing.

Richard L. Cooper, an Ohio businessman who died last year at 82, purchased the Plantation property from the Sea Pines Co., in 1978. Sea Pines Co., which developed Hilton Head Island, S.C., originally bought 3,000 acres on the south end of the island that was proposed for a strip mine but ultimately ran into financial difficulties in redeveloping it.

Healan was an accountant with Sea Pines Co., and he and Bray, also with Sea Pines, have been part of Plantation management for more than three decades. The company is now owned by the Cooper family trust.

Chapter 11 is the chapter of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code that permits reorganization and is not intended to lead to liquidation. While the company would not pay most of its debts at full value, its primary debtor is more likely to be repaid.

That is an arm of Prudential Financial Services Inc., which holds liens on much of the Plantation property and its buildings. Under the debtor-in-possession, or DIP, financing provided by law for companies in Chapter 11, Prudential's security is senior to other debts, equities or securities issued by the company and will be repaid first.

Prudential Financial Services Inc., headquartered in Newark, N.J., is a worldwide company with businesses in life insurance, annuities, retirement services, mutual funds, investment management and real estate services. Its brand symbol is the rock, inspired by the Rock of Gibraltar.

Story created Nov 13, 2009 - 13:16:30 PST.

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com

Banked Owned Property Amelia Island

208 17th Street
Fernandina Beach, Florida 32034
Well maintained home on nice lot at a great price. Wood floors are in great shape. Good sized master bedroom. This property is approved for HomePath Renovation Mortgage financing.

Price $99,900. Call me for a showing.

John Holbrook - Realtor Amelia Island, Fernandina Beach & Yulee, Florida
Cell: 904-415-0171 Email: holbrook66@msn.com Web: www.nassaumls.net
www.johnholbrook.blogspot.com