Swamp for Rent

The story of our apartment complex changing to condos, then being rented, then being sold again has finally come to a close, although it is a sad one.

Village Oaks at Tampa, an apartment complex unsuccessfully converted to condominiums, has sold for $21.2 million — nearly $14.8 million less than a Boca Raton developer paid at the peak of the market nearly three years ago.

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Last February in the midst of the condominium decline, Berdugo was visiting his homeland of Israel when he unexpectedly died of a heart attack at 55. The South Florida Business Journal reported the businessman had suffered high blood pressure compounded by stress from troubled commercial real estate investments.

I feel kind of bad for calling him crazy and telling him that I would consider the condo if he reduced the price by $100,000 when he and a realtor knocked on my door last year as they were trying to convince renters to make the leap to apartment owner. Poor guy.

Business is business, though, as is made evident by The South Florida Business Journal's article concerning Berdugo's death that never makes mention of any family left behind and, instead, chose to close with the heart-felt line in memorium: "As of March 18, Ofek shares were up 3 percent since Berdugo's death."