Is it worth buying a condo? (Miami, North Miami: sale, apartment, renting)

[wizrap]

There is a WSJ article describing the HUGE assessments in the condo market due to the Surfside collapse. Unfortunately it’s behind a paywall and I can’t figure out how to post it without that block.

It mentions a man who bought in the Cricket Club for $190k 5 years ago and who had just received an assessment of $134k. Poor guy can’t afford it. He had liquidated his 401k to buy the place. 1500 sq. ft., water views. Nice.

Put it on the market for $350k. No takers, kept cutting the price until he finally got an offer of, drumroll please, $110k. Dozens more for sale in the building as many of his neighbors can’t afford the assessment either.

Condo inventory for sale in South Florida has more than doubled since the first quarter of last year, to more than 18,000 units, as per the article. Realtors say that buyers aren’t having any trouble qualifying for mortgages—it’s the buildings that are the problem. Financial institutions don’t want to take the risk.

The collapse of the condo market is on!

[Alfiehurt]

here's a website for those articles locked to subscriptions:
archive.ph or archive today. you enter teh website where the locked article is and voila! it takes a snapshot at the entire article and you read it for free.
Or if you prefer post the article link here and I'll search for it

In regards to your earlier comment, I just cannot believe this " way of doing things" went on like this for years! as the "owner/buyer to be" i feel frustrated at the expectation of getting hit by multiple financial assessments just to get the coop to pass its due certifications and make sure you're moving to a place that is not going to collapse anytime soon but I am also shocked at the realization that some HOA's just did not want to deal with repairs, remodeling, etc. earlier and just waited this long now to be forced to to do it in a rather short time. I also understand it is necessary regardless of and we need to move forward one way or another

I cannot help thinking of the multiple inspectors, electricians, architects, engineers that may have been exposed to this kind of information associated with the collapse of the Surfside Towers (or at least considered it) and did nothing about it! I am sure the tenants would have elected to pay higher HOA dues or even assessments and be alive today!

[wizrap]

Alfiehurt, here is the link, maybe you can archive it?

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxu...sales-e754ab09

Your observations are correct about the condo situation. The Surfside collapse was a disaster from its start. There were design and construction flaws from the very beginning.

And when problems became apparent, and the condo board made plans to correct them, residents protested over the cost. Typical behavior pattern—didn’t trust the board’s findings, or cost projections, or contractors used. The lack of support caused delays—over time, new board members voted in, problems now worse due to the delays, costs now higher due to inflation and residents now angrier and less trusting in the condo leadership.

Yes, in hindsight, residents should have tightened their budgets and paid the assessments because failure to do so would eventually cause some to lose their lives. But hindsight always has perfect vision. Now, especially those living in condos, pay the price with these new laws.

[blueskies2023]

Originally Posted by wizrap

Alfiehurt, here is the link, maybe you can archive it?

https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/luxu...sales-e754ab09

Your observations are correct about the condo situation. The Surfside collapse was a disaster from its start. There were design and construction flaws from the very beginning.

And when problems became apparent, and the condo board made plans to correct them, residents protested over the cost. Typical behavior pattern—didn’t trust the board’s findings, or cost projections, or contractors used. The lack of support caused delays—over time, new board members voted in, problems now worse due to the delays, costs now higher due to inflation and residents now angrier and less trusting in the condo leadership.

Yes, in hindsight, residents should have tightened their budgets and paid the assessments because failure to do so would eventually cause some to lose their lives. But hindsight always has perfect vision. Now, especially those living in condos, pay the price with these new laws.

What's gonna be then? All condos in Florida fold and go under? You know how many condos there are in Florida? My guess is close to 2 million. They gonna all fold???

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by Alfiehurt

here's a website for those articles locked to subscriptions:
archive.ph or archive today. you enter teh website where the locked article is and voila! it takes a snapshot at the entire article and you read it for free.
Or if you prefer post the article link here and I'll search for it

In regards to your earlier comment, I just cannot believe this " way of doing things" went on like this for years! as the "owner/buyer to be" i feel frustrated at the expectation of getting hit by multiple financial assessments just to get the coop to pass its due certifications and make sure you're moving to a place that is not going to collapse anytime soon but I am also shocked at the realization that some HOA's just did not want to deal with repairs, remodeling, etc. earlier and just waited this long now to be forced to to do it in a rather short time. I also understand it is necessary regardless of and we need to move forward one way or another

I cannot help thinking of the multiple inspectors, electricians, architects, engineers that may have been exposed to this kind of information associated with the collapse of the Surfside Towers (or at least considered it) and did nothing about it! I am sure the tenants would have elected to pay higher HOA dues or even assessments and be alive today!

Tenants don't pay dues, they pay rent; owners pay COA (Condominium Association) maintenance fees which cover the operating & reserve budgets. If you ever hear the phrase, "we haven't had an increase in maintenance fees in "insert # of years" run as it mean's maintenance projects have been deferred...No matter what vendor had been exposed to issues associated with Surfside, the board had a fiduciary responsibility to the owners to make repairs or replacements to structural deficiencies.

As for those unable to pay rising maintenance & special assessments, the only answer is sell & there will be a multitude of condos for sale in those buildings three stories and higher, thirty years & older once their Milestone and SIRS have been completed...end result may be termination of condominium which is in most condominium documents...

[wizrap]

Originally Posted by blueskies2023

What's gonna be then? All condos in Florida fold and go under? You know how many condos there are in Florida? My guess is close to 2 million. They gonna all fold???

See LadyWithAFan’s comments. The condos won’t fold. Owners will either stay as they can afford to pay, or the ones who can’t will sell. And the ones who have to sell will be forced to at a very low price. Where will these people go? Out of state? Rent instead? A major exodus of some type lies ahead.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by blueskies2023

What's gonna be then? All condos in Florida fold and go under? You know how many condos there are in Florida? My guess is close to 2 million. They gonna all fold???

There are only 23mm people living in Florida so no way is there 2mm condo buildings though there could be 2mm condo units.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by wizrap

See LadyWithAFan’s comments. The condos won’t fold. Owners will either stay as they can afford to pay, or the ones who can’t will sell. And the ones who have to sell will be forced to at a very low price. Where will these people go? Out of state? Rent instead? A major exodus of some type lies ahead.

This^^^^

A friend just sold a townhouse for 500K. Why? The three story condos that were part of her community are all in the same HOA and one of the 3 story buildings had a 1mm issue. The HOA had some money and they assessed for the rest. Her thought was: Get out now before the other buildings have issues. The complex was less than 25 years old and not oceanfront.

She moved out of state.

[Ladywithafan]

Originally Posted by City Guy997S

There are only 23mm people living in Florida so no way is there 2mm condo buildings though there could be 2mm condo units.

There are 27,588 Condominium Associations in Florida with 1,529,764 units and three (3) million residents.

Age of Units:

105,404 units between 50 years old.

479,435 units between 40-50 years old.

327,537 units between 30 & 40 years old.

141,773 units between 20-30 years old.

428,657 units between 10 -20 years old.

47,000 units less than 10 years old.

[City Guy997S]

Originally Posted by Ladywithafan

There are 27,588 Condominium Associations in Florida with 1,529,764 units and three (3) million residents.

Age of Units:

105,404 units between 50 years old.

479,435 units between 40-50 years old.

327,537 units between 30 & 40 years old.

141,773 units between 20-30 years old.

428,657 units between 10 -20 years old.

47,000 units less than 10 years old.

Great info!

No idea where you got it but it seems really accurate!