Condo in Miami Beach (Sarasota, Naples: oceanfront, apartment, rentals)

[sam2116]

What kind of Condo can I get for $500k in city of Miami Beach?


I mean in terms of size like less 1000 sq or larger? 2 br or smaller and age of building? and which neighborhood?


My thinking is, more than 1000 sq, 2 br + and with parking in building or available at reasonable cost nearby and decent condition. Perhaps these kind of condos do NOT exist under this price range in Miami Beach!

[logybogy]

You'll get a lot more information going to zillow and just doing a search than anybody can tell you here. You'll get mostly 1 bedrooms in a handful of older oceanfront buildings in mid beach and north beach. Remember the $600 - $1000+ a month HOA fees as well. The insurance rates are killer.

[sam2116]

Don't condos have master HOA policy and condo owners need to get HO6. Condo fees are high due to insurance. How inside of a Condo is different in ocean front or else where.

[Marc Middleton]

Originally Posted by sam2116

Don't condos have master HOA policy and condo owners need to get HO6. Condo fees are high due to insurance. How inside of a Condo is different in ocean front or else where.

Yes, you're right. Insurance is not a 'killer' at all. You don't even need it if you're paying cash.

$500k will get you a 2 / 2 with parking In a lot of parts of Miami Beach, and 1000+ sq ft.

Zillow is useless, hire a realtor (free) and have them put you on an MLS campaign where you can get daily or weekly updates until you're ready to move.

Regarding Renting - there is nothing more crazy right now than a rental in Miami. So expect places to fly off the market in 1 day, sight unseen offers of over asking price or people paying entire leases up front. Miami Beach is a tad better right now than say Brickell, Downtown & Midtown, but still, its very very hot right now for renting. Many people are 'trying' Miami so they are renting vs places like Naples where homes just get snatched up daily for over asking price.

Hope that helps!

[elchevere]

Yeah the rental mark is on overhype right now....but few things could change that : other cities are opening back up and offering great deals that won’t last (NYC, CA cities); many who fled other cities and came here are /have returned while some—not all—who have remained will soon get a taste of summer, the hype about Miami becoming the next Austin (let alone Silicon Valley...lol) will come down to earth like a Chinese rocket, and/or an actual (though not guaranteed) hurricane hitting Miami this year could/will all restore some semblance of normality.

Inventory is real tight right now (elevator waits a tad more common)...friends living in a 2BR at Flatiron Brickell who moved last August and are paying $5K/month report similar units are going for $7K/month today.

Originally Posted by Marc Middleton

Yes, you're right. Insurance is not a 'killer' at all. You don't even need it if you're paying cash.

$500k will get you a 2 / 2 with parking In a lot of parts of Miami Beach, and 1000+ sq ft.

Zillow is useless, hire a realtor (free) and have them put you on an MLS campaign where you can get daily or weekly updates until you're ready to move.

Regarding Renting - there is nothing more crazy right now than a rental in Miami. So expect places to fly off the market in 1 day, sight unseen offers of over asking price or people paying entire leases up front. Miami Beach is a tad better right now than say Brickell, Downtown & Midtown, but still, its very very hot right now for renting. Many people are 'trying' Miami so they are renting vs places like Naples where homes just get snatched up daily for over asking price.

Hope that helps!

[sam2116]

Originally Posted by Marc Middleton

Yes, you're right. Insurance is not a 'killer' at all. You don't even need it if you're paying cash.

$500k will get you a 2 / 2 with parking In a lot of parts of Miami Beach, and 1000+ sq ft.


Hope that helps!

How much it cost to maintain 500K condo in Miami Beach.


Property Tax = 2% = $10000/year
HOA fees = $ 10000/year. I am assuming these are well kept HOA as I have been seen in listings 500K condo with $1000+ /month HOA fees
Small Maintenance/repair + HO6 insurance + Utility =$10000 /year



So basically I am looking at $40- 50k/year in housing cost for a $500K Condo in Miami Beach and this is without mortgage and assuming no big damage such as hurricane or flood or special assessment.


Is my assumption/math more or less within range?


Q. How much will it cost to rent similar $500k (lets say 2br, 1000 + sq ft) condo apartment? I have to assume it is in a older but well kept building with longer lease requirement like 6 months + and no airbnb allowed?

[logybogy]

You should also consider special condo assessments. Older condos have large maintenance costs with concrete restoration and a lot of them have been retrofitting their balconies and windows to impact glass to reduce insurance costs.

You are better off buying into a building that has already had these upgrades so you don't get hit with a $40,000 special assessment in a few years because eventually the buildings that don't upgrade will be hit with egregious insurance costs or left with inadequate coverage so that in a bad hurricane they may have to sell the land and dissolve the association.

People always talk about sea level rise which is way overblown and a problem in 50 years and nothing to be freaked out about now.

But every year South Florida is in the bullseye for the "big one." A large Cat 4/5 hurricane hitting Miami and Miami Beach like what happened in 1926 will be a $500 Billion catastrophe that will likely bankrupt the insurance industry in the entire state.

Originally Posted by sam2116

How much it cost to maintain 500K condo in Miami Beach.


Property Tax = 2% = $10000/year
HOA fees = $ 10000/year. I am assuming these are well kept HOA as I have been seen in listings 500K condo with $1000+ /month HOA fees
Small Maintenance/repair + HO6 insurance + Utility =$10000 /year



So basically I am looking at $40- 50k/year in housing cost for a $500K Condo in Miami Beach and this is without mortgage and assuming no big damage such as hurricane or flood or special assessment.


Is my assumption/math more or less within range?


Q. How much will it cost to rent similar $500k (lets say 2br, 1000 + sq ft) condo apartment? I have to assume it is in a older but well kept building with longer lease requirement like 6 months + and no airbnb allowed?

[BlackTee]

Originally Posted by sam2116

How much it cost to maintain 500K condo in Miami Beach.


Property Tax = 2% = $10000/year
HOA fees = $ 10000/year. I am assuming these are well kept HOA as I have been seen in listings 500K condo with $1000+ /month HOA fees
Small Maintenance/repair + HO6 insurance + Utility =$10000 /year



So basically I am looking at $40- 50k/year in housing cost for a $500K Condo in Miami Beach and this is without mortgage and assuming no big damage such as hurricane or flood or special assessment.


Is my assumption/math more or less within range?


Q. How much will it cost to rent similar $500k (lets say 2br, 1000 + sq ft) condo apartment? I have to assume it is in a older but well kept building with longer lease requirement like 6 months + and no airbnb allowed?

I've been researching condos also and this agrees with what I am seeing. I am not sure if "hurricane insurance" is separate from "home insurance"- which is standard insurance against your neighbors flooding your apt or you starting a fire in your home. But this "home ins" comes out to $500-800/month. If hurricane is separate then you might have to double that. These fees are indeed very high. And if you buy a sfh the only difference is the lack of hoa. At least with a sfh you could try to recoup some of those fees when you are on your vacation via short term rental. Supposedly one plus of miami is year round tourists, though I am not sure how popular it is june-september. It stormed just a little past 2 days and swimming was not pleasant because of the seaweed. Miami beaches are distinguished by clear water, but I think that's only true october-april.

I think you can find condo rentals on the beach for cheaper than buying. But some of those costs will keep getting passed to the renter. Btw if (hoa+home ins+tax)/price keeps getting higher, it is a setup for problems.

[BlackTee]

Originally Posted by logybogy

You should also consider special condo assessments. Older condos have large maintenance costs with concrete restoration and a lot of them have been retrofitting their balconies and windows to impact glass to reduce insurance costs.

You are better off buying into a building that has already had these upgrades so you don't get hit with a $40,000 special assessment in a few years because eventually the buildings that don't upgrade will be hit with egregious insurance costs or left with inadequate coverage so that in a bad hurricane they may have to sell the land and dissolve the association.

People always talk about sea level rise which is way overblown and a problem in 50 years and nothing to be freaked out about now.

But every year South Florida is in the bullseye for the "big one." A large Cat 4/5 hurricane hitting Miami and Miami Beach like what happened in 1926 will be a $500 Billion catastrophe that will likely bankrupt the insurance industry in the entire state.

That's kinda scary. Considering the insurance costs are already so high, if you get hit with anything that needs actual repairs, it will lead to further rise in HOA and ins and some home owners going bankrupt due to those rising costs, which ends up further rising your fees and lowering your property value. A recession would have the same affect. I've also browsed houses 1-2 miles inland but those are still rated as 10/10 flood zone.

[logybogy]

Exactly, you really need to think it out, which is why I suggest the OP consider renting until they know for sure they even like the area and want to live there long term. Yes, the rental market on Miami Beach is tight but there are rentals available in the $3k range in oceanfront buildings right now. He can rent for a year and see if he likes the lifestyle and look to buy or maybe he doesn't like Miami and wants to try another part of Florida like Palm Beach or Naples or Sarasota. I like having options in life.

Also, he keeps that $500k in cash liquid in the markets for whatever he wants or needs to do rather than tied up in a condo that could be destroyed in any given hurricane year. During Andrew in 1992, a lot of condos on Key Biscayne were trashed and the owners could not live there for up to a year until the repairs were complete.

Beautiful thing about renting is if the Cat 5 happens, yeah it sucks and your personal belongings may get trashed, but you cash your insurance check and just move on with your life. Drive to Tennessee and spend a year in the mountains in a cabin, whatever. You don't have $500k tied in a condo in a disaster area that may take years to recover.

Originally Posted by BlackTee

That's kinda scary. Considering the insurance costs are already so high, if you get hit with anything that needs actual repairs, it will lead to further rise in HOA and ins and some home owners going bankrupt due to those rising costs, which ends up further rising your fees and lowering your property value. A recession would have the same affect. I've also browsed houses 1-2 miles inland but those are still rated as 10/10 flood zone.