MICRO LIVING

"Intelligent Living Spaces"

Finally, a brainy design for urban living! Micro living apartments offer elegant, petite spaces where no nook or cranny is wasted. There's a drop-down bed with built in lighting, a luxurious relaxing area and a private enclosed balcony. They include integrated appliances; Siemens combo microwave/grill, fridge with freezer box, mini dishwasher and his and her closets. Storage is provided by modules you climb up to reach. A smart and cozy cocoon for 21st century living.

Visit the following websites:

Award winning website with moving 3D image of living space module
http://www.abito.co.uk/abito_website.html

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/dc_design_small_space/article/0,1793,HGTV_3382_2885938,00.html
http://www.rinf.com/columnists/news/micro-living-come-back-to-my-ipad

http://la.apartmenttherapy.com/la/inspiration/the-micro-compact-home-010335

REAL ESTATE ONLINE PRESENCE

Our real estate company, Vertical Realty Advisors, LLC is diligently working on formats to upload properties in Google Base, Trulia and other notable sites to make its resales more searchable online for query returns based on customer input.

This will enable Vertical Realty Advisors to link the properties to its own web site to obtain increased traffic volume when web surfers would like more information on the property. Bringing the websurfer into our website will expose them to the vertical real estate concept and additional properties we have to offer. Many home shoppers are starting their house search on the web.

See recent article:
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/view/15462/

CONDO HOTEL

The Condo Hotel is a relatively new trend that has re-emerged in the past couple of years.They are very popular in vacation getaway sites--often featuring tropical settings and man-made beachfront. By combining the consumer's desire to invest in Real Estate with the travel industry's appetite for exciting and exotic locales it is a win-win situation. By focusing on the luxury lifestyle, condo hotels saw their rebirth in boom cities such as Miami, Orlando and Las Vegas. Many new developments can now be found around the globe and often have five star names attached such as Trump, Hilton, Four Seasons, The Regent, and Ritz Carlton as operators. These locales are defined by luxury amenities which include spas, resort pools, fine dining, concierge and access to leisure sports such as golf and tennis. Basically condo hotels are a hybrid combining the best of two worlds. Buyers own a specific unit and pay attendant taxes, insurance and maintenance. Owners block out a period of time for personal use. When not in use, it is placed in the rental program run by the management company which handles renting, cleaning and maintenance. Revenue generated is shared and oftentimes used to offset the cost of ownership.

Currently there is not a single organization that oversees condo hotels. An organization called NACHO (National Association of Condo Hotel Owners) is committed to the long term satisfaction of condo hotel unit owners to enhance and improve the condo hotel business through standardized code of business ethics, including objective disclosures, and practice. The organization has compiled research and created a rating system for condo hotels similar to the hotel diamonds or stars.

Similarly, BridgePoint reviews the different condo hotel project document contents to ensure beneficial terms for the end user. The selected management company to operate the resort is a critical determination factor in considering the project.

To learn more about NACHO visit:

http://www.nacho.us/index.php

The difference a water theme park can make:

http://www.jeffcoy.com/documents/articles/Construction%20Report202006.pdf

Condo Hotel Market in Orlando

http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2006_2nd/Apr06_OrlandoCondos.html

What is a condo hotel?

http://www.hvsinternational.com/Content/1470.pdf

Vegas condo hotel market

http://ahlaradio.hsyndicate.com/news//4027656.html

OVERSEAS REAL ESTATE BOOM

With the growth of the cruise industry and travel overseas, many baby boomers and second home buyers are seeing their next real estate purchase overseas. BridgePoint has been tracking this trend and researching all the intracacies of conducting business in foreign locations .

Some points of interest:

1. Over 4 million Americans live abroad.
2. Many are residing in the Carribean, Mexico, Central America, and other exotic locations known for their beautiful beaches or mountainous terrains.
3. Many properties can be purchased at a fraction of the cost of property in the United States
4. Taxation of property can be far lower abroad

Starting this year, NAR (National Association of Realtors) and SIMA (Europe's largest second home / resort expo of world wide properties) will join forces at The REALTORS® expo in New Orleans to introduce international forums and developers. Together they will bring a showcase of international properties to the expo floor.

Bridgepoint will attend The REALTORS® expo to recruit and inform real estate agents on the details of the Bridgepoint solution and price protection. This will enable the company to partner with agents, developers, and global brokerage firms to market the end product.

To view more information on international real estate visit:

http://www.realtor.org/international/index.html

http://www.fiabci-usa.com/main.php

INDUSTRY NEWS

Our due diligence team stays up to date with the latest real estate industry news. Bridgepoint would like to share the most interesting news stories we come across each month. We will categorize the links so that you may choose your areas of interest.

Las Vegas
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13463457/

Orlando
http://www.orlandoedc.com/core/file.php?loc=/Documents/EDC%20Documents/Recent%20Articles/eWeek_061506.pdf

http://www.inc.com/magazine/20060501/boomtowns-large.html

Panama City
Read about Pier Park completion date 2007
http://www.ajc.com/travel/content/travel/beaches/stories/0521panamabeach.html

Atlanta
http://www.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2006/07/24/daily33.html?from_rss=1

http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/view/15482/

http://www.builderonline.com/industry-news.asp?sectionID=26&articleID=346422

Market Trends
Baby Boomer Online Shopping
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/view/15461/

Canadian Investment in American Real Estate
http://www.rismedia.com/index.php/article/view/15460/

BREAKING GROUND

Welcome to our online Blog! To effectively keep you posted on real estate industry trends, we have created this blog to bring you the most current industry-related information in the preconstruction industry. Updates will be posted as we encounter noteworthy developments in Real Estate, Preconstruction, Condo Hotels, International Investing, Green Building, etc...


We would appreciate your comments and suggestions. There is a comment link below each topic for you to post your responses.