Brickell City Centre Is Hosting a Career Fair

Want to work in Brickell? Well, Brickell City Centre is hiring and in a big way. They are hosting a career fair in order to fill hundreds of jobs at the development.

There will be over 85 retailers on site looking for marketing people, store managers, waiters, and salespeople. There will be part time, full time and seasonal positions available.

To apply for a job at one of the stores, visit the 10th floor of  799 Brickell Plaza on Tuesday, October 4 between 10am and 3pm or Wednesday, October 5 between 2pm and 7pm.

Paramount Miami Worldcenter Offers an EB-5 Program That Includes a Condo

With all the excitement surrounding Congress’s vote to extend the EB-5 Visa program through December, it is important to note that not every project that markets as an investor visa opportunity is in fact approved as such. Investors must choose wisely when going into any investment, but even more so with the EB-5.

I have seen agents advertising resale condos as an EB-5 opportunity. Going into this transaction will get you the condo, but since the necessary 10 jobs are not created through that purchase, no visa will be granted.

Aspiring developers will sometimes also collect EB-5 funds in order to raise capital to purchase the land for a project but have not yet obtained any of the permitting for the project or for the EB-5 offering. This is extremely risky as the project could never happen. The funds could be lost, time would be wasted and no visa would be granted.

Other opportunities will secure the visa, but not pay a return during the construction of the project.

I have only seen one EB-5 opportunity that will grant the investor a visa, a condo and a return. The Paramount Miami Worldcenter EB-5 offering seems to be the most beneficial and secure investment currently on the market.

Their program is a 5 year offering with 0.5% interest paid annually. Paramount Miami Worldcenter will be completed in 2.5 years, in which case the client could close with cash, finance the remainder of the balance or delay the closing and lease the apartment through the developer’s rental program. The initial visa arrives after the investor’s application is approved, and the investor can apply for citizenship after 5 years.

I like this project because it is already under construction and 55% sold. This is happening. Only 10% of the project financing is coming from EB-5, so over 40 jobs will be created per applicant. The condos are really amazing and the project is transforming the Downtown Miami area, so it is very exciting.

Of course, there are other EB-5 offerings available in the area… SkyRise Miami, Panorama Tower, a few restaurants (including Dunkin Donuts, Tap 42 and Meat Market) and I’ve heard One Thousand Museum has begun its application.  Paramount Miami Worldcenter is still my favorite since they offer relative security, the return, the condo and the visa.

Here is more information from their presentation. Let us know if you would like a presentation as well.

Brickell Heights is Getting its Stripes

Photo courtesy of Carlos Rosso

In preparation for their early 2017 opening, Brickell Heights is getting its Fabian Burgos mural this week. The mural actually began color-testing in July, but can proceed now that the building has topped off and the cranes have been removed.

There are currently only 4 apartments remaining for sale at Brickell Heights, the East tower has a 3 bedroom for $1,034,900 and a penthouse for $1,485,900. The West tower has a 3 bedroom for $1,233,900 and a penthouse for $1,690,900.

The Equinox gym that will be in the development is currently accepting memberships at the membership center just East of SLS Lux on 8th Street & SE 1st Avenue.

Frost Science Museum President Announces “Substantial Completion” For Late 2016

Despite many roadblocks and hurdles over the recent past, the new Patricia and Philip Frost Museum of Science is on track to be substantially completed in 2016, according to Frank Steslow, President of Frost Science. While the actual date of completion is still unknown, they expect to obtain the TCO (temporary certificate of occupancy) in December.

The project was envisioned to be an ultra-modern replacement to the original science museum that was opened in the early 1960’s, and boy, does it deliver! Some of the more intense features include a 500,000 gallon gulfstream aquarium that is open to the sky and visible from all five levels of the museum. It is a replica of the environment in the Gulfstream habitat and will collect and reuse rain water.

Aside from the Gulfstream Aquarium, the museum will have a section for diving birds, a mangrove nursery, a living Indo-Pacific coral tank, an Atlantic reef fish tank and a ray touch pool. Throughout the museum is a “Living Core,” an integration of South Florida’s wildlife, habitats and aquaria. The Core is progressive through each floor so that visitors can visually experience each separate stage, then connecting the five ecosystems.

This announcement is very refreshing after so many months of criticism surrounding the project. There have been delays, funding issues, mismanagement and most recently, lawsuits between the construction firms. I have my fingers crossed that the TCO does in fact come soon and we are able to enjoy our newest park in its entirety.

For the latest construction progress, check out the museum’s live construction cam here.

Almost 40% of Downtown Miami Residents Have Pets – Strategies for Investors and Tenants

The Downtown Miami DDA (Downtown Development Authority) released its updated demographics study today, and they found that 39% of Downtown Miami households include a pet. This is interesting because so many of the developments impose strict pet policies upon their residents. Some only allow certain sizes of pets, some only cats, some only allow pets for unit owners and some say no pets at all.

This is always a touchy subject when we are working with a client who has a pet. There is so much misinformation out there regarding which buildings do and do not welcome pets. If a resident gets caught with an unauthorized pet, they are forced with the difficult choice of paying a lease cancellation fee (which is typically the value of 2 months’ rent), or re-homing their beloved pet. Unfortunately, not all agents verify the pet policies before entering into a contract, which wastes time and gets the client all excited about an apartment that they cannot have. No bueno.

I even once had a client who cheated on me with another agent that had told them they could have a large pet in a pet-restricted building. That is completely irresponsible and self-serving of that agent. Thank goodness, the clients realized what would happen if they went forward with that deal. The agent would have been paid and then they would have either had to break their lease or part with their dog. That is a horrible choice to have to make when most people consider their pets as members of the family.

In order to have an authorized pet in the building, many associations require an additional registration and application. The pet’s weight is verified (many times with a report from the veterinarian), their vaccinations are verified and some buildings even take it a step further. Infinity at Brickell requires a DNA sample to be placed on file and in the event that messes are found in the lobby, the mess is sent in for a DNA match. The resident that pops up after the DNA test is issued a fine. I call it Maury Povich enforcement… but it works. If people know they’re going to get busted breaking the rules, they’ll be less likely to do so. This way, the building can continue to allow large pets for everyone.

Over recent years, a popular workaround to the ‘No Pets’ buildings has become all the rage. There are websites where you can claim that you need a therapy dog. They’ll issue you a certificate for a fee and, viola! Your dog can go with you everywhere and nobody can say anything… except the condo associations have started to get wise of this ruse. The Jade at Brickell verifies these Therapy Dog certificates through an attorney. It takes an extra few days during the application process and you don’t get your application fees back if you get caught with a phony form. I don’t recommend the fake therapy dog stunt.

If you are curious of whether a particular building accepts pets, just have a look at the building page on our website. We have verified all of the buildings’ policies and list them in the FAQ section of the website. Every now and again, a building will change their policy in between when we last called to verify, but we update it frequently. Our agents also keep themselves updated of the pet policies and fees for the buildings in the area. We’re all about efficiency and not wasting your time or energy…

So what about investors?

With the rental market changing, it is important to have apartments that appeal to as many people as possible. Purchasing an investment condo for sale in a pet-restricted building automatically crosses out almost 40% of the prospective tenants that could be interested in moving in. Some of my favorite pet-friendly buildings are MarinaBlue and 900 Biscayne Bay in Park West, Infinity at Brickell in Brickell, the Midtown developments in Midtown and One Miami in Downtown.

For investors who are concerned with having animals in your property without knowing the behavior or cleanliness of the pets, it is completely customary to charge a pet deposit for the unit. In many cases, the building has a separate pet deposit or fee, but I suggest a refundable deposit for the unit itself. The amount can vary depending upon the pet. Puppies would require a bit of a larger deposit since they tend to chew and have accidents. You could also lower the deposits in the event that a tenant was able to submit a diploma from obedience school or behavior training.

Whether you are an investor, or if you are buying/renting a home for yourself, if there is a specific building that you are curious about, don’t hesitate to drop us a line and inquire. We’re happy to help.

Miami Condo Investments Welcomes Francisco Astete

We are very excited today to welcome Francisco Astete to the Miami Condo Investments team! Although a relative newcomer to real estate, we had heard through the grapevine of the spectacular service & knowledge Francisco offers in his transactions and we knew he was a great fit for the team.

A recent graduate of Terra Environmental Research Institute, Francisco was working his way through the Business Administration program at FIU and working in a restaurant that caters to the residents of Brickell’s high rises. He was inspired by the buildings and the opportunity that a career in real estate would offer and immediately became licensed. He is currently a sophomore at FIU and aspires to ultimately become a developer.

I love Francisco’s efficiency. Let’s be honest, there aren’t too many people who love moving. He has a seemingly effortless ability find a home that his clients are imagining quickly and without headache. He is great at navigating the bumps that come up during the application and escrow periods of transactions. We are very proud to have him on the team.

Francisco was born and raised in Miami to a Peruvian family and enjoys exploring his culture. When he is not making neighbors in Brickell or studying for an exam, he is passionate about deep sea fishing and scuba diving. Welcome, Francisco!

If Flipping Preconstruction Condos For Profit Doesn’t Work, What Does?

Lucas acknowledged it back in November with his blog post about the success of IconBay. This week, both CurbedMiami and The New Times have concurred after a formal study proved that flipping preconstruction condos for a profit is a bad idea. The only person who makes money is the developer. But if that’s true, then why are preconstruction investments so popular in Miami?

Well for one, developers and their salespeople are incredibly savvy. They sell a dream. No investor should go into that transaction unrepresented by a trusted buyers’ rep. The representatives in the sales offices of the buildings represent the project, not the buyer. They may be supportive and have great ideas, but the sales center representatives exist and are paid to fill that building up. Always, and I mean always, have a buyers’ representative.

Aside from the savvy sales strategy, foreign investors are many times able to take advantage of our exchange rate, making their purchases less expensive than a dollar to dollar transaction. This is great, as long as everything goes according to plan over the next 2-3 years that the project is under construction. But what happens if something goes down in their country (or in the US), making the exchange rate not so attractive? (Looking at you, Brazil). These investors are now finding that their money has been parked in Miami without earning a return for the last 3 years and to add insult to injury, they are not able to resell their investments for a profit even if the exchange rate had remained favorable.

For those who like to watch currency conversion rates, we have a special treat coming up for you in the next week or so. Stay tuned, but for now let’s stay on topic…

What should the preconstruction investors do?

I am not trashing preconstruction condo sales in general, just preconstruction condo sales for short-term investment. New projects are a great idea for people looking to buy a new home, vacation home, or a long-term rental investment.

In my opinion, investors who have already purchased a condo from a developer should hold them until the inventory has absorbed. The rental values will fall over the upcoming years because the market is flooded, but the condos are still beautiful and we will bounce back.

People still want to live in Miami. The condos are beautiful, people love to be the first resident in a building, and we can chug along with the rentals until the oversupply is absorbed and prices will increase.

What about current investors who are eager to make a profit short-term?

One option to make a relatively quick profit in the Miami condo market is to buy in a building that has upside potential. This would be a building that is in the process of solving litigation, is nearly finished reselling a batch of distress sales, or has some other reparable defect. The defect would drive the sales price down, then resell after the issue has been resolved. I have had investors experience success in this strategy at the Vue at Brickell, Neo Vertika, and Latitude on the River in Brickell and Blue Condo in Edgewater.

One investor purchased an apartment through a foreclosure sale at Vue at Brickell in 2010 for $159,000 (true story). He leased the apartment for a couple of years and then resold it for $375,000 after the distress sales were all absorbed. He made a small return on the rental and then cashed out. Some of the buildings that I think are good opportunities now for this strategy are BrickellHouse, IconBrickell, and 500 Brickell.

We all know about BrickellHouse’s trouble, but once their parking situation is fixed, the sales prices will rebound. Since the rental prices haven’t been affected relative to the sales prices, it would be a good investment option. The same holds true for IconBrickell, although I anticipate their rental prices will be affected more than BrickellHouse since the pool area of Icon is one of the big draws for tenants there. 500 Brickell is still working through the litigation surrounding the Chinese drywall that was discovered three years ago, making mortgages near impossible and driving the sales prices down. Since the actual apartments have long since been repaired, it is a popular building for tenants.

Another strategy would be to buy an apartment in a building that has a unique quality that is attractive to tenants. Some of my favorites for this strategy are Jade Residences at Brickell, Infinity at Brickell, Blue Condo in Edgewater and MarinaBlue in Park West.

The views, layouts and quality of Jade are unsurpassed, making it a popular choice for buyers and tenants alike. It is one of the few buildings in Brickell that will always retain its view because it is direct waterfront.

The layouts of Infinity are unique, there are not many buildings that primarily offer duplex lofts in the neighborhood. The sales prices have been pushed down due to the fact that the SLS Brickell construction has blocked many of the east-facing views, but the building remains a popular choice for tenants because it is one of the only options for people who have large pets.

MarinaBlue and Blue Condo are sister buildings. They both have really great floor plans for roommates or families and tremendous views that are protected. Pets are welcome for tenants and they are in great condition despite being around 10 years old.

These are the buildings that I prefer to pitch to investors who are new to the Miami market. Preconstruction opportunities have their place, but in my opinion are better for vacation homes or primary residences than investors. Let me know which buildings are some of your favorites and why. I’m always open to hear other suggestions.

Who Is Going To Buy Alan Potamkin’s Coral Gables Estate For $47.5 Million?

It’s the house that has everything for the person who has everything. Yes, Car King Alan Potamkin has relisted his sprawling Gables Estates waterfront mansion for a whopping $47.5 million.

Before you drop your jaw on the price tag, let it be known that this is actually a $20 million reduction from the $67 million they were seeking last year. After nobody raised their hand and said, “Me!” the price was slashed to $49 million for the house and half of the land.

The lot is actually two separate lots that are combined to make up a 3.6 acre estate with 937 feet of ocean frontage. Talk about a compound! They ended up at $39 million before regrouping and coming back to the market this week. Today’s asking price of $47.5 million includes the house and all of the land.

The house has over 20,000 square feet of interior living space with 9 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and 5 powder rooms. There is also an 8 car garage, with enough driveway space for everyone except Gil Dezer. There are several kitchens as well, in case you want to switch things up from time to time. There’s enough space that you could essentially move your family to another area of the house and it would feel like an entirely new home, except you never left your house.

Some of the bells and whistles that come along with the estate are 2 built-in saltwater aquariums, an aviary, his and hers libraries, a billiard room, boxing room, gym, massage room, nanny’s quarters, nursery/play room, guest house and a property tax bill of almost $400,000.

Last year, Forbes made a slideshow of the estate’s pictures, seeming very impressed by the decorative ceilings. They forgot to mention the ceiling in the billiard room, which is hideous. A drop ceiling with florescent lighting has no place in a $47 million estate. Not even in the garage. Just, no. Take it down and make it stop. The drop ceiling looks like a suburban McMansion that is aspiring to be a notable piece of Miami real estate. In my opinion, the animal murals need to go too, but I guess we all have our own taste.

Outside, the lot has a resort-like feel with a pool and Jacuzzi overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, a private beach, fire pit, tennis court, a lagoon, and a boat dock. There are several patios and terraces on the house, perfect for luxurious soirees or a quiet evening with a candlelit dinner and a view.

I’m wondering who could be the next owner of the property. It is rumored that Lebron was considering it when he took his talents to South Beach, but he’s gone now. Wade is gone too and Bosh is hurt, so I doubt a Miami Heat player will step in. We already said that there’s not enough parking for Gil Dezer, so he’s out. It has been reported that Lil Wayne is looking to take his talents off of South Beach after being repeatedly swatted (when someone calls 911 on you and sends the entire police force to your house, only to find out you’re still in bed). Maybe a Miami season of the Bachelor? There are certainly enough bedrooms for the suitors & scene locations on the estate. Or maybe the person who invented The Bachelor. We’ll see. In the meantime, check out the pictures below.

Miami Condo Investments Welcomes Ady Laitano

We are very happy today to welcome Ady Laitano to the Miami Condo Investments team! A seasoned and well-rounded real estate professional, Ady has been in the market for the last 12 years. She was born and raised in Miami and specializes in selling luxury homes and condos to affluent local and international buyers in Fisher Island, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Downtown, and Miami Beach.

Her hard work, market knowledge, and dedication have contributed in her consistent Top Producer status throughout her career. She has extensive experience marketing, listing, leasing, and selling luxury waterfront properties in Miami.

Ady also worked for developers selling new construction condominium projects in the Brickell and Downtown Miami.  While marketing and selling these projects, she traveled extensively to Venezuela, Mexico, Brazil, and Central America in order to develop and build relationships with outside brokers and international clients.

With a Bachelor’s in Education from Florida International University, she is able to meet and exceed the expectations of even the most sophisticated clients with dedication and stellar customer service. She is fully bilingual in English and Spanish.

We are very happy to have her on our team. She is already earning 5 star reviews from her clients with her well-rounded service and knowledge. Welcome, Ady!

Brickell Flatiron Gets Its Tower Cranes

Ugo Colombo’s Brickell Flatiron site work is coming right along! In April, The Next Miami reported that CMC Group had filed permits for two tower cranes but did not yet know when they would be installed.

Well, the answer is this week. One crane will be 760 feet above ground and the second will be 800 feet. When we last checked in with the development in August, they were 52% sold.

I don’t know about you guys, but this is one of the most interesting projects coming to the area. I can’t wait to see it in the skyline!