If you are in the market for furniture, I have some for sale.  Actually, it’s a credit at Resort Interiors/Resort Ready Rooms.  I own $17,432.00 worth of furniture, accessories, custom window treatments, bedspreads and shower curtains.  However, I have never seen it (except in the store) nor do I have a condo to put it in!

You see, I’m one of the Laketown Wharf contract owners who decided, for us, the better financial decision would be to pay the developer an additional 5%, on top of the 10% we had put down, to get out of the contract rather than close.  We made that decision in July and signed the official termination agreement mid-August.  Now we have this furniture we do not need so the folks at Resort Interiors/Resort Ready Rooms are allowing me to transfer the majority of my credit (the custom window treatments, etc. are not returnable) to someone else who needs furniture!

You may be wondering why I bought furniture before closing on my condo.  I certainly wish I hadn’t.  If you want to read my condo story, then read on.  I bet many of you can relate :(.  If you just want to learn more about the furniture credit details, check out my craigslist ad.

History:
I’ve wanted a place at the beach for a long time.  I was never super serious, but in 2004, when the market was going crazy, I thought if we didn’t act soon, we’d never be able to afford a place at the beach so we jumped into the Real Estate frenzy by securing a contract at Laketown Wharf.

I had passed up a pre-construction opportunity in St. Pete Beach in 1998 that I regretted.  So, by golly, I wasn’t going to miss the PCB Real Estate bus!!  We couldn’t afford beachfront at the 2004 prices so we settled for what we believed (and I still do!) would one day be a very cool place to stay/live across from the beach.  We signed the hard contract in Feb 2005.

The ground-breaking ceremony was held in May 2005.  In August 2005, my husband shows me an article on msn.com titled “Condo market is showing signs of cooling”.  Ugh!

Nevertheless, I was still optimistic about Laketown Wharf.  In Sept 2006, I got my first mailing from Resort Interiors stating they were the preferred furnishing supplier for Laketown Wharf.  Since I was in Phase 2, I didn’t need to buy anything immediately but started my correspondence with them.  In Jan 2007, I got a second mailing encouraging me to choose and buy my furniture now because “I’d be able to rent my unit and make money on my investment soon after closing”.  They also had 2 other reasons why I should buy now and they even gave me a discount if I bought a package by a specific date!  So, I drove to Destin and visited their store in Feb 2007, finalized my decision, and bought my package that May.  I financed it free for a year but when my year was up, I had to write a check to the financing company and still no condo to put it in!!  BUT, by this time, the developer had starting coming down on prices.  In June 2008, I was notified that my unit was now only $299/sq ft., down from the contracted price of $376!  What a bargain!

But, my husband, being much smarter and less emotional than I, did not want to close.  I talked him in to going to Laketown Wharf, actually staying there, before making the final decision.  It was a nice stay even though many units were incomplete and there were no shops/restaurants open yet.  In fact, since I don’t like crowds, it was great – except for this obnoxious softball team staying there, but I won’t go into that.

The units are spacious and the staff/security guards were very nice and accommodating.  My son loved the two pools that were open.  The lake fountain show was wonderful and the walk to the beach was no big deal.  In fact, my son preferred the pools to the beach most days.  We talked about how cool the place will be once all the commercial space is occupied.  I was ready to close when we came home but after many hours of crunching numbers, we decided walking away from our deposit would be the best thing for us to do.

Present Day:
I’ve heard the current offer to those folks who still have contracts with Laketown Wharf (whether in a law suit or not) is $224/sq. ft.  Not sure where the bottom is.  The bank says they plan to furnish and rent ½ of the unsold units and I hear they are offering super low rent rates to get commercial business in.

In the meantime, I still have this furniture credit I would like to sell to one of you lucky folks who managed to time the market better than I.  Or maybe you’re looking to replace some of your current furniture.  Whatever your reason, you’ll save money by purchasing this credit.  The ladies at Resort Interiors/Resort Ready Rooms are wonderful to work with and I appreciate them for allowing this transfer of credit.

The amount of credit available for transfer is $15,027.  The window treatments are non-refundable but if you’re in the market for custom window treatments, bedspreads, etc.  I’ll be happy to get the measurements and see if they work for you.  I paid $2,405 for them and am willing to take $2000.  Check out my craigslist ad.