INVESTORS NEED NOT APPLYGreen Cay Village works with four preferred lenders, says sales manager Daniel Travis, to help buyers learn about special loan programs that might be available to them. The lenders are trained and certified by the county and state to locate and access state and local grants for down-payment assistance, first-time home buyer programs, a state bond program for affordable housing, and special mortgages for teachers, healthcare professionals, police, and firefighters.
To make sure that the homes would go to working families, Goray put anti-investor restrictions into the sales contract. Unless the buyer has extenuating circumstances, such as a job transfer, the unit can't be rented out for two years. If it's sold within a year, 100 percent of the profit goes back to the developer. In the second year, 50 percent of the profit goes back to the developer. After that point, any profits from a sale will be retained by the owner. “Everybody thought we were crazy because the government didn't make us [restrict investors] and it was not a condition of the sale of the land,” Goray says. “We thought it was the right thing to do.” It proved to be an incredibly valuable policy when the market turned and investors everywhere started dumping properties and walking away from deposits.
PRIDE OF PLACE: Amenities at Green Cay Village are comparable to those of much higher–priced communities in the area. Developer Gerald Goray says he wanted to give owners a beautiful community they would be proud of and want to keep well maintained. The green-friendly development uses recycled water for irrigating the landscape.
“If we sold to investors, we'd be sitting here with 60 percent cancellations, trying to sell in a soft market,” Goray says. “I think we have 5 percent or 6 percent cancellations, due mostly to job transfers. It's kind of a fun story.”
LOCATION: BOYNTON BEACH, FLA.Community: Green Cay VillageTotal acreage: 42Date opened for sale: December 2005Product: Condos: 939 to 1,163 square feet; Townhomes: 1,419 to 1,549 square feet; Rental apartments: 700 to 1,163 square feetPrice range: condos: $198,900 to 249,900; Townhomes: $292,900 to $299,900Total number of for-sale units at build-out: Condos: 160; Townhomes: 100Sales to date: 220Developer: Housing Trust Group, Coconut Grove, Fla.; and Goray Communities, Boca Raton, Fla.Builder: Current Builders, Pompano Beach, Fla.Architect: George Tseng, Tseng Consulting Group, North Miami Beach, Fla. courtesy green cay village