There’s a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom short-sale opportunity at Courvoiser Courts located in the exclusive neighborhood of Brickell Key. The condo has 1,236 square feet of living space and a 95 square foot balcony. The condo, located on the 24th floor, faces northeast and has partial bay views from the balcony. It is the best priced 2 bedroom in the building at a list price of $450,000, or $364 per square foot. There’s a 2/2 currently available at Courvoisier Courts in the same line as the short-sale unit that is listed at $499,000. It is located 7 floors lower. There’s another available condo located 14 floors lower that is listed at $529,000.
Courvoisier Courts was converted from apartments to condominiums at the beginning of 2006. The building was originally built in 1997. Courvoisier Courts offers fantastic amenities which includes: full-service concierge, 24-hour security, fully equipped business center, bi-level fitness center, racquetball/squash courts, bayside swimming pool and sundeck, club room with billiards table, theater room, and valet parking. Courvoisier Courts has a total of 272 condo units in the building. The picture slideshow below will show you some pictures of the building and amenities at Courvoisier Courts.
Because Courvoisier Courts is such a recent conversion, there aren’t many 2 bedroom resales to use as comparables. There is one closed sale and two pending sales. The closed sale is not an adequate comparable, however, because it is a penthouse unit with 13 foot ceilings and has great water views. That unit sold for $568 per square foot. The two pending sales are better comparables but still need to be adjusted because of the bay view offered by those two condo units and the extra half bath. Those condo units were listed for $555,000 and $575,000 before an offer was accepted, or $441 and $446 per square foot, respectively.For those of you who don’t know, Brickell Key is a 44-acre triangle-shaped island situated just east of the heart of Brickell. It is well known for being a highly exclusive neighborhood with brick-paved roads and is home to the world famous Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
Contact me for more information regarding this short-sale.
Update #2: 2 Bedroom Foreclosure @ The Cosmopolitan in South Beach
The list price of the 2 bedroom/2 bathroom foreclosure condo at The Cosmopolitan in South Beach has been reduced from $520,000 to $495,000. This is the second 2 bedroom foreclosure at The Cosmopolitan in the past month. The first condo unit went under contract after it was reduced to $485,000. That unit was inferior for several reasons. The first 2 bedroom foreclosure had one parking space, tiled and wood floors and no balcony. The most recent 2 bedroom foreclosure has two assigned parking spaces, marble floors and a balcony that offers a partial ocean view. The pictures below will show you the most recent 2 bedroom foreclosure at The Cosmopolitan.
In 2007, there have been two 2/2 condo units at The Cosmopolitan that have closed. They sold for $581 and $558 per square foot. This unit is being offered at $490 per square foot.
The Cosmopolitan was built in 2004 and is located two blocks from the beach at 110 Washington Avenue in South Beach. The map at the top will show you a street-level view of the building. Please refer to my first and second foreclosure postings on The Cosmopolitan for more information about the building and the neighborhood.
UPDATE: I finally got to see this condo at The Cosmopolitan for myself. I’ve seen a lot of condo units at The Cosmopolitan and this one holds up to or even surpasses what I’ve seen. Marble floors, 2 parkings spaces, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, partial ocean view from the balcony and a spacious floor plan. What more does someone want in South of Fifth for under $500K? This one is a steal!
Crisis Looming in the Arts District of Miami?
I busted out my camcorder today and headed out to beautiful Margaret Pace Park to take in the nice Memorial Day scenery. Okay, okay…so I had another agenda on my mind. I wanted to give everyone a firsthand look at the condo developments in Edgewater Miami along North Bayshore Drive.
Margaret Pace Park is a large park situated along Biscayne Bay from NE 17th Street to NE 20st Street. (The picture above doesn’t quite encompass the entire park). A variety of activities can be enjoyed there such as tennis, volleyball, basketball, running/walking/jogging, BBQing and condo construction watching. Along this park, from NE 17th Street to NE 20th Street, there are three major condo developments under construction: Opera Tower, The 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay. Combined, these three condo developments will bring a total of 1,856 new condo units to the Miami real estate market by year’s end. That is just within three blocks! The picture slideshow below will show you a variety of pictures that I took of these three condo developments. The video footage that I shot can be found at the end of this post.
OPERA TOWER Opera Tower, located on the corner of 17th Street and North Bayshore Drive, will bring a total of 635 new condo units to the Miami real estate market. Closings are scheduled to begin in July.
THE 1800 CLUB The 1800 Club, which stretches from 18th Street to 19th Street along North Bayshore Drive, will bring a total of 469 new condo units. Closings are likely to begin around September.
QUANTUM ON THE BAY Quantum on the Bay, which is comprised of two towers and stretches from 19th Street to 20th Street along North Bayshore Drive, will bring a total of 752 new condo units to the Miami real estate market. Closings will likely occur by year’s end.
Last week, The New York Times published an article entitled, “As Condos Rise in South Florida, Nervous Investors Try to Flee”, which discusses how panicked investors are increasingly looking for ways to get out of their preconstruction contracts. When those hopes vanish, many end up walking away from hefty deposits. The article notes that an attorney in Boca Raton, Florida receives two to three phone calls a day from investors looking for some way out of their contract. A second attorney, working on behalf of developers in Miami, also added that “in some projects, up to 20 percent of buyers want their money back”. The article states that 8,000 new condos units are expected to be completed by the end of the year in Miami-Dade County alone. Another 12,000 condo units are expected to be completed by the end of 2008.
It seems that Opera Tower, The 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay will represent a little over 20 percent of the 8,000 new condo units mentioned in the article for 2007. That is a huge chunk, especially when those units are located within three blocks of one another.
There will definitely be some great deals available in the coming months in Edgewater, as well as other Miami neighborhoods. I will do my best to report these deals as I find them. If you, or anyone you know, purchased a preconstruction condo and is looking to find a replacement buyer to close, please feel free to contact me.
The video below will show you the footage that I shot of Opera Tower, The 1800 Club and Quantum on the Bay. Notice how close the buildings are to one another.
The following is a video of Margaret Pace Park. The park runs along Biscayne Bay, so any condo units facing east in any of the buildings directly across from the park will have unobstructed water views.
A short-sale at Neo Vertika just came 0nto my radar yesterday. It is a one bedroom flat with 638 square feet of living space. It has parquet wood floors and is currently tenant-occupied. This condo unit, located on the 10th floor, faces south and overlooks the swimming pool and amenity deck. At a list price of $260,000, it is currently the third best priced unit in the building, but still has room for a few more price reductions before it is snagged by an investor. The great thing about a short-sale is that you are dealing with a bank. Banks hate having bad loans on their books and risk having the property go to auction where they could lose a large portion of the outstanding loan. With foreclosures on the rise, banks have become more open to accepting significant discounts on properties so they can write off the bad debt and avoid foreclosure. It wouldn’t surprise me if this one goes for around $200,000.
The maintenance on this condo unit is $322 per month. I’m trying to find out how much the current tenant is paying but units of this size tend to get anywhere from $1,250 to $1,450 per month in rent. I am going to try to see this condo in the next couple of days to take some pictures and a quick video so I can post it for everyone to see.
Neo Vertika was built in 2006 and has a fabulous lobby and amenities. There have been some construction issues that have tainted the building in the past 6 months but it is currently one of the best priced buildings in Brickell for sales and rentals. It is located along the Miami River and southwest 1st Court. Many of the condo units at Neo Vertika offer great views of Biscayne Bay and the Miami River. Neo Vertika is considered a loft building, with both flat-level and split-level floor plans which have 10-foot and 20-foot ceilings, respectively.
The video below will show you the common areas and amenities at Neo Vertika.
The Wall Street Journal, this past week, published an article entitled “Securing a Loan Gets Tougher as Lenders Tighten Standards”. The opening two paragraphs are as follows:
Mortgage lenders are beginning to scrutinize borrowers more closely, causing some loan applicants, even those with good credit, to face higher costs and more hassles.
As the number of delinquent mortgages climbs, lenders have tightened their standards for issuing loans, including such well-publicized moves as raising minimum credit scores and cutting back on 100% financing and low-documentation loans. Now, some lenders are probing more intently would-be borrowers’ finances. They are taking a tougher look at how much the property a borrower wants to buy is worth. They are peering further into clients’ pasts for credit problems and requiring more in-depth reviews of borrowers who say they are self-employed. Some lenders are taking a harder stance when it comes to whose credit score a couple can use when applying for a mortgage, rather than simply allowing them to use the higher of the two scores.
A few days ago, I had a conversation, via email, on this very topic with a friend of mine who is a mortgage broker in Miami. One of my earlier blogs entitled “Vue at Brickell – Overpriced or Insanely Overpriced?” was what initiated this conversation. A few of his comments are below:
So you know, most lenders will not do anymore loans in Brickell, especially on investor stuff. All of the new buildings will have problems in the next few years. There was just so much fraud there.
My Opinion: 99% of lenders these days will only lend on the last MLS price, not the appraisal like they did in these cases. Also in Brickell they will do appraisal reviews and BPO’s to be sure on any borrower with less than stellar credit and a 20% down-payment. The cash back deals are still occurring, and the fraud line is getting blurred. So you know the current state of things, if the borrower is being approved by the lender on the MLS price, and they are not falsifying any of the loan criteria that makes them “approved” by the lender for the transaction then there is no fraud. Even if the seller decides to give some cash back to the borrower -typically structured to a third party company (aka the borrower), this is technically not illegal, because the cash back did not affect the underwriters decisions and the borrower was truly qualified and the price was justified by the MLS (market) and the appraisal. So what is occurring is sellers are giving cash to the borrower after the sale, which legally they are allowed to do. Gray area of the law -Yes, and this is occurring rampantly today. There are hundreds of investor buyers – maybe they learn from some info-mercial somewhere about this – I don’t know- but I am called every month from new clients with these “legal” deals. In my opinion the Developers are in the fray on this type of deal with leasebacks, mortgages ad to pay your bills for up to 2 years and cash back at closings this “legal” way. What you will find is this type of thing is “propping up” the market in the short term and creating false market conditions due to buyers paying more in expectation of a large cash back to financially carry the property – or receiving their “profits” on the front end and leaving town or the country. My forecast, is that the lenders will begin to audit buyers and especially the 1 payment default foreclosures for this type of dealing and press the state of Florida to amend laws and prevent this type of dealing. Today its a loophole, I foresee in a year after the scams take their toll, this will also be an issue in the news and another result in excessive foreclosures.
This is very bad news for investors who bought preconstruction condominiums in some of these buildings that are due for completion in the next two years. Many have feared that a large percentage of these investors will be unable to close on their condo units due to the financial burden of having an extra mortgage. Now, if banks are unwilling to underwrite investment loans, there becomes a fear that people will be unable to close because financing will be unobtainable. People will have no choice but to walk away from their deposits, which in most cases amounts to 10%-20% of the purchase price. Developers will have no choice but to offer significant incentives or slash their prices on the remaining condo units in their inventory that were unable to close. Either action will likely bring down prices in surrounding buildings and have a negative impact on the entire real estate market of that neighborhood.
Pre-foreclosure @ Flamingo South Beach
A 1 bedroom pre-foreclosure unit at Flamingo South Beach has recently been listed in the MLS. I think this is going to be the first of many pre-foreclosures and foreclosures that we’ll be seeing at Flamingo South Beach in the next 12 months. In my opinion, Flamingo South Beach will turn out to be a solid investment in the long-term, but with 1,688 total units in the three towers that comprise Flamingo South Beach and current real estate market conditions, it is going to take a long while for the demand to catch up with the supply.
Flamingo South Beach is the largest condo-conversion ever to occur in the United States. MCZ Development Corp has completed the conversion of the south tower, which total 562 units, and has recently begun the sale of the 614 units in the north tower. MCZ Development Corp will likely begin the sale of the remaining 512 units in the center tower early next year, if they choose to exercise their option to purchase that tower.
Unfortunately, the recently listed 1 bedroom pre-foreclosure at Flaming South Beach is grossly overpriced. At a list price of $369,000, and an average price per square foot of over $500, it isn’t even close to being the best priced resale in the south tower. With minimal views from the third floor facing the open courtyard, I think we’ll see this unit move once the owner becomes truly motivated to avoid foreclosure.
Prediction…a list price of under $300K will get it sold. View all South Beach condos.
The video below will show you a typical 2 bedroom at Flamingo South Beach to give you an idea of how the interior of the units look. This is NOT the pre-foreclosure unit. The unit in the video is much larger and has fantastic views of Biscayne Bay, Star Island and the Miami skyline from a much higher floor.
One of best amenities at Flamingo South Beach is the 15,000 square foot, state-of-the-art fitness center. It has recently become the newest addition to the David Barton Gym chain and has been renamed accordingly. The video below will show you the fitness before the transition was made from being called the Flamingo Athletic Club to David Barton Gym.
Update: 2 Bedroom Foreclosure @ The Cosmopolitan in South Beach
The 2 bedroom foreclosure at The Cosmopolitan in South Beach that I blogged about two days ago is under contract. However, there is a second 2 bedroom foreclosure in the building that is currently listed at $520,000. The previous owner of this South Beach condo paid $590,000 in September 2006, according to the Miami-Dade property search. This one has a balcony and a partial view of the ocean. The pictures below are from the MLS listing for that unit.
2 Bedroom Foreclosure @ The Cosmopolitan in South Beach is Prime for the Picking
There’s a 2 bedroom foreclosure at The Cosmopolitan in South Beach that is prime for the picking. Located on the corner of 1st Street and Washington Avenue, The Cosmopolitan is two blocks from Ocean Drive and the beach. Having been built in 2004, The Cosmopolitan is one of the more recent additions to the South Beach neighborhood known as South of Fifth, commonly referred to by locals as SoFi. South of Fifth is arguably the best neighborhood in South Beach, and with a few exceptions, such as The Setai, has the most expensive real estate in South Beach. The neighborhood is also home to some of the hottest nightlife spots in South Beach, such as Nikki Beach, Pearl, Prive, and Opium Garden, and has top restaurants, such as the world-famous Joe’s Stone Crab, Monty’s Raw Bar, China Grill and Smith & Wollensky.
Earlier this year, the bank took possession of this 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo unit, with 1,010 square feet, and has recently listed it with a traditional real estate agent. On May 1, 2007 it was listed at $560,000. At that price, it was the second best priced 2 bedroom unit at The Cosmopolitan but still far from being considered a true bargain. The owner of this unit paid $545,000 in July 2006. Two days later, on May 3, 2007, the price of the property was reduced $40,000 to $520,000 which, according to closed sales figures in the MLS, is the lowest that a 2 bedroom unit at The Cosmopolitan has ever been resold. Still no takers. On May 15, 2007, the bank once again dropped the price to $485,000. In the past six months, only one 2 bedroom/2 bathroom unit with the same square footage has sold in The Cosmopolitan. It closed in January 2007 for $587,500. Another 2 bedroom/2 bathroom unit that was 186 square feet larger sold for $668,000 in April 2007.
In my opinion, this is one price drop away from being considered an excellent deal. The only problem is that if another price drop should occur, several South Beach real estate investors, with their money on the sidelines, will likely submit offers on this property. The better option is to make an offer now, below the current list price, to avoid being in a multiple-offer situation. I don’t know about you, but anything under $450,000 sounds pretty juicy to me.
I’m going to try to take pictures and video footage of this unit tomorrow and post them here if I can. It may take a few days since it says that the unit is currently tenant-occupied.
There’s a good short-sale opportunity in Brickell in a development known as Brickell on the River. The building is fairly new, having been completed in 2006, and has amenities which include: valet parking, a tri-level state-of-the-art fitness center, business center, 24-hour security, concierge, swimming pool, hot tub and club room. The monthly association fees also covers basic Cable TV, DSL, water, sewer and garbage.
I took a look at the unit in question last night and was very impressed with what I saw. Click on the thumbnails above to see full-size pictures of the actual unit. The 1 bedroom/1 bathroom condo located on the 27th floor has 775 square feet of living space, a balcony, stackable washer/dryer, stainless steel appliances, track lighting, blackout blinds, marble floors in the bathroom and hard wood floors throughout the rest of the unit. The unit faces west and has great views of the sunset and the boats passing by along the Miami River.
The current owner is in the foreclosure process and the bank has decided to accept short-sale offers. The owner paid $341,000 for the unit in September 2006 and it is currently listed at $280,000. I took a look at the closed sales in the building for the past six moths for 1 bedroom units with the same floor plan. There were only two closings for 1 bedroom units with the exact same floor plan as the unit in question. Both units were sold “decorator-ready” which means that the unit was sold without any flooring, light fixtures or window treatments. The first unit is located on the 12th floor and sold for $290,000 in February of this year while the second unit is located on the 16th floor and sold for $325,000 in December 2006. Keep in mind that the foreclosure unit is fully decorated and doesn’t require any additional money to make the unit complete. I am relatively confident that the bank would accept an offer in the ballpark of $240,000 to $250,000.
The unit is currently occupied by a tenant who is paying $1,650 per month. The lease ends at the end of July but the tenant has made it clear that he would be willing to terminate the lease early if the buyer is looking to occupy the property prior to the lease termination date. The maintenance fee is $440 per month.
Feel free to call or email me with any questions that you might have.
