Saturday, March 28, 2009

Boater's World going out of business

Wow, another sign of the Apocalypse..um I mean the downturned economy.
Although I have always been more of a West Marine guy, I certainly have made quite a few purchases from Boater's World, and found their associates usually quite well versed and most helpful.
In the Keys it's a shame as it has been really tough enough as it is for the folks that work down here to make ends meet without the prospect of their companies going out of business.
That being said......I'm sure there will be quite a few really good bargains!!! I was in there today and the sale is 10% , by weeks end an associate told me it would be 30-50% most probably. Even the fixtures etc. So....if you were looking for a big ticket accessory for your boat, now might be the time to capitalize on their liquidation.
Here is an article that I found today in Keysnews.net.

"Boater's World going out of business
By ROB BUSWEILER Free Press Staff
All three Boater's World locations in the Florida Keys sprung a surprise sale on the public last weekend.
This sale appears to portend doom for the chain, which has 129 stores throughout the country. The nautical supply store chain has indicated it will be going out of business, and taking its locations in Key Largo, Marathon and Key West down with it. All three locations now sport bright "going out of business" signs.
Jackie Collins, manager of the Marathon location, said corporate offices told her of the plans late last week.
"We are supposed to be open until June," she told the Free Press on Monday. "We have a warehouse full of inventory."
According to Collins, the Marathon location has six employees, and the liquidation process had already started.
Officials from Ritz Camera Centers, the parent company of Boater's World, declined to comment on Monday. Richard L. Kaye, vice president of Hilco Merchant Resources, the Chicago-based company handling the liquidation, said a bankruptcy court filing led to the impending closing of all of the Boater's World stores.
"The store closing process began this weekend," Kaye told the Free Press on Monday.
According to Kaye, the current objective is for all of the Boater's World locations to sell off inventory until the buildings are in a "broom swept" condition. Kaye added that the individual store's closing date is based on when that location runs out of inventory.
As a result, the liquidation will continue until all the products are moved. Boater's World sells a variety of boating and fishing gear in addition to various nautical accessories and supplies.
Kaye said the local employees will remain on staff until the individual stores close down. He added that representatives from Hilco will be on hand to steer the liquidation process and help train employees in how to work in that environment.
"We do take control of the stores," Kaye said.
A press release put out by Hilco last week notes that the entire inventory is on sale.
Boater's World has 34 locations in Florida."

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Thursday, March 19, 2009

The Conchquistador Deal of the Day 3/19/2009

I love Blackwater Sound, the body of water on the Bay Side just as you come into Key Largo. One of my favorite places to have fun in the boat. Wakeboarders, Parasailers, and tubers abound. The New Bridge over Jewfish Creek gives you a spectacular view of this fun body of water.
Just north of the world-famous Caribbean Club, is a peninsula known as Stillwright Point that separates Sexton Cove from Blackwater Sound. Today's Deal is in this very nice, upscale enclave of waterfront homes.
This property had almost a 40% drop from its original List Price to Sale Price.
With interest rates now in the under 5% range, this is an excellent time to grab a slice of paradise!
11 Stillwright Way Key Largo
List Price: $849,000 - Sale Price:$760,000
Original List Price: $1,195,000
4 Bedrooms/3 Bathrooms
Mile Marker: 105










Description: Seller motivated! NEW PRICE FOR THIS BIG AND BEAUTIFUL HOME! ON WIDE CANAL WITH DEEP WATER AND OPEN WATER VIEW. Tri-level with 2400sf under air, enough room for a big family. Third house in from the bay with a lovely view from almost every room. Nicely appointed w/wood floors, Cathedral ceilings & Anderson Windows. Spacious kitchen, great for entertaining. Excellent boating access, dock with davits.

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Monday, March 16, 2009

The Conchquistador Deal of the Day 3/16/2009

Today's Deal is located in one of my favorite areas of Key Largo.
I have always admired this property whenever we are cruising through Adam's Cut.
Though it took almost a year to sell, the price dropped from almost $2M to a sale price of $1.4M. With over 1/3 of an acre, a very nice value indeed.

12 Bass Avenue, Key Largo
List Price: $1,499,000 - Sold Price: $1,400,000
3 Bedrooms/3 Bathrooms - Lot Size: 17,400
Original List Price: $1,950,000
Mile Marker: 103.5

Description: THREE FULL LOTS!The ultimate entertainment home on World Famous Adam's Cut Waterway. 125 ft of concrete dock with 2 sets of davits, custom home has dual master suites, soaring 25 foot high ceilings, 3 full bedrooms and baths, two additional offices/dens, two car garage, huge circular paved drive, professional landscaping with grass and irrigation, 40Ft. heated no chlorine pool w/ super jet spa

Let me help you find an oasis you will admire
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The Return of Big Betsy!!!

Well it's about time!
I can't tell you how many times we had taken friends and clients to have their picture take with the enormous, true to life 30 foot high Lobster affectionately known as "Big Betsy".
When the Montessori School purchased the old Treasure Village, they removed Besty in fear of all the attention she got.
I saw this article in Keysnews.com and am so happy she will now be at the Rain Barrel Artist Colony, across the street from her previous location.

"Artist village to display giant lobster
By ROBERT SILK Citizen Staff
The giant lobster that for close to two decades beckoned visitors to Islamorada's Treasure Village artisan gallery soon will have a new home.
Big Betsy, as the lobster is known, was reportedly once deemed the second-most photographed icon in the Florida Keys by Eastman Kodak, behind only the Southernmost Point.
With its former home having been transformed into a school, the lobster has been hidden away in a storage yard off the Overseas Highway. Within the next few weeks, however, the giant crustacean, 30 feet tall by 40 feet long, will re-emerge, luring passersby to the Rain Barrel Artisan Village on Plantation Key.
Rain Barrel Gallery LLC and Big Betsy owners Dennis and Mia Berry finalized a 10-year lease with a purchase option on Monday, Dennis Berry and Rain Barrel co-owner Mike Forster said. They did not disclose terms of the deal.
"We are doing this because we feel in this economy we need to generate more trips to the Rain Barrel for our tenants," Forster said. "We figured that the lobster was a great draw. It always has been a great draw. It was a great draw at Treasure Village and it will be at the Rain Barrel."
The deal caps years of uncertainty about the future of the lobster.
In 2006, as Treasure Village was about to be transformed into the Montessori Island School, Mia Berry announced she would sell her beloved crustacean, purchased from an artist back in 1990, for nearly $200,000.
Forster emerged as a potential buyer, saying he would like to put it at Papa Joe's Marina on Upper Matecumbe Key or at his Mangrove Mike's Café, also on Upper Matecumbe.
Others entertained the idea of putting Big Betsy, which Mia Berry believes is the second-largest lobster on earth, at the bottom of the 18-Mile Stretch where it could serve as an entryway to the Keys.
No deal was struck -- until now.
"I have been working on this for three or four years and finally I've got it done," Forster said.
"I am glad it is going to get out there where people can see it again," Dennis Berry added."

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Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Conchquistadore Deal of the Day 3/15/2009

By now, I must seem like a raving lunatic, a la Peter Finch in Network, but I cannot STOP raving about the opportunities for Buyers that are going on down in the Keys.

I was showing property down there yesterday and we are about to make an offer on a property that was originally listed over $2M that is now at 1.3M and there is still probably some room for negotiation!
Today's Deal of the Day simply leaves me speechless. $285,000, let me say that again $285,000 for a NAVIGABLE water single family home!!! This short sale was originally listed at $646,000 and was last sold in 2005 for $530,000.

These truly are unprecedented times in the recent era for great deals in one of the most fabulous locales in the United States.

3970 Gordon Road, Big Pine Key

List Price: $300,000 - Sold Price: $285,000
2 Bedrooms / 2 Bathrooms - Lot Size: 5,250 sf
Original List Price: $646,000 - Mile Marker 29.5


Description: SHORT SALE-ONE CANAL FROM OPEN WATER PINE CHANNEL easy access. Give yourself extra living space. This 2bd/2bh home offers cathedral ceilings, large living room opens onto family room, light filled windows, peak-aboo open water views open kitchen/dining area. Upper and lower patio. Dock is concrete seawall with wood dock on top and a Gazebo. Hook up for Hot Tub. Legal Storage. 4-4-07 NEW A/C Compressor.
Let me help you fine a deal that you'll rave about!
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Tuesday, March 10, 2009

The Conchquistadore Deal of the Day 3/10/2009

As my Yiddish friends would say
"Such a Deal!!"
Wow, it still makes my mouth drop to see these prices.
This NAVIGABLE waterfront property went for under $400K!!
This property was neither a short sale nor foreclosure, just an astute Seller who finally understood today's Market.
With the new FHA guidlines you could have purchased this waterfront home with just 3.5% down!

22842 John Silver Lane, Cudjoe Key
List Price: $425,000 - Sale Price: $380,000
3 Bedrooms / 2Bathrooms - Lot Size 6100 sf
Days on Market :374 - Mile Marker: 22
Original List Price: $559,000

Description: Canal Front home with full seawall, patio, davits, newly remodeled kitchen with granite countertops, 3/2 screened porch, tropically landscaped yard.
Click Here for a Detailed Brochure.

Let me help you find your own Keys Oasis.
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