900 biscayne bay condo owners

wondering what effect the downturn in real estate market is having on 900 bay. Are owners walking away from their contracts? Trying to determine what I should do about mine.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dominic on March 21, 2008 at 10:53am

This is in response to clare's posting. I don't believe 900 is going to experience similar problems as other developments with contract holders pulling out. I think that 900, along with the other developments that are part of the "biscayne wall" are unique enough to prevent others from just bailing on their investments.

So far I have only come across at most 5-6 units that were being resold, and most of them were units that had been bought with the intention of being resold. So far people who have units A or D seem to be holding on to them as I have only seen a modified A unit on the market. Which unit do you have? I myself have an A unit and can't wait to get in. I think the long term potential of the project is terrific. A lot of the other developments that are having problems are your "generic condos". That is they don't have private elevators, the view is not that great/ or there isn't a view of the water, and the finishes are not that high end. I think with this in mind plus a few other factors, puts 900 in a different category which makes it still quite sought after.

Bottom line I think the number of people walking away from contracts will be minimal. On the flip side I guess the acid test question is given the market downturn are our units worth less than the contract value. In that case someone might say its worth their while to avoid closing and default on their deposit. For me the option of defaulting on a big deposit doesn't sit well with me. Hopefully I've helped to shed some light. Are you planning to live in your unit full time? Anyway take care future neighbor.

Dom

Permalink Reply by clare on March 21, 2008 at 2:29pm

This is in response to Peter/Dom's posting in response to Clare's posting. We have a B3 . We bought 3-4 years ago with the express intention to flip. Then the market turned before the project completed and now we're stuck with closing. We were told we can't sell until we close. No real estate office will list yet. We believe it is a good project, just don't know what the market will do, how we'll be able to do with rental, etc. You said you saw some for resale. Where? Any other insights?
Thanks future neighbor.
Clare

Permalink Reply by Dominic on March 21, 2008 at 3:26pm

Hey Clare, I sympathize with your problem. I'm pretty sure that having bought that far back you should be able to make a profit on the unit. Officially you the developer says that you can't sell before closing, so I don't know how the others I have seen have managed to get around this. One idea is to do an assignment kind of deal, where by you sell the unit now with the intention to assign it to the buyer upon closing. I'm not sure how those kind of deals work, but I think that is one way to get around the developer's rule. As far as rentals go I'm not sure, how that goes. have seen rental prices in neighbouring towers going for anywhere between 1500-3000$ per month. The site that I have seen other 900 units for sale at is
http://www.zilbert.com/900_biscayne_bay/900_biscayne_bay.asp

This realtor seems to have six units for sale in 900. Not sure how they managed to do that. Bottom line, seeing as how you purchased 3-4 years ago, I'm sure your price per sq foot at the time was around the 200 dollar mark. Nowadays the price per sq foot in 900 is around double that even with the market downturn. Maybe it might be an idea to rent it out, in which you might just cover your expenses on the unit +/- a little profit or loss, but keep it until the market improves. Hope that helps. If you find out any additional info, please feel free to let me know. Take care.

Dom

Permalink Reply by clare on March 21, 2008 at 3:37pm

Peter/Dom:
Which realtor did you see with sales on units in 900 Bay? I'll try contacting them. We paid $418.00 /square foot. How did you get your unit? We haven't found a realtor willing to do a "double close". If you see one, let me know. Thanks for all your input.
Clare

Permalink Reply by Rudy on April 13, 2008 at 2:48am

Don't want to be the bearer of bad news but folks very little if anything has sold in the condo market latley. I mean take a look at similar bldgs like a 10 Museum or 50 Biscayne and the listings on the MLS have sat there for the last coupel of months with priicing just droping or stagnent. Bottom line is no ones buying I think there was 1 or 2 resale from someone who closed to new buyer on Ten Museum this past year. No denying 900 willl be nice but unfortuntley when it sold it was selling during the hype of the speculative boom which is why alot of them arent worth what people paid for them any more. It's just the fact these days. Chances are these will sit too. It's not easy finding ready willing and able buyers who have the cash to sustain a purchase when there are so many units aviailable. Taxes, HOA fees + Mortgage and declining property value = alot of $$$ so think wisely on your moves and be prepared to take a loss.

Permalink Reply by Marlene on April 13, 2008 at 9:28am

HI RUDY,HOW MANY UNITS AVAILABLE AT 900,THAT U KNOW OF?

Permalink Reply by Alex (MUL) on April 13, 2008 at 12:04pm

Rudy,

You are right about sales. They just aren't happening. Buyers are waiting on the sidelines for "steals" and I still haven't seen enough of these to create significant volume. Sellers are hanging on to their prices, but I think that may change soon.

There is good demand for rentals now. If you can ride out the storm and afford the negative cashflow for some time, this is always an option. From what I've seen, the rental rates are at approximately 50% of your carrying cost when you take all recurring expenses (hoa, tax, mortgage, etc) into consideration. Not really a good investment scenario, but at least you can offsets some of the carrying cost until (hopefully soon) the market turns around.

Whoever bought to live should just take the opportunity to customize the unit to their likings and enjoy the urban Miami lifestyle. You already own a piece of Downtown Miami and can enjoy it NOW. Regardless of all the negative press, Miami is really a great place to live and there are many people that wish they can already own a little piece of the future.

-Alex (MUL)

Permalink Reply by Alex (MUL) on April 13, 2008 at 12:06pm

Marlene,

Here you can see some listings at 900 Biscayne:
http://www.zilbert.com/900_biscayne_bay/900_biscayne_bay.asp

Permalink Reply by Rudy on April 13, 2008 at 8:44pm

I agree with Alex's assesment. Basically, if you're lucky enough to get a renter if that because eveyoen is the same as well tryign to rent our their units your're carryign costs may be 60% instead of 50% cause your competing with others doign the ssme thing. Basically if you rent your unti out yes it will be a negative solution with hopes of it turning aroudn in the future or basically a slow death like a cancer which may land up killing you in the end. All I'm saying is weigh your options carfeully and decide what you want to do but dont expect to make money based on today's market or atleast for the immediate future.

Permalink Reply by clare on April 22, 2008 at 8:31am

what's the consensus? Is everyone closing on their units? Can we do a class action?

Permalink Reply by Samir Patel on May 12, 2008 at 2:38pm