Where Dreams DON’T Come True
In case you’ve been out of the fantasy land loop – on which The Teller is always completely up-to-date – you might have missed out on Walt Disney World extolling the virtues of its new luxury residential community, unveiled in the first half of 2010.
Prospective homebuyers were dazzled with promises of single-family homes in a resort setting, giving them unparalleled access to everything the Magical Kingdom has to offer – and so much more!
For between $1.8 million and $8 million (a total bargain for unlimited access to Disney’s Princess clan), you could find yourself the lucky owner of a home in Golden Oak – a gated community with park perks that go well beyond any 6-year-old’s wildest dreams. And parents, don’t fret, there’s also privileged access to the nearby Four Season’s spa, restaurants, golf course and event space – for those Beauty and the Beast-themed weddings and Mouseketeer birthday parties you’ve been dying to throw.
This all sounds like your best dream come true, right? Wrong.
It turns out the folks at Disney haven’t heard of this little thing we Americans like to call a “housing bust.” As Banker & Tradesman’s readers well know, this country’s consumers have been in serious economic trouble for the past few years, and it’s hard to come across someone who doesn’t know a person that’s had to resort to a short sale or been dealt a hand resulting in foreclosure.
While the Golden Oak neighborhood hasn’t hit rock bottom yet, another one of Disney’s residential communities (not quite as lux) in Celebration, Fla., has. Instead of living it up – Disney style – residents in this 16-year-old town are experiencing home foreclosures at double the rate as the rest of the state. Foreclosures in this area seem to have spurred more mourning than the town’s namesake – the community recently “celebrated” its first murder.
The Teller doesn’t have to look into a crystal ball to predict that Golden Oak isn’t far behind. Because, let’s face it, these are probably second homes for most buyers that will realize too late this purchase wasn’t quite within the realm of their purse strings.
Can Disney say Déjà Vu?
