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Top 5 Miami Distressed Condo Sales in January 2009

February 4, 2009 by Lucas Lechuga
Overall, the distressed condos that closed last month weren't as interesting as the ones I've seen in previous months but there were still a few good ones. Below, you will find what I believe to be the five best condo deals of the 24 distressed sales that closed in the month of January in the MLS located in Brickell, Brickell Key, Downtown Miami and the Arts District.

  1. Uptown Lofts - unit 502 - 1 bedroom/1 bath (775 square feet) - This unit sold for $84,000, or $108 per square foot, on January 15, 2009.  Foreclosure

  2. Vue at Brickell - unit 1214 - 2 bedroom/2 bath (1,149 square feet) - This unit sold for $157,000, or $137 per square foot, on January 9, 2009. Foreclosure

  3. Isola - unit 2104 - 2 bedroom/2 bath (968 square feet) - This unit sold for $225,000, or $232 per square foot, on January 28, 2009.  Foreclosure

  4. Skyline on Brickell - unit 2508 - 1 bedroom/1 bath (791 square feet) - This unit sold for $190,000, or $240 per square foot, on January 9, 2009.  Foreclosure

  5. The Club at Brickell Bay - unit 3903 - 1 bedroom/1 bath (825 square feet) - This unit sold for $124,000, or $151 per square foot, on January 28, 2009. Foreclosure

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lara

I think that Uptown Loft is a good deal.

I think there’s going to be a lot of similar deals at Uptown Lofts in coming months. I spoke with a loan officer today who revealed that 70% of the condo owners there are delinquent on their HOA fees. If that’s true, cash buyers are the only ones who will be able to buy condos in that building for a while.

Hi! some of my clients moving to Miami prefer to buy reasonable priced condos that they can convert like a DIY project or something. I will definitely check you out from time to time for reference. thanks!=)

I CANT BELIEVE I AM SAYING THIS….

THAT UPTOWN LOFTS IS A GOOD DEAL!!!!

That is the Miami Real Estate market I remember back in 2000. I remember Condo’s such as the uptown lofts unit selling for about 100 bucks a sq foot.

If I had cash on hand, I would totally pay that price for that unit.

Just want to say that as far as I am concerned, the guy who bought that unit is the first person in Miami to actually get a true real estate bargain since 2002.

Good show!

only speculation

Lucas , what happens to the other owners in the building when 70% of the owners are NOT paying their HOA’s? It may be a good deal…but is it really a safe bet?Thank you and look forward to your comments.

Renter Tom

only speculation – The building could be totally screwed. Will the HOA be able to comply with simple things like trash service, fire safety systems, electric bill, etc.? What if a major building item like an elevator goes out and needs replacing early? 70% is a very scary number at almost any price….. Again, owning a condo is like being in a lifeboat with all the other owners….the deadbeats will just weigh you down and when there is 70% deadbeats the lifeboat may sink! $84K is nothing, but having to pay 3x’s the HOA dues each month to make up… Read more »

yeah overall it looks like a good deal. would the new amendment have an impact on condo resale values?

only speculation

Thank you RENTER TOM…..that is why I’m afraid to make that move at the moment.

JL

I’m working on a concept called webstakks and it just dawned on me that it’s particularly suitable for RE listings like discussed in this topic. This webstakk took me a minute to make.

bubbleRefuge

Will the uptown lofts cashflow positive if you paid all cash for it? Cap rate?
You know the tax assessor will probably say its worth 200K or something so taxes will
be about 350 per month then you have HOA @ possibly 400 . So, can you rent this thing for over 750 per month.?

Muir

AJ is about to call bottom on the market 🙂

Taxes are 4757 ($397/month, possibly going down) maintenance is $430/month (and likely going up).
With NO allowance for maintenance, vacancy, special assessments, etc., $900 monthly rent gives you a 1.1% return. Not a good investment from a cashflow perspective.

Renter Tomm

The listing says monthly HOA fees are $430. Since 70% don’t pay….this unit (assuming they pay) will be paying $1,433 per month to make up the difference assuming all units in the building are assessed the same $430 per month. And special assessments will cost this unit owner 3.33x’s as much too. Scary. Probably a very decent price, but again, the entire building needs to be maintained and someone has to pay for it…

RT

The listing says monthly HOA fees are $430. Since 70% don’t pay….this unit (assuming they pay) will be paying $1,433 per month to make up the difference assuming all units in the building are assessed the same $430 per month. And special assessments will cost this unit owner 3.33x’s as much too. Scary. Probably a very decent price, but again, the entire building needs to be maintained and someone has to pay for it.

– For some reason my posts won’t post under my name Renter Tom….so using RT

lara

IF people are not paying their HOA fees I guess they can be foreclosed. I am not sure. All I know if the rest 70% of the apartments could be sold for similar prices they will be bought within 1 week and HOA situation will be resolved

lara

Also if you look at recent rentals in Uptown Lofts they are $1,250 for similar apartments. Even if you reduce rent to $1,100 it is still a decent deal but HOA situation is very risky.

bubbleRefuge

lara, exactly. We have to conclude this is a good investment by anticipating that other units will foreclose and sell for around 90K. You can write off the depreciation as well. But the opportunity costs is probably too high. Corporate bonds are probably a better bet. Perhaps even high quality municipal bonds.

Bmcm

Where do you guys come up with the 70% number? Is there any official information on this?

This is strange. Lucas, For some reason, my JL ID is being blocked from making posts. I was unable to make the post below. I had to change the Name, Mail and Website fields to be able to post again.

——–

How can you evaluate a good/bad deal when the HOA situation is so unstable in a building?

Muir

Since AJ seems unable to post, I’ll do it:

BOTOM!!! YEPEEE!
BUY NOW OR BE PRICED OUT FOREVER!!!!

[scratches stubble of a beard, readjusts his haunches on his seat, and thinks “the fools…$85-125 psft, are they insane?! Don’t they know that Ocean front property around the World goes for $1000 /foot…. Fools all of them.” scratches crotch, thinks of going to the fridge.]

JL,

That’s weird because I haven’t made any changes to the settings in months.

Fernando

What about the VUE? Is the building getting better? What about noise since there is bar in the first floor?

gables

Lara, now you can see the issue related to fannie backing out of these buildings. great credit risk folks exist, but may not have $100k available in cash. but those folks could easily afford a $100k mortgage-life would be great. but since they cannot qualify for loans in that building, the train wreck will continue. deeper pockets may buy the unit in cash, but they will be investors who let any person rent to cover the costs. the building would be much better off if true end users could be the occupants. end users like myself will end up shying… Read more »

Lucas, this might be diagnostic for your tech guy. Using the old “JL” ID, I tried that simple post last night, it seemd to submit fine and the page refreshed but the post did not show up. I tried making the post again then got an error page about a “duplicate post” although the original post never showed up. I tried making a short 2nd differently worded post and the same error above happened. I tried changing username, but I was still having the same problems. Only after I changed all fields (Name, email, website) was I able to post… Read more »

JL,

I just figured out the problem. A lot of your comments as well as Renter Tom’s comments were being picked up by the spam filter. My guess is that it’s doing that because of the email addresses that you guys are using are obviously not valid. You may want to try an email address that “appears” to be valid so that they aren’t picked up by the spam filter.

Gables, I completely agree. The prices in these troubled condos are finally falling to a point where people in Miami can afford them. However, they are being shut out due to their inability to acquire financing as a result of the new Fannie Mae guidelines. I’m discovering that the vast majority of the buildings with short-sales and foreclosures have over 15% of the homeowners who are delinquent on their HOA fees more than 30 days. The Fannie Mae guidelines have essentially eliminated end-users from being able to buy in many of the condo buildings in Miami (especially those that are… Read more »

Miami2009

Lucas,
How do we get these buildings filled up with people and successful? The prices are coming down but people can’t get financing. Do we need more bulk buys? If we do get more bulk sales, HOA fees may be paid but the buildings will fill up with renters. Not terrible, but not great if you are an owner or potential buyer.

Renter Tom

Interesting article on the meltdown in Dubai real estate. Just like what I have heard about foreigners fleeing the U.S. to return home leaving the U.S. with a mess and of course without the cash! Just leave the car at the airport and write a nice note too….

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/the_gulf/article5663618.ece

Maybe AJ can fill us in while he is on the lam, er I mean vacation, about real estate in Dubai if that is next on his stops as a uber successful DJ and real estate mogul….

Renter Tom

Miami2009 – We really need END USERS. Bulk buyer won’t be living in those units…..maybe will rent them but that will create its own set of problems too such as why buy when you can rent for less and no commitment.

The Ace

The Smart Money always said that should the price per foot drop below $125.00 then we would apologize.

Uptown Lofts – unit 502 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (775 square feet) – This unit sold for $84,000, or $108 per square foot, on January 15, 2009. Foreclosure

We apologize.

The Smart Money.

lara

I know that someone asked before about Valimur Lofts in Miami Beach. What’s your opinion about this building and the situation in it. Lucas , in your condo deals there is 2bd loft short sale for $310,000. I think it is a good area of Miami Beach, very qiuet, good for families with small kids and directly on the ocean. What do you think? I value all of your opinions.

JL

This webstakk for the 5 properties took me a minute to make. It may be of interest to RE types. It’s a project I’ve been working on.

Did we really hit bottom? Unit #3302 at the Waverly in SOBE just sold for $652K. How is that possible? I understand that is the best line in the building but for a condo where the average sale price was about $375-400K, and where the last 01/02 line units have sold for an average of $550K last year , a sale price of #3302 doesn’t look like the bottom. It seems very atypical if not fishy. What happened? Only Mr Waverly can make sense of this one. Where are you Mr Waverly???

Muir

“The Smart Money always said that should the price per foot drop below $125.00 then we would apologize.

Uptown Lofts – unit 502 – 1 bedroom/1 bath (775 square feet) – This unit sold for $84,000, or $108 per square foot, on January 15, 2009. Foreclosure

We apologize.

The Smart Money.”


And, just to show you guys, if it falls substantially bellow $85.00. I too will apologize.

(The above offer does not include the Vue , Club or Neo Vertika)

The Muir

jcrimes

lara i’m a huge fan of that area. as for vilamur (along with vilasol, vilazul and ocean blue), they’re alright buildings. look nice from afar but upon closer inspection, the construction is a little shoddy inside and outside. that said, location is great (right on the beach) and you’re ten minutes tops from south beach. there is another building on normandy isle (bayview lofts?) where there are some potential great deals. same situation in terms of the quality of the building. i saw the 310k unit at vilamur. not sure if the bank is onboard at that price. unit is… Read more »

Mr Waverly

Here I am.. Yes, the unit did sell for that amount. I have not checked on public records but I did talk to the seller who moved into a rental unit on the same floor. He says the unit went into contract in early December. The market still had a bit of steam in it then but in my opinion the sale was on the high side. The Buyer wanted what he wanted and he was willing to pay for it. There were a couple other sales recently that sold for higher than I expected they would.. One was unit… Read more »

Thanks Mr Waverly! $657K for Unit #3302 was very high!!! I thought there was a double unit (i.e., double the square footage) in a high floor that sold for around $600K. I don’t know…Apparently someone that already owned another unit at the Waverly bought #3302 so he/she should have been very familiar with the depreciating value of the units in the building. The purchase price just doesn’t make any sense…what does it these days anyway??? I heard it was a cash purchase. I like the Waverly. Are buyers facing problems with financing at the Waverly? What’s the delinquency and foreclosure… Read more »

lara

Jcrimes, Thanks for your opinion. It is for one of my close relatives. They have a bit of conservative taste. They really like Naples but I am trying to convince them to buy in Miami. They have 2 small kids and do not want huge building. They are not interested in noisy active area.I thought that Vilamur is a small building, modern(may be too modern for them). They want privacy, safe area, yet beautiful and on the ocean. I would like to find for them a very good deal in a safe good quality small building. It will be a… Read more »

JL

lookingtobuy,

The Waverly was built out with a lot of cheap finishing (cheap laminates), some owners will gut the unit completely and redo both bathrooms and the kitchen and add in flooring. I dont’ know what/if anything was done to Unit #3302 but it’s a possibility it was made “right” which would cost some coin.

AJ

RT,
I am surprised you actually read international news and websites. Is it a new found passion? You were flummoxed by the Zimbabwe currency too. If you were abreast of happenings in the World all along, you would have known that the Zimbabwe story has been repeated many times over around the World.
If and when that happens in the US, I will just pay off my mortgage with the gold chain around my neck 🙂

AJ

Looking to buy, Are you a cash buyer? If so, keep your powder dry and your ducks in line. Contrary to what these blokes say, these bulk buys are the best thing that happened and happening to Miami. Basically what they are doing is to take the inventory off the market. The bulk buyers are fully aware of the fact that they cannot resell in the next 2-3 years. They are OK with that. With most inventory siphoned off like that and recalcitrant home owners (at least those who can afford to ) hanging on to their prized pocessions for… Read more »

Muir

AJ ….” the Zimbabwe story has been repeated many times over around the World.
If and when that happens in the US, I will just pay off my mortgage with the gold chain around my neck ”

AJ!!
🙂
Glad your back!
Unfortunately, the bling around your neck may not be enough, buy physical gold and put it in a safety deposit box.
If you have done this already, upgrade to a bigger box and buy more. Those units you have will not even pay for a loaf of bread in that scenario.
I recommend Monex.

(disclaimer, I am holding less than 10%, I’m 90% cash)

jcrimes

lara
then i’m not sure the vilamur is for them. it is a loft with minimal privacy. for that area, in the new buildings, i’d recommend ocean blue .

Realist Bob

Want to know another reason we are far from the bottom?

http://ml-implode.com/info/Arrest-Warrant.pdf

Realist Bob

Want to know another reason we are far from the bottom? Fraud writ large…

Read this: triduanum.com/memo.pdf

then this: ml-implode.com/info/Arrest-Warrant.pdf

Phil

lara/jcrimes: I was recently in Miami to re-look at unit #16 in the Vilazul…which is really nice…but looks like it was just sold or in the process of being sold. Although I did not go into that Vilamur unit, when I walked around the building it appears that it faces directly into the back alley…which is a bit of an ugly view. There is a better looking unit for sale at the Vilazul for $349K (1 bedroom with large 300ft terrace). Unit #16 at Vilazul is the nicest unit I have seen so far in that building.

Phil

H2O

AJ,

That gold chain around your neck undoubtedly sits above a shirt that is unbuttoned to your sternum so you can show your chest hair. Wondering what the visibility is through that fog of AXE cologne you wear.

Tell all your Eurotrash buddies who are buying for $1,000/s.f. that they are getting screwed.

BMW M3

AJ….how can people pay higher rents if there is NO pressure on wages? Everyone is taking paycuts: doctors, lawyers, business owners, Russian oligarchs. Tell me who. Just tell me WHO. WHO! I’m begging you to tell me. Who is going to pay the higher rent? Who? Who? Tell me.

You don’t know. It’s absolutely ridiculous. Your stupidity knows no bounds!

gables

AJ, I am doing exactly that, looking at foreclosures. There are deals out there, but not what i want, yet. You are right, with patience a deal which i am happy with will surface. not in a rush, just waiting a bit for the dust to settle a little bit. i have not yet seen capitulation in the brickell market, although i am beginning to see it in other locales of south florida. i have the time and cash, just waiting for a good reason to make a move. i want it to be my home for the next decade.

BMW M3

The only people making money right now are gunmakers. Can’t find an AR 15 anywhere. Oh, and people working at monex. And of course, our resident buffoon AJ. DJ extraordinaire….

That’s about it…

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