Downtown Venues Plan Passes

The long awaited vote for a $1.1 billion plan for a new area, performing-arts center and major upgrades to the Florida Citrus Bowl is finally over as Orange County commissioners approved the largest public builing project in Central Florida History with vote of 5-2 late Thursday night.

It has been reported that around half of the projects' funding will come from tourist taxes paid mostly by outside visitors who pay a bed tax on hotel stays. The remaining venue funds will come from downtown property and state taxes, plus private and corporate contributions and donations.

The $480 million arena is the most expensive project. It is projected to be completed in 2010 and will be more than twice the size of the current arena. The new arena should be able to land bigger concerts and other premier events that are currently going to other areas like Tampa and Jacksonville.

The projected $425 million arts center would be built across the street from City Hall. It will play host to Orlando's philharmonic, ballet and opera groups, as well as attract a larger array of touring Broadway shows and musicals. The complex will include three halls, the largest one with 2,800 seats.

The $175 million Citrus Bowl projext would further update and expand the stadium built in 1936 by replacing the lower bowl, adding 10 new suites, adding banquet space and increasing the number of bathrooms and concessions.

Home Inspection Before Listing Property

Typically, Buyers hire a home inspector after the purchase contract has been signed. The inspector then provides a list of defects, and the buyers do one of the following: ask the sellers to make repairs, to reduce the price, or sometimes to cancel the sale. When you provide a home inspection report prior to signing the contract, you can sometimes avert the process of renegotiation or at best provide the Buyers with what they can expect to find should they choose to hire their own inspector.

Essentially, there are three benefits for sellers who hire a home inspector prior to marketing a property:

1. The inspection report informs you, in advance, of any significant defects that might need attention and that could adversely affect your chances of selling the property. It affords you the opportunity to make repairs prior to sale.

2. The report enables you to provide a more thorough and complete disclosure of the property's condition. This lessens the likelihood of legal problems after the sale, when undisclosed defects might then be discovered.

3. The report provides the best basis for an as-is sale, if that is what you prefer. You can decline to make repairs while fully informing the buyers of the conditions that need repair.