Miami Condo News

Jerry Libbin, a Miami Beach City Commissioner, today kicked off a campaign to protect Florida’s condominium unit owners from unfair assessments levied on them when banks foreclose on other units in their buildings.

The residential real estate meltdown has forced thousands of condo unit holders to pay higher assessment fees so they can maintain their buildings. That’s because banks holding mortgages on distressed condo units aren’t paying their fair share of assessments.

“Banks are taking unfair advantage of condo owners who have done absolutely nothing wrong,” Commissioner Libbin said. “It’s disgraceful to shift this huge financial burden onto them. Florida residents should not be forced to subsidize predatory banks.”

Under current Florida law, banks and other mortgage holders only have to pay 1 percent of the normal condo assessments once they foreclose on a distressed property. Many banks don’t even pay this paltry sum in a timely manner. Condo associations often must sue lenders to recover their assessments and late fees.

The result is that condo unit owners in good standing are burdened with sky-high assessments to make up the shortfalls, which in turn leads to an increase in distressed units.

“We must stop this vicious cycle,” said Commissioner Libbin, noting that Miami Beach is in the epicenter of the problem. “Our economy is teetering on disaster because of greedy lenders.”

Commissioner Libbin has formed a coalition of condo unit owners and condo management companies to lobby the Florida Legislature for reforms. He will host a town hall meeting on the subject in the coming weeks.

There are 23,631 condos in Florida, with a total of 1.4 million units, according to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (FDBPR). In Miami-Dade County, there are 4,045 buildings with a total of 242,352 units, according to FDBPR.

“We expect to receive broad, bi-partisan support for these important consumer protection measures,” said Libbin.

The crown jewel of one of Miami Beach’s most luxurious condominium high-rises is now for sale. Top-producing Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell (EWM) Realtors(R) Esther Percal and Kevin Tomlinson announced today their $22 million listing for Apogee Penthouse A.

They describe the South Beach residence as one of the most prestigious South Florida penthouses ever, in a building that epitomizes luxury. “It’s an amazing three-level corner home with unbelievable ocean, bay, and city views,” said Percal. “Apogee is considered one of the most sought-after addresses in one of the most fashionable and desirable neighborhoods in the world.”

The Apogee penthouse has 6,853 interior square feet with six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms. The South Beach luxury condo has more than 11,000 square feet of terrace space with a 360-degree rooftop palazzo, private pool, and summer kitchen. There are three levels of decorator-ready space, including a main living area with 22-foot ceilings enclosed by double-height floor-to-ceiling windows. Apogee PH-A also has an elevator, 2.5-car private air-conditioned garage, staff quarters, and other luxury amenities.

The building and the penthouse offer “smart lifestyle” technology, which is being marketed as the most advanced in South Florida. Opened in 2008, Apogee is said to be more luxurious than any other project in the developer’s (The Related Group) history. According to the company, this is their most expensive per-unit condo.

“I’ve had a chance to see the city’s best condos and penthouses in the years I’ve been selling Miami Beach real estate. The Apogee penthouse has no peers,” said Tomlinson. “This is truly one of the finest condominiums in the world. It’s very exclusive and private. The name means ‘pinnacle,’ and to me that means the highest point of modern luxury living.”

Miami, FL Condos

The mortgage company or bank representatives had their own agenda, which was to sell you a mortgage. The builder’s job was to build and sell his houses. If you had a real estate agent, his or her job was to make a commission from the sale. Unfortunately, that left you both to do your own due diligence, and it wasn’t easy.

A couple of years ago, we were in the halcyon days of real estate, where there was a feeding frenzy and price didn’t seem to matter.

In many respects, the monkeys were running the zoo. People judged the value of the home on what the monthly payments were going to be, and didn’t think about higher taxes, interest rates and insurance costs in their excitement to buy.

Contrary to popular myth, and now harsh reality, home values do not always increase. Throughout history, there have been many periods in which home values declined or stayed steady.

The period between the early ’80s to the late ’90s was brutal, when real estate drooped, then stayed pretty stagnant until it once more began to increase in value. Then home prices took off and went through the roof. Now the markets are in a tailspin once again.

As an investment, it can be difficult to ”play.” As your homestead, it can be a bit easier.

Take a look at the whole picture and decide whether you can make this house your home for the foreseeable future.

If you put enough down and didn’t get a super funky mortgage, you might be OK. Work on your budget. Can you afford the payments and expenses somehow? Did you plan to live there for a long time? Perhaps keeping that roof over your head makes the most sense.

Prices will increase again, but it could take a long, long time. If you absolutely cannot make it work, then difficult and probably painful decisions will need to be made.

Start with negotiating with your lender, if possible. The very last and most difficult process would be bankruptcy. I do hope you won’t need to travel down that dark path. It isn’t fun.