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.”

Florida Real Estate

This week’s cover story profile of Mount Sinai Medical Center by John Dorschner is a reminder of how important real estate is to all of South Florida. The venerable institution has been hampered by a land purchase it made at the dawn of this decade.

While relief from that injury may come soon for Mount Sinai, the overall South Florida real estate market, especially residential, has no quick remedies.

This morning the Florida Association of Realtors will release July home sales and price data. The experts will either declare the industry’s recession is almost over — or we’ll get the sinking feeling that the muck and mire of soft numbers will continue.

One such expert already has the answer, and it provides no solace.

In his online forum, Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Economy.com, prescribes no breath-holding for the light at the end of the tunnel. Commenting in the forum, Hugh from Pembroke Pines asks Zandi about the burdensome effects of taxes and insurance on home affordability and the answer cuts to the core of what’s ailing the market.

“It is the key reason why the Florida housing market will be one of the last to recover from the current downturn,” Zandi writes.

Is the solution to add more price controls to insurance companies? De-electing gridlocked legislators? Harpooning greedy speculators or criminal mortgage brokers? No, Zandi says. Look to the skies.

“It is not only the very high insurance and tax bills, but it is also the uncertainty with regard to how high they will be in the future. We are certainly reminded of this now as storms traverse the Atlantic and move up the peninsula.”

Yep, our fate is in Mother Nature’s hands. Fewer Fays, less worrisome Wilmas and the real estate market will prosper. So, God help us.

The catch in investing your money well in Miami real estate is easy you just need to be wise on picking where to have your investments set in. I think that with some little configuration and some added value on your handpicked location you can be good. But digging deep you need more than just that. Miami real estate is a broad topic to begin with and if you talk about options you will find yourself confused because of the number of potential investment you can do in the place. There are really large scales of investment that you can pick on with Miami real estate. But let me tell you that the best asset that Miami real estate can always boasts is its location. For most investors, location is gold and with that being said, it can be hard to find a good location that can still be available.

With a lot of investors investing in Miami, you may find yourself stuck on looking for that one location that you can consider as an asset. But I think with all that being a relatively important issue, I think that it can be wise to accept that you can have difficulties on locating your perfect location for investment. I think that right now the people who knew the market very well can always testify that it can be a rough scene sometimes especially if you have some rivals for a certain location, it can be hard to get what you want but of course it is a part of the market’s scene. Miami real estate is still on of the most celebrated real estate location in Florida and arguably in the nation. There are even past numbers to prove it.

Right now we can accept that every state in America is having the same economic crisis and it is something that people have looked into. Miami real estate investing is a good thing to start your investment with because you can always blossom in its market. Furthermore thinking that there are options in the same area can also be a good idea, especially if that idea can be feasible to an extent. The basic law in real estate investment is options can always give you some results. There are a lot of things that you can eventually call investment and with a lot of knowledge and know how, you can be on the right track.

I think that it is safe to say that Miami real estate can be one of the best things to have your money see progress. Investing in Miami real estate seems to be a good idea, it can be a big move for you but of course I am not pushing you to do it. I just want to say you can have it as an option, it can make you investment worth it and if you do well, it can be the best move you will make. Let us be vigilant on having research on its market so that we can also be aware on where it stands. Miami real estate is not something to laugh at. It is a market that can be a good option for you.

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.