What's the deal with SoBe condos? Little Havana better?

[bale002]

Originally Posted by thinkertinker

Thoughts?

Thing we learned clearly about condos is deferred maintenance: a single family homeowner can decide alone how to finance and execute necessary periodic structural maintenance, while it is difficult to get 200, 100, even 10 condo unit owners to agree on management of necessary expenses for the entire building.

Myopia is a word that comes to mind.

Before buying, try to obtain detailed financial statements and detailed records on structural maintenance history, inspections, etc.

Good Luck!

[elchevere]

Must read article in today’s NYT about deferred maintenance and a number of other items:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-collapse.html

(You need to wait for the short video to conclude before being able to access the text)

Originally Posted by bale002

Thing we learned clearly about condos is deferred maintenance: a single family homeowner can decide alone how to finance and execute necessary periodic structural maintenance, while it is difficult to get 200, 100, even 10 condo unit owners to agree on management of necessary expenses for the entire building.

Myopia is a word that comes to mind.

Before buying, try to obtain detailed financial statements and detailed records on structural maintenance history, inspections, etc.

Good Luck!

[SanyBelle]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Must read article in today’s NYT about deferred maintenance and a number of other items:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/...-collapse.html

(You need to wait for the short video to conclude before being able to access the text)

I can't read it at all, NYT wants me to subscribe, I'm at the end of my free articles.

[roadtrip75]

Rising tides overwhelmed drains, so more complex systems were installed, along with pumps that funneled street water back into the bay, where they created dangerous algae blooms. Floodwater sluiced through a basement, so the house was jacked up. Ditto the parking lots, ditto the roads. “If you were from the Beach, it was just part of life. You’d ride along Biscayne Bay, and there were those giant dredges literally creating islands. And if there was a big storm, your street turned into a small creek. For days after a hurricane, our house got sloshed and sprayed so many times by drivers that we had to put a big sign out front: ‘Cars! Watch your wake!’”

This was 70 years ago. When the fear-peddlers talk about flooding in Miami Beach, they want you to think it' a recent phenomenon.

[Corrie22]

Originally Posted by elchevere

Must read article in today’s NYT about deferred maintenance and a number of other items:

I read it....it was painful...just enough truth to disguise the un-truth

....once I hit 3 things that are blatantly wrong....that's my limit

[logybogy]

Those cheap old condos are cheap for a reason. They can be money pits. Deferred maintenance is a big problem. Nobody wants a $80,000 special assessment after just buying a unit or $1000 a month HOA fees on a $300k condo. They can also have problems with insurance and getting hurricane coverage without the needed structural updates. Also FL law may change to 30 year recertifications for condos and more inspections so more and more older condos are going to be under the microscope and may face mandatory evictions. It's already happened to a few buildings in Miami-Dade since the Surfside condo collapse.

About Surfside, the more time has passed and we learned it probably is a freak 1 in a million occurrence of bad initial design and construction, bad condo board and deferred maintenance, very unfortunate construction techniques of eighty seven park next door making a bad situation worse along with sinking land subsidence issues with the site. Unlikely to be repeated again. I'm more concerned with the money pit drip drip drip of assessments and insurance problems than being killed in the condo by collapse.

[thinkertinker]

Originally Posted by logybogy

Those cheap old condos are cheap for a reason. They can be money pits. Deferred maintenance is a big problem. Nobody wants a $80,000 special assessment after just buying a unit or $1000 a month HOA fees on a $300k condo. They can also have problems with insurance and getting hurricane coverage without the needed structural updates. Also FL law may change to 30 year recertifications for condos and more inspections so more and more older condos are going to be under the microscope and may face mandatory evictions. It's already happened to a few buildings in Miami-Dade since the Surfside condo collapse.

About Surfside, the more time has passed and we learned it probably is a freak 1 in a million occurrence of bad initial design and construction, bad condo board and deferred maintenance, very unfortunate construction techniques of eighty seven park next door making a bad situation worse along with sinking land subsidence issues with the site. Unlikely to be repeated again. I'm more concerned with the money pit drip drip drip of assessments and insurance problems than being killed in the condo by collapse.

Yeah this is my concern. I think if I buy in SoBe it would be in a smaller building where repairs for the building wouldn't be this astronomical bill, just need to make sure the reserves are there. I am okay without having amenities like a pool or can do without a balcony.

TBH I am starting to venture looking into Hollywood. There are some great deals to be had and some very new condos right next to downtown Hollywood. I can imagine taxes and flood insurance are much cheaper in and around downtown Hollywood since you are a ways away from the water, and overall it seems like a better investment opportunity as it seems they are really starting to urbanize Hollywood, so I can imagine appreciation there might be greater than in a place like SoBe.