Harem-Inspired MarinaBlue Party Pad Gives Us a Lesson in Over Improvements
October 20, 2016 by Lucas Lechuga
Buckle up, my friends. We're about to go on a tawdry real estate magic carpet ride! If you've ever been curious about the idea of over improvements in real estate, here is a prime example. The listing agent of this 1,208 square foot 2 bedroom condo at Marina Blue describes it as 'exotic'... and indeed it is!
The idea of over improvement is when someone spends a ton of money on renovations, hoping to increase the value of a property. The only problem is that in the process of overdoing it they alienate most of their target market and end up having to settle for a lesser amount when a deal is finally made. An example would be paying to remove a marble floor and replacing it with another marble floor that is far more expensive but not that much different. You won't get your money back on that upgrade. Another example would be knocking down all the walls in the apartment, removing the kitchen to make way for an enormous wet bar, building a jacuzzi in your living room and then adorning it all with silk and mother of pearl... which is what happened here.
To be fair, I don't have a problem with Moroccan design. It can be pretty when done right. However, when you are selling or leasing a property, you want that property to fit the tastes of as many people as possible so that you can find a deal more quickly and be able to negotiate more money from the deal. Alienating all of those people who may not like Moroccan design is not the way to do it. Finding that one person who wants a step-up jacuzzi in their living room might take a bit longer. I'm all for cocktail hour, but still need a kitchen and I think most of Miami agrees.
I just want to tell this apartment to settle down, and I certainly don't want to think about what has gone on inside. It has been on the market now for almost 4 months, in a building where it typically takes less than 2 months to find a tenant and get them qualified/approved/moved-in. Originally the landlord was asking $4,500/month, but it has recently been reduced to $3,800/month. What do you think it will end up trading for? Which feature sticks out most to you? Every time I look at the photos, I find something else to gawk at.
[caption id="attachment_20813" align="alignnone" width="800"]
The staircase to the living room bathtub[/caption][caption id="attachment_20811" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Close-up of the living room bathtub[/caption][caption id="attachment_20808" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Kitchen turned full bar[/caption][caption id="attachment_20805" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Master bath with ALL of the tile and scenescape wallpaper[/caption][caption id="attachment_20806" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Another bathroom with more mother of pearl[/caption][caption id="attachment_20810" align="alignnone" width="800"]
Proof that this apartment is in MarinaBlue[/caption]
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