Condo Costs on Brickell (Miami, Miami Beach: sales, real estate, apartments)

[Panam]

We all see the pretty condos on Brickell Avenue BUT How much do they cost to maintain?

How much are property taxes, condo fees, and property insurance for a 2/2 $350K - $500K condo?

i realize it varies on the condo but if i can get realistic guesstimates/ averages, that would be good.

thanks in advance

Cheers

[r_k]

The costs do vary, but here are rough estimates:

(1) Property taxes: roughly 2% of the assessed value (not purchase value). So if the condo is assessed at 400k, you would pay approx $8000 per year in prop tax.

(2) Condo (or HOA) fee: This is all over the place, but can be anywhere from $500/month to $1500/month. You would know this in advance of buying, of course, but be sure to verify it with condo management and don't trust what is in the MLS. I have seen many mistakes there. A higher monthly fee often indicates many delinquent or empty units, or bad management, or unnecessary frills, or all three.

(3) The insurance should be included in the HOA fee, but be sure to verify exactly what is, or not. In most cases you still need insurance for the interior and your property, generally count on $1000 per year as a rough average, but could be higher, my numbers may be out of date.

[DG001]

This is an old thread, but I had the same question and was wondering if someone could provide updated numbers - especially for insurance on top of whats covered by condo fees.

Is there a huge difference between insurance costs in Brickell vs. say a condo in a highrise on Miami beach? Do insurance costs change the further up the coast you go (i.e. is it lower/higher in FLL than Miami beach?).

Also, I did wonder about the huge difference in condo fees between buildings with similar facilities. Is it as the poster above says - an indication of bad management or higher delinquents?

I totally get that the base of all these costs are based on the underlying perceived "value" of the condo itself, but there seems to be big differences even between similar condos in different buildings.

TIA!

[Marc Middleton]

HOA costs vary - full service/full amenities vs limited service vs no amenities what-so-ever. Building insurance costs drive up fees, as well as bad management and/or high delinquents can affect. Older buildings with 'land leases' drive up costs as well. (where the developer leased the land but doesn't own it, usually get a 99 year lease - Biscayne Landing/151 @ Biscayne, Maison Grande in Miami Beach had a rec lease and went through bankruptcy to get rid of it, etc.)

Good Rule of thumb i give my customers - limited service building (parking, pool, no valet, no 24 hour door person) - 50cents/sq ft.

More amenities but not '5 star luxury' - 65cents-70 cents/sq ft.

Full service lux buildings, $1/sq ft. Stay under these numbers and its a good building.

Keep in mind the 'more amenities' and lux buildings will include your Cable and sometimes internet, so that drives up to the $1/ft price much quicker but at least you don't have to pay that bill every month. Also, 95% of all condos HOA fees will include your water/sewer/trash, so that's another big savings vs owning a single family home.

Property taxes are what they are. usually 1.7% of the sales price for homestead owner occupant places, 2.% if not owner occupant/investor. Being a condo in Brickell has no affect on local property taxes. local 'towns' drive up property taxes by 0.1 or 0.2% (i.e. Town of North Miami has a higher 'millage' rate than say city of Miami Beach properties).

Insurance for condos isn't much and shouldn't play a factor in what building you buy into. You are just buying 'content' insurance policy should the neighbor above you flood/cause a fire or you get 'water intrusion' from a Cat 4/5 hurricane like what IRMA did. (see: Belle Isle Buildings, Hamilton Apartments in Edgewater, etc.)

A Condo Insurance policy is nothing like a Homeowners policy on a single family home.

Hope that helps!

[DG001]

Thanks Marc! That is a really useful metric to have in mind!
Also good to know about the insurance - most articles or % people talk about are for SFH so its hard to translate that to condos. A smaller "inside the walls" insurance makes a lot more sense.

Thanks again!

[jr8999]

Great topic. Thanks to Marc for the detailed explanation. Especially the condo insurance. I am very interested in buying a 2/2 on the southern end of Brickell Ave in the next 2-3 years. It still irks me that the major real estate websites list the monthly costs of homeowners insurance in the $700-900 range. All of the other monthly costs listed make sense for HOA and RE taxes but the homeowners insurance has got to be the annual cost. I have brought this up numerous times with the sites and they are yet to make any changes. I'm assuming they get their info from MLS. At first I was confused and sort of have believed it could be a monthly rate but the more I thought about it the more it didn't make sense for inside wall coverage.

I have done some pretty detailed research on the area and have settled on Brickell. As my career winds down I'd like to have options to get the chill out of my bones. I am in no hurry as the property I own in Boston is still increasing in value and significantly outpacing the market in Miami. I am looking for something in the middle of the road from a cost/luxury standpoint. I had it narrowed down to the Plaza East and the Skyline. I am leaning toward the Skyline as the Plaza area is a bit too congested for my GF's tastes. The Skyline is one of the newer buildings in that quieter area of Brickell in my price range. We'll see what unfolds between now and then.

[Marc Middleton]

Originally Posted by jr8999

I'm assuming they get their info from MLS. At first I was confused and sort of have believed it could be a monthly rate but the more I thought about it the more it didn't make sense for inside wall coverage.

I have done some pretty detailed research on the area and have settled on Brickell. As my career winds down I'd like to have options to get the chill out of my bones. I am in no hurry as the property I own in Boston is still increasing in value and significantly outpacing the market in Miami. I am looking for something in the middle of the road from a cost/luxury standpoint. I had it narrowed down to the Plaza East and the Skyline. I am leaning toward the Skyline as the Plaza area is a bit too congested for my GF's tastes. The Skyline is one of the newer buildings in that quieter area of Brickell in my price range. We'll see what unfolds between now and then.

Realtors don't list insurance info on the MLS, I don't know where the 'sites' get it from, but yes, they are assuming its an annual cost. However some sites can't differentiate due to their filters.
I.e. - HOA fees are $1700/quarter, and the realtor lists it as such, but the website doesn't have a quarterly filter, so it throws off the 'calculations'.

Again, I always come back to just hire a buyer's agent. Interview a few if you want, but there's not cost to you. Why spend so much time researching? Let someone else do it

[ruski]

Originally Posted by Marc Middleton

Realtors don't list insurance info on the MLS, I don't know where the 'sites' get it from, but yes, they are assuming its an annual cost. However some sites can't differentiate due to their filters.
I.e. - HOA fees are $1700/quarter, and the realtor lists it as such, but the website doesn't have a quarterly filter, so it throws off the 'calculations'.

Again, I always come back to just hire a buyer's agent. Interview a few if you want, but there's not cost to you. Why spend so much time researching? Let someone else do it

Because "without having to pay commission to the agent, the seller will reduce the price"

[blueherons]

Marc gave you a really good estimator.

I tell my clients for a full amenity building, roughly $500 per month per bedroom but some are much higher. However, they usually cover everything from the pipes out.

[Marc Middleton]

Originally Posted by blueherons

Marc gave you a really good estimator.

I tell my clients for a full amenity building, roughly $500 per month per bedroom but some are much higher. However, they usually cover everything from the pipes out.

Its based on Square footage, not bedrooms, so that's why I gave that cents/per foot estimation. You could have a 2/2 corner vs a regular 2/2 and pay a different HOA fee.
Take VIZCAYNE in downtown, the 1 bedroom lofts are almost 1000 sq ft where as the regular 1 bedrooms are 800 sq ft. So if its 60c/ft (lots of amenities), you're talking $120/mo difference for the same amount of bedrooms in the same building.