Art Basel productive for Miami real estate players

Faena House penthouse exterior rendering and Aria Development Group principals at 321 Ocean site

From Brickell to North Miami, developers, brokers and other real estate players strategically positioned themselves to capture attention from Art Basel Miami Beach patrons.
More than 20 real estate events were held throughout Miami-Dade County during Art Basel week. The annual show brings tens of thousands of wealthy art collectors and other tourists to the county to kick off South Florida’s busy winter season. Those pushing new residential development and existing buildings in the area capitalized on the select marketing opportunity last week.
Signs indicate the efforts will pay off.
Aria Development Group took a big step toward selling out the remaining five units at its luxury 321 Ocean project in Miami Beach’s South of Fifth neighborhood. Moments before sitting down for an interview with The Real Deal at Aria’s VIP lounge on Friday, Aria principal David Arditi received a verbal offer from an undisclosed buyer for two 321 Ocean units. Aria set up the lounge at Milo’s Restaurant to engage potential buyers during Art Basel and promote the $25 million penthouse at 321 Ocean, which has been under construction since October.
“Art Basel shines a terrific spotlight on the city,” Arditi said. “We are trying to brand ourselves as a company. This is a good opportunity to do that.”
Further north, Argentinian developer Alan Faena used Art Basel week to pull back the curtain on his potentially transformative Faena Miami Beach mixed-use project, planned for several blocks along Collins Avenue. Faena started with an exclusive dinner at the Faena Collaboratory, which includes the sales center for the 47-unit Faena House.
During the A-list dinner, acclaimed director Baz Luhrmann and Academy Award-winning wife Catherine Martin mingled with real estate heavyweights like New York’s Robert Futterman. Luhrmann and Martin are collaborating with Faena to reposition the former Saxony Hotel at 3201 Collins Avenue.
Faena also hosted daily invite-only asados, or Argentinian barbeques, at the development site.
“We use Art Basel to make a big sales push,” Douglas Elliman broker Erik Schneider told The Real Deal. Schneider is handling sales at Faena House.
“We spent months putting together the guest list,” he said. Dinner guests included “people who partnered with us, potential buyers and people in the art world.”
Faena was one of numerous Miami and New York projects promoted by Douglas Elliman during Thursday night’s event at the VIP Collectors Lounge inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. That gave the firm a chance to tout its “penthouse collection” to the ultra-wealthy. Several Russian brokers and potential buyers chatted with Elliman chairman Howard Lorber and other company executives while perusing marketing materials for the developments.
EWM Realty and affiliates at Christie’s International Real Estate also took the VIP event route for Art Basel. The companies sponsored Art Miami 2013 in Midtown Miami and hosted an invite-only reception in the middle of the fair, which featured works from 190 art galleries. Many power brokers showed up for Friday’s reception, including Miami Beach-based Esther Percal and prominent Beverly Hills agent Jeff Hyland, whose artist wife Lori had her work on display nearby.
With the latest Art Basel week concluded, South Florida’s real estate professionals shift focus to converting the leads generated during the event into completed sales.By Eric Kalis      

For more information on South Florida Real estate please contact Debbie Lazoff at debbielazoff@gmail.com or 305.903.0118. www.debbielazoff.com     

Art Miami Fair Helps Luxury-Home Brokers Connect with Potential Buyers

    

Art Miami has lined up sponsors including Maserati and Christie’s International Real Estate, which signed on last year. Christie’s is also an Art Wynwood sponsor, and an affiliate broker was a sponsor of Art Southampton this summer.
Ron Shuffield, president of EWM Realty International/Christie’s, which has offices throughout South Florida, said the fair helps brokers of luxury homes connect with the right crowds.
“We know that some of our customers will meet us there because they come with the intention of buying,” he said. “We’ll have further discussion then, we’ll look at properties while they’re here. For people kind of casually strolling through, many of those are just building relationships.”
Christie’s clients also provide a boost to the fair, Shuffield said. He recalled a home buyer who attended an Art Miami cocktail reception.
“While he was at the fair, he bought a little sculpture; I can’t remember how much it was, but it was over a million dollars,” Shuffield said. “There is so much wealth coming to Miami now, it’s sometimes hard to grasp how quickly this is happening.”
And Korniloff believes that the market could have room for more venues to sell art.
“We feel that the South Florida market has some other opportunities; the question is timing,” Korniloff said. “This business is still in a growth mode.”

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/12/01/v-fullstory/3787889/under-nick-korniloff-art-miami.html#storylink=cpy

A healthy option for your delight! Yummy empanadas, borrecas and more!

Family run business, every bite is a delight! The perfect appetizer to complement any meal! 

Visit Bourekas, a few blocks from Aventura Mall at 18671 West Dixie Hwy

Aventura. North Miami Beach 33180

New Yorkers ramp up SoFla homebuying activity

From left: Ron Shuffield, Carlos Rosso and Carolyn Block-Ellert

South American investors fueled South Florida’s residential recovery, but domestic buyers — particularly New Yorkers — are helping drive the current boom.

Residential brokers in the region are inundated with prospective buyers based in the tri-state area. South Florida has historically been an attractive second-home destination for New York families with plenty of disposable income. But the aggressive residential resurgence has increased domestic buyer urgency to lock in a vacation home purchase while pricing remains a relative bargain.

“The New York real estate market has exploded the last few years,” ISG World principal Craig Studnicky told The Real Deal. “Preconstruction prices in Manhattan range from $5,000 to $10,000 per square foot. That’s exorbitant compared to a high-end condo in Miami at $1,000 a foot, or Miami Beach at $1,500 a foot.”

The pricing gap between New York City and South Florida condos is wide enough for tri-state buyers to get comfortable with the cash-heavy deposit structure that has become ubiquitous in the region, Studnicky said. In today’s market, South Florida unit buyers are usually putting down as much as 50 percent of the purchase price up front.

While New York is not the only domestic market with a strong interest in South Florida, it is leading the charge. The Miami Association of Realtors reports that visits to its listing service from New Yorkers triple the activity from any other U.S. market outside of Florida.

Esslinger-Wooten-Maxwell Realtors president Ron Shuffield estimates a 60 percent increase in New York buyers of South Florida residences from 2012 to 2013. Encouraged by the two percent monthly price increases, more homeowners in the region are testing the market and providing desperately needed for-sale inventory for buyers to choose from.

“There has been such significant increases in value the last three years,” Shuffield said. “That has motivated people as well. The pricing needs to temper down a little but because we can’t sustain two percent monthly increases. Hopefully the increased inventory will settle the price increases.”

To date, New York buyers have targeted high-end homes and condos on the water, especially in Miami-Dade County’s coastal markets. Carlos Rosso, director of condo sales at the Related Group’s Miami office, said such investors are focusing on the company’s Miami Beach developments. Related iscurrently building the luxury One Ocean and Mareaprojects in the city.

“Certainly more Northeasterners are buying in South Beach,” Rosso said. “A lot of buyers from the Northeast are looking for a place to take residency in South Florida. There are a lot of tax advantages for those buyers.”

New Yorkers are not only acquiring South Florida residences with greater frequency. They are also paying more for what they buy, Premier Sales Group co-owner Carolyn Block-Ellert said.

Premier is currently handling sales at The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Singer Island in Palm Beach County. The 242-unit luxury project is 90 percent sold.

Block-Ellert estimates a 30-to-40 percent increase in Northeast buyers at the Ritz project over the last six months.

“We’re finding New York buyers are actually spending more on purchases,” she said. “They are also buying more finished and furnished model residences. Even those who don’t need them for two years are buying now.”

Elsewhere in Palm Beach County, Corcoran Group sales associate Geoffrey Darnell is swamped with requests from Northeast residents to book meetings and property tours before the busy holiday season commences. Based in Corcoran’s Palm Beach office, Darnell primarily arranges Palm Beach County transactions.

Darnell estimates tri-state residents make up more than half of the current buyer pool in Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, the markets he focuses on.

“In the middle of September I started receiving calls and e-mails from clients saying they would be in town to make pre-Thanksgiving purchases,” Darnell said. “They want to get good product at a better price prior to everyone else getting in here.”

By Eric Kalis

A sneak peak on the island beyond extraordinary, Prive at Aventura

Crossing the bridge at Williams Island.....Almost there...

Water views from every angle

NE views 

Huge lot of land where the two towers will be built 

More water views SE corner 

Office center is almost finished! Check out the model of the bathrooms!

Nouveau Stainless steel material that won't leave fingerprints from Snaidero

Can't wait to see the finished sales office. For more information on Prive, you may contact Debbie Lazoff at 305.903.0118, email at debbielazoff@gmail.com.

Please visit my website for more information on Prive or any other property. Debbielazoff.Com 

Our very own Ron Shuffield!

Experts debate starchitecture at TRD event in Miami: VIDEO

By Eric Kalis                                               

                  

      

How much value does hiring a star architect – or starchitect – add to a project in Miami’s extremely competitive condo development market?
A distinguished panel of real estate players debated this subject and more during last week’s roundtable hosted by The Real Deal at the Miami site of the Grove Grand Bay condo project. The roundtable included starchitects Bjarke Ingels and Chad Oppenheim, developer David Martin and residential brokers Esther Percal and Mayi de la Vega. Condo Vultures founder Peter Zalewski moderated an animated and informative discussion.
After the discussion, hundreds of guests enjoyed a cocktail hour and reception at the Grove Grand Bay sales center. In an exclusive TRD video, residential market experts Dora Puig and Ron Shuffield weighed in on the starchitecture debate.

Gloria Estefan to rent out guest house for 30K a month

 

From left: Gloria Estefan, her guest house and main house

Instead of “Turn the Beat Around,” Gloria Estefan might be saying “Turn the rent over” — if you move into her 4,500-square-foot Miami Beach guest house.
The singer is renting out the three-bedroom, three-bathroom house for $30,000 a month, TMZ reported. It also has a Jacuzzi and private entrance. South One Realty Services is listed as the agent on the property.
Her main house is a 9,854-square-foot mansion on the star-studded Star Island Drive, with seven bedrooms and six bathrooms, the website said. Don Johnson, Sean Combs, Julio Iglesias and Enrique Iglesias also have homes in the private Star Island neighborhood.
Estefan said last month she hopes the $20 million restoration of Miami Marine Stadium takes boaters into account, as previously reported.  Mark Maurer

For any of your real estate needs in Miami, please call Debbie Lazoff at 305.903.0118 or debbielazoff@Gmail.com.
www.debbielazoff.com
 

Miami Beach Hotel Reopens as Hilton Cabana

                 

      

Hilton Cabana Miami Beach at 6261 Collins Avenue

The Hilton Cabana Miami Beach, renovated from the former Allison Hotel, plans to open its doors in December.
The 10-story resort at 6261 Collins Avenue, near 62nd Street along Billionaire’s Row, will have 231 guest rooms, most of which will have balconies with views of the either of the two pools below, Hotel Chatter reported. After the Dec. 16 soft opening, rates will begin at $279 for a king-sized room on the lower floors and $329 for an oceanview room.
The Art Deco hotel will feature a lobby bar, a business center, fitness center and all-day dining spot.  Mark Maurer

For more information on south florida real estate please call Debbie Lazoff at 305.903.0118, debbielazoff@gmail.com or visit www.debbielazoff.com

Porsche Tower, a one of a kind condo in Sunny Isles

Billionaires in the Porsche tower: a new kind of condo politics

 

Condominium politics could be changing forever in South Florida.
The world’s richest individuals — all billionaires — have inked deals for nearly two dozen of the 132 units in the Porsche Design Tower going up in Sunny Isles Beach. And the developer of the 57-story tower, Gil Dezer of Dezer Porperties, is traveling half way around the world next month to pitch the last 30 or so homes to a few hundred other really wealthy folks. Like the 38-year-old Dezer, they own Bugattis — a tres’ expensive French sports car — and they get together every year for a meeting — this year in Dubai for a road rally through the United Arab Emirates.
The odds of this real estate scion — dad Michael started out in New York — closing a few sales during his time in the Middle East are pretty good. After all, Dezer hung tough during the last boom-and-bust cycle and eventually sold out the six Sunny Isles Beach skyscrapers that he built with the Trump family.
(Wells Fargo apparently believes in the developer — or at least the Porsche project — too. The San-Francisco-based financial giant is ponying up a construction loan of $214 million, a mere fraction of its $1.3 trillion in assets, for the building, which should be finished by 2015.)
Of the billionaires that Dezer already has in the bag, not one has been identified — two are from Russia — and their names might never be known because so many of the well-heeled make their purchases through limited liability corporations.
Right now, though, numbers are more important than names and countries. If Dezer wrangles in more billionaires on his trip, the Porsche Design Tower will be in the running for the South Florida condo project with the highest number of ultra-wealthy homeowners. Billionaires would control nearly 17 percent of the condo association votes.
Then, throw in the mere millionaires with the billionaires. The combination has the potential to make for some dynamic board of directors meeting and unmatched “condo commando” politics that could make the budget talks in Washington seem tame.
Just imagine how much fines will have to be to keep billionaires from breaking the condo rules. Five figures? Six figures? It’s anybody’s guess.
But the politicking won’t be just inside the tower. The “haves” don’t often go unnoticed these days by the “have-nots.” The Occupy Wall Streeters could show up. Think the Sunny Isles Beach police department has an action plan to handle sit-ins on Collins Avenue in the heart of the winter tourism season? Probably not.
Yes, there’s going to be a seismic shift in condo politics when the billionaires start moving into the Porsche tower. But there undoubtedly will be more — as developers keep one-upping each other in the luxury market.
By Peter Zalewski            
For information on Porsche Tower, call Debbie Lazoff at 305.903.0118, debbielazoff@gmail.com or visit website at www.debbielazoff.com
 

Broken records! Home sales set benchmarks left and right

    
By Melanie Gray            

In the last 18 months, Miami has turned into a real estate record-breaking machine. Sears CEO Eddie Lampert kicked off the madness in March 2012 when he paid $38 million for a villa in Indian Creek — the most ever for a single-family home. Only five months later, in August, a Russian mystery buyer ponied up $47 million for a compound just a few doors down.
And the eye-popping prices just keep coming. This year started with a pre-construction condo sale that made history. An anonymous American forked over $34 million in March for two side-by-side triplex penthouses in developer Ian Schrager’s Residences at the Miami Beach Edition. The old record, set only in January: $27 million for a penthouse at the Setai. Now, read on for more records:

Residences at W South Beach

A 497-square-foot condo at The Residences at W South Beach sold for $1.45 million in less than 24 hours, setting two Miami-Dade records — the fastest deal and the most ever paid for a studio or a one-bedroom. The per-square-foot cost works out to $2,917. Michael Light of Keller Williams had the listing. The buyer: a corporation linked to a Russian investor.

Castello del Sol

An 11-bedroom estate called Castello del Sol sold for $30 million, making it the most expensive home on Miami Beach’s La Gorce Island. An unnamed European corporation bought the mansion from a seller that paid $12.45 million for the property in 2001. Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg of Coldwell Banker had the listing; Esther Percal of EWM Realty International acted as the sales agent.

Fendi mansion

The über-contemporary mansion of fashion designer Luca Fendi sold for $14 million, a record for the Venetian Islands. Fendi paid $5.52 million two years ago for the 8,030-square-foot villa, on man-made Di Lido Island in Biscayne Bay. Coldwell Banker, which brokered both sides of the deal, declined to name the buyer.

The PMG parcel

Property Markets Group, a New York-based developer, paid $30 million for less than an acre of oceanfront in Sunny Isles Beach. PMG and partner S2 Development of Aventura purchased the 0.85-acre parcel from Palermo Beach LLC in Aventura. Engle & Volkers’ Mario Borda brokered the sale.

Apogee South Beach

Apogee South Beach set a new price record for a non-oceanfront unit in Miami-Dade County: $12.4 million. The apartment has 4,154 square feet, which puts the per-square-foot cost at $2,985. Carlo Gambino of Douglas Elliman represented the seller and Jill Eber of Coldwell Banker represented the buyer; Gambino declined to disclose the identities of the buyer and the seller.

North Bay Road mansion

A Miami Beach mansion with a batting cage indoors and a Zen garden outside sold for $30 million, netting a $15 million profit for its owner — New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez —and setting a price record for the city’s North Bay Road. Rodriguez bought the nearly 20,000-square-foot property in May 2010 for $7.4 million and spent another $7.6 million on renovations. The buyer: a celebrity who also has a home in Palm Beach.

“Real Housewives” star Joanna Krupa buys Millennium condo

            

                                                 

Millennium Tower condo unit 42C (Inset: Joanna Krupa)

“Real Housewives of Miami” star Joanna Krupa bought a 2,100-square-foot condominium at the Millenium Tower Residences at 1425 Brickell Avenue in Miami for $1.4 million.
Krupa and her husband Romain Zago inked the deed last month after receiving a $1.1 million mortgage. The 42nd-floor unit was built in 2003 and features marble floors, Murano glass cabinets and floor-to-ceiling windows.
The Bravo reality show followed the couple as they moved from a waterfront home they had rented in Miami Beach. Gossip Extra — Mark Maurer

PortMiami gets giant cranes as part of $2B improvements

Machines to handle cargo vessels en route to Panama Canal

PortMiami cranes (Credit: Daniela Pellicciotti of Condoideas Realty Group via Curbed)

PortMiami received four new cranes yesterday that approach the height of a 25-story building as a part of a $2 billion federal grant for port improvements.
The 262-foot-tall cranes, which will cost a total of $39 million, arrived from Shanghai for the purpose of handling huge container cargo vessels that will pass through the Panama Canal after the expansion in 2015. The proposed $220 million dredging of PortMiami’s shipping canal will allow post-Panamax ships to stop in Miami for the first time. That project is expected to start next month and be done in time for the Panama Canal to finish its renovation.
Part of the port-improvement plan is an ongoing tunnel project that would link Port Miami to the interstate highway system, as previously reported. Miami Herald— Mark Maurer

For more information about the South Florida Real Estate Market, contact
Debbie Lazoff
305-903-0118
www.debbielazoff.com

Versace mansion's new owneris thinking about using it as memorial

Museum exhibit added Nakash's list of ideas for $41M estate

                                             

Gianni Versace mansion at 1114 Ocean Drive in Miami Beach

The Nakash family, which acquired the former Gianni Versace mansion in Miami Beach at an auction last month for $41 million, may turn it into an exhibit or museum dedicated to the late designer.
“We don’t have any definite plans yet because it’s brand new. We have lots of ideas. An exhibit or a museum is one idea,” Jonathan Bennett, Nakash real estate director, told the South Florida Business Journal. “We bought it because it’s magnificent, iconic and part of the history of Miami.”
Jordache Enterprises mogul Joe Nakash, of Jordache jeans fame, has also expressed interest into converting the home into a hotel and temporarily hosting a retailer such as Apple of Victoria’s Secret, as The Real Deal reported last month.
At the Sept. 17 auction, Nakash, in a partnership with New York investor Eli Gindi, beat out rival real estate mogul Donald Trump after his son Eric made a final bid of $41 million.
The 23,000-square-foot, 10-bedroom mansion at 1116 Ocean Drive, originally known as Casa Casuarina, was first listed for $125 million, but then saw the price drop to $75 million.South Florida Business Journal— Mark Maurer

For information about South Florida real estate, contact me
Debbie Lazoff
www.debbielazoff.com
305.903.0118
 

Versace mansion brings $41.5M, will be converted to hotel

Nakash family of Jorache jeans to license Versace name

by Emily Schmall

                                        

Casa Casuarina and pictured from left: Jill Eber, Joe Nakash and associate Eli Gendi

 

UPDATED 11:06 a.m., Sept. 17: The Nakash family of Jordache jeans fame bought the Versace mansion at auction today, putting in a high bid of $41.5 million and announcing plans to convert the palatial Mediterranean-style estate into a hotel with the Versace name.
Now called Casa Casuarina, the former estate of slain Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace went to the Nakashes in a closed-door auction within its frescoed walls.

“We bought history,” a visibly pleased Joe Nakash, the chairman of Jordache Enterprises, told reporters on the steps of the mansion, dismissing the possibility of a massive renovation or teardown. “We paid $41.5 million for it and it’s going to stay as it is,” he said, adding that he will approach the Versace family about licensing the name.

The villa was originally listed for $125 million but went on the auction block after lenders foreclosed on owner Peter Loftin.

Despite a worldwide marketing campaign, the estate of the late fashion designer Gianni Versace netted only three bidders — Donald Trump, who is redeveloping an 800-acre golf course in Doral; Palm Beach Polo and Country Club owner Glenn Straub; and VM South Beach, owned by the Nakash family of Jordache jeans fame.

The requirements of the auctioneer, Miami-based Fisher Auction Co., were a $3 million deposit placed in escrow and proof of at least $40 million in liquid assets.
VM South Beach is the chief creditor in the foreclosure case. As such, the family took advantage of an option to make a stalking horse bid of $25 million, and were able to bid up to $34 million without putting up any additional cash based on what a court says they are owed.
The house was sold with the furnishings, stain glass and mosaic arranged in the eccentric, baroque style of Versace. Features include a 24-karat gold-lined swimming pool and a guest suite fitted out for once frequent visitor Madonna.
The property was initially listed by the Jills, a Coldwell Banker brokerage headed by Jill Eber and Jill Hertzberg. The $125 million asking price was reduced twice before parties agreed to an auction in July after the tenant, Miami restauranteur Barton G. Weiss, successfully sued to break his lease.

Positano Beach - Boutique Oceanfront Condo at Hollywood Beach

 

3415 NORTH OCEAN DRIVE HOLLYWOOD FLORIDA

• FLOOR PLANS FROM 3,200SF to 3,700SF
• OVERSIZED BALCONIES - 800SF TO 3,000SF
• FULLY FINISHED UNITS
• 24 HOUR CONCIERGE, SECURITY AND VALET
• 2 ASSIGNED PARKING SPACES + GUEST
• FITNESS CENTER
• 2 POOLS
• CABANAS
• STORAGE

 

 

 

Positano Beach offers 17 expansive residences, directly fronting the Atlantic Ocean and framed Hollywood Broadwalk. Adjacent to its completed and fully sold-out sister property, The Villas of Positano, the Mediterranean-style development will offer intimacy and exclusivity, yet afford its residents the full-service amenities of a large residential tower.

 

Call or email Debbie Lazoff at 305-903-0118, debbielazoff@gmail.com or Bobby Auerbach at 954-547-3600, bobby@bobbyauerbach.com for more information on this one of a kind boutique condo on Hollywood Beach.

Miami-Dade developers dabble in white-glove amenities

1000 Museum to offer the city's first condo helipad

                                                         

1000 Museum at 1000 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami

Miami-Dade County developers have increasingly tailored their buildings’ amenities and services to the needs of the super-luxury buyer.
To attractive clients who travel often, developers will offer vaults — or a condo helipad. The residential tower 1000 Museum at 1000 Biscayne Boulevard – slated to open early next year – is providing the first private helipad in the city. A 4,600-square-foot unit on the 16th floor recently sold for $5.25 million.
The number of properties that sold for $5-plus million rose more than 24 percent year-over-year from last year, according to data from market research group TrendGraphix.
“But the real standout player was the ultra-prime properties priced over $10 million, which saw an impressive 50% increase, with 15 of those properties closing in the first six months of the year,” One Sotheby’s International Realty founder Mayi de la Vega said. — Mark Maurer

Venezuelans revive Jewish heart of Aventura

Jewish high holidays take on air of Caracas

Sky Lake Synagogue

Aventura’s aging Jewish population has been infused with young blood as Venezuelans lead a Latin American exodus to the Miami-Dade suburb.

Talk in Spanish fills the halls of the bustling Michael-Ann Russell Jewish Community Center; at the nearby Sky Lake Synagogue, membership is now 85 percent Latino, with most from Venezuela.

Even the bat mitzvahs, coming-of-age ceremonies for young Jewish girls, are organized like those in Venezuela, the AP reported.

Like other Venezuelans, some Jews emigrated for political or economic reasons, but many here point to growing hostilities at home from the Chavistas, the followers of the late president Hugo Chávez.

Sky Lake Synagogue was established in the late 1960s by Jews of mostly Eastern European descent. Fifty years later, dwindling numbers nearly forced the synagogue to shutter — until Chávez became president in 1999.

The synagogue now regularly has standing room only during high holiday services and most members are between 35 and 55 years of age, according to the report. — Emily Schmall

Florida borrowers eligible for mortgage a year after foreclosure

New state rule reduces wait time for receiving a home loan.

                                                 

Florida borrowers can receive a home loan only one year after a foreclosure, thanks to a state rule change announced last week.
Previously, the wait time was three years for a short sale and foreclosure, and two years for a bankruptcy. The wait is now the same for all of these. According to the Federal Housing Administration, borrowers are eligible if they went through a recession-era “economic event” that caused them to lose their house, by no fault of their own.
The wait begins the date of a final foreclosure auction, the discharge date on a Chapter 7 bankruptcy or the date of closing on a short sale. The new rule expires at the end of September 2016.
“This is a pretty big event,” Alice Vickers, an attorney who represents the Florida Consumer Action Network, told the Palm Beach Post. “The housing bubble came about through no fault of consumers so it seems right to address this issue and allow them to more easily become homeowners again.”
Since 2007, more than 110,000 foreclosures have been filed in Palm Beach County. Across the state, about 340,000 foreclosures are pending. Palm Beach Post— Mark Maurer

Mysterious offshore trust buys Fisher Island debt

 

The trust, based on the island of Jersey, is the lead plaintiff in a foreclosure suit

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Fisher Island in Miami Beach

As if a dispute over property connected to an alleged murder in Russia weren’t trouble enough, several sites slated for development on the ultra-rich Fisher Island are also mired in foreclosure suits, with the lead plaintiff an offshore trust fund concealing the identity of its owners.
FI Properties, based on the island of Jersey, recently purchased a senior note on a $76.8 million mortgage on Fisher that is in foreclosure, the Daily Business Review reported.
An affiliate of AIG filed a foreclosure lawsuit in December against Fisher Island Holdings over about 18 acres of mostly undeveloped land on the island, which boasts one of the most exclusive zip codes in the U.S.
The mortgage is for properties including 6.7 acres at 70 Fisher Island Dr. that were being developed as residential units; 3.6 acres at 6400 Fisher Island Dr. including a 4,351-square-foot building; 8.2 acres at 66 Fisher Island Dr., at the terminal where the ferry lands; 12,572 square feet at 168 MacArthur Causeway, where the ferry takes off; and a 5,468-square-foot single-family home at 6921 Valencia Drive, the Review said. — Emily Schmall

For more information on properties you might be interested in, please visit my website at
www.debbielazoff.com
 

Jorge Pérez plans Midtown/Design District hotel

The developer spilled the beans at a Baltus House event

              

                                              

Miami’s Design District (inset: Jorge Pérez)

Jorge Pérez is moving on up — in Miami geographical terms, that is. A titan of Brickell real estate is planning condos and even a hotel in Miami’s Midtown and Design District, Related Group’s top executive told The Real Deal.
At a party for Baltus House, a Related condo to be exclusively designed by Pérez-picked furniture designer Baltus and two Spanish conceptual artists, the neat and trim 63-year-old chief revealed plans for expansion in the Design District, where family friend Craig Robins is rushing in retail outlets for luxe fashion designers, including Prada, Hermès and Louis Vuitton.
“Forty of the world’s greatest brands of all time — that’s a revolution,” Pérez quips when asked how the Design District will make the leap from a pedestrian-scarce elegiac monument to high design to a high-density retailers’ paradise. “We’re going to be doing a hotel right here, so we’ve made a commitment to the area, which I call Midtown/Design District, all the way from the water and 25th Street and North Miami Avenue. I think the whole area is exploding and is going to be a fantastic place to live.” — Emily Schmall

For more information on properties in Miami visit www.debbielazoff.com

 

Mary Brickell rental Project now a Condo called Nine

Mary Brickell rental project goes condo

Proposed as EnV, the $65M project has been rebranded Nine

                 

Rendering of Nine in Mary Brickell Village

A rental project in Miami’s Mary Brickell Village is going condo, the second Miami conversion in as many weeks.
The $65 million project was originally slated to be called EnV and offer rentals, but now the site, at 999 Southwest 1st Ave., will be developed by Starwood Capital and Lynd into a 34-story condo tower called Nine, according to BuzzBuzzHome. The 390 units start at 744 square feet and $300,000, the project’s web site said. Behar Font & Associates is the architect, and Fortune International is handling sales.
Last week Gold Krown Financial revealed plans to convert a rental tower in Miami’s Midtown as standing condo inventory dries up and demand from buyers continues to surge. — Emily Schmall

For more information go to www.debbielazoff.com
 

PRIVE - AN ISLAND BEYOND EXTRAORDINARY

OVERVIEW

The sole address on South Florida’s last undeveloped private island, Privé is an exclusive lifestyle offering with world-class services, five-star amenities and absolute privacy, all surrounded by open air, sea and sky. Privé is a secluded enclave of 160 grand residences in twin, 16-story towers. The residences range in size from 2,585 to over 5,600 square feet of indoor space, plus expansive terraces. All residences feature private elevator entries, flow-through floor plans with 10-foot glass from floor to ceiling, expansive east/west water views, European kitchens and bathrooms, and outdoor summer kitchens.

 

LOCATION

Situated on an eight-acre private island in the Intracoastal Waterway, Privé is ideally located at the epicenter of Aventura, accessible through the gated enclaves of Williams Island and Island Estates. From this enviable location, Privé residents can enjoy immediate access to the adjacent and neighboring marinas, Aventura Mall, Turnberry Country Club & Resort, Gulfstream Park, along with a myriad of fine dining options and boutiques. Within twenty minutes of Privé, one can be at the Miami or Fort Lauderdale International airport, Las Olas Boulevard, Downtown Miami, Bal Harbour, the Miami Design District, Midtown Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, or Miami Beach.

PROPERTY FEATURES & AMENITIES

Access via private road, attended gatehouse and private bridge

Full-service valet
Five-star concierge
24-hour security – roving and permanent
Poolside Café – in-home service and light catering available during certain hours
Beach-entry pool
North-South lap pool
Outdoor whirlpool
Lighted tennis court
Jogging trail
Private jetty for guest boat landing and fishing
Private marina with boat slips available for purchase (limited availability)
Nature path*
Private beach & beach club *
Pet grooming arena
Kids’ playground
Private garages available for purchase
* Subject to DERM approval and other governmental agencies

 

BUILDING FEATURES & AMENITIES

The following features & amenities are contained in both Privé towers:

Two-story, 10,000-square-foot gym/spa containing:
Men’s and women’s steam and sauna
Massage treatment rooms
Aerobic & cardiovascular equipment
Weight facility
Fitness studio
Toddlers’ playroom visible from the fitness studio
Social room – billiards, board games, HD television
Private dining room with catering kitchen
Dining terrace
Wine cellar and tasting room
Cigar lounge
Guest suites – available for purchase by residents only
Business center

RESIDENCES

Prices start at $1.7 Million

Unit sizes ranging from 2,585 to over 5,600 square feet
Average unit size approximately 3,400 square feet
160 total units (80 units per building)
10-foot ceilings
10-foot-deep balconies
Floor-to-ceiling glass on all exterior walls
Penthouse units have private rooftops and pools
Intracoastal, Bay, and Ocean views
Spacious, open-plan living, dining, and kitchen areas
Private elevator access
Modern, custom-designed cabinetry and European-style kitchens
Outdoor summer kitchens
Service suites

Call Debbie Lazoff to 305.903.0118 or email at debbielazoff@gmail.com for more information on Privé. You may also visit my website at www.debbielazoff.com