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Just saw Lucas tweeted this earlier. The problem with Miami’s elected officials isn’t that they are criminals… it’s that they are DUMB criminals.
SEC Investigation Targeting City Of Miami
http://cbs4.com/local/sec.investigation.miami.2.136595
Link should have been: http://cbs4.com/local/sec.investigation.miami.2.1365952.html
Does Brooke Hogan still rent a unit in this building?
This building has too many LIS PENDENS and CIVIL COURT PAPERS to excite me. I need a death spiral deal.
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/11/23/daily35.html
FYI
Aren’t we hearing these near bottom prices for past 3 years now. One thing for sure – people can ask whatever price they want and some people will use that as a market turning point.
Another overpriced condo. Asset valuations will continue to fall for the next 3 years, and $466 per sq. ft. will become excessive. Just wait. This is a declining economy that has no new bubble to prop it.
Yeah, $466 per square foot for a condo way up in the 3800 block of Collins is just a tad excessive, IMO.
Condo buyers allege flipping scheme
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091213/ARTICLE/912131050/2416/NEWS?Title=Condo-buyers-allege-flipping-scheme
This story has it all. I wish I could find these Brazilian buyers. They could take my condo off my hands any day.
Wild Bill:
Great article! Thanks for the post.
These dead-beat Brazilian buyers should be persecuted, prosecuted and, perhaps, publicly flogged!
scriv
Miami hotel moves 300 guests due to water-borne bacteria
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.f126eb54bdd49a96b5651384818d3f2b.511&show_article=1
300 Fla. hotel guests moved after bacteria kills 1
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D9CJ92VG0&show_article=1
Epic Hotel shut, Legionnaire’s suspected
http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/12/14/daily3.html
scriv
Didn’t WCI, who built this building, go bankrupt while they still owned several units? I wonder if they left a big gap in the associations budget.
Reading that article the Brazilian’s are just a component of the complicated & extensive parties that should be prosecuted in these cases. It seems in retrospect that the whole industry operated in a willful vacuum of basic ethics or standards.
This may be a good deal, but for this price I wouldn’t settle for anything north of the W. I rather wait until this same sized unit is offered at Icon Brickell or Infinity for 200 a foot…
A 3/3 at 1,507 sq. feet sounds like it would be pretty cramped inside….just my humble opinion.
32 condos have just been purchased in 401 Blue condo conversion building in Miami Beach. These were all remaining units in the hands of the developer(actually he was not an original developer). Condos were purchased by an Italian co. Closings will take place in January 2010. The details of the deal are unknown to me at this time.
It is just FYI
You can a;ready get that deal at Icon Brickell. They have slashed prices by 30%
Wild Bill:
Good post. Forget the Brazilians, if they were Brazilians! Which realtors were involved in marketing those fabulous luxury condos?
Someone collected the $600,000 in commissions. Lot of money for not knowing the identity of the buyers.
Poorand unemloyed:
Great point. Another avenue of attack: get the names and file complaints with the Florida Department Business and Professional Regulation
https://www.myfloridalicense.com/entercomplaint.asp
Get these people off the street.
scriv
And what about the scumbag lawyer, Hector Diaz? He claims he caught the assistant taking money and fired him/her, but why didn’t Diaz report the assistant to the police? Don’t “officers of the court” have a duty to report such activity?
Joe:
I say we vote him off the island!
Who’s with me?
scriv
Yeah, this Hector Diaz guy sounds about as dirty as they come. He has no disciplinary history as per the Florida Bar….I have a feeling that will probably change soon.
This is quoted text from comments that follow Wild Bill’s posted article:
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091213/ARTICLE/912131050/2416/NEWS?Title=Condo-buyers-allege-flipping-scheme
the following statements do not reflect my views or opinions and i’m including them because there are some pearls that can help when doing your homework for condo re.
“Only fools, saps, and woman buy condo’s ( for the most part )
To purchase a condo – 3 must ask questions you should ask the realtor or owner before you buy.
* How much money is in reserves?
( higher the better )
* How many units in the building are owned and occupied by the same individual /s
( higher the better )
* How many and when was the last special assessment and how much was it for?
These 3 questions answered and coupled with a look at the yearly budget will give you a good idea to the health of the building /association.One should be fully cognizant of the health of the physical building as well as the health of the association.
One should know what the term ” special assessment ” means. Said, condo association should have X amount of dollars in reserves. Always find out how many units are forclosed in the building / association.. Never buy into a building where 1 individual owner owns many, many units ( an investor ) He will be majority owner and what he says will go.. He can and will dictate prices on anything from carpet to roofing in common areas and you will be at his mercy as to price.. Look up the Management company in the BBB to see if they are on the up and up. Are they bonded? Find out if the manangement company owns any units in the building.
The information I just wrote here is a realtor and an owners worst nightmare when it comes to selling and owning a condo.. Can anyone else add to this? Never buy a condo until you are well aware of the health of the association. Because not only do you buy the unit, but you buy into a gamble that everyone in the building is going to be able to keep their unit. STAY AWAY FROM CONDO’S unless the buiding has a long healthy history of being a winning building with winning owners. Buildings with judges, lawyers, doctors, and other highly qualified professionals living in them are the best buildings to buy into..”
Good read:
Foreclosure buyer demand dips as supply mounts
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5B90JZ20091215
38th and collins is a nice area.
still too pricey and the building is in flux. this was a big speculator building.
Shwin,
I saw that post. Most that stuff is too complex for the average buyer. They have no clue what a condominium budget should look like. They have no clue about all the rules and regulations. Most people in Miami don’t even now how to use a trash chute. Very sad.
The average dumb buyer will only look at view, location, and price per square foot. Most of what is repeated on this site daily.
It is sad how many brokers and buyers do not look at the buildings financials. A condo is like buying into a BUSINESS….with hundreds of strangers. Its crazy how many buyers go into a building “blind” without knowing how stable or unstable the building is.
I just noticed that Lucas has this place listed on his condo deals page: http://www.miamicondoinvestments.com/property-search/view.php?mlsid=M1354533
What’s the deal with this place, and lofts in general? Bare concrete everywhere and the cheapest looking tiles I’ve ever seen outside of a gas station bathroom. It’s like the developer didn’t even finish the project.
I can’t really think of a more awful, uninviting place to live. What I really can’t believe though is that someone is actually asking over a million dollars for that empty shell. Not to mention it’s in one of the worst neighborhoods there is.
scrivener
Ouch!!!!!!!! Did that really hurt your feelings? I am sorry! I meant to say the stupid sellers who paid $600,000 in commissions.
Wild Bill said, “The average dumb buyer will only look at view, location, and price per square foot. Most of what is repeated on this site daily.”
— Actually, I doubt the average buyer even considers the third item. Calculating price per square foot is actually a savvy move, but I doubt most buyers do it. Instead, they calculate *what they can afford,* i.e., “I qualify for a $__ per month mortgage and this condo costs $__ per month.” Very few buyers look at VALUE — only price.
——
southbeachsand said, “It is sad how many brokers and buyers do not look at the buildings financials. A condo is like buying into a BUSINESS….with hundreds of strangers. Its crazy how many buyers go into a building “blind” without knowing how stable or unstable the building is.”
— In buyers’ defense, most Realtards ™ in Miami don’t bother to list the true HOA fee and/or true tax bill on r.e. listings, so it’s tough to get an accurate picture before going out and even looking at units/buildings.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I believe any r.e. agent who lists a property without accurate HOA and tax info. should have his/her license suspended. Most r.e. listings are only for 6-12 months, so it shouldn’t be that hard to get accurate info. at the time of the listing. It’s not like these listings are active for years at a time and the taxes, HOA fees, etc., are constantly changing.
I agree with jcrimes. Mosaic has a great location. Actually you have a location that is direct ocean and boardwalk – 2 minutes to the expressway and then a straight shot 15 minutes to the airport. You are a stones throw to South Beach without being right in the middle of weekend traffic nightmares and the sometimes drunk and rowdy bridge people crawling up and down Collins and Ocean Drive. It’s a 5 minute cab ride to Lincoln Road or Ocean Drive without the parking hassles.
I don’t think anyone has said the 3800 block of Collins is a bad location. The objection is to the $500/sf price tag. That’s almost SoFi pricing.
Most buildings lie about HOA fees. I’ve worked in real estate before. I’ve seen fraud on all sides. Real estate agents, condo boards, title insurance, and appraisals. The federal government is involved in a ton of fraud cases with FHA loans.
Feds Allege Real Estate Fraud Ring; Crime: Thirty agents, others are accused in $10-million scheme involving FHA loans.
Los Angles Times May 30, 2002
2002? WTF? It’s still going on today.
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=fha+fraud
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=owner+occupancy+fraud
This stuff has been going on forever. Real estate and the financial markets are the most fraudulent items in America.
Test
Poorandunemployed:
No. Your observation concerning the $600K in commissions collected by the agents in question was right on point- – though not surprising that they did not know the identity of the buyers. If I had a dime for every ethically questionable thing I have seen or heard a real estate agent do in the past ten years – – (including the pin-head agent who, without my permission, entered my apartment and showed it to a perspective buyer – – breach of contract by the agent and trespass by the potential buyer) – – I could retire.
As for the buyers – – well, the commissions were just part of the transaction/price of admission purportedly representing FMV. Ehhh….a fool and their money are soon parted. Yes?
As for my feelings – – they are untouched, unscared, unscathed (and according to some, unused [smile]).
Best regards.
scriv
http://www.miaminewtimes.com/2009-12-17/news/golf-porn-on-ritzy-fisher-island/
This story has it all: porno, condos, foreclosures, wealth……
Drew
Ahhahahaha. Thanks . That was precious.
Drew:
NICE!
scriv
I’d like to know how the “modeling agency rep” was able to contact him about the 6-hr lease. I bet he was marketing his unit on a per-hour basis for “modeling shoots” just like this. Now he’s trying to claim ignorance due to Fisher Island backlash. Plus, any dipshit knows that “modeling” is usually code-word for porn.
Plenty of condo owners and homeowners (primarily North Bay Road, Sunset Islands, Venetian Islands) actively market their homes for these Internet porno videos.
Its easy money…just throw away the couch and clean the carpet afterwards.
Mosaic is still a nice building. It is new construction and beachfront – thats quite rare in Miami Beach.
Location is good for a permanent home, because its only 1 mile to Lincoln, yet very quiet in this area. The beach is very clean and not touristy/dirty like south beach.
However to note….this building faces directly into the new Caribbean condo tower. Caribbean took away those great views down the beach, and took away the privacy. I think it even cast a shadow on Mosaic pool because of how close it is.
Mosaic is also right across the street from a huge NURSING HOME.Do upscale people want to live there .I DONT THINK SO
Did not mention that beside that hideous looking nursing home across the street ,I think its called freedom house,you have that pretentious horrific monstrosity that blocks every view that you can have of the beach from the south ,besides they cannot even sell one apartment in that building .In the long run it will rent to subsidized tenants .Watch out for abandoned buildings on both sides that have derelicts sleeping inside .Good luck ,would not buy a condo in mosaic for over $300 .
Drew $600 for 6 hours is chicken shit. I will not rent my dog house for that kind of chump change. This guy must be one desperate dude.
BTW, I tried to find the flick on bangbros site and could not. Anyone know the link or is it removed due to the pending lawsuit?
Geez – So Continuum is next to Penrods free for all nightclub and Apogee is next to a subsidized senior citizen retirement tower. And Caribbean is NOT right next door to Mosaic and if this listing has direct east ocean views who the heck cares if you dont get a straight shot as you look south. This building is direct oceanfront convenient to everything and everywhere and @466. per sq foot is a good deal for brand new oceanfront direct east views. Keep up with the mis-information posts. Waiting like joe i suppose for $400. Apogee and Continuum deals. Give me a break.
Kramer — Get serious. $466/sf in a building known to have a high % of investor-owned units, lis pendens, etc., is a huge gamble. I don’t care how nice the view is, if the condo/HOA itself is unstable, then it’s a bad buy.
Kramer
You said it right. Who the heck cares …… $466 per sq ft is a good deal….
For a realtor! Duh!
In this whole mess there are few winners – Relators, Realtors and Realtors. Not all are bad but the good ones have not done anything to weedout the bad ones.
If you want to know what future holds for Mosiac – check the Santa Maria and Bristol Tower prices from 90’s. If you do not know – then you can not predict the future. If you cant find them – tell me and I will send them to you.
Testing
Good News! I am very happy for Epic.
Downtown Miami hotel gets partial reprieve in guest’s death
Miami-Dade health officials say the tourist who died of Legionnaire’s disease did not contract it at the Epic Hotel in downtown Miami.
Miami-Dade health officials called a hurried press conference Wednesday evening to give downtown’s luxury Epic Hotel & Residences a partial reprieve in their investigation of one tourist who died of Legionnaire’s disease and two who were sickened by it but recovered.
The tourist who died contracted the disease somewhere else, not at the hotel, they said. The two who were sickened did stay there, but testing to see if they contracted the bacteria at the hotel is incomplete.
“Today the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention got in touch with us to say that molecular and biological analysis has shown that the strain of Legionella bacteria the patient expired from actually is associated with a different source,” said Dr. Vincent Conte, the health department’s chief epidemiologist. “We can’t divulge this source. If it represented any health threat, we would give you more information.”
The officials would not say whether the source was in South Florida.
“For the two who became ill and were tested through a urine antigen, the tests showed positive for Legionnaire’s Disease. These two patients are linked to the hotel,” Conte said.
Testing for the Legionella bacteria at the Epic Hotel, 200 Biscayne Blvd. Way, by the Miami-Dade Health Department is not yet complete, he said, adding, “We’re still looking at other sources they may have been exposed to.”
The health department stuck by its Monday statement that a water-filtering system inside the hotel was taking too much chlorine out of its county-supplied water, leaving it susceptible to contamination by bacteria such as the one that causes Legionnaire’s Disease.
“Our testing so far indicates that the system did not have adequate chlorine levels to prevent opportunistic waterborne pathogens to grow,” said Dr. Samir Elmir, the department’s director of environmental health and engineering.
He went on: “We continue to collect information about other buildings that have used a similar filter in the past, and we’re in contact with regulatory agencies and the supplier of the filters for more information.”
One European tourist died of Legionnaires Disease in October and two others fell ill in November.
On Monday, county health department officials said that the only connection they could find among the three was that all had stayed at the Epic.
But on Wednesday, Conte said the strain that killed the tourist has been definitely traced to a different source. Rivera stressed that hotel officials have cooperated fully with the county’s investigation. She said work continues at the hotel to increase the chlorine levels in its interior water system.
The hotel is expected to remain closed until that work and further bacteria testing are completed.
More condos to sieze on money laundered from overseas by foreign nationals who do not pay taxes. Jig is up
Unemployed and uneducated:
Time will tell.
scriv
Visionary:
Ain’t it cool? They built a monster of a development – – granted the Sheraton Hotel was old, run down, tired and in need of demolition. But its replacement – – though shiny and new – – is, in its current condition, financially unstable and, arguably, unsustainable/insolvent.
Old and tired exchanged for new and insolvent. Great trade!
scriv
see also http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703581204574600410885802446.html?mod=WSJ_topics_obama
That is big news re: Icon Brickell.
Should be fun to see how the lenders handle it.
Related puts closings at 117 out of 1800ish units. The carrying costs for this project are enormous, $21 million per year in taxes and maintenance per the WSJ article. How long will the banks be willing to cover these costs before they resort to a firesale or turn Icon into a vast rental complex to try to at least throw off some cash flow?
More downward pressure on Miami condo prices and rents.
“Whatever happens, I developed, I created ICON Brickell — that is mine and it will always be mine in that sense.” – Perez, Miami Herald
OK, he created it and developed it (unsuccessfully). But how much money was lost, Jorge? He made terrible assumptions and decisions with ICON and now its sitting there empty, a symbolic example of the real estate irrationality and hysteria throughout this decade.
That trendy Phillipe Stark crap is already dated. And the Easter Island statues are a joke, as subtly noted in the WSJ piece.
Just a poorly designed building all around if you ask me. Feels very claustrophobic with little privacy between units.
And the pool, though large, is less than impressive. I mean, pool-goers will be scrambling to find bits of sun as the position of the towers will block most of the sun from illuminating the pool area. Who comes to Florida to sit by a pool in the shade? What happened to “fun in the sun.” Must have gotten lost among the decimal points or the designer’s beer-goggles. (smile)
It’s almost as bad as the pool at the Asia development on Brickell Key – – whose pool is UNDER the structure. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAH
scriv
Icon (and also probably Everglades) are the only buildings I do not apply my rule of $200/sf for interior and city facing units and $350 for water facing units.
These 2 buildings are worth less than that.
ICON, eventhough it is a water front building, the drawbacks are too numerous to even mention (we had major discussions on this building a while ago) and my $350/sf rule goes out of the window. Asking $410/sf is also very unrealistic. Probably a couple of lines with direct East facing flats might get $350/sf. The rest I might say should logically go for $200-250/sf.
So just hang in there and you can buy a flat in ICON for cheap from HSBC, notwithstanding their current asking price of $410.
You are right AJ. We discussed this building sometime ago. IT pretended to be something grandioso from architechtural and design points of view. But turned out to be and absolute kish-mish of different elements from different epochs , cultures and contents. I’ve never seen such a mixture of elements (with so much money invested) and with each one of them could be a very attractive piece. Together though they make
sort of jambalaya.
I think though if they slash prices to $200/sq.ft 1,800 units could be sold in a matter of 6 months if not less.
But again, even if the prices are slashed, the carrying cost of these condos are thru the roof. Spending more on taxes + HOA than on the purchase price or mortgage seems like a dubious way to “invest” in real estate.
LARA: I think though if they slash prices to $200/sq.ft 1,800 units could be sold in a matter of 6 months if not less.
—-
With FHA loans every realtor will use his/her 3% commission as a down payment and pocket the $8,000 OBAMA handout to take a vacation. By the time they come back, taxpayers will get the condo.
PS: These condos were built for flipping not living in.
Turns out, sunshine states really are happiest
.By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer Randolph E. Schmid, Ap Science Writer – 2 hrs 43 mins ago
WASHINGTON – People in sunny, outdoorsy states — Louisiana, Hawaii, Florida — say they’re the happiest Americans, and researchers think they know why. A new study comparing self-described pleasant feelings with objective measures of good living found these folks generally have reason to feel fine.
The places where people are most likely to report happiness also tend to rate high on studies comparing things like climate, crime rates, air quality and schools.
The happiness ratings were based on a survey of 1.3 million people across the country by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It used data collected over four years that included a question asking people how satisfied they are with their lives.
Economists Andrew J. Oswald of the University of Warwick in England and Stephen Wu of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., compared the happiness ranking with studies that rated states on a variety of criteria ranging from availability of public land to commuting time to local taxes.
Probably not surprisingly, their report in Friday’s edition of the journal Science found the happiest people tend to live in the states that do well in quality-of-life studies.
Yet Oswald says “this is the first objective validation of ‘happiness’ data,” which is something he says economists have been reluctant to use in the past.
“Very loosely, you could say that we prove that happiness data are ‘true,’ — such data have genuine objective informational content,” he said.
“Moreover,” Oswald added, “it is interesting to uncover the pattern of life-satisfaction across one of the world’s important nations.”
Ranking No. 1 in happiness was Louisiana, home of Dixieland music and Cajun/Creole cooking.
Oswald urged a bit of caution in that ranking, however, noting that part of the happiness survey occurred before Hurricane Katrina struck the state, and part of it took place later. Nevertheless, he said, “We have no explicit reason to think there is a problem” with the ranking.
Rounding out the happy five were Hawaii, Florida, Tennessee and Arizona.
At the other end of the scale, last in happiness — is New York state.
As if to illustrate the problem, residents attending a meeting Wednesday in rural Queensbury unleashed their anger and cynicism at a state government they described as corrupt, self-dealing and too quick to increase taxes. It was a tirade that had one lifelong resident saying he was ready to flee “this stinkin’ state.”
Oswald suggested the long commutes, congestion and high prices around New York City account for some of the unhappiness.
He said he has been asked if the researchers expected that states like New York and California, which ranked 46th, would do so badly in the happiness ranking.
“I am only a little surprised,” he said. “Many people think these states would be marvelous places to live in. The problem is that if too many individuals think that way, they move into those states, and the resulting congestion and house prices make it a non-fulfilling prophecy.”
Besides being interesting, the state-by-state pattern has scientific value, Oswald explained.
“We wanted to study whether people’s feelings of satisfaction with their own lives are reliable, that is, whether they match up to reality — of sunshine hours, congestion, air quality, etceteras — in their own state. And they do match.”
Oswald and Wu used data from CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System collected from 2005 to 2008. The survey, launched in 1984, collects information on a variety of health measures.
The research was supported by Britain’s Economic and Social Research Council.
What is with all the short sales in Icon South Beach? Is the building doing poorly? What is the best line in that building? Any thoughts would be helpful….thanks.
considering sobe
icon sobe was a HUGE speculator building during the boom. i admit, i was part of a group that flipped dozens of contracts in that building (i would guess that at least 80 pct of the preconstruction in that building was flippers). we made a killing and the prices continued to skew higher long after we sold out. i presume there’s a lot of upside loans along with the typical mortgage fraud. doesn’t help that the mnt fees are absurd.
regardless, the building itself, in particular, the units, are wholly unimpressive. in that area, i would go with the murano grande or portofino tower. if you got the scratch, then muran portofino and continuum south are worth taking a look at.
jcrimes…much thanks. Will do.
jcrimes — Why do you like Continuum South but not Continuum North? (I think I know your answer already, but I want to see what you say.) Thanks.
Hello my nam is Paolo de Brazil. I am available for hiring to buy condo horizontal from all struggling developers in Florida. Let me buy your condo at 80percent above valuewith bank help. I was laid off by Hector attorney and seek rapid reliable emloyment to help developers. Fee negociable.
I have attractive group of Brazilian friends, we can charter plane to fly out. Please name email, phone. Several rio girls also available to entertain and sublet empty condo for class adulto film. Hector the attorney. Now representing us on new venture. Pleasecontact him asap
LOL. What’s your phone number? I hope you have operators standing by!
Joe
three reasons. CS was built for the luxury end user buyer whereas CN was built for the speculator (finishes, unit layouts etc.). CS is also stable whereas CN is dogged (albeit in less dramatic fashion) by the ills that are coming up in anything finished in late ’05 to now. finally, the CS views are better than CN (and generally, i’m not a views guys).
i was at a party in CS during art basel. very large unit (had to be around 2000 sq ft)i know apogee gets a lot of publicity and i’ve been in a lower unit floor there (pretty damn nice), but for my imaginary money, CS is more to my liking. now if apogee had the CS location it would be tops.
Paolo Singel Brazilian Man Availabe For Hiring,
I was under the impression that your Brazilian friends already purchased half the units in Miami. Is this true? I believe you have twenty more year to complete purchasing units at inflated prices before the stupids in government figure it out. Americans government loves subsidizing real estate. I think they are going broke so you had better work your deals very quickly.
Best regards,
Wild Bill
South Beach Estates at 1260 Washington Avenue Miami Beach is cleared out. Sheriff notice on the door. Offices now cleared out. Has it gotten to the point where brokers don’t even pay rent anymore?
Words of advice for anyone looking to sell their condo: Smoke your joints on the balcony.
http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2009/12/marijuana_smell_makes_lil_wany.php#more
Marijuana Smell Makes Lil Wayne’s Miami Apartment a Hard Sell
By Kyle Munzenrieder in The Z List, Unreal EstateTue., Dec. 15 2009 @ 2:38PM
This seems almost as ridiculous as that Onion piece claiming Lil Wayne was recruited by the DEA to get rid of all the drugs in Mexico, but this one actually isn’t an attempt at satire.
It’s no secret Weezy calls South Beach his part-time home and has his primary residence in the Murano Grande in SoFi, but like any true baller, he rents a side pad. The $520,000 condo he’s staying in is reportedly up for sale.
Page Six reports the broker trying to sell the place is having some problems, and for once, it has nothing to do with the real estate bust.
“My fiancé and I called to make an appointment to see it, and the broker, deadpan, goes, ‘I have two questions: Are you offended by the smell of marijuana? And do you mind coming late in the afternoon? It’s currently rented by Lil Wayne, and these are not morning people,” says Page Six’s snitch.
“Once we got there, a member of Wayne’s posse opened the door to the overwhelming smell of marijuana. Two hot, rap-video-looking girls were walking around in nothing but a bra and underwear, blasting hip-hop. We just went in and looked around and tried not to stare.”
Besides the overwhelming stench of pot, though, the tipsters said Wayne was a surprisingly neat tenant.
Of course, this illustrates why South Beach became such a cocaine hot spot in the first place. Coke doesn’t leave stains on the wall, burn holes in the carpet, or leave a stench, so it’s much better for resale value. Any landlord on the island will tell you they’d much rather have someone with deep pockets and deep nostrils than a pothead any day.
DJ, that is a post worth starting my day with LoL!
Continuum North has some really awful floorplans. Probably one of the worst condos I have ever seen from a design standpoint. Look at some of the 3 bedrooms – which have 4 tiny balconies instead of 1 big wrap around balcony. Makes them almost useless. Some balconies are even shared with the neighbor, separated by just a thin divider.
jcrimes, southbeachsand — Thanks for replies. When I first heard about Continuum North, I thought it would be immune to the flipping and unsold-inventory problems that were already plaguing most other new Miami buildings by the time Continuum North broke ground. It seems like it would be very hard to screw up an r.e. deal on that piece of property, but as with everything else in Miami, if it can be f***** up, it will be.
jcrimes — Are the finishes really that better in CS vs. CN? Even with the 7-year (??) difference between the CS opening and CN opening?
Also, I haven’t spent as much time there actually investigating as I have hoped, but when you say CS has better views, what exactly do you mean? I was under the impression CN had a better view up South Beach, with CS blocking part of the view toward the south/southwest. (I guess you prefer the south view to the view up the beach?) Thanks.
I trye to reach Jorge Perez. I believes he need help con Icon Bella Horizonal Condo. I would appeciate phone o contact information for him. I can help him and no longer worke with Hector. I can buy through friends all of his bella horizontal condos 80 percent higher than currente price. Please let me no how to contact Sr. Perez. Bessings from Rio.
Interesting note on Calcuated Risk blog about Bernanke and possible direction of future interest rates:
Bernanke ARM OK, Head “Explodes”?
by CalculatedRisk on 12/19/2009 12:49:00 PM
Bernanke misspoke in the recent TIME magazine interview:
TIME: Do you have a mortgage?
Bernanke: Oh, yes, we refinanced.
TIME: Oh, perfect. When?
Bernanke: About 5%. A couple of months ago.
TIME: Good time.
Bernanke: Yes. We had to do it because we had an adjustable rate mortgage and it exploded, so we had to.
TIME: So, did you get a fixed rate at 5%? I think this might be the most valuable piece of information. (Laughter.)
Bernanke: Thirty years fixed rate at a little over 5%.
Bernanke did have an adjustable rate mortgage, but it did not “explode”.
First, Dr. Bernanke is the Fed Chairman and “exploding” ARMs are a very important mortgage issue. So I think this topic is relevant and newsworthy (and Bernanke mentioned it).
Second, “explode” has a very clear meaning when discussing mortgages; it means that the borrower’s mortgage payment has increased sharply. An ARM can “explode” for two reasons:
1) The interest rate can reset to a much higher level. This isn’t much of a concern right now because the most common indexes like LIBOR are at very low levels and most loans are resetting lower.
2) The loan can recast. From Tanta on resets and recasts:
“Reset” refers to a rate change. “Recast” refers to a payment change. … “Recast” is really just a shorter word for “reamortize”: you take the new interest rate, the current balance, and the remaining term of the loan, and recalculate a new payment that will fully amortize the loan over the remaining term.
Neither applied to Bernanke. From the WSJ: Looking a Little Deeper at Bernanke’s Floating Rate Mortgage
The Fed chairman was in an adjustable rate mortgage with a rate that started at 4.125% in 2004 and adjusted after five years to a rate that would be 2.25 percentage points above one-year Libor, which as of the first reset date in June was a little more than one and a half percent. That suggest his costs wouldn’t be exploding now, as the interview suggested. In fact, they’d be going down.
So Bernanke refinanced into a loan with a higher interest rate and with a larger mortgage payment for the security of a fixed rate. This suggests he thinks fixed mortgage rates have bottomed (otherwise he could have paid less on his mortgage, at a 3.75% interest rate, and then refinanced next year). He did not “have to do it”.
I have been trying to refi for a while but to no avail. Bastard banks are not helping. Bernanke refied at 5%! That is not very good. Maybe I will stick with my 6.1%
It’s now 24 degrees with 6 inches of snow in Princeton NJ half way through the storm. While a white Christmas has some interest, Miami is looking really, really, really good.
NJ Dave, But we got wet feet in Miami !
My guess is that the 3 bedroom foreclosure at Mosaic is gone within 30 days of the original post.
Got snowed in on a Sat night. My gig got canceled. Indeed Miami looks like a dream.
Visionary, I would take wet any day over ice.
Yikes! It only got up to 70 degrees today and is going down to 50 degrees tonite brrrrrr.
AJ, its not even 60 degrees out. just miserable down here. there are even a couple of clouds in the sky blocking the sun. there is no way you would enjoy miami! 🙂
Today will be fun to watch the rich locals get out their winter gear. i always get a chuckle out of watching rich folks in miami take the few cold days out of the year to wear their ski parkas and fur!
gables, 60 sounds like heaven compared to 24. Lucky you!
Not such a good news for Realtors:
“I’ve been in this business for 33 years and I’ve always wondered why more people didn’t say, ‘I’m going to take a shot at this myself,’ ” said Steve Murray, the editor of Real Trends’ reports. “Now, with the technology available, that would seem to be inevitable. We tracked FSBO numbers through 2006 — before the market collapsed — and we were already seeing substantial differences between the attitudes and habits of people under 35 and those over 50.”
Younger people, he said, are far more likely to embrace the multitasking and risk taking involved in selling their own homes. If the decision to use an agent is becoming generational as well as situational, that would not augur well for real estate agents.
“This is going to sound bad, but I just don’t give a lot of credence to what brokers do,” said Cynthia LeStar, who is selling her studio apartment on the Upper East Side. “I mean, what do they do that I can’t do on my own?”
Read the full story:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/20/realestate/20cov.html?_r=1&hpw
It’s about time. The only reasons FSBOs haven’t been more common are because the Realtards ™ both maintained a monopoly on the local MLS systems and colluded against FSBOs by not showing them to prospective buyers, despite a fiduciary responsibility — as a so-called “buyer’s agent” — to do so.
With computerization and the internet, and the lack of overhead involved in running costly newspaper ads, etc., like old-school realtors, there’s no reason in the world that an r.e. transaction should cost the seller 6 to 8% of the sales price. None.
BTW, I tried to find the flick on bangbros site and could not. Anyone know the link or is it removed due to the pending lawsuit? – – AJ
http://bangbrosnetwork.com/t1/cfree=dasandyman/free_movies_pictures_bangbros/ap4900.html
scriv
AJ:
The photos alone are enough to get the guy in hot water with the HOA – – assuming they are as strict with the rules as described in the article. And the “actress” is filmed on the golf course too?
Fascinating.
scriv
I read that article in the NYT that AJ posted re more sellers going alone without realtors. In fact, I feel like I read that article every 5 years but realtors are still here & in my view with good reason. No, I’m not & never have been a realtor but I have been a buyer & seller many times. Yes young peope understandably embrace the challenge & the empowerment of going alone without a realtor more than older folks. Congrats to the sucessful ones but the bigger statistic is & always has been the rate of “for sale by owners” who flip to useing a realtor after trying to go solo. Many transactions in real estate can take 6 months or more of angst, walk aways, change of minds, permit issues, & just plain crazy drama. There are good realtors & not so good ones like anything else but a good one if you’re a real seller or buyer is advantageous beond doubt.
Seanjohn, it may be advantageous to have a realtor, but at what cost? For example 3% commission on a $500,000 sale is $15,000. You can get a lot of face time with a real estate lawyer and/or with your CPA for that kind of dough.
With the continued democratization of information via the internet, we will see more FSBOs and slimmer commissions. The agents who have embraced the internet (like Lucas) will be fine, but the horde of do-nothing/know nothing agents who exist in every market will be marginalized.
Agree with Miami Skeptic completely. Realtors have a value, otherwise they would have disappeared long ago. The problem is their value is not 6% in today’s world. Until recently, houses were selling in a bubble market-thus commission based on a percentage results in significant overpayment to the agent. In today’s market perhaps a more realistic number is 3-4% commission. And get used to working for a living. If i am going to plop down $300k, do not push me in and out of a unit in 15 minutes. People take at least that long deciding on a coffee at Starbucks!
While I gripe about agents, can anybody confirm that RE agents are either (1)very stupid, (2) do not care about their duties, or (3) are very interested in lying to make the sale. I have yet to meet an agent who has any clue about HOA in a building. to me this is fundamental info, and if you cannot provide that to me i immediately look for other services. haven’t looked at any condos in Brickell else I would use Lucas and problem solved. For a city with sooooo many condos our RE people appear to be very unknowledgable about this aspect of the market.
I actually think the percentage commission is the problem. Does a realtor really work twice as hard to sell a $200k house over a $100k house? All I need is someone to let me into the property. I can look at comparables and determine a price myself. It’s obvious from the current situation that realtor’s were NOT helpful in determining the true value.” This is what other suckers are paying for similar properties so this is what you should pay.” And I’d rather my my attorney to look over my contract instead of some realtor with no college degree filling in the empty spaces.
The entire situation is set up for the agent to neglect their fiduciary responsibilities. Does an agent really care if you overpay for a house??? That only means more commission to them. And if you don’t know your overpaying you’ll probably still use them again.
Here is a much more simple process.
1. Seller hires appraisal company to give a written detailed assessment of the house and probably price range. (aprox. $350-$500)
2. Seller hires a company to manage the lockbox and showing of the property. (aprox. $300)
3. House information and pictures are uploaded to a nation central MLS system. (aprox. Free)
4. Potential buyers contact showing company to schedule showings. (Already paid for by seller)
5. If buyers are clueless, they contact a real estate professional and ask questions on a fee basis. (like consulting an attorney)
6. During negotiations both parties consult attorneys to review contracts. ($varies)
7. After agreement is reached buyer performs their independent appraisal (approx. $350-$500).
8. Buyer pays typical closing cost unless otherwise negotiated in the contract.
So buyers and sellers who know what they want and what they are doing can pay less in fees and simply reduce the cost by 6%.
This way you’re paying fees to actual professionals and not some random person that took a couple of classes at the local community college.
The only people I see this really impact are people with very limited resources. I could see some buyers having trouble putting up $1500 in fees before buying a house. But then again these are probably people who shouldn’t be buying.
Scriv,
Thanks for the research and finding the link. Very informative 🙂 !
Gixxer,
Good analysis.
I think there is a generational gap right now. Under 50s will sell or make serious attempts to sell the houses by themselves and the over 50 baby boomers (dinosaurs) will continue to hire realtors.
But as the babyboomers are upto 78 million of them and they are the ones who own a large percentage of houses, the realtors can be assured of a steady pool of clients (victims) for the next 10 years or so. After that, I am not sure if Realtors will be any more relevant than a travel agent unless for a very specific and special purpose.
Gables #91:
Yes, I can confirm that realtors are very stupid.
Deutch bank RE forecast for Miami and NYC
http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/deutsche-bank-projects-real-estate-values-will-fall-another-10-12-54283.aspx
How about the so-called “buyer’s agents” who get paid on commission? That’s the biggest scam in the history of real estate. Buyers want the lowest possible sale price, but the “buyer’s agents” get paid on commission and want the *highest* possible sale price. Um, conflict of interest, anyone? The whole thing is rigged from the get-go.
AJ:
Glad to help.
It’s the least I could do given your willingness to spar with me on nuisance and other issues.
I admit that I also saw parts of video – – and my guess is that seeing a scantily-clad porn star running wild on the island (playing around on the golf course, driving around the island in a golf cart like they owned the place, etc.) is all the ammo the HOA needs to “vote him off the island.” (smile)
Do you think the Fisher Island HOA got bacon with the egg they took in their face? (smile)
Happy Holidays.
scriv
Hard to believe this is true!?
Week of December 21, 2009
Report: Only 8% Of South Beach Condos For Resale
Less than two percent of the South Beach inventory in condo projects with at least 30 units are available for resale in Miami Beach’s internationally acclaimed neighborhood, far less than the industry standard of 10 percent typically found in a normal market, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com.
There are currently 258 units available for resale in the 25-block stretch of South Beach from South Pointe Drive north to 24th Street, the Atlantic Ocean west to Biscayne Bay. The area is home to nearly 16,400 units located in 147 projects with at least 30 units, according to the newly released Condo Vultures® Official Condo Buyers Guide To South Beach™.
“The rule of thumb is, in a normal market some 10 percent of the units in a project are available for resale at any given time,” said Peter Zalewski, a principal with the Bal Harbour, Fla.-based real estate consultancy Condo Vultures® LLC. “If a condo has more than 10 percent of its units available for resale, the buyers have the negotiating advantage. On the flip side, if less than 10 percent of the units are listed for resale, the sellers have the advantage.
“South Beach is definitely a seller’s market considering the current inventory levels available for resale. By comparison, several other areas in South Florida have resale rates of 20-percent plus of the available condo inventory.”
Read More
Isabel:
Maybe it’s because the rest are in foreclosure? (smile)
scriv
Everyone is waiting as long as possible before they have to take their bath. I was looking at some 2 bedrooms at Icon south beach earlier, and some of those sellers are taking a gigantic haircut from what they paid.
OUTSTANDING.
I vote that the delinquent condo investor should, in addition to fines, penalties and contempt orders, be tarred, feathered and made to stand at the corner of 8th and Brickell avenue between the hours of 12 pm and 5 pm for the next 6 weeks, holding a sign reading something like:
“I AM A DEAD-BEAT CONDO INVESTOR.
I ATTEMPTED TO WILLFULLY DEFRAUD MY CONDO ASSOCIATION BY NOT PAYING MY CONDO ASSOCIATION FEES. I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR THE LAW AND COURT ORDERS. FOR THIS REASON I WILLFULLY VIOLATED A COURT ORDER THAT I TURN OVER RENTS COLLECTED TO COVER MY DELINQUENT UNPAID ASSOCIATION FEES.
BECAUSE OF MY ARROGANCE AND STUPIDITY A JUDGE HAS ORDERED THAT I STAND HERE FOR THE NEXT 6 WEEKS, HOLDING THIS SIGN, IN HOPES THAT I AND OTHERS LIKE ME WILL LEARN TO ACT RESPONSIBLY.
NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.
LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE! ”
Who’s with me? Who’s with me?
scriv
About time….
“Sheriff sent to pick up delinquent condo investor
A Broward circuit court judge sent the sheriff out to get a condo investor because he failed to appear in court to explain why he wasn’t turning over rent to cover his past due association fees.”
That Condo Vultures report seems like a huge load of bullshit.
Those guys spent years bad-mouthing the Miami market and now, all of a sudden, they’re singing a different tune. I think they mistimed their foray into the “vulture” business and now they’re trying some pump-and-dump of their own.
“258 resales” might sound great, but I noticed they didn’t say anything about developer-owned units.
Anyway, I just counted the listings *only in SoFi* and found over 300, so I don’t know where the hell these Condo Vulture morons are getting their info. It looks like a load of nonsense.
scriv, only if they must strut around and cluck like a chicken!
gansevoort in trouble:
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/breaking-news/story/1373036.html
gables:
SOLD! LET IT BE SO!
scriv
AJ:
Great article.
” The Gansevoort could be the leading edge of what analysts predict will be a wave of banks seizing hotels throughout South Florida next year.
“The Gansevoort could be the leading edge of what analysts predict will be a wave of banks seizing hotels throughout South Florida next year.
With defaults rising on hotel loans, lenders are under pressure to foreclose on the properties and clean up their balance sheets. And with room revenues predicted to drop again in 2010 throughout South Florida, those owners reaching into their pockets to make hotel loan payments say they’re not willing to fund losses indefinitely. ”
Phew! – – were I the owner of the Epic or Icon developments or any unit in either, I would be as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
scriv
I must say that when I was a student (18) living in LA I met a photographer and he told me we could make $3000 for one day of filming for a movie in our rented hollywood hills home. They did not tell (Me and roomates) us it was for pornography. We rented it out (made $3000) and years later we were watching tv late night and we saw our old house in a porno. I nearly fell off of my chair. I don’t know the name of the movie but remember the company name so maybe google it. Devista drive productions.
I believe that they did not tell this guy. We have to assume this guy is not stupid as he did make a lot more money than the most of us. Why would you rent a multi million apt for $600 and have a gang bang in there??? It doesn’t make sense.
Piece of advice: Don’t flash your money with Ferrari’s and helicopters. Tall trees catch a lot of wind.
This blog has gone way down hill. C’mon Lucas give us at least 1 post a week.
Wow, not a single comment on this site on Dec. 24. Can’t remember the last time that happened.
Oh, and Merry Christmas and Feliz Navidad and all that — even you, AJ! Ha ha.
Lucas, be careful of not losing your credibility as weeks go by…
– You promised one post a day?
– You were supposed to launch the iPhone app first week of December?
– Not even a post to wish everyone happy holidays?
Merry Christmas Everyone. And a Happy New Year too. Hopefully 2010 will be a good year for all looking to either buy a flat or sell theirs in Miami.
I am off to warmer climes for 40 days (not Miami). Chat with you all when I get back.
Good grief, lay off Lucas. The only people who “support” Lucas are people who buy or sell condos thru him, which probably applies to no more than 2 people on this site.
Granted, Lucas’s promise of “a post per day” was a classic r.e. agent oversell / over-promise and he never should have made that promise, but we all knew that anyway. Seriously, what could POSSIBLY justify a new post every day here?
Here’s the scoop: The Miami condo market remains oversupplied, good deals are scarce (both in terms of unit pricing and in terms of carrying costs), and this situation isn’t changing on a day-to-day basis.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
scrivener: Good suggestion #102. I would prefer if they stood there with photo of our beloved President. So much for YES WE CAN! CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN! crap…
I can show you dozens of home and condo owners, who are living in home /condo without having paid a cent in mortgage taxes or HOA for past 2-3 years. They have legal protection from same moronic judges. If the banks can go underwater and take taxpayers money and multimillion dollar bonuses s to solve the problems they created, why not these morons? It is free for all. Gambling is answer to all the problems. Make a bet – heads you win and tails you win (taxpayer lose)!
Why only shelter the HOA? Why are HOA charges so high? Ever wondered why Miami is full of VALET parking? Cash only business………… Who are the owners of these valet companies? Given the vacancy rates in some of these buildings – do they really need Valet parking?
Being in the business for a longtime, I believe, typical HOA should not exceed $0.20 – $0.50 per sq ft. Been there done that. Too much of outsourcing, manangement fees and no accountability.
What the hell is going on with this BLOG????? Renter Tom where are you??
From what I have heard though the real estate grapevine, Miami-Dade county real estate will be a BLOODBATH in 2010 meaning a ton of foreclosures, more condo associations going under, and certain big wig developers being indicted as a result of FBI investigations into fraud regarding fake sales numbers and mezzanine financing. This could end up being the worst county in the country…
Joe Blow,
This blog started the hibernation !
We should ALL have listened to RENTER TOM and ACE a long time ago.It looks like they both know what there talking about.
Quantum charges now a non-refundable fee of $200 for all move-in and move-out elevator requests (each time).
Does anybody know of other buildings applying such outrageous fees ?
Ivy charges $50 for the elevator and a $120 dumpster fee.
Condominium associations are getting desperate.
Fisher Island has a $10,000 Bangbus filming deposit.
Wild Bill – that’s too funny. good one!
900 has a $500 move in fee last time I checked. I’m not sure if you get it back after you move in, though – I guess that’s kinda important. The most frustrating thing is that there are no freight elevators in 900. Even contractors move their equipment in and out of units using the same elevators that are used by the residents. Unthinkable! The elevator has been trashed and recently re-painted but several residents have tried to move pieces of furniture into their units only to have to return the furniture because it doesn’t fit. Anyone else have a situation like this? Several construction defects are now being discovered including a main water pipe that burst open and totally destroyed a unit on the 20th floor. Repairs ongoing. There was also a shutdown of elevators when they flooded due to heavy rains – in a “luxury” building? It seems like many of these buildings were built too fast making long term durability a significant question. You still can’t beat the view with a stick!
All the best wishes for 2010 to all!