Crist Reappraisal Plan, New UF Study Among Panel Topics at Upcoming Real Estate Seminar

July 29, 2010 - PRLog -- Coming on the heels of a July 21 executive order by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist authorizing reappraisals for property owners affected by the BP oil spill, the University of Florida released a new study on July 28 finding that the disaster has added even more uncertainty about Florida's real estate market.

Timothy Becker, director of UF’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate Studies, which issued its quarterly survey July 28 said in a news release that based on data collected from survey respondents, the spill is affecting all markets across the state, not just the Panhandle's economy.

Poor job growth and oil disaster affects are the two major fears about the Florida real estate market, Becker noted.

One week earlier, In his strongest appeal yet for Florida Gulf property owners, Crist signed an executive order July 21 authorizing property appraisers to assess lost real estate values resulting from the BP oil spill. The governor's directive should make it easier for homeowners and businesses to send their claims for damages directly to BP.

As real estate professionals begin to dissect Crist's new directive, Thomas J. Dixon, a former chairman of the Realtor Association of Greater Miami and the Beaches and a past president of the Miami Society of Commercial Realtors is preparing to participate in the upcoming Condo Vultures® seminar, "Assessing the BP Oil Spill on Florida Real Estate".

Dixon, a veteran real estate professional with a resume that includes tax appeal advisory services, commercial appraisal, development, and brokerage, plans to share his insight into the effects that the BP oil disaster could have on South Florida real estate prices.

Dixon, a resident of Miami for more than 40 years, is set to discuss his expectations based in part on his experience the last time an oil disaster in the hemisphere washed up on the South Florida shores some three decades ago.

As reports surface about the economic and environmental impact of the Gulf oil spill on Florida, a director with one of the most prominent local environmental regulatory agencies has also agreed to participate in the panel discussion.

Carlos Espinosa, a Director of Miami-Dade County's Department of Environmental Resources Management (DERM), plans to discuss the regulatory and management issues facing Greater Miami as the oil spill nears the South Florida shoreline.

Appointed in December 2006, Espinosa oversees a department on that regulates and manages activities that have an impact on Miami-Dade County's natural resources, according to the agency's web site.

Previously, Espinosa served as Chief of DERM's Water Management Division before being promoted to Assistant Director of DERM in 1991. He was appointed Deputy Director in 2001.

Prior to joining DERM, Espinosa worked extensively with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Joining Dixon and Espinosa on the three-person panel discussion will be Jay Sall, the Practice Director of Industrial Hygiene and Safety at Environmental Engineering & Consulting Services (EE&G)in Miami Lakes. Sall plans to discuss the physical and environmental issues caused by the oil disaster in the gulf as well as provide some insight into the clean up process in Florida at the Aug. 10 seminar in Greater Downtown Miami.

Sall has a better idea than most of what it is going to take to perform the clean up given his two decades of experience in disaster response, disaster recovery, and construction /reconstruction services.

Condo Vultures® founder Peter Zalewski will moderate the August 10 program.

The Condo Vultures® Seminar Series event will be held from 5.30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel on North Bayshore Drive in Greater Downtown Miami.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. Please contact executive editor John Fakler at 800-750-0517 for more information.

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Condo Vultures® LLC is a Bal Harbour, Fla.-based consultancy and publishing company focused on collecting, analyzing, and communicating intelligence on the South Florida real estate market.