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Marina Blue Unit 5104 – $470,000

August 24, 2010 by Lucas Lechuga


Last Thursday, we acquired a new listing at Marina Blue.  It's a beautiful 2 bedroom/2 bath condo on the 51st floor with breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean, Biscayne Bay, the Miami Beach skyline and Downtown Miami.  The condo has 1,208 square feet of interior, 138 square feet of balcony, porcelain tiled floors throughout, Wenge California-style closets, window shades and 10-foot ceilings.  The purchase price also includes two assigned parking spaces.  As many of you know, it is rare for a 2 bedroom or even a 3 bedroom condo in Miami to include a second parking space.  Additionally, the condo includes a 55 square foot storage room which is pictured below.

Marina Blue is located in Downtown Miami across the street from the American Airlines Arena at 888 Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL 33132.  Please give us a call if you or someone you know has an interest in viewing this Marina Blue condo in person.  305-428-3860

Marina Blue 5104 storage room

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scrivener

Is that water damage in the storage unit or poorly done cement work?

scriv

Drew

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-08-24/sales-of-u-s-existing-homes-drop-more-than-estimated-to-3-83-million-rate.html

Of course “all real estate is local” but these new national numbers are pretty bad. Granted South Fla has been bucking the nat’l trend the last few months but curious how long can that sustain itself, esp with the nat’l data so bleak and the terrible South Fla unemployment figures and sinking consumer confidence.

Drew

Perez said he didn’t realize the “demand” was a “false demand” where most buyers had no intention of living in their units. Kind of a ridiculous statement, considering their business model (flipping) was geared towards investors. Units were marketed as securities, not homes. Perez knew that the whole time. Lucas , I get the “foreign buyer” factor, but tell me who exactly these foreign buyers are. Are they mostly investors who live abroad and rent out their units? Are any actually end-users? Are they vacation homes that sit vacant 10 mos a year? At what point do you think foreigner… Read more »

Scrivener,

No, it’s not water damage. When the contractor patches the seams in the concrete from the forms, he uses hydrolic cement that is mixed with water and sometimes the water will run as he patches it. Not water damage though.

Drew,

Did you notice the Jorge Perez video along the side?

Also, the reason why South Florida has bucked the trend is because of the large amount of foreign buyers. The National Association of Realtors revealed last week that 60% of all transactions in Miami involves a foreign buyer. The national average is around 7%.

AA

the drop can be attributed to the end of the tax credit guys… same as “cash for clunkers” nothing surprising here…

Makes Me Think

I personally think lots of investors are moving money from the stock market and moving it into RE. The stock market is unpredictable and volatile while some investors believe the RE market is at or near bottom and they are able to capture some income from rental while they wait for appreciation 5 years down the road. There just isn’t anywhere to make money right now in the financial markets. I just took some money out of a brokerage acct that was doing nothing. I’m using it to buy an investment property that I hope will give me a nice… Read more »

why bother

Total cost $470000
(less cost of the extra parking space $25000)
(less cost of the 55 sf storage room $5000)
Total cost without add ons: $440000
per sf price: $364.25 (1208 under a/c)

Ideal per sf price in that building should be $300(low floors)-335(high floors). But if one makes an offer of $325/sf (add ons not included) the owner should bite.

Joe

Drew said: “Of course “all real estate is local” but these new national numbers are pretty bad. Granted South Fla has been bucking the nat’l trend the last few months but curious how long can that sustain itself, esp with the nat’l data so bleak and the terrible South Fla unemployment figures and sinking consumer confidence.”

— Um, this is almost word-for-word the same point I made last week, but you told me I was an idiot. ???

Unless we have two different people using the “Drew” handle here, you, sir, are shameless.

Joe

Makes Me Think said: “I have much more control over a RE Investment than the stock market.”

— You might be right about people moving money into r.e. (I haven’t seen much evidence of it, but it’s possible), but the above seems flatly incorrect. No matter how bad the stock market gets, one can almost always dump one’s position with one phone call. Good luck doing that with r.e. these days (or anytime in the near future).

Miami2009

Some interesting stats: More than 100,000 properties — an average of 2,300 per month — have been repossessed in the three big South Florida counties since the real estate crash began in 2007, according to a new report from CondoVultures.com, a real estate consultancy. Lenders surpassed the 100,000 threshold Thursday, when 317 properties were repossessed in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, the report said. “To get a grasp of South Florida’s real estate crash, consider that lenders have repossessed an average of 75 properties per day since January 2007, which is a span of more than 1,300 days,” said… Read more »

Makes Me Think

Joe – No matter how bad the stock market gets, one can almost always dump one’s position with one phone call. Good luck doing that with r.e. these days (or anytime in the near future). I can do the same with RE if I am willing to sell it well below market value too. I am making offers on homes below current market value but I am constantly loosing out because others are willing to pay more than I am. Stocks have a T+3 settlement date while a title search can be done in 24 hours. I was talking about… Read more »

Joe

Makes Me Think — You’re a piece of work. You just tried to make the point that r.e. can be even more liquid than stocks, but then, two sentences later, said that r.e. is “not … a very liquid market.” LOL.

Makes Me Think

Joe, RE is not a very liquid market any moron knows that but if you want liquidity then you have to sacrifice money. That shouldn’t be hard to understand. If I sell a condo on SB at 1.5 x market value then it might sit on the market forever however if I decide I need to sell tomorrow because the mob is after me then I may have to list it at .6 x Market Value. At .6 x market value it is likely I will have several wealthy investors beating down my door at 6 am tomorrow. No? If… Read more »

Joe

Makes Me Think — LOL. And people say *I* like to argue? Ha ha.

If “any moron” knows r.e. is “not a very liquid market,” then why bother with your last two posts?

99.99% of the time, equities are much more liquid than r.e. That was my point above, and you seem to agree with it, so why the back and forth?

Drew

Joey
Don’t confuse the issues. Here I’m acknowledging that unemployment #’s are high, but that has nothing to do with my general feeling that it is possible to find and retain a good white collar/professional job and earn decent money in Miami assuming a good work ethic, intelligence and educational credentials. You apparently feel otherwise; that is where we disagree, sir.

Drew

And Joe, in anticipation of your canned response, yes I am aware that there are a lack of Fortune 500 employers in Miami and their future presence would help develop a stronger middle class here. However, you need to keep in mind that the Miami economy is built on small business. Miami is entrepreneur-friendly as its much easier to start up and operate a small business here than it is in many other large US cities. The quantity of small businesses and the fact that small businesses are the most at risk in a recession contributes to the employment volatility.… Read more »

Makes Me Think

No Joe, that wasn’t your point!
I said I had more control over real estate than over stocks and you said that that statement was “flatly incorrect” because I couldn’t dump RE as fast as i could dump my stock holding.

That was your point!

I just laid out how you are wrong again in your logic. Now you are shifting the discussion. As I said I have more control over RE than I have over Stocks and you can continue with your argument if you still think I am “flatly incorrect”

computer consultant

Miami-Dade condo sales jumped 43 percent in July compared to the same month last year, with median prices dropping 20 percent to $110,500.

Miami2009

Disappointing news on south pointe park! What a shame…

Joe

Makes Me Think — Do you seriously want us to believe that dumping r.e. is, on average, faster than selling stocks? Really?

I don’t care about some one-off example about a desperate developer. That’s a one-in-a-million deal, not something that can be pulled off by anyone at any time.

gables

Haven’t been to south pointe in a while, but I used to love the place. dinner and drinks at smith and wolenski followed by leisurely strolls on the boardwalk are great. the grass was beautiful under blue skies. will be a shame if this does not get fixed. the park should be a major asset to sofi area.

Joe

Drew — Nice try, but there’s almost no difference between your comments above and mine from last week. Almost none.

Further, I’ve lived in Miami or otherwise spent considerable time there since the early ’90s, and I’m not aware of any time at which Miami had hundreds or thousands of small businesses that could be described as being “white-collar professional.”

Fortune 500 companies weren’t bringing good jobs to Miami at the height of the boom, and they won’t be doing so if/when the economy recovers.

This would be another great addition to Downtown Miami: http://onebayfrontplaza.com/overview.html

Joe

Lucas — From what I’ve been reading, Miami’s commercial r.e. scene is on the verge of a bloodbath. How would that place help?

Makes Me Think

Joe, if Lucas drops the price of the property listed above from $470,000 to $280,000 tonight do you think he can get it sold to a cash buyer by close of business Monday?

Drew

One Bayfront Plaza..brought to you by the fine men of Fl East Coast Realty. Lucas, you better not make any disparaging comments or else be subject to the wrath of your buddy Tibor Hollo. I guess they figure that by the time the orig bldg is demolished and this thing is completed, there will actually be a demand for an 841 key hotel room and 1.4m sf office space downtown. In 2017. _ Joe Not claiming that small business is white collar- just stating that small business makes up a large part of the employable population in Miami. But I… Read more »

gables

makes me think, you can site a few examples, but no rational person in the business world would agree with a statement that RE is more liquid than stocks. as an asset class RE is very illiquid, especially compared to stocks and bonds.

why bother

As I said before, One Bayfront Plaza is a strong possibility. Tibor Hollow is very bullish about the prospects of Miami 2015 and onwards. From what I heard, he is also ready to break ground anytime on the Sonesta Mikado Hotel next to his Opera Towers.

scrivener

“No, it’s not water damage. When the contractor patches the seams in the concrete from the forms, he uses hydrolic cement that is mixed with water and sometimes the water will run as he patches it. Not water damage though. ” – – Lucas

Thanks for the response!

“A few good real estate stats/articles” – – computer consultant

Thanks for the links. I love fresh data!

scriv

Makes Me Think

gables, please read my post # 14 where I said -” RE is not a very liquid market any
moron knows that but if you want liquidity then you have to sacrifice money.”

I think the term Moron just about covers it all.
Find someone else to disagree with about nothing.

Joe

Makes Me Think — Please stop trolling. You’re getting worse than AJ or The Ace ever were.

You’re the one who picked a stupid fight above. Just let it die already.

What Do You Think

Dear fellas, help me out In calculating HOA for your unit, is the balcony space (roughly 150 sqf) should be included? When I questioned the Condo Developer (Seller) this , I got the following mysterious answer. The actual living space is 798 sqf. “The condo docs and the flooring people are using a measurement method that does not include either the exterior or interior walls so the number is always smaller. The method used for the construction and sales takes the space that is actually owned which is half way into the exterior walls and includes the space occupied by… Read more »

gables

makes me think, you are a nutcase. descriptions of liquidity in a market refers to the ability to move the asset at its true market value, ie how easy you can move an item at its accepted market value. when you offer items at 1.5 or 0.6 times the true market value-that is a dislocated market and does not describe true liquidity. you made a moronic statement, just accept it and move on.

Makes Me Think

Ha ha, Gables and Joe are having an argument with a nutcase on this blog while they are suppose to be at work. At least this nutcase works for himself and doesn’t depend on a paycheck from a boss. This nutcase controls more than a few investment assets while you are still trying to figure out how to acquire your first. My bad, I forgot, you choose to rent and you choose to work in the armpits of Latin America while you curse everything about Miami while you secretly dream of living the high life in SB. No wonder you… Read more »

Drew

what do you think-
The exterior balcony should not be included in the HOA calculation.

gables

makes me think, is it your typical behavior to get aggressive and cocky when you are called out for making a dumb statement? it is a really poor character flaw. when you make a dumb statement, i’ll call you on it. deal with it.

Makes Me Think

Gables, what is dumb about saying I have more control over RE assets I manage personally over Stocks I have no control over? What is dumb about saying ” RE is not a very liquid market any moron knows that but if you want liquidity then you have to sacrifice money.” You call me a “nutcase”. You said “descriptions of liquidity in a market refers to the ability to move the asset at its true market value, ie how easy you can move an item at its accepted market value. when you offer items at 1.5 or 0.6 times the… Read more »

Joe

Makes Me Think — The more you ramble, the more you expose yourself as a moron. The idea that you, or anyone else, can ROUTINELY unload pieces of r.e. *at will* in 4 days or less is just off-the-charts crazy. It’s so stupid I can’t believe it’s still being discussed here. Are you seriously trying to tell us that instead of liquidating a $500,000 stock portfolio for $500,000 and then waiting 3-4 days for the cash transfer, it’s better to buy a $500,000 piece of r.e. and then sell it for $300,000 ($500,000 x 0.6) in order to shave TWO… Read more »

gables

MMT, so all of your real estate holdings are 100% cash? no mortgages? no debt? just how liquid are YOUR real estate holdings-not somebody else’s holdings you want to buy. basically you are telling me that if you decide to sell your RE holding today at 3pm (no buyer yet), you can have your cash in hand before receiving the cash from your stock holding you place to sell at the same time. if you could make that happen on even 10% of your RE holdings i would be impressed. remember you also need to find your “cash” buyer who… Read more »

Makes Me Think

Joe, you are so clueless. Is that what you tell yourself? Just remember the best and the brightest don’t get sent to Bolivia for 3 year assignments. That job is usually relegated to the slow gringo in the corner cubicle that just can’t keep up. Anyway just assume I am a moron and all those things you claimed. Remember this, I have done all those things you are trying to accomplish and I didn’t have to go to Bolivia to get it done. I got it done right here at some of the best Technology and Finance companies in the… Read more »

Makes Me Think

Gables, I don’t buy RE to sell, and I certainly don’t buy to sell at a discount in a panic. I’ll go even further and say I believe if you have a property that provides a good rate of return you should NEVER sell it unless there is some dramatic change in the neighborhood which would have a huge negative effect on your earnings. To answer your question, Yes, IF, IF I needed to raise cash in a day or 2 I know a few investors who would buy a few properties for cash in (2 days). It takes 4… Read more »

Joe

Makes Me Think — You said: “That is hilarious, did you seriously write that. Yes Joe! Take 500K from a brokerage account to buy a 500K piece of RE then turn around and sell that 500K RE for 3ook (.60). …” — No, you clown, if you took time to read, you’d see my comment was an either/or proposition regarding which option (stocks vs. r.e.) provides, on average, quicker (and more certain) liquidity. Anyway, you must live in an alternate universe or something. In my world, I don’t bump into people who want to sell their house at 60% of… Read more »

Drew

Joey
You’re never going to be able to retire at age 36 if you’re staying up all night in front of a computer! Get some rest! Your Bolivian proteges are waiting for you this morning.

What Do You Think

Drew,
Thanks for your post – “The exterior balcony space should not be included in HOA calculation.” Is there a condo law or regulation regarding that? Closing is in 2 weeks. If Seller does not change the HOA amount now, can I still bring it up after closing? Thanks

Makes Me Think

Joe, let’s play nice. I don’t like where this discussion has gone. I don’t like calling people names on the internet. I am sure Lucas didn’t spend his resources for this purpose and it is a turn off to some viewers. This blog is not our personal forum. I’ll just say yes there are people in distress who will sell you their homes or cars at 60% or less of market value to get cash in their hands quickly. Yes, ANYONE can get a mortgage on a house they own free and clear in a matter of hours. If you… Read more »

Drew

what do you think-
I tried to thoroughly respond earlier but the post didn’t go through…
Anyway, read the project’s Declaration of Condominium to determine how the developer calculated ownership %’s relative to assessment $/sf. You should have been given a copy when you signed the contract.

Whay Do You Think

Drew,
Thank you for your post #48.
What if I find in the project’s Declarationt of Condominium that the develper calculates HOAs based on the entire unit footage including the balcony space? Does that become the law there with this condo project? Thank you

gables

MMT, i won’t argue back and forth with you. You have stated your case, as have I. In my opinion, you have not demonstrated how your RE holdings are more liquid than your equities-you seem to need a lot of “ifs” to make it happen. Your opinion is the opposite of mine. We can each happily go about making our money our own way i guess.

Drew

#49 If there’s a conflict b/t the Declaration and FL law, then the law controls. I always thought that balconies were considered common elements and as such they should not be included in any definition of a unit for purposes of calculating assessment share. Generally the assn is responsible for maintaining the balconies – its a structural concrete slab – and obviously don’t want unit owners jackhammering their balconies 400 ft in the air. But if they include it in the def of “unit” , then I would think it no longer remains a common element and as a result… Read more »

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