This week, we’re going to be exploring Mid Beach, the laid back neighbour to the glamour and boisterousness of South Beach. With beautiful, extended beach-side board walks and all the facilities, sun-loungers, beautiful Caribbean waters and fabulous cocktails; Mid Beach is the area between Dade Boulevard and 74th St and is the place to come for the perfect beach day away from the crowds in South Beach.
Mid Beach is also home to the super-swanky Fountainebleu resort, which boasts its own luxury spa, exquisite dining and nightclubs where world famous Dance DJs come to play. With a series of outdoor poolside bars serving fabulous cocktails, it’s the perfect place to pose in a designer bikini and high heels. Or perhaps just watch the beautiful people.
If you fancy getting hot and steamy in the Miami heat, then why not try the Russian Baths on Collins and 54th Street? With loads of rooms ranging from the super hot saunas and steam rooms to the chilly polar bear room and the tropical rain room, you’ll spend hours finding the perfect balance.
Mid Beach is a popular and quiet residential area, with property ranging from condos such as The Blue and Green Diamond to high quality single family homes.
If you fancy a piece of laid-back Miami, contact Kelly to find out more.
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Becoming Co-operative in Florida
This week, we’ll discuss the co-operative system of property ownership. Co-operative ownership is commonly with apartment buildings in Manhattan and other northern metropolitan areas of the US. However, there are some opportunities to become co-operative in Florida.
If you are from overseas, or from outside of major metropolitan areas in the US, you may not be familiar with how co-operative property ownership works. Basically, it goes like this: the co-operative is a corporation that owns the building and all the occupants of the individual units receive shares in the corporation in proportion to the size and location of their apartment. As the co-operative operates as a corporation, there is a board of directors elected by the occupants (in their capacity as shareholders), who are responsible for the running of the co-operative. The directors are responsible for collecting maintenance fees from shareholders and ensuring communal areas are maintained, and all liabilities that the corporation faces are paid.
The directors are also responsible for approving or rejecting new entrants into the co-operative, based on the criteria agreed by all shareholders. This may sound a little scary for a prospective buyer, but the purpose of this is to protect the existing residents from financial risk and also to ensure that the overall atmosphere of the building is retained. Co-operatives, therefore, tend to have a better community feel than buying a condominium, as residents tend to take more responsibility for themselves and the building. Some co-operatives become very exclusive indeed. As the residents define their own co-operative agreements, each co-op is different. It is important that your lawyer checks that you can use your prospective apartment for the purpose that you intend, e.g. sometimes it may not be possible to buy into a co-operative with a mortgage, or to sub-let your apartment.
Another big advantage, perhaps the biggest advantage, with co-operatives over condominiums is that you tend to get better value for money, with both the capital price of the shares and also property taxes. As you own shares rather than a piece of real-estate, it is more difficult for authorities to make an accurate valuation for property taxation, and therefore the assessed property values are usually much lower than for an equivalent condominium.
If you fancy looking into becoming co-operative, a fantastic opportunity has come to the market right in the heart of the most upmarket area of Miami Beach, SoFi, just two blocks from one of the nicest parts of South Beach itself...A 700sq ft one bed apartment at only $138,499, this is a truly unique opportunity to get in with the in-crowd in a fantastic location!
Contact Kelly if you are interested in becoming co-operative in South Beach!
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
Sunday, July 17, 2011
What’s Up in Downtown Miami?
Miami has a world class beach culture and killer cocktails but that’s not all that happens in the city of glamour. Big business goes down in Downtown Miami. Miami is a gateway to the Americas, with many corporations basing their Latin American operations in the City. Being a major port, all the major cruise lines and also large commercial shipping operations have presence in the city. Miami has also become a major centre for international banking, coming after only New York and Chicago as a centre for major banks in the US.
Downtown Miami consists of four districts: the Central Business District (CBD, also referred to as “Downtown”), Brickell, Omni and Park West.
The CBD is the most historic part of Miami, where all the museums, courthouses and federal buildings are. It is also home of Flagler Street, a major shopping street, and the Miami Jewelry Quarter, famous for a huge choice of cut price precious metals and gems. Marquis Residences offers an ideal address and exclusive lifestyle for the most discerning art lovers, epicurean aficionados and social urbanites of South Florida.
Brickell is the most upmarket part of Downtown Miami, and is the base for many international consulates and embassies, as well as many of the international bank. There are currently massive plans to invest almost $1bn in the area to transform it further into a retail and commercial destination. Mint is your starting point for the ultimate Miami lifestyle.
Omni is a transport centre, but also is home to large cultural centres such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which hosts everything from opera and ballet to Broadway Musicals. There are also some residential buildings with wonderful views over Biscayne Bay, such as The 1800 Club or Quantum on the Bay.
Park West is famous for its hip nightclubs such as Space. It is currently underdeveloped and various project proposals have been considered for the area over the years. However, with its prime location between the CBD and Omni, it seems like only a matter of time before there is a property rush in the area.
If you are interested in finding out more about what properties are available in Downtown Miami, why not browse Kelly’s website to see what’s up Downtown?
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
Downtown Miami consists of four districts: the Central Business District (CBD, also referred to as “Downtown”), Brickell, Omni and Park West.
The CBD is the most historic part of Miami, where all the museums, courthouses and federal buildings are. It is also home of Flagler Street, a major shopping street, and the Miami Jewelry Quarter, famous for a huge choice of cut price precious metals and gems. Marquis Residences offers an ideal address and exclusive lifestyle for the most discerning art lovers, epicurean aficionados and social urbanites of South Florida.
Brickell is the most upmarket part of Downtown Miami, and is the base for many international consulates and embassies, as well as many of the international bank. There are currently massive plans to invest almost $1bn in the area to transform it further into a retail and commercial destination. Mint is your starting point for the ultimate Miami lifestyle.
Omni is a transport centre, but also is home to large cultural centres such as the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, which hosts everything from opera and ballet to Broadway Musicals. There are also some residential buildings with wonderful views over Biscayne Bay, such as The 1800 Club or Quantum on the Bay.
Park West is famous for its hip nightclubs such as Space. It is currently underdeveloped and various project proposals have been considered for the area over the years. However, with its prime location between the CBD and Omni, it seems like only a matter of time before there is a property rush in the area.
If you are interested in finding out more about what properties are available in Downtown Miami, why not browse Kelly’s website to see what’s up Downtown?
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
Monday, July 11, 2011
Elect Yourself into Congress!
It’s very easy to get excited about real estate in Miami Beach! There are so many fabulous and interesting buildings and single family homes to choose from. This week, we’re going to have a look at one particular building that offers both affordable Miami glamour and the potential for an excellent rental income!
Welcome to The Congress Hotel on the world-famous Ocean Drive! A condo-hotel right in the heart of Miami’s historic Art Deco district, The Congress Hotel has beautifully preserved architectural features. These days it is an intimate building with just 87 units, yet it nestles among top quality bars and restaurants. However, if a piece of tranquillity is what you are after, how about a dip in the rooftop pool! Looking over the beautiful South Beach, it really is a pool with a view!
The rental opportunities are fantastic. The hotel even offers a rental program, so you can make money if you don’t use the apartment all year round. This is a real advantage with this building, as it can be more complicated to rent apartments in other Miami Beach buildings.
Right now, there is an apartment for sale with an ocean-view balcony in The Congress Hotel. At just $349,000, it offers the lucky buyer the opportunity for both fun in the sun and solid rental income!
Contact Kelly to arrange your viewing!
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
Monday, July 4, 2011
Miami Beach Property Market Report for Quarter 2: April 1st-June 30th 2011
Currently there are a total of 2181 active listings in the MLS (multiple listings service) in the Miami Beach region (down 20% over quarter 1 with 2732 active listings). This includes condominiums and single family homes.
Of these 11% (239) are listed as short sales (down from 14% in Qtr 1) and 2.3% (50) are ‘REO’ or bank owned (Qtr 1 = 2.4%).
There have been 762 reported closed sales in the MLS for quarter two of 2011. This is a 23% increase over the 621 reported sales for the same period last year and 4% increase over the first quarter.
Comparison of Number of Homes and Condominiums Sold during Quarter 2 of 2011 v 2010, By Location
South Beach
Ocean Drive
South of Fifth
Miami Beach (33140)
Miami Beach (33141)
Comparison of Median Selling Price per square foot ($) during Quarter 2 of 2011 v 2010, By Location
South Beach (33139)
Ocean Drive
South of Fifth
Miami Beach (33140)
Miami Beach (33141)
*All numbers and data in this report are pulled from the MLS (multiple listing service) and do not include sales directly by owner.
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
Of these 11% (239) are listed as short sales (down from 14% in Qtr 1) and 2.3% (50) are ‘REO’ or bank owned (Qtr 1 = 2.4%).
There have been 762 reported closed sales in the MLS for quarter two of 2011. This is a 23% increase over the 621 reported sales for the same period last year and 4% increase over the first quarter.
Comparison of Number of Homes and Condominiums Sold during Quarter 2 of 2011 v 2010, By Location
South Beach
Ocean Drive
South of Fifth
Miami Beach (33140)
Miami Beach (33141)
Comparison of Median Selling Price per square foot ($) during Quarter 2 of 2011 v 2010, By Location
South Beach (33139)
Ocean Drive
South of Fifth
Miami Beach (33140)
Miami Beach (33141)
*All numbers and data in this report are pulled from the MLS (multiple listing service) and do not include sales directly by owner.
www.BritishMiamiRealtor.com
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