High Profile Flagler Properties Top 2014 Delinquent Tax List

Grand Haven Golf Club, uncompleted Grand Haven Condominiums, Bobby Ginn’s house, Hunter’s Ridge parcels, Home Depot Plaza Commercial Building, Medical Building and Grand Reserve

PALM COAST, FL – May 26, 2015 – Each year in June, Flagler County holds an auction, selling Tax Certificates to recoup unpaid 2014 property taxes.  As usual, this year’s list of delinquent payers includes some high-profile properties; Grand Haven Golf Club, uncompleted Grand Haven Condominiums, Bobby Ginn’s house, Hunter’s Ridge parcels, Home Depot Plaza Commercial Building, Medical Building and Grand Reserve Golf Course and lots.

Florida Statute defines the process.  It includes advertising in the local newspaper of record (Flagler/Palm Coast News Tribune) a list of delinquencies, including the parcel number, amount due, abbreviated legal description and the owner of record.  If the entire delinquent amount plus interest and other fees and charges remains unpaid by June 1, 2015, the property will be included in a Tax Certificate auction where investors can buy a priority tax lien on the property by paying the County the full 2014 amount due.
 
This year’s list includes:

425 Riverfront Drive

This Grand Haven parcel holds two uncompleted condominiums.  Construction was suspended by the original developer in 2007 when the real estate market crashed. Current owner, Lavaya Properties II LLC, purchased the property from the foreclosing lender in 2013 and recently announced plans to resume construction.  The Property Appraiser’s property record shows that the 2014 property “Assessed Value” is $768,000.  Tax Collector records show $133,462.29 owing for 2014 and $136,030.46 owing for 2013.

It may appear that the property tax is disproportionate for the assessed value.  Grand Haven is a Community Development District (CDD).  The CDD owns and is responsible for the common areas which include two village centers, two pools, tennis, croquet and more.  The CDD assesses each of the 1,901 entitled residential units of the community, even if undeveloped, each year to cover its budget.  The 2014 assessment was $2,200.62 per unit.  The condominium project is approved for a total of 48 units, creating a 2014 CDD assessment of $105,629.76. The Grand Haven Non-Ad Valorem assessment is included in the annual Flagler County property tax bill.
 
500 Riverfront Drive

This property is the Grand Haven Golf Club, owned by Escalante – Grand Haven LLC.  Escalante purchased the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course in 2011 from bankrupt Crescent Resources for $1,500,000 and other considerations.  The 2014 Assessed Value is $1,420,590.  The total amount owed for the 2014 tax year is $79,472.73.  $42,472.73 of the total is owed to the Grand Haven CDD for Non-Ad Valorem assessments.

Lot 17 in Town Center

This 23.31-acre parcel is located within the Town Center CDD and is owned by Portofino Development Group LLC.  Portofino has tried over the years to gain traction for a condominium or other multi-family cluster on the parcel which is east of the Belle Terre entrance to Town Center, just past Publix and on the north side of Center Street.  The parcel’s 2014 assessed value is only $589,815, yet the total amount owing for the 2014 tax year is $66,806.28.  Like Grand Haven, Town Center is a CDD. Portofino’s CDD Non-Ad Valorem assessment for the tax year is $48,590.05.

The Grand Haven and Town Center properties illustrate how carrying costs in a master-planned community extend beyond mortgage interest, taxes and insurance.
 
42 Island Estates Pkwy

This multi-million dollar home is homesteaded by Hammock Beach developer Bobby Ginn.  The 2014 assessed value of Bobby’s home is $2,352,532.  The 2014 tax amount owing is $42,716.23.  This is not the first time Bobby’s home has made the delinquent tax list.  A Tax Certificate was issued in 2010 for unpaid 2009 property taxes, but the certificate was promptly redeemed (paid in full).  And the home was scheduled to be sold at a foreclosure auction in March 2014, but the mortgage loan default was cured just prior to the sale.

50 Plaza Drive

This 2.2-acre outparcel of the Home Depot Center (lot 3), is owned by Medjax Beach LLP. It’s assessed for $1,060,000 and carries a delinquent tax bill currently pegged at $24,231.21.  As you turn into Home Depot, this parcel is the first on your right.  You have probably dined at Houligans, one of the several tenants in the building.

Hunters Ridge

Hunters Ridge Residential Golf Properties owns several large parcels, comprising hundreds of acres, within the Hunters Ridge development at the south end of Flagler County.  The development straddles the Flagler/Volusia border.  The largest Hunters Ridge Residential Golf Properties parcel carries a 2014 delinquent property tax bill equaling $22,339.21.  The total 2014 delinquent tax of 18 parcels is $101,295.67.  These parcels also show 2013 delinquencies and associated prior unredeemed Tax Certificates.

84 Pinnacles Drive 1

This medical building in Pinnacles Professional Park, assessed for $962,500, carries a 2014 delinquent tax bill of $22,057.
 
Old Kings Road South

Iroquois LLC bought this 117.21-acre parcel on the east side of Old Kings Road South from Bulow Creek LC in 2006 for $3,515,100. Its 2014 assessment is $963,352.  The amount of 2014 taxes owing totals $22,031.64.   Tax records show $23,228.00 in unpaid 2013 taxes and an associated Tax Certificate outstanding.  The property was annexed, along with other contiguous parcels into the City of Palm Coast in 2009, in return for Palm Coast’s promise to provide water and sewer service.

Grand Reserve

The Grand Reserve residential and golf course development off Route 1 in Bunnell has gone through foreclosure.  Lender SunTrust formed an entity to take ownership of the foreclosed property which consisted of several lots and an operating golf course.  The property has been tied up in legal limbo for some time, but GoToby.com believes the logjam has been cleared by platting the individual lots.  However, the SunTrust entity, CRM Florida Properties, owes 2014 property taxes exceeding $78,000 for the course and 153 building lots.  The properties also carry 2013 tax delinquencies.

Investing in Tax Certificates and dabbling in Tax Deed Sales carry risks.  Before jumping in, consult a real estate attorney and learn and understand the rules. Additional information can be found at the Flagler County Tax Collector’s website.