Miami Condos

[togor]

Interesting story evolving there. People own the units, but if the buildings are gradually falling apart, then what is a unit worth? Once upon a time Florida condos on the ocean seemed like a can't-miss idea. We may be seeing the back side of that dream at long last. To my mind the north shore of a Minnesota lake is a better investment.

Speaking of water, a buddy with a house outside Phoenix, on the east side, figures he'll cash out in a couple years. He can take the dry heat but figures with the water disappearing, it's only a matter of time.

[lyman]

if you own the unit, then you and the other owners should have a HOA type system in place to cover common area fees, including maintenance to things like parking, roofs, and building maintenance, lawn care etc


question is who was managing that group and the funds, and what were they doing?

[dryheat]

If there are restrictions placed on water use in Arizona it will be the farmers and ranchers who get nailed. No way are they going to restrict growth out here. Watching the morning news here it's a regular subject: Apartment fires. There's about one per week. We don't have a beach and earthquakes are rare.

[togor]

Politically, farmers and ranchers have the AZ legislature, right? They could ask for help from the Feds but the Colorado river is fully tapped.

As for condos, there's an association but it's not like they can levy fees to replace the building. Hopefully they have insurance, but insurance companies have lawyers I bet who would look for an out.

I hope no indoor pets like birds or guinea pigs get crushed when they demo the rest of the units this weekend. At least get the critters out.

[lyman]

but they should be able to levy fees for repairs,
question is did they, who managed it, etc etc


I hear rumors that a lot of the owners are snow birds,

[togor]

I wonder what happens if

a condo owner can't/won't pay their maintenance levy, or

a fatal flaw to the building is found in the lower levels.

Rebar is among the cheapest grades of steel. Cracks + salt water + time and the outcome is not in doubt.

[lyman]

I wonder what happens if

a condo owner can't/won't pay their maintenance levy, or

a fatal flaw to the building is found in the lower levels.

Rebar is among the cheapest grades of steel. Cracks + salt water + time and the outcome is not in doubt.

no different than you owing money on your house or property,

the other owners will sue or put a lean on your property, and follow due process to get it back,

a fatal flaw would go thru the insurance the HOA has on the building,

[togor]

One wonders if an insurance company will willingly be on the hook for the entire shebang.

[lyman]

do you own your house?


if so, did you have trouble finding insurance?

shopped around as well, I would imagine,


there are plenty of insurance companies that sell insurance for just about everything

I knew a guy that specialized solely in insurance for Churches,

made a good living at it

[Mark in Ottawa]

I had an interesting discussion with my daughter about the Florida condo. She is a commercial insurance broker and at one time had a condo apartment building as a client. The condo association (HOA) normally has responsibility for buying insurance that covers the building itself and the common areas but not the individual units. Unit owners are responsible for obtaining insurance for their own units, typically covering fire, theft and liability. Many owners do not buy such insurance and if there is a fire (or in this case, a building collapse), they are totally out of luck. As far as the insurance purchased by the condo association is concerned, in many cases, the board of directors wants to keep costs down and purchase the minimum amount of insurance that they can get away with. This amount can vary depending on local legislation. I note that in this case, within hours of the collapse some lawyer filed a large class action suit against the building / condo association. Given that the only assets now owned by the condo association is their bank account and the land on which the building sat, it would appear that he is really suing the insurance company. If the condo association only purchased minimal insurance then he is going to be wasting his time

[dryheat]

How often do buildings and I mean big buildings fall down? There are wonderful churches in Europe that are five hundred years old and they haven't fallen down. But, a Condo on the sea shore in Florida falls down in, what, thirty years? Sounds Mexican. Sue the **** out of them. Let's send a message.

But if you want cheap, you get cheap So, when your house gets washed away, well, you get to be on t.v. I live up on the slope. And if you live west of Central expect gunfire.

[lyman]

How often do buildings and I mean big buildings fall down? There are wonderful churches in Europe that are five hundred years old and they haven't fallen down. But, a Condo on the sea shore in Florida falls down in, what, thirty years? Sounds Mexican. Sue the **** out of them. Let's send a message.

But if you want cheap, you get cheap So, when your house gets washed away, well, you get to be on t.v. I live up on the slope. And if you live west of Central expect gunfire.

location location location


houses on the Outer Banks (NC) and other areas of oceanfront property sometimes get ate up by storms,

sometimes they are rebuilt, sometimes too much land is gone to rebuild on, and sometimes the local governing body, or Corp of Engineers will say no more, (as in leave it vacant)

[togor]

https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/southeast/2021/07/02/304641.htm

Might not be enough insurance money to go around.

[barretcreek]

Brand new not finished art museum in Baltimore went whoosh in a pile, fortunately at night. Contractors each stepped on the mix adding a little sand (won't hurt none) until the stuff was cookie dough.
Maybe the same in this case.

[dryheat]

https://www.claimsjournal.com/news/s.../02/304641.htm

Might not be enough insurance money to go around.

Oh, h*** no! At least double that.