1800 Club Amenities & Common Areas

Interesting WSJ quote about the new Fannie Mae condo lending standards….purgatory sounds about right…

“These buildings are just in purgatory. This new requirement is the straw that’s going to break the back of a lot of projects,” said Norman Radow, an Atlanta real-estate investor who works with lenders to rescue distressed condo complexes. … It’s a weight being tied to a drowning industry.”

In terms of common areas, this is one of the less-attractive new buildings I’ve seen. The “1800 Club” logo combined with the 80’s checkerboard lobby isn’t working batman.

My prediction for this thread is 5+ posts from AJ showering praise on 1800 club.

That checkerboard pattern is hideous.

Lucas, Great to see some of 1800 club. certainly a place i would consider living in over the long term. just not quite the neighborhood i am looking at, nothing wrong with the area just not my preferred zip code. took a look see at some building list prices, and starting to see big and small cracks developing. solaris has really plummeted in list value-not sure if they are short sales or legitimate, but you are looking at nearly 50% haircut to a year ago. even plaza is starting to crack a little bit with 2B creeping under $300k-again not… Read more »

One comment: CHEAP

The long hallways made me think rental.

Kramer said “why would I buy there knowing that I cant re-sell to a prospective buyer who needs a mortgage. You need an exit strategy of some sort unless u plan on dying there” So Kramer, tell me where are you going to buy? Where are you going to park your money? Each and every 50 odd new buildings are blacklisted by the banks and do not meet the Fannie Freddie guidelines. Even most of the old and established buildings in Miami and SOBE do not confirm to the new guidelines. SFH is your only option left for you. I… Read more »

None of these guys criticizing the decor do not have enough money to move into 1800 in the first place. Read #7. Where are the hall ways? Just goes to show the bullshit posters. Anyway, I am not impressed with the quality of pictures. May be Lucas reduced the quality to reduce the KB size of the file for easy download. Pics don’t tell anything here. If you are serious about buying, go there and take a look. The stars of 1800 Club are the views, the gym, pool, location and the Pace Park. If you want to excuse yourself… Read more »

AJ, when a decorator like your takes chances with an 80’s “Don’t Come Around Here No More” music video motif, he/she is asking to be judged. So we obliged. We judged. Verdict: It’s ugly. Deal.

OK, sorry I called you Prissy Bitches. But most of you are the first ones to scream murder if your maintenance goes up because of unnecessary upkeep needed for a lot of pretentious decor. I will agree. 1800 lobby is not as spectacular compared to some of the new buildings made during the same period. I have seen all of them before zeroing on 1800. Ask Samir, he will tell you. I made him go with me to every building old and new in SOBE and Miami before deciding on 1800. If I am shallow like some people here and… Read more »

Time to call for a band of AJ. He is abusive and offensive.

Moreover, lending standards will get tougher for buildings where more defaults occur and short sales….such as the buildings already on the blacklists. Better to not play in this game AJ then have to choose among 50 losers at these prices.

RT,
It is called tough love. Sometimes brats like you need it.

And for the second part of your response, we all know that you belong to the NATO (No Action, Talk Only). So you will never buy anything ever neither in these “50 losers” nor even in “5 winners”. Why are you even on this blog?
Just live off the interest on your CD’s and enjoy your early bird specials.

LOL #14 AJ. No action? Too funny. I have bought and/or sold more real estate in one year then you have your entire life! I have been watching one line of units in one building compete for the low price….it has taken off in the last 45 days….interesting, but none have sold. I would buy one of their decorator ready units for $300/s.f. too only because of the private elevator lobby.

I’ll believe it when I get the invite for the house warming party.

“Even with US economy in the toilet, the World still wants to buy our T bills. It is because there is no other better alternative. Same goes here. If you don’t want to buy in these buildings because aunt Fannie has a hissy fit, then don’t. Where else are you going to go? So cash buyers chickening out and using Fannie as an excuse and comforting themselves for not taking that final step, don’t. You will only be doing a disservice to yourself.” __ You are right AJ. They lack the courage of their convictions, because they have no convictions.… Read more »

“None of these guys criticizing the decor do not have enough money to move into 1800 in the first place… Just goes to show the bullshit posters.

Prissy bitches like you cause all kinds of problems for our tightly controlled budget and our association.

Get lost ”
__

Couldn’t have said it better myself.

A condominium is a business relationship with all your neighbors. Those that cannot pay or don’t adhere to the rules will make your investment drop in value. Simply no way to educate or control 400 other people in your business relationship.

AJ “we all know that you belong to the NATO (No Action, Talk Only). So you will never buy anything ever neither in these “50 losers” nor even in “5 winners”. Why are you even on this blog? Just live off the interest on your CD’s and enjoy your early bird specials.” ___ Well that WAS uncalled for. I think you really should apologize. And I even agreed with you today, in an earlier post I wrote: “Face it you are a bitter renter.
 AJ is right, you’ll be kicking yourself for not buying when you had a great opportunity.
Alas,… Read more »

Lucas thank you for all the valuable info. you have been posting.I enjoy this blog very much. The best thing lately is that ACE has left the building.I hated the childish nonsense that was going on.Most of the Bloggers on here are knowledgable people and are amazing contributors.I like Renter Toms comments .He seems like a very informed contributor.Thank you again and keep the GOOD WORK up.

Will somebody please tell Muir the whole pro-AJ thing is not funny or amusing. It’s painful.

Why the heck is 1800 club so nasty?

I agree, muir, have you gone mad?

It’s not a horrible building but nothing special either.

No thanks, No, it’s my way of protesting ACEs’ expulsion. The best thing going for this forum. (by the way all my links were real, and not from the Onion either. Though neither RT nor the Gables thought much of it, today was a game changer. And, as predicted, hardly a whisper outside of Financial publications. The FED is monetizing the debt (or Quantitative easement if you prefer sophistication,) and what is the lead in all newscasts except PBS? AIG. Something even I knew months ago (no, not the details, I’m just a regular schmuck, it was just obvious and… Read more »

I was at 1800 yesterday and I didn’t really like it. The 2br unit that has the direct bay view is really cookie cutter. I will admit though that the view was amazing. Also the decor is pretty bad and so are the hallways. I don’t get why AJ is always going apeshit over this building. How can you say that it’s stupid off someone to take the decor of a building into consideration when buying a unit? That’s not being shallow, that’s buying something you like.

I admire AJ, despite all the evidence around him, he is resolute in his positive outlook. Some of you gloom and doom guys could learn a lot from AJ. It doesn’t matter what the na-sayers or statistics have to say about the economy or miami condo market, AJ’s faith in his investments are unshakeable. You got to give it to the guy, he believes his BS soo much it makes you want to believe for him. We need more of this kind of spirit in America today. Keep on fighting the good fight AJ. Bagdad Bob has nothing on you.… Read more »

makes me think,

I too like and admire AJ.

And here’s 2 things that AJ has been talking about.
1. U.S. Economy: Housing Starts Unexpectedly Jumpedhttp://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agLqzpq2jKIM&refer=home

2. March 18, SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The U.S. dollar plunged against major rivals Wednesday afternoon —-> AJ’s = FOREIGN BUYERS!!

All I can say is that thank God we have someone of AJs integrity and wisdom and I too give my heartfelt “Keep on fighting the good fight AJ!”

Muir – I understand what the Fed is doing….large scale. Monetizing the debt in an indirect way….will evaluate. Obviously the goal is NOT to actually monetize the debt per se but to bring down long term rates esp w.r.t. mortgages. The first phase was “we’ll keep interest rates low as long as necessary which may be for a long while” which helped, but the fear of the second half of the hurricane made him do the not only are we keeping rates low but we’re going to keep long term rates low too….. It is a concern. Will evaluate. Miami… Read more »

Juan, OK, I trust that you saw the building. I will also respect that you did not like the decor. That is your personal choice. At least you are not one of the armchair commentators like the others who just spit crap with out knowing, learning or refusing to even know about a building. Many are making amateur home buying mistakes. If you are guilty of signing a contract mesmerized by a buxom blonde sales girl, you are equally dumb to buy a condo looking at the lobby. I did not buy 1800 pre con. You could have then accused… Read more »

Wild Bill – I prefer the condo as a lifeboat analogy where everyone needs to row in the same direction but because of competing goals they don’t and in some with the new Fannie Mae lending restrictions they will revert to cannibalism. AJ – If you love Pace Park then get off the darn computer and go jogging or something! – On a macro level, credit is continuing to be pulled from the system on a massive scale….this will continue throughout 2009. Deflation will fight the fed at every turn as the fed and govt try to create at least… Read more »

I should clarify, the fed and govt will not be successful at creating core inflation of even 2% this year.

I looked at units in 1800 several months ago. I was pretty indifferent towards the lobby, didn’t love it or hate it. But I’m like AJ, and having a grand lobby isn’t that high on my priority list. I’ll be spending the vast majority of time in my actual unit, so the the highest items on my list are: 1) 2 bedroom, 2) direct unobstructed bay views, 3) spacious floorplan and nice finishes. Taking my first two items into consideration, 1800 really offers only one 2/2 floorplan that faces directly east. After viewing several of those units, they defintately did… Read more »

I wouldn’t buy in 1800 Club for one simple reason – AJ owns there. Can you imagine living in the same building! Worse, being stuck on an elevator and having to hear about how glamorous 1800 Club is and that Pace Park is such a great park….argh!

DJ, The 2/2’s on lines 3 and 9 are 100 sf smaller than the 1222 sf lines 5 and 7. lines 3 and 9 really have a problem as you mentioned regarding small LR and Bedrooms. But 1222 is just enough for my requirements. But I completely understand that you would prefer a 1400 or 1500 sf 2/2. Then you are looking at line 1 with 3 BR and it gets very expensive. A large sq. footage is a double edged sword. gables liked the 1715 unit but utterly dislikes the extra HOA required every month due to the extra… Read more »

RT,
1800 is too hip for you. Stay with the hip replacement crowd at the Sunny Isles.

RT, you better start spending that money. WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. inflation rose in February on higher gasoline and apparel prices, government data showed on Wednesday, indicating some pricing power in the recession-hit economy and easing fears of deflation for now. But it was the Labor Department’s Consumer Price Index that attracted the most attention. Analysts said that while the CPI data showed the risk of a persistent, broad decline in prices was fading, it did not indicate a resurgence of inflation, given the deep slump the economy is in. In February, the overall CPI rose 0.4 percent, the biggest… Read more »

After lots of research got to say I think miami is to expensive, those hoa are the deal braker. For that kind of cash I’d rather put more in the pot and buy a house in austin or califonia. With these places coming so cheap miami will struggle to attract foreign buyers like me.

AJ, dont let the inflation/deflation press give you the wrong signals. we may have some core inflation (very slight) as raw material costs recover some of their price contraction from the past year, but prices overall are lower now than in the past and will not exceed those values in the near term. but of bigger concern, and not a part of the cpi and ppi indexes, are the declines in large asset classes-equities and RE. these are, without a doubt, down and will stay on the lower end for a while. the current rally in equities is more likely… Read more »

finally i am hearing more on this blog indicate the waste of money associated with all the extra amenities in these buildings. i have made this argument in the past as well. these are sales gimmicks which cost the end user over time. developers who use over designed lobbies, theater rooms, party rooms, etc are not your friend and are going to cost you money. i live in a building with adequate, although not expansive amenities, and the HOA price is bad enough. cant imagine the cost with a more extensive arrangement. as for floorplans, most of the newer construction… Read more »

gables
that’s why i say buy in a boutique building on the beach (e.g., montclair or harriet). these new buildings are absurd with the amenities and hoa.

Can’t Be Serious #42 – I think that Lucas is doing a great job even with the childlike behaviour of many of the contributers to this blog. Credit to you for not crawling into the muck. Calling him a coward because he’s using a standard or referencing HOA on a sq ft basis seems extreme though. It’s quite simply a question of using your calculator to determine a monthly cost. I’d expect that any potential buyer of a unit would consider both the actual monthly cost as well as the sq ft cost. Only Lucas can answer, but maybe there… Read more »

The one good thing Miami Condo’s have going for them is most people would like to have one. Lets be serious here folks, having a luxurious high rise to escape too in a sub tropical and exciting city is what most people dream of. The killer though is the taxes and maintence fee’s. Most hardworking people who are responsible with money and invest wisely can come up with 200 or 300k for a vacation condo. I know someday (I am still young) I will come up with this kind of money for a second place. The problem is I will… Read more »

Can’t Be Serious,
I think you owe Lucas an apology, your post was not deleted.

Can’t Be Serious /Mar 17, 2009 at 3:16 pm Vote:

The $0.42/sf maintenance on that 1,700 sq. foot unit is $721.99/month!!!

I suppose that is why you refer to it in square feet (like it is some kind of friggin’ commercial property) instead of the total amount. At some level even you realize what a lousy investment it is.

Miami is the 4th worst city for new jobs this spring….that can’t help home prices if Forbes is right.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/09/cities-jobs-spring-leadership-careers-worst_slide_2.html?partner=yahoo

Lucas is posting the maintenance fees in cents/sq. foot because that’s how the individual buildings do it. Just go to the sales center of any new building and ask them what the maineance fees are, and their response will be “$.xx/sq. foot.” Obviously with the varying sizes of units in most buildings, they don’t charge a flat fee for all units, but do it based on square footage. Lucas isn’t being disingenuous by simply restating what an individual building charges.

Christopher, You said: “Now snobs like AJ may say I am too poor to deserve a Miami condo because I can’t afford the 24K in taxes and insurance alone on a second home but that is just being disingenuous. There are so many Miami condo’s that got built that there are not enough “rich” people to fill them all. The only way to get these condo’s to end users is to reduce the association fee’s and taxes so hardworking, middle class people who are good with money can afford one also.” How utterly, ridiculously wrong you are!? Me, a snob?… Read more »

On the MLS it’s not listed per sq. foot. It’s the total amount. Am I correct?

Christopher said

“If you can’t get the affordability down to the level where a middle class person who is good with money can afford it (IE. lives on less then they make an invest the rest as opposed to media’s version of middle class which is debt strapped) then there is no hope for Miami condo market.”

There is no hope until AJ capitulates. My guess in mid 2011 because AJ is stubbborn.