Investors Fuel Sarasota R.E. Surge

When a class called “Flipping Houses” is offered at Manatee Community College, it’s a pretty good sign of the times in the Sunshine State. Football, golf and fishing have company as the state’s newest pastime, Florida real estate, has everyone jumping into the pool.

From well-known businessmen and women, to celebrities, to your run-of-the-mill soon-to-be divorcée down the block, anyone who’s anyone is trying to get a piece of this pie, writes Stephen Frater of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

The key to this incredible Southwest Florida real estate machine is the “out-of-town boomer,” or at least the individual that earns money elsewhere and invests it here.

For each “mogul” you read about in the papers, there are tens of thousands of individual investors that make the world go ’round for bigger developers. These are the investors who step in before the ultimate buyers are even aware of what’s happening.

Charles J. Weber, Connie Konsler and Gina LaRouche are three examples. They each own residential property in the area — Weber on Bird Key, Konsler on Lido Key and LaRouche in central Sarasota. They’ve never met, but they might get along well based on how much they have in common. Each has been married once and is now divorced, with a good education and a fierce sense of financially independence.

Their professional backgrounds, careers and investments lie elsewhere, but they are investing in the Sarasota real estate market heavily in hopes that they will make money in the long run and secure their future retirement as soon as possible. They have all gained significant profits to date, have described themselves as long-term investors and intend to retire to the area. But, they all need to commute north to earn the bulk of their money or maintain multiple sources of local income in order to maintain their Sarasota-area investments.

Weber hails from the greater Boston area, Konsler from the Chicago region and LaRouche from Nova Scotia.
Weber, who hails from greater Boston, owns an executive search business. LaRouche, who is originally from Nova Scotia but lives in Florida full time, owns real estate in Panama and Canada, also is a licensed Century 21 real estate broker in Sarasota and dabbles in condo upgrades. Konsler, of Chicago, owns a window and door business in Illinois. Each owns one or two investment properties in Sarasota and is willing to pay carrying costs today to have the security of a clear title when they start retirement.

Despite renting his three-bedroom Bird Key home for about $2,500 per month, Weber is still in the red after insurance, maintenance and property taxes. Konsler bought a $290,000 two-bedroom condominium under construction on U.S. 41 near 10th Street, while serving as president of the White Sands of Lido Homeowners Association, where she also owns a house.
LaRouche estimates her Park East neighborhood two-bedroom house - which she bought for $88,500 in 2003, is worth $350,000 today. More if she springs for a pool.

IT’S ALL ABOUT FLORIDA REAL ESTATE

Weber does not own a single share of stock, electing to invest solely in real estate and looking for new deals on a daily basis. He aims to ride the appreciation of his properties while earning enough current income “to take the curse off it,” in terms of cash flow. He estimates that while losing about $1,500 each month, his properties are simultaneously appreciating by $10,000 a month at the same time. By purchasing homes for $18,000 down and flipping them in a year for six-figure gains, Weber shows that Florida home appreciation is no joke.

Meanwhile, Konsler’s property at the White Sands - a complex that consists of seven homes and is governed as as a condo association because the house lots are too small to be platted individually - is a bit more unusual. The economics of the 900- to 1,200-square-foot units are staggering: One just sold for above asking price at $701,000. In 1994 it cost $75,000, and in 1999 it still cost just $187,000.

Konsler is happy with her investments, but remains concerned about the bubble bursting. But regardless of what plays out in the future, she, Weber and LaRouche all say they’re in it for the long hall. Even if Florida home loan rates continue to rise?

“More stuff comes on the market,” Weber says.