European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                This land is their land James Tangires took a deep breath sighed and gave a frustrated look when asked his opinion of land  Don t Trust them he said. Tangires is an attorney in the enforcement division of the Federal Trade commission. In his 20 Odd years on the Job. He has been asked to resolve disputes arising out of questionable Trade practices by developers. Losses run to millions of dollars he said and there is Little Relief he can provide. He is simply overwhelmed by the volume that flows into his office. My Case Load involves millions of people Tangires said. I feel sorry for a lot of them these Are not Small  John Reynaert is the Deputy property appraiser Lor Lee county. Fla. The Cradle of Lehigh acres on the stale s West coast. Reynaert appraises Lehigh properly. He s the Man customers complain to when they think they be been gouged. Many people i have Contact with paid a lot for their land and want to know what they can do with it Reynaert said. I Tell them it s not one of the Best investments they Ever made. They finally realize they were taken. A lot of realtors won t even list this property. I Don t know who would " Reynaert mid h he found himself in the same situation i d Stop payment. Why throw Good Money after bad Reynaert has appraised some Lehigh lots for $400 they can be bought on the local resale Market Lor $999. But the Developer is Selling them for $11,000. Plus interest. A lot of the original owners bought a dream Reynaert said. A lot of them Are still  the dream has spread to serve remembers stationed in Europe. They Are being courted by salesmen from Lehigh and four other firms to put a Little Money Down and pay Low monthly instalments for up to 10 years with the Promise of a planned Community at the end. But during the 10 years the buyer has no deed and is prohibited from starting a Home on the land. The major Lirt Selling to serve remembers Are general development corp., Deltona corp. And Lehigh acres. Their Quarter acre lots sell from $6,000 to $16.000. General development the largest of the three said it averages 40 contracts a month Worth nearly $600,000. Deltona averages eight contracts a month Worth nearly $92.000. Lehigh averages eight contracts a month Worth nearly $88,000. Two firms Forbes and hallmark did not respond to direct inquiries and Are not listed with Federal agencies in Washington. We totally master plan communities with All the necessities in  said Frank Mackle Iii Deltona president. We stick with it. We continue to oversee the growth. I think our customers get a Good value Tor their Money. I think they do. We have an excellent in whose Best interest Florida land developers have come up witha new wrinkle in financing levying interest on Money that has t been , customers buying land get a loan from a Bank and turn that Money Over to the Teller. The buyer then owes the Bank the Money plus interest. Whue paying Oft the loan the buyer gets a deed to the property and can build on it or improve it. The customer owns the land. In the current Florida land Sale system there is no loan. The Developer charges interest on the unpaid balance As if it were a Bank making a loan. The buyer does not receive a deed to the Home site and does not even own the Tot until it is paid Lor. In Many cues the buyer can t build on or use the land until it paid Lor. You re actually lending the Developer Money. Interest free for All those years until you make your last  writes Patricia Slomko a consultant to inform a non profit organization that monitors land developers. In the insider guide to owning land in subdivisions Simko writes of hidden costs. The practice she warns about is used today by Florida developers Deltona corp., general development corp. And Lehigh acres. Charles wieck the general agent Lor Deltona in Europe defends the practice. It permits people to get started wieck said. Under the program the buyer is expected to pay 10 percent Down and finance the rest. On a lot costing about $8,800. That leaves an unpaid balance of $7.920. At 7.5 percent annual interest that s an additional $3,400 Over the life of the contract. You May wonder Why you should pay this charge  Mackle and other developers those who survived the land scandals of the 1960s, scoff at their detractors. Charles wieck. Deltona s representative in Europe has been Selling since 1965. Has seen the scandals and knows Many of his prospective customers May be leery. We offer improved  he said. That Means by the time you pay for it there will be paved Road and Central water Mains. It s not acreage it s not just a lot. It will be an improved Home site by the time you pay for it. The concept has been to take Virgin land sell it on. An instalment basis and improve it As it went  wieck said. You have to keep in mind you re buying i concept. Before the first shovel touches the ground the entire Community is  Tore Debella gds senior vice president for marketing said. People who have a dream of Florida can t recognize it without Long term planning. If nothing else it s a Well disciplined savings program with future use in mind. They must have an acceptance of ultimate use  executives said their programs Are simple and \ innovative. They buy land cheaply generally near communities with projections of heavy growth and development they create Home Sites and sell them on instalment plans at today s prices. In 10 years when the Home Sites Are paid for the owner has a piece of land to since nothing has been financed " writes Slomko a new York attorney. And it is you who Are paying interest on a loan you re making to the  Simko makes it Clear she does not like this practice. This finance charge is one of the classic sales gimmicks of the  Simko writes. The Developer presumably uses these charges to pay the. Interest on the notes he s signed to borrow the Money to develop the lots he s Selling. But since you Are paying him Only Lor the possibility of owning a lot these charges would not be justified even if the lots being sold had a Market value somewhere near the Price the Developer is asking Lor them. Very often however such tots have Cost the Developer Only a few Hundred dollars or less per acre and Are priced at ten Twenty or More times that  ii \ -8h  that s Tea theme of today s e4ght-Page raped on  who buy a tend whee stationed Oversea. The photo on the cover Page depicts an area of port Mashbir. A general development corp. Community on Florida s East coast near pal Rick fab. The photo represents Homes Tes toeing add to  stationed in Europe wid open Barren land mites from nowhere. To prepare this report Stan and stripes reporter Alton Cowan Pant three weeks to Florida and Washington interview ing Federal and state officials touring developments talking with corporate executives. To interviewed realtors county tax appraisers salespeople at the Sites and purchasers. Sizing up an acre and. It s been fought Over since the beginning of Bab oklahoman stampeded Tor it. Texans drilled holes in it. In Florida they sell it. To anybody with deep pockets. It s generally waterfront property and very expensive it s often bought sight unseen by trusting souls eager Lor a Patch to Call their own. Land is usually measured in acres so it helps to understand what an acre really is. By Law an acre is a Square with each Side nearly 209 feet Long or 43,560 Square feet. To envision an acre. Imagine a football Field without end zones. It is 300 Leet Tang by 160 Leel wide or 48,000 Square Leet a Little More than an acre. In a development that Sells one Quarter acre tots builders can put Lour Home Sites on that Field. ,. A 15,000-acre development is almost As big ail Manhattan Island. 1 Sagall the stars and stripes wednesday november 20, 1985