"Should we sell?" Anxious condo owners

[Demovictory9]

SURFSIDE, Fla. — Ines Mason bought the 14th-floor condo, perched on an island in Biscayne Bay, five years ago as a getaway, lured by the captivating view of the water. “In the morning, the sun rises, you can see that,” she said. “It’s amazing.”

But after seeing another high rise similar to her own collapse nearly two weeks ago in the nearby city of Surfside, suddenly her Florida escape turned into a source of anxiety. She became concerned about the structural integrity of her building, which is about 30 years old. She also worried about the financial return on her investment; her family had recently been contemplating putting the condo on the market and buying a townhouse.

“Should we sell it?” said Ms. Mason, a project manager who lives in Northern Virginia and travels to South Florida several times a year. “Should we not sell it? What should we do? We’re kind of just holding on tight and waiting to see.”

The partial collapse on June 24 of Champlain Towers South in Surfside has touched off a mass of uncertainty for older beachside condos and high-rise buildings in the area. Local government officials and condo associations are rushing inspections, some of them long overdue. Insurance companies are demanding proof that aging buildings have been evaluated or are threatening to cut off coverage."

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/06/us/florida-condos-insurance.html

[wryter2000]

1. Not sure she's going to find a lot of buyers

I wish her luck.

[Demovictory9]

2. I know..sell to who? Best to sit tight and enjoy her ocean condo

[wryter2000]

4. After an intense inspection of the building

I couldn't enjoy it if I thought it was going to collapse.

[Demovictory9]

7. Yep..and looking like shortcuts taken on construction of sister building

Probably nothing would make me relax except a retrofitted shell like done on buildings in earthquake country..some kinded of added steel frame

[Texaswitchy]

3. Good luck finding a buyer.

I like the beach but never wanted to live near it.

[Demovictory9]

5. Potential buyers are available..asking for big discount

Cordelia Anderson, a Miami real estate agent, said five clients who had been looking at units in older condo buildings asked for hefty discounts after the collapse, or abandoned the coast altogether and instead wanted to search farther inland.

[keithbvadu2]

6. Market value now?

[Politicub]

8. Buyers of units in older condo buildings should expect increasingly expensive

and more frequent special assessments. As a building ages, the more upkeep it needs.

This is especially true in high-rise buildings, but big special assessments can affect any condo community or co-op.

I don't think this is a bad thing, necessarily. It's just a truism of condo ownership. Roofs don't last forever, and complex systems decay.

My first home was a condo, and there was a lot I wished I had known going into the purchase. We had a good realtor and the association was run well. There was a healthy reserve fund compared to other properties.

About a year after we moved in, the roof needed replacing. We we're already stretched thin by our mortgage and monthly fees, and then we were hit with a $35k bill because the reserves were not enough for a new roof. The special assessment piece was an abstract concept to me until it happened.

There is no free lunch when it comes to a dwelling. I learned this the hard way. Single-family home maintenance keeps coming, and keeping up the yard can be a lot of work. Condo ownership has monthly fees and you still pay for bigger maintenance projects as special assessments. Rentals gave us flexibility, but were expensive for what we were getting. Rent is astronomical as a proportion of income compared to 20 years ago.

[Demovictory9]

9. Pricey roof

35k?

[Politicub]

13. Los Angeles.

[WHITT]

10. Should we sell?

To WHO?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. And it's not just structural integrity that's an issue.

All of the "desirable" coastal locations are already experiencing ocean rise. At some point a lot of areas in south Florida will become uninhabitable, and even before that people will simply walk away from their dwellings. It's going to be ugly.

I know a man who relocated from Kansas to the Florida keys six to ten years ago, and even at the time I was astonished. Surely he was aware of climate change?

[LonePirate]

12. Perhaps the Russians and Middle Easterners will buy these condos. They have bought a lot in the past

[LizBeth]

14. All my retirement is in my condo. I hear the concern.